Hello lovely peeps,
I would like to show you things that made me smile this week as it's Friday Smiles. But in the midst of these smiles there is also a serious note (sorry).
The thing that made me smile only the other day was a postcard from my friend Maggie. Yes, she is traveling again and she sent me a card:
As you can see it's from Georgia. My first ever postcard from this country. (Now you are all humming Midnight Train To Georgia. I'm old enough to remember Gladys Night and the Pips but my favorite version is Neil Diamond.)
I digress. This is not the state Georgia but the country..
The country is wedged between the North east of Turkey and the south of Russia.
The postcard features the Gergeti Trinity Church, which is a popular name for the Holy Trinity Church.
This architectural complex from the XIV century is located in the village of Gergeti, 6 km from the town of Stepantsminda, at a height of 2200 m. The complex includes Holy Trinity Cathedral, constructed in the XIV century, the bell tower built in the XIV century, and clergy houses from the XV century. You can hike up to the complex in about two hours (TourHQ)
The stamps are stunning:
The stamp on the left says in English (and in Georgian of course) 'Red Book of Georgia'.
The Red Book of Georgia (alongside the official Red List of Georgia) is the country's legal and scientific register cataloging endangered and rare species of wild flora and fauna, as well as protected resources.
I also read: Ursus Arctos Linnaeus: The Eurasian brown bear is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, European bear, and colloquially by many other names. Wikipedia
The right hand stamp features and celebrates 100 years since the birth of Nana Mchedlidze.
The football imagery on the stamp is a direct nod to Nana Mchedlidze's most celebrated masterpiece as a film director: the 1975 classic sports comedy The First Swallow (Pirveli mertskhali). (IMDb)
The film tells a beloved story about the very birth of football in Georgia. It follows a passionate sportsman named Jason who starts the first amateur Georgian football club in the port city of Poti, overcoming a total lack of equipment and money to eventually challenge a famous British team. (Metrograph)
The First Swallow is deeply ingrained in Georgian pop culture and is viewed as a lighthearted tribute to the predecessors of the country's legendary team, Dinamo Tbilisi. The film won the Grand Prize at the 1976 Georgian Film Festival. (Wikipedia)
Because football is an integral part of Georgia's national identity, the stamp designers chose to frame her portrait with imagery from this iconic movie to honor how she captured the country's love for the sport on the silver screen. (Metrograph)
Below a photo when Nana was younger.
Now I would like to show you a bit more of Krakow (Poland) where I spent a week recently.
We saw a bench with a sculpture and of course I had to cuddle up to the gent who was sitting there.
He didn't introduce himself but there was a plaque explaining who he was.
He was Jan Karski (1914-2000)
1940-43 Emissary of the Polish people in German-occupied Poland to the Polish government in exile and to the governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
A man who tried to stop the holocaust of Polish Jews, righteous among the nations, honorary citizen of Israel.
Awarded the Polish Order of the White Eagle and the American Presidential medal of Freedom.
One of the highlights of our time in Krakow was the visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. That was a half hour train ride outside the city, but well worth the trip.
From Neolithic times, sodium chloride (table salt) was produced there from the upwelling brine. The Wieliczka salt mine, excavated from the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 1996, as one of the world's oldest operating salt mines.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine is now an official Polish Historic Monument (Pomnik Historii) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its attractions include the shafts and labyrinthine passageways, displays of historic salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels and numerous statues carved by miners out of the rock salt, and more recent sculptures by contemporary artists.
Below a statue of Pope John Paul II, who was bishop of Krakow and later arch bishop and of course pope.
And now for the bit that is not funny at all. I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. I really wanted to see that. I was brought up with much talk of that and one of my aunties was a camp survivor (although from a different camp).
Below the famous gate that says: Arbeit Macht Frei (Work makes you free).
And this was the entrance to Birkenau, where the train arrives.
I had booked tickets while I was still at home. (All the other things we visited, we decided a day in advance and booked tickets there and then) I must say that it was all very well organised with small groups with guides and timed entry slots. Our guide was very knowledgable. I'll spare you the gruesome details but it was very interesting and I am glad I went.
Now on to happier things. In the tourist shops I saw dragons everywhere. I thought what has that got to do with Krakow? Well, turns out there is a huge bronze dragon below the castle which spews fire every 15 minutes (I think). I just saw it once. Here is my friend posing with the dragon:
There is a large market place, but also a small market place. And there was the St. Michael's market. A very lovely (sort of Christmas) market with wooden booths and quality articles for sale as well as food and souvenirs. There was a stage with different performers every day. We saw a folk dance group:
The other thing we visited was the Photographic museum, which was interesting. We saw the history of photography, the history of the camera, and of the developing process. And there was a section about famous Polish photographers. On the first floor was an display of hundreds of cameras (through the ages):
Outside was a little park where we had a drink sitting in a deckchair. Then we discovered a miniature dragon with a camera! Of course I had to photograph it
Below just one of the beautiful buildings we walked passed:
I loved what they do with red brick.
On the way to the station we came across this bicycle stand:
And have you ever seen pigeons sunbathing?
There were no pigeons in the shade. All in the sun on the ground.
And the most remarkable street name we found is this:
I think I'll leave it for now. And find some funnies to put at the end. The stamp was meant to be my face for the FaceOff but there are plenty of other faces today too.
Keep smiling,
Lisca
