Postcard from Narnia

Tenemos vacaciones! - that was the response from my future-to-be Spanish teacher, when I inquired for the autumn classes... Yeah, was I too eager? For sure! Chill-out mode has been activied in the best place for chill out! Sketchbook was with me!

 

 -Tenemos vaccines! - czyli mamy wakacje - taką  odpowiedź dostałam od mojego przyszłego nauczyciela hiszpańskiego, gdy spytałam o lekcje.Na jesieni. Czy mi się nie za dużo chce? Ej no pewnie! Ale bez obaw, tryb czilowania został aktywowany! I to w najlepszym miejscu do czilowania! A szkicownik pojechał ze mną :)!  

Kretowiny

- Expectations? Isn't that end of the world?
- Yes, but the tranquility of this place will steal your heart. 
- And then I will be heartless. And will I die? Out of boredom?


- Oczekiwania? Czy to nie jakis koniec swiata (zadupie)?
- Tak, ale spokój tego miejsca skradnie twe serce.
- A wtedy będę bez serca. I umrę? Z nudów?

-Kajak czy łódka?
- A kto wiosłuje?

Kretowiny są wioseczką. Malutką. To półwysep i całą wioskę można obejść piechotą w około 20 minut. Tam czas nie płynie. Tam nie ma czasu. On tam umarł w ogromnie nudnych męczarniach!
Rozrywki są tak prose, że po pierwszym dniu irytacji - przecież ja tutaj nic nie robię! - przeszło mi. A jednak można znaleść radość w chodzeniu na pomost i plaze,  grze w "babinktona", chodzeniu na lody, gofry i automaty, a w chłodne dni grze w planszówki. Ot, takie tam karpe djem, karpia zjem!
 

Kretowiny is a tiny village. Really tiny. It is a peninsula and all the village you can walk within aproximately 20 minutes. Times is not passing there. Time is gone there. It has died in the horror!
Atractions are so simple, that after the first day of annoyance - come on, I am doing here nothing! - feeling was gone. Somehow you can find joy in walking to the little pier or beach, playing badminton, having ice cream, waffles or playing outdoor game machines, and during cooler days playing the boarding games! Ot, carpe diem!

 

Pozdrowienia z Narnii, czyli o jeziorze Narie.

Umówmy się, że przesadzam. Jest tam jezioro i ktokolwiek lubi pływać, żeglować i odkrywać sporty wodne - to pokocha to miejsce! Kajaki, żagle, windsurfing, rowerki wodne ze zjeżdżalnią, łódki i jedno z najpiękniejszych jezior w niedalekiej odległości od Gdańska - Narie. Wieczorem jest całkiem przaśna dyskoteka Narie lub koncerty rockowo/bluesowe w Pensjonacie Helena.

Greetings from Narnia or about the Narie lake.
Let us agree - I am exaggerating. There is a lake and whoever likes swimming, sailing and discovering water sports will love this place. Kayaks, sailing, windsurfing, pedal boats with water slide (!), boats and one of the most beautiful lakes in the near vicinity from Gdansk - the Narie lake. At the evenings you got there quite ...interesting discoteque Narie or rock/blues concert in the pencion Helena, where I stayed. I have spent there a little more than two weekends and I have even managed to find regatta!

Spędziłam tam trochę więcej niż dwa weekendy i nawet udało mi się trafić na regaty!

Pozdrowienia!

A z nareńskiej szafy wypadł mi prosto do głowy pomysł, zaiste, nie z tej ziemi :)! O tym, wkrótce. Zanim łódki odpłynęły od brzegu, udało mi się jeszcze coś zmalować. Jednak, zabranie farb akwarelowych nie było aż takim złym pomysłem...zwłaszcza, że plan był - nie robić nic

And from the waredrobe of Narnia there was, indeed, a magic idea falling directly into my hear! However, I will spill the colour soon. Before the yachts left the banks I have still managed to paint something. Taking the watercolour paints was not that bad idea indeed. Particularly, that the plan was - doing nothing.

 

Scan. Finally the forgotten watercolour sketchbook from Moleskine (a gift for myself from Paris) found its use. Bad news: the previous sketchbook is almost finished and this one has thick pages and therefore much more place for painting - yeah!

 

Jak gdzie kiedy? How, where, when?

Where to stay:

Pensjonat Helena. Kretowiny.
Bez dwóch zdań. Najmilsza i najbardziej bezpardonowa gospodyni w okolicy! Oraz domowe jedzenie od serca. Zaden zamulający gość jej nie straszny. Oto bezczelna reklama z mojej strony - bowiem jest to jedna z ulubionych cioć mojego kolegi, ale byłam, podobało mi się i polecać szczerze mogę :)!

Kiedy: na regaty, na weekend lub na dwa lipcowe tygodnie, kiedy grupa chłopaków z Gdańska przyjeżdża wieczorami zamulać bluesowo i rockowo w Helenie. Więcej info na pewno co roku u pani Ani.

Jak: pociąg z Gdańska do Morąga, a potem PKS do Kretowin (ok. 8 km).


Na wspomniane koncerty w Helenie, nawet udało mi się popełnić plakat. Ot, wakacyjny szpas.
Gdy rozwieszaliśmy je po okolicy, jakiś chłopak podszedł zapytać, czy dostanie jeden.
- Ale przecież nawet nie słyszałeś jak grają?
- No ale plakat mogę wziąć!
- To wpadnij na koncert do Kretowin!
Szacunek. Przyjechał. Z kolegami :)!
Ot, Kretowińskie uroki.


UDANYCH WAKACJI & enjoy the summer :)!

that girl with a sketchbook

Koncert co wieczór, a kto by odmówił? - Concert every evening, who could resist?

Mt. Silver is calling

Going to Silver Mountain sounds just as magic as the name of this place. Although I have expected to get to a tiny abandoned village in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, it turned out to be a beautiful enchanting place with tranquillity to offer.

Wyprawa do Srebrnej Góry zdaje się take samo nieprawdopodobna jak jej nazwa. I chociaż oczekiwałam raczej maleńkiej opuszczonej wioski po środku niczego, okazało się, że to miejsce oczarowuje spokojem.

A way like a pilgramage.
Long. Way to long. From the Baltic Sea to the former Galicia. In the car radio we laughed at the czech language. But when we came to visit house of people filled with happiness, ultimately the tiredness did not matter. A tiny glass of local moonshine as a warm welcome.
And the first girl of tomorrow. We arrived to the house of braid


Pielgrzymowanie. 
Droga była długa. Nawet bardzo. Znad Bałtyku do dawniejszej Galicji. Z samochodowego radia płynęła czeska mowa ku naszej uciesze. Kiedy jednak przyjechaliśm do dome wypełnionego radością, zmęczenie przestało mieć znaczenie. Maleńki kieliszek lokalnego samogonu na ciepłe powitanie. I najważniejsza panna nadchodzącego dnia. W końcu przybyliśmy do domu panny młodej

Although, I am the last person who would adore the weddings, this one was simply beautiful. This sketch has been drawn in the terrace of the hotel, that it took place in. 2 hours left before marriage: iron the dress -10 minutes; shower - 15 minutes; make up - 10 minutes, letting your hair sun dry while sketching - 60 minutes. Silent sketching time.

Milo, że nie przepadam za weselami, to było naprawdę piękne. Ten rysunek powstal na tarasie hotelu, w którym się ono odbywało. 2 godziny do ślubu: prasowanie sukienki - 10 minut, prysznic - 15 minut, makijaż - 10 minut - suszenie włosów na słońcu podczas rysowania - 60 minut. Rysowanie i święty spoke

If not for a wedding, then simply for the landscapes. Delicious food, forts, a lot of history and enchantingly narrow streets leading to the top of the Silver Mountain. That weekend was too short, indeed.

Jeśli nie na ślub, to choćby dla widoków. Świetne jedzenie, forty, dużo historii i przecudne wąskie uliczki wiodące na szczyt Srebrnej Góry. W istocie, ten weekend był zbyt krótki.

Srebrna Gora, Poland, Lower Silesia.
Tools: as usual Rapitograph Rotring 0,18 / 0,25 and small Moleskine sketchbook.

****
Long awaiting holiday did finally come. So did sun, hot weather and much much more time for me and my hobbies. Expect some more sketches soon and more travelling inspirations :).

L.


***

The post was about Srebrna Góra (read: s-reb-r-na goo-rah) and that hotel unfortunately did not pay me for recommending them. Nonetheless, they were fantastic if it comes to serving vegan dishes on the superb level and couple of other things. Hence, recommendation is deserved :).

Pull a rabit out of your basket!

Happy Easter time!

Rabbit here, rabbit there - rabbits are now everywhere!

I will never understand this atavistic cult of a rabbit.

Have you ever spared a thought of why exactly rabbits were made to be an outward symbol of the festive Easter season? The whole bevy of symbols that march in a festive parade of  sweet sugar rams, little cute nestlings and even more cuddly fluffy bunnies.

No place for kitten and puppies. 
Pity for them. Or really?

The atavistic urge to be surrounded by rabbits, lambs and chickens has, as for me, just the one reason - to eat them all! Let show a bit of love today and instead of eating the cute little things, let us eat the best what we could imagine to eat - a beautiful huge chunk of chocolate cake! Enjoy!


Happy Easter celebrations, my Dears!

50 shades of the most beautiful park in Gdańsk-Oliwa

It says that march comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This feels particularly this month, when I walk through my favourite park of Gdańsk - Park Oliwski.

 

 

Whenever I come back from work, I can hardly resist taking the route through the beautiful historical park in Oliwa. When I moved into that borough, I had absolutely no idea about topography of Tricity.

 

How ignorant it was of me not even to bother about such exquisite spacial green treasure that is located just within 5-minute-walk from my house! Marvellously designed routes, streams and little ponds are enchanting not only in summer, but also in winter. It was one Friday, when my supervisor asked me - what were I doing still at work (Go home it's Friday!). So I started the weekend in the best way I could have imagined - taking a walk through the Oliwa's park that makes it remarkably relaxing - as the weekend should be. I couldn't resist that rare opportunity to use the perfect light around. I sat next to the bridge and started to sketch.

 

Park in Oliwa,  February 2015
 

 February in Park Oliwski

Now the photos may look as if they have been taken out of the spring mood that crawls slowly (definitely too slow) towards the Baltic Sea Area. Nonetheless, I was happy enough to catch the last glimpse of snow that winter! Already two days after, snow was gone and warm beams of sun uncovered all the hidden shades of humble green.

Some accidental passer-bys gave me a bit awkward look when they saw me in front of the bridge. The temperature was just below zero and I did forgot my gloves! Freezing cold hands were the main reason why I decided not to go into too many details with that picture. Same basic colours I added already home (picture at the bottom). As devoted as it may be seen, 30 minutes of sketching were just enough to make me dreaming about hot green tea back home!

Admittedly, I love this waterfall in Oliwa's park. The magical atmosphere here is created by this cascade, however this is just one part of that stream. Potok Oliwski (Oliwa's Creek) goes from Złota Karczma (Golden Inn), follows through the Valley of Joy (hence some call it "radostna struga", joyful creek), crosses the park and has its end some kilometres away, directly at the Baltic Sea (that part is also called Potok Jelitkowski - Jelitkowo's Creek).

For those fascinated with history, it may be interesting that before the IIWW the name of the creek was Glettkaubach (Bach=creek, Glettkau= a German word for Jelitkowo, that was phonetically formed after the Kashubian name of that sea-side village - and now a district of Gdańsk). If you take your time and look closer at the historical map of that part, you may notice, that not far away was the border of the Free City of Gdańsk that existed here as a result of Treaty of Versailles (1918) until the end of the IIWW.

Under this link you can find couple of historical maps of this region Pomorze/Pomerania, where on some Oliva or polish Oliwa are quite visible.

Let us take as an example this one (link), where just at the orange border you see Oliva and one of the historical streets of the district Pelonkenweg (ul. Polanki), where also Schopenhauer used to live.
Glettkau (Jelitkowo) is just at the Baltic Sea.

Source: www.mapy.exploracja.pl "Q55 Danzig" 1:300 000 Übersichtskarte von Mitteleuropa, 1925, Ze zbiorów Marka Zielińskiego. In this region Polish people use now the old names only unwillingly (if they even know them). Names as those above are just an old reminiscence of the war. Particularly since old German generations are gone, Poles  use only original Slavic names and only sentimental German tourists and historians remember the old once. If you happen to go to Gdansk, make sure you are able to speak the name "Gdańsk" and "Sopot" in the Polish and not German way, and use google maps or any other map that is up-dated with proper names (definitely not the one above!)

 

The map above is 90 years old and presents a status quo that no longer exist. The orange border of non-existent Free City of Gdańsk (Danzig) separates area inhabited in the past mostly by Germans   (including a popular cure location of Zoppot or current Sopot) from the to-be-build Polish harbour of Gdynia (1926). After the IIW all Germans had been displaced to Germany and their houses were taken either by Russian soldiers or by Poles displaced from above all the current area of  Ukraine. Uprooting people's history that is what politics can surely cope with very well.


During the war Oliwa avoided the scent of destruction. No wonder that many people find this borough as the most beautiful district in the whole Tricity! The old villas are still there and entice people with their wind of history (I am one of those victims who fell in love with a build in 1907 villa that I currently live in).


In the oldest literature Oliwa was mentioned already in 1188 (and remember that the first Polish king was coroneted just over 150 years before!). Although the bridge and waterfall on the photograph are definitely not that all, personally I find them the most beautiful parts of the creek.

Stones at that day were still covered by the last snow of the winter.

Temperature below zero and no gloves! Sketchers my be sometimes crazy...

  

 

 

The spot that I sketched from. The palm glass house in the background is opened during the summer

 

 

Already two days after, I was taking my scroll over park and snow was completely gone! 

The historical cathedral of Oliwa, next to the park and abbey..

 

 

 

Colours added later, ink + crayons, sepia pastel, Moleskine sketchbook. Click to make it bigger

 

 

 

The park is closed at the evening. Make sure you finish your walk before 8 p.m in winter. In summer, it's opened much longer.

 

A bonus of this part is the sky. Who will tell me now, that spring is not coming? 

Last week from in front of my house

 

 

Being sick for the last weeks, I really wait for sunny spring days, first buds of flowers in the Oliwa park and of course, for chilly day of sketching in the park. Then more sketches of Oliwa will come for sure.

 

 

Keep warm!

 

that girl with a sketchbook

Jam sessions? Only in Gdańsk-Oliwa!

Although I have planned to pay a visit to this regular event already since I moved here, this was finally on Friday when I stepped out of home and opened the door to a welcoming wooden chamber of pub Paszcza Lwa in Gdańsk Oliwa.

Paszcza Lwa (read: pa-sh-tcha l-va, means "Lion's muzzle") at Kwietna 39 in Gdańsk is a tiny place not far away from the Catherdral in Oliwa district that is quite difficult to find without google maps. However, although the borough of Oliwa belongs to one of the most enchanting in the whole city, it is definitely deficit on pubs and clubs.

 

To cut the long story short - who lives in Oliwa, must know this pub - Paszcza Lwa. 
(And I certainly do).



Although my sense of music is just average, everyone agreed with me, that the first singer I saw cannot be called even good. In desperation, public started to help him out in singing. Meanwhile I decided to rather focus on some dead interior gadgets.

 

Cozy wooden interior, thatched roof (or better say ceiling) and skulls of some dead animals on the walls. First glimpse makes it feel like in the folk-style cottage in the Polish mountains 700 km down south. At the second one, your eyes will spot a huge painting in the desert colours above the counter - reggae style lion opens his muzzle; then you see young chilled bartenders who wears everything but not folk clothes. Certainly I was in the right place.

Although I came alone, I knew immediately who I was looking for - my brilliant flatmate whose voice made many of my evenings to be some private a capella recitals of her, just behind the wall.

Frankly speaking, I am huge fan of Alicja's voice and I think it is not exaggeration to say that she sings just as good or probably even better than (not some but) most of current Polish female pop singers. I love those winter evenings when we sit together in our house with friends, everyone takes out some of the instruments that I guess are hidden simply everywhere (acoustic and electric guitars, keybord, djembes, Australian rain stick, Dutch egg shaker, couple of local ocarinas from Kaszuby or Russia, or even a scarf for belly dance with those small noisy sequins that you play on by actual dancing). Those jam sessions with Alicja's singing are something what bring light and warmth to this dark winter nights... Hence, no wonder, I was looking forward to see her on stage ultimately!



Moderator of the event and guitarist, a very kind gentleman.

The formula of jam session is not as free as I knew it from different events I visited. People know each other there, atmosphere is really chilled and a bit like in one big family. If you want to sing or play, you go to the moderator and he sets you in the schedule for tonight. The moderator also tries to keep the positive approach, so that a band or crew plays 2-3 songs and not a concert and that no one offends anybody else so that everything goes smoothly there.

Although I hear every now and then compliments about my deep voice, I would never dare to sing somewhere else than under the shower. Therefore I did what I like the most. Sit down and  used that beautiful opportunity to make some more sketching exercises and draw something that I am absolutely terrible at - namely PEOPLE.

And PEOPLE were amazing. Bands serve usually as perfect models, because they do not move that much!
So, I sat at the wooden bench and warmed up with a sketch of that animal scull. Then the elderly perky gentlemen from the second sketch (right) approached me straight away, (sitting so close that I had to keep my face and joke about it), commenting on my sketchbook and obviously on the terrible voice of the current singer. Later on I saw him playing on drums whereas his companion (on the sketch, left) helped him out on his guitar. Both probably older than my dad - what I personally found fantastic! There is nothing better to see people who have passion life-long!



Second sketch that night. Well, I don't find it accurate or nice, but .. mhm.. he didn't move that much and served as a perfect model, admittedly. 

Impatiently have I waited for Alicja's band, as I knew she usually plays with the same crew.
One guitarists I knew from home, as sometimes they rehearsed in our house. Surprisingly enough,  I realised that I also know the drummer. From nowhere else than from instagram :)!

Without hesitation, I sat next to them, took two quick photos with my phone, and I started to sketch.
For sketching Alicja, I guess I am not good enough. I wish to have singer who sings and does not move her mouth at the same moment, but I do not believe it can be in anyway good! With Piotr, the guitarist, it was easier, but the sketch was just a terrible doodle and I didn't like it at all. I have a try to draw the other members of the band, but my irritation was only growing.

(Although the music eased that feelings of course! I loved their performance!)



Piotr has also his own band, called EjPiEj (youtube), where they do a bit different music. That night he was accompanying Alicja with their original compositions. 

Flashback from childhood was irresistible and miserable - I gave up drawing as a teenager, because people (with my mum in the first place) kept encouraging me to draw portraits and i have never, absolutely never, liked it.

A bit upset I gave up these depressing attempts, had a beer and nice chit-chat with some friends of Alicja. Nonetheless, I post those doodles here anyway - just for me later to remember, how uncomfortable was that feeling of dissatisfaction.
(a hidden perfectionist inside me is screaming now - do not watch)



*******

I couldn't sleep with that.

Imagine that something does not leave you alone. Imagine this uncomfortable feeling pinches you like too small jeans in the waist or a small nasty stone in your shoe. I felt that way. Unhappy about my sketches, although quite excited about all the people who I have met that evening.

On Saturday I went to buy some veggies (oh, that's so romantic) and realised that I cannot leave myself with this silly feeling any longer - let me have another go.

So I did.

When I started it was quite late. When finished, it turned out I was late for some appointments already (sorry), but here it is. A slightly better version of the scrawls above. I do not really feel oblige to violate anyones copyrights to original photographs, so comparison pictures you can find by clicking the links (youtube or instagram).

It's not perfect, however I take it as an exercise. I never liked portraits, but that's my second and third portrait since I started to sketch on last year's autumn.. Let it be it's a way towards improvement, ok ;-)?

Here Link to the song with that picture - Ejpiej "Alternatywa"



Another Piotr, the drummer. For those who want to join he's fan club on instagram here's the link



*******

If you feel in any way encouraged to join the regular jam sessions in Paszcza Lwa or even actively participate, I would recommend to follow them on Facebook (there are also more pictures from that night).

Facebook Profile (click)

As a subscriber, you outhgt get invitation to the regular event that are more or less on Fridays, every second week.




In the end, that lady presented a high-class soprano voice.
So impressive! Congratulations!



A piece of Russian Soul in the Old Town Gdańsk

 Last Friday my friend moved out. Although, sadly enough, it is one friend less in Gdańsk, she made me familiar with a place that - surprisingly - warmed up the winter air with some Slavic tunes.

It started in the usual way:

- Have you bought the gift for A.? - I heard the question.
- Yes. I answered. I hope it will suit her elegant sense of taste...
- Me too. It's not diamonds, but its a cute gift ...- she sighted. We compared A. to Charlotte from Sex in the City already many times, but we love her anyway.  - Where do we meet with A. actually? 
- Ee... not sure.... I think it was Piwna. Piwna - the Beer - Street 56/57. - I really struggled to recall it..


-  Don't talk to me streets. What's the name of the place? 

- Eee.. cafe ...bar ... club or pub. Maybe cafeteria? I do know! Something ridiculously ordinarily impossible to remember.... !

She googled. Of course. The OLD GDANSK Beer Pub & Cafe. Aaaaa....  now we were home.

It is on the right (not in the picture!!! :D)

Before A. joined us, that cosy place of The OLD GDANSK cafe filled up with some people. I like the arrangement there. Like many other places in the Old Market of Gdansk, it was styled to refer to the Hanzeatic history of the city - lots of wood, visible brick on the walls, illustrations of ships and, last but not least, beautiful piano in the corner. Because I have a thing for history, no wonder I liked it. It was one of those kind of places that you go with someone who is not twenty any more or when you wish to listen music live with glass of wine or where you can meet elderly Germans who sip their wine, coffee or beer in the Sunday morning and say with smile "so schööön" (so beautiful here... of course don't take me wrong here. I like German language a lot and know too many German people in all age to be able to tell you - they really love to sit somewhere and reflect about the  beauty of moment it is happening to them now. I have found it always cute and funny at the same moment!)

Another plus - the waiters were male, polite and handsome! Why should I complain?
We took some czech or russian beer and waited for A. To be honest, she is the master when it comes to finding interesting events at no or little price. Indeed. No entry fee. The live music of Julia  Vikman Band was quite a surprise for me. Although we knew next to nothing about it before, apart from that it is going to be live - we sat just in front of band and waited. Soon there were more people coming. Polish mixed with Russian in the air. A lamp lighted up in my head. Aha - Russian lyrical music. Great! I love it. 


[Link to their website here or directly www.juliavikman.com - there is a playlist to find as well].


I couldn't resist sketching. 

Colours added later.

These type of events always brings to my mind my Russian and Ukrainian friends. One of them - another sketching girl  - I have met just last month (Click); two others tried to teach me Russian language last year. Admittedly, they served me all the Russian and Ukrainian music that suits rather for parties than a chilled evening with friends. Nonetheless, Julia Vikman managed to touch the right strings in my soul.

I call it Slavic soul - that level of understanding between cultures that is shared within the people of Slavic origin. Inexpressible. You drink together, you talk, you start to feel the connection. With Ukrainians, with Russians, with Slovenians, with Serbs. It doesn't matter. If you are Slavic, you do.

With music of Julia Vikman you feel it even stronger as she presents her interpretations of both Polish and Russian songs. Really climatic.
Unexpectable intercultural meeting.

My phone battery was dead that evening, but A. made a joke of me and took a picture of the saxophonists and me - YES, EXCHANGING the contacts - nothing else.

Thanks guys for playing. It was a pleasure :)!