Strasbourg, Alsace, France

Our main goals during the trip were educational experiences, of course. That's why we headed for Strasbourg.
First of all, we met in front of the building Polish employee of European Court of Human Rights who explained us how that organisation works.

 the entrance to the European Court of Human Rights:

a piece of Berlin Wall in front of the European Court of Human Rights:

We have also seen the building of European Parliament. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to enter it:

 Anyway, the other "educational" place we visited were the headquarters of Council of Europe where we also met Polish employee who told us something more about that organisation. Council of Europe promotes co-operation between European countries and has 47 members nowadays.

 view outside:

view inside the room of debates

Moreover, we went for a walk around the Strasbourg and saw how beautiful that city is! Notre Dame Cathedral may be regarded as a landmark of that city. That monumental temple was the world's tallest building from 17th to 19th century.

Luckily, we had an opportunity to reach the observation deck on the Notre Dame Cathedral. This is how Strasbourg looks from the top: 

 

It's time for photos from my stroll around Strasbourg:

a lovely carousel at Gutenberg Square

 view on Inn River from the bridge:

In my opinion, timber framing makes Strasbourg such a lovely place! I really enjoyed my time over there:

Next time I will show you the past place we visited during that trip - Europa Park in Rust! :)
Greetings,
Karolina x

Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

In June 2010 I had a chance to go for a school trip abroad. Our main goal was Strasburg (because the Council of Europe is located over there) but we slept in a youth hostel placed in Baden-Baden. We went for some walks around that place so I had an opportunity to take some photos while city wasn't crowded because of the evening:

   a calm shopping arcade in the evening:

 

the railway station in the city centre:

the entrance to the pump house:

the entrance to the pump room:

the entrance to the spa resort: 

outside view of spa resort:  

 

Tomorrow and on Thursday, I will present the rest of places I visited during that trip.
Greetings,
Karolina :)

It's time for cupcakes!

A few weeks ago there was a very nice action organised in my region. If you had bought a cappuccino in an involved cafe, the whole amount would have been given to the charity working in Africa. That's why me and my friends decided to eat professional cupcakes for the first time in our lives.

My cupcake with very delicious, not too sweet cream:

Actually, it's me while dealing with a cupcake:

I totally recommend that place to everybody. It's cosy, familiar with delicious confectionery. If you want to visit, this is the address of the cafe:

Big Baba Cupcakes
Gliwicka 16
41-902 Bytom
Poland

Greetings,
Karolina

Santa Claus

Hello! :) I know it's sunny and warm outside but I must come back to winter in that post today - forgive me, please! Six months ago I decided to fulfil desire from the childhood. On 4th December, I wrote a letter to Santa Claus which I posted on 6th December. Exactly 5 moths later, a reply letter was posted from Finland to me! :D
This is how my letter looked like:

     

And this is how the reply looks like:

To be honest, I didn't expect to get the answer...but it was a very pleasant surprise to see that letter in my mail box. By the way, it's very funny because I wrote the letter in English and got an answer in Polish - magic! :D

Greetings,
Karolina

Filipino sweets

I'm alive, yes! One exam left till the start of my holidays - it's so great! I was busy with learning so I had to neglect the blog - sorry! Today I'll show you a  package I got at the end of April from my good friend from Philippines. First of all, I got mangorind - dried mango. It is so yummy because it is not too sweet, simply great! :)

This is how a packet looks like:

A quick glance inside - not much left as you can see :D

Wrapping of a mangorind: 

And finally - treats. They are small (about 3cm long), perfect for two bites:

With that pack, I also received a postcard of Cagayan de Oro which is very famous of great whitewater rafting conditions :)

Keep your fingers crossed on Tuesday - I'll have the last exam! Then, welcome holidays! :D
Greetings,
Karolina :)

Poznań

Hey everyone! :) Today I'm going to write about my trip to Poznań which took place during summer, 2010. I went there with my friend whose sister lives in Poznań. She hosted us and looked around the city with us.
We visited many enjoyable places and had pleasure from sightseeing! :)
First of all, we went to New Zoo (there is also an Old Zoo in Poznań) which has one of the most modern place for elephants in the whole Europe:

While wandering around Poznań, we came across the fountain (sadly, without water) with those statues around it. Oh, and a blue umbrella on the second picture isn't his! :D

Poznań is famous for a renaissance town hall with figures of fighting goats. Legend says that a cook who was preparing a banquet burnt food so he found those two goats. Animals escaped on the town hall tower there they started to butt each other. That was entertaining for people so they stayed on a town hall as a reminder - their mechanical equivalents butt each other every day at midday:

In the neighbourhood of University of Art, we saw such an interesting sculpture:

 The next place we visited was a Cytadela Park in which Magdalena Abakanowicz's sculptures are placed. It is a group of 112 half-human-shaped sculptures called Nierozpoznani (Unrecognized):

In Poznań there is a Motorization Museum under one of the roundabouts. This is a postcard with one of the exhibits:

Here is the my postcard from Poznań:

There is also a beautiful baroque palace located in Rogalin, 20 km from Poznań. I visited it also in 2010 but during the family trip:

Greetings,
Karolina :)

Philippine cookie

Hello! I must admit - I love eating, trying new cuisines, various tastes. That's why I'm open to sweets exchanges with my friends. I've already took part in an exchange with my friend from Hong Kong. Today I will show you brief results of my another exchange.
This time I shared my favourite Polish candies with my Philippine friend:

I got a Mazapan de pili. It's a Spanish name for a marzipan with pili nuts. It was very tasty - luckily, not too sweet :D

Sweet greetings,
Karolina! :)

Viet Nam

Hello everyone! :) I'm pretending to study for my exams so I don't add new posts too often. That's why I'm uploading a post about a postcard I got on Tuesday with a delay. A few weeks ago I got an offer of private exchange from a Postcrossing user. She's from Vietnam and is visiting Poland in December.
That is a postcard of a minority in a Vietnamese town - Sa Pa. There are 54 different minorities in Vietnam - they have their own culture, language and lifestyle. I don't know the name of the group in the picture so I will update the post when I discover it :)

As befits East Asian country, I got a stamp with a dragon because the Year of the Dragon lasts:

Greetings,
Karolina

Country that doesn't exist

Hey! Many years ago I got the following postcards from my mum (she found them in her things) but to be honest...I didn't appreciate them then. Lately, I realised that it's a precious treasure in my collection :D
The country I will show you postcards from is...Czechoslovakia! :) On 1st January 1993 it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The postcards show some typical places in both of those countries like Prague, Bratislava, Olomouc or Opava:

Greetings,
Karolina :)

Russian folklore

Hello! That post will be almost a life coverage of my today's postal discovery. Namely, I've received a postcard from Karelia, Russia today! It's an unusual postcard for me because I usually get those presenting a landscape or landmark but this one shows popular characters of Russian folklore:

I recognize Ded Moroz - the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus - and Snegurochka, Ded Moroz's granddaughter and helper. But there is also Brownie - a goblin helping in tasks around the house; Firebird - a magical bird and Ivan Tsarevich - Russian folklore hero. Moreover, there are also Sivka Burka - a horse - and Bogatyr - a warrior. Additionally, you can see Vasilisa the Wise - a princess and Emelya - third brother, a fool.

Greetings,
Karolina :)