The Marriott building in the center of Warsaw is already 30 years old!

The iconic skyscraper in the center of Warsaw is celebrating its 30th birthday.

On this occasion, Marriott and Fujifilm Polska are organizing an amazing competition. The rules are extremely simple, the point is to take the most creative Warsaw picture, which of course will include the building of the hotel. The photo should be placed on your instagram profile (it must be public) and the hashtag #warsawmarriott30 should be added. You should also follow the @marriottwarsaw and @fujifilmpolska profiles, and then nothing but wait for the results!

Not only the competition is extremely interesting, but also its awards. The winner will be able to take part in photographic workshops. But not just any! They will take place on the rooftop of the Marriott. After classes, there will be a roaring afterparty at the Panorama Sky Bar (40th floor of the building), where you will be able to get additional prizes, such as vouchers for luxury hotels and SPA, as well as the instax Wide 300 camera.

Photos should be uploaded by September 18 at the latest, the results will be published the next day, and a week later the winner will be able to photograph Warsaw from above. The organizers emphasize, however, that the photo does not have to be taken “now”, maybe you once did a great photo of the center of Warsaw and you still have it somewhere in the depths of computer or cell memory? Go ahead and start searching, it’s worth it!

The workshops will be conducted by leading photographers – Wojtek Wieteska, Victoria Franko and Jacek Bonecki. Other participants of the event will be photographers associated with Warsaw, as well as media representatives.

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“Singer’s Warsaw” – 16th Jewish Culture Festival

This week you can become a part of the 16th Jewish Culture Festival “Singer’s Warsaw”. This festival has it all – concerts, theater performances, author meetings, Jewish cuisine workshops and educational walks. There is truly no better way to discover Jewish culture and heritage than during Singer’s Festival.

Polish and Jewish culture has always been a mix in Warsaw. The festival has always been perfectly organized thanks to Gołda Tencer and the Shalom Foundation. It is a festival of music, theater, literature and visual arts. The goal of this festival is to promote Jewish culture, both, in traditional and modern way. Lots of artists are inspired by Jewish history and create great artistic projects.

During the festival, the greatest representatives of Jewish culture from around the world come to Warsaw: from Israel, the United States, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and Hungary. Most of the events take place on Grzybowski Square and Próżna Street and change this part of the city in a wonderful center of Klezmer music the dance with the smell of nutmeg, cloves and honey in the air.

Yiddish culture returns in pre-war films and contemporary performances, in Jewish cutout, ceramics and Hebrew calligraphy workshops.

Singer’s Warsaw Festival is one of the most important artistic events in Poland, showing Jewish culture in the broad context of Polish and world culture.

The festival is an incredible way to present that, despite the tragic experience of the Holocaust, Jewish culture is still developing, and the artists representing it has increasingly new, fascinating proposals for a wide audience. Due to the various forms of expression that Polish and foreign artists use, the lost world of Polish Jews returns to Warsaw. Singer’s Warsaw Festival is the best proof that Jewish culture is still alive and extremely important.

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Metallica performs in Warsaw!

Today (21 August 2019) at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw, the world-famous band Metallica will play a concert as part of this year’s WorldWired Tour.

The team has been performing for the 12th time in Poland and will be at the National Stadium for the second time. There is probably no person in the world who would not know at least a few Metallica songs. Songs such as “Enter Sandman”, “Master of Puppets”, “Nothing Else Matters” and “Unforgiven” are simply classics of contemporary music. The band went on tour to promote their latest album “Hardwired … To Self-Destruct”.

Metallica was founded in Lost Angeles in the early 80s. In 1991, as many as 766 thousand records were sold in Poland. The album “Hardwired … To Self-Destruct” was the second best-selling album in Poland in 2016 – despite the fact that it didn’t go on sale until November.

In 1999, Metallica played for 30,000. spectators at the Gwardia stadium as part of the tour promoting the album “Garage INC”. In 2010, Metallica performed at the Sonisphere Festival at the airport in Bemowo together with the iconic bands Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. The band returned to Bemowo airport two years later, and in 2014 metal classics played a concert at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Five years later, Metallica returns to the Stadium.

So far, Metallica has played over 150 concerts on four continents. In addition to the material from the album “Hardwired … to Self-Destruct” they also perform their hits from years ago.

If you don’t have a ticket for the group’s upcoming concert yet, nothing is lost. The tickets went away very quickly. However, an additional pool of tickets was added at the last minute.

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Pol’and’Rock Festival 2019

Pol’and’Rock Festival is one of the biggest polish music events and the biggest non-commercial event in Europe. It has recently changed its name from the Woodstock Festival.

It is a one of a kind Rock celebration which every year attracts tens of thousands of people of all ages and nationalities. This year the first day is set on 1 August (Thursday) and will last until the 3 days. The first edition of Woodstock took place in 1995 and since then it has been an amazing journey full of great music, unforgettable atmosphere and hippie vibe.

It takes place in Kostrzyn upon Odra and the area of the festival is huge. It is divided into 5 stages: Main, Small, Lech, Viva Kultura and the ASP Night Stage. On each of the stages you can find some amazing artists. This edition the stars of the Main Stage will be Ziggy Marley (the oldest son of Bob Marley), Lordi, ACID Drinkers and many others! The ASP Night Stage is something pretty special – this place is not about music, but about talking. During the meetings participants can take part in a discussion with famous people concerning almost every topic. This year The ASP Stage welcomes among many for example: Olga Tokarczuk, Wojciech Smarzowski or prof. Ewa Łętowska. The organizer of the festival is the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

The whole event is special for several reasons, let’s name two of them: it is free and everyone can take part in it as a performer! You are able to send your CD and it doesn’t matter or you’re in a popular band or just debutantes, everyone is welcome.

Pol’and’Rock is an incredible event where people can connect, enjoy and feel free, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is a real Festival of Freedom.

Picture source: https://polandrockfestival.pl/multimedia/galeria/1550

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Krzemionki Opatowskie on the UNESCO World Heritage List

Krzemionki Opatowskie has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a region of prehistoric flint mine, there are also two mines “Borownia” and “Korycizna” and a village called “Gawroniec”.

Krzemionki was considered a special place because it is said to be the oldest evidence of industrial human activity. Mines were discovered only in 1922, and since 1994 they are a historical monument. A year later they were also recognized as a nature reserve.

This year, there were 36 nominations from around the world, but only one from Poland. A well-deserved place on the UNESCO list is a great advertisement for Krzemionki Opatowskie, which will certainly attract tourists not only from Poland, but from whole world. The facility is located in the Świętokrzyskie Province, near Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.

In Krzemionki there are about 4,000 shafts (up to 9 meters) connected by a network of sidewalks. In the limestone mines, flint was mined, which was used to manufacture tools.

Despite the very long history of this place, both underground architecture, such as pavements and the landscape on the surface, have survived remarkably well – you can still see the glaciers pouring into the mines, surrounded by the folds of limestone debris.

picture source: facebook/krzemionki

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A country ideal for expats

Poland soared 10 places up, compared to last year’s position, ranking 13th among ideal locations for expats. Who are expats? They are specialists who went abroad to work.

Good marks for Poland in this year’s edition are due to the easy balance between work and private life, so-called work / life balance, as well as the possibility of pursuing career development or improving professional and private skills. Poland is becoming an increasingly popular direction on the business map of the world. More and more people see the potential of both the inhabitants of the country and its economy. The location of Poland is very strategic and the costs of living are relatively low. Apart from that, of course, beautiful landscapes, vibrant cities and rich history are only some aspects that attract expats to our country.

The HSBC Expat ranking was implemented by YouGov at the request of HSBC and concerned various aspects of life and work outside of the country of origin, such as conditions for raising children, salary or ease of acclimatization.

The top three rankings include Switzerland, Singapore and Canada. The ranking includes a total of 33 countries. People who have moved to Switzerland declare that their quality of life has improved significantly, the state is also considered clean and attractive. Singapore, on the other hand, is considered the best place to move with children, and Canada is distinguished by friendliness towards foreign guests.

Picture source: HSBC Expat Explorer Survey

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18 nominations from Poland in the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019!

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a Prize organized by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, “to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe’.

The Prize was created in 1987 as a partnership between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. Competition is open to all the works completed in Europe within the two-year period before the granting of the Prize.

383 projects from 38 countries – this is a list of the nominees for the Mies van der Rohe European award 2019. This year, 18 objects from Poland were fighting for the main prize.  All the projects nominated this year are pretty amazing, but we have chosen our favorites. They are not only beautiful in the way they are designed and built, but they are very functional.

You can for example send your kids to this super modern school which looks like straight from Hollywood films. Akademeia High School in Warsaw, designed by Medusa Group is a one of a kind studying area in Poland. It focuses on educating young people in order to help them achieve the highest qualifications and get into the best universities in the world.

“By the way House” is the second of our top favorites. Designed by KWK Promes studio, located in central Poland on a beautiful, huge field above the river bank. The owner’s wish was not only to make the best use of the existing landscape conditions, but also to move the interior from the current apartment. The owners wanted mainly to have a private and intimate leaving area, so the house is in the center of the plot, and the living area is on the first floor.

Building of the District Court in Siedlce is a mix of the seriousness and calmness of ancient buildings. Thanks to the restrained form the building looks enormously majestic. In the interior, architects contrasted architectural concrete with transparent glass details. The harmony effect was obtained by combining empty spaces filled with light and full, simple forms.

Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk is built on a lot at Władysław Bartoszewski Square near the center of the city. It is located in a symbolic architectural space, 200 metres from the historic Polish Post Office in Gdańsk and 3 kilometers across the water from Westerplatte Peninsula, both of which were attacked in September 1939.

NAWA – the sculpture of Oskar Zięta on the Daliowa Island in Wrocław is a part of the events related with the celebration of the European Capital of Culture. It refers to the main slogan – “metamorphosis of culture”. Its form is an artistic interpretation of the constant transformation of the city. NAWA is an ultra-light, but solid construction consisting of 35 steel arches forming a gate through which you can walk.

The lucky nominees were 18 objects, but we have chosen (subjectively) 5 of them. Polish architects and architecture companies grow rapidly showing that our country represent the world level.

 

picture source: EUMiesAward website

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XVII Rally of Historic Vehicles in the SIMP Castle in Rydzyna

Just before May started in a beautiful castle located about 80 km from Poznań and Wrocław (village called Rydzyna) took place an unusual event – a rally of antique vehicles. The location is very important, because this castle is the home for The Association of Polish Engineers and Mechanics.

The rally is an annual event carried out jointly with the Leszno Automobile Club. Both collectors associated in various automobile clubs and private collectors take part in it. As part of the Rally program, participants have to overcome a route of around 60km, on which there are checkpoints. There they have to solve a task, answer questions or perform complicated maneuvers with a vehicle. Everything is scored separately. Vehicles are classified in the following criteria:

  • 1,2,3 place in the Car classification
  • 1,2,3 place in the Motorcycle Classification
  • 1,2,3 place in the Classification Military vehicle
  • The best-kept car
  • The best-kept motorcycle

The second day is all about the fans. At the Market Square in Leszno audience choose the most beautiful vehicle and there is an official award ceremony.  This year the favorites were: motorcycles: D-RAD R04 from 1927 and D-RAD R06 from 1929, and cars: MB TA from 1936, Chevrolet Impala from 1958 and Plymooth Valiant from 1960.

The Caste SIMP in Rydzyna is well-known for various of interesting events like elegant balls that will take you back in time. It has been built at the end of XVII century by Italian artist who lived in Poland. Together with the park and all the areas, it was the most magnificent magnate residence in Wielkopolska. The castle collections consist of, among others, sets of furniture, antique engravings, souvenirs of the Sułkowski family and natural collections (including a collection of tropical butterflies, hunting trophies). It is daily open for visitors and it also exists as a hotel containing 47 luxurious rooms. Feel free to contact our office, if you are interested in experiencing a true royal holiday with a lot of activities.

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Polish pilot landed on the Sopot pier!

Redbull is very well-known for making the impossible possible and also this time they managed to shock us! How? One of the best racing pilots in the world, Łukasz Czepiela, landed on a pier in Sopot.

Just imagine having an ordinary Saturday walk and suddenly seeing a plane land just next to you on an extremely narrow, short and wooden area. Sounds insane? Well, it really did happen! But, don’t worry it wasn’t any accident or breakdown. It was supposed to be an inauguration of the season at Sopot pier. Thanks to the amazing skills of the pilot, the whole situation was very secure and there was no danger that something bad could happen to the famous spot in Sopot.

Łukasz Czepiela is definitely a pro when it comes to air acrobatics. He has the title of world best pilot in Challenger class from the Red Bull Air Race. Even for him such a landing wasn’t easy, he was preparing himself for many months.

The plane used for this show was also very special. Carbon Club EX2 is a machine categorized as STOL, “which stands for short take off and landing”. To make the landing possible there was a minimal amount of fuel in the tanks.

Czepiela shows his amazing skills for example during the Red Bull Air Race where he has to face much more difficult quests, like chasing between narrow walls. His famous flight under the bridges for the National Flag Day has been admired by whole Warsaw.

Sopot is one of the most visited and charming Polish cities throughout whole year. The clean air, especially on the pier, where the concentration of iodine is twice as high as on land, what makes it the best place for a get away from the polluted cities.

Picture source: https://www.redbull.com/pl-pl/czepiela-wyladowal-samolotem-na-molo-w-sopocie

 

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Funniest Easter traditions

Easter is a very special period of the year in Poland. It combines tradition, religion, food and various Slavic customs.

The list of Polish traditions and customs celebrated during spring holidays contains a number of interesting and surprising events. We suggest you which places to visit in April to experience a real Easter adventure.

The funeral of sour soup and herring

It sounds super weird, but it’s a real folk tradition from Kujawy, which used to be a way of summary after a period of Lent. The dishes allowed to be eaten through this time were mainly sour soup and herring, other products like meat, dairy or sugar was supposed to be excluded from the menu. While the Lent was coming to an end local people prepared a little “revenge” – they would bury the pots with the food deep in their gardens.

Painting eggs

            It takes its roots from old Slavic beliefs, where eggs had a very crucial meaning.It symbolized vital energy and the beginning of a new life. It was believed that it is a connection between the human world and the spirits and gods. Easter eggs are colored eggs, but we can distinguish them by the way of creation: Kraszanki – are colored by boiling eggs in colored water, in the past it was made only with natural ingredients like beet juice or oak bark; Nalepianki – mostly known in Cracow, are eggs decorated with colorful paper cutouts; Oklejanki – made in Mazovian Voivodeship, are covered with colored yarn, which creates very pretty patterns.

Hanging Judas
This tradition is connected with another one, known much better and very popular in Poland – drowning Marzanna. The puppets are made of straw, decorated with colorful ribbons and materials. Drowning or burning Marzanna has a symbolic meaning of saying goodbye to Winter and welcoming Spring. Hanging Judas refers to the story of betrayal of Chris by Judas. Initially, the puppet was hung on a church tower, and later on a tree or pole. It was knocked down, wandered around the village and finally burned and thrown into a pond or river. This performance was played in the 18thcentury, but lately, because of the pretty excessive aggression of the nature of the event, the church authorities prohibited it. However, today – locally, in a bit changed form – this custom is cultivated in Podkarpacie.

Rękawka
This Easter custom is known in Cracow, it is celebrated after Easter, on Tuesday. The name comes from the Krak mound, which, as the legend claims, was built with ground brought in hands. On the slope of this mound, eggs, apples, gingerbreads and a lot of other food products were rolled down straight to the hands of the poorer community. After the hill being destroyed, the custom was moved to the top of St. Benedict.

Poland is full of diversity as it comes to tradition. There are interesting and sometimes weird customs, that through all this year are still being cultivated.. Visit Poland on Easter to feel the amazing atmosphere of holidays combined with local culture.

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