annabuda

2007

2007-02-14T07:58:00.000+01:00

New Year I will welcome in South Africa!

I have 3 weeks to explore culture of this country with my two very special friends: Dominika and Johann.

Afterwards, back in Europe and again new work, new country, new people...
This time it is Berlin:)

I wish everyone, including myself, to find the right direction in the coming year!

Skiing...

2006-12-04T00:36:00.000+01:00

One of the main things I definitely miss from Vienna is skiing.
Belgium is a very flat country so there is no such a skiing craziness as in Austria...

Some recalls from our skiing weekends in 2006.

Going up.

Sometimes going down.

Getting excited after reaching the top of the mountain.

Some beautiful views...

We went with Roman to buy ski-goggles together. Somehow, even though we have different shapes of heads, we decided on the same kind of goggles:))

Having a bit of rest on the ground.

After skiing, the best you can wish for yourself is relaxing at thermal baths.

Skiing is so much fun...

Sailing

2006-10-01T23:25:00.000+02:00

It is hard to describe how much energy, freedom, power and freshness brings sailing...
Simply spending time on the open sea, can clear your mind and refill you with the new wind:)
It is astonishing how long you can stare at the sea, sinking in your thoughts...

Taking advantage of living in Belgium I went for two sailing weekends in september 2006. One went on in a very calm, quiet, sunny way. The other one was speedy, windy and very shaky;)

Here some of the photos/memories I like...

Sailing 15.09-17.09.2006
Nieuwpoort - Blankenberge (BE).

We organised two teams of friends: 12 people + one professional skipper for one boat.
More or less both boats were sailing together.

Our boat was smaller.

This is the other boat.

Tibor - our skipper (captain of the boat).

Kamila - polish friend.

Jan - cool czech guy:)

Askhat - DHL friend from the very no sailing country - Kazakhstan.

Me:)

It was a beautiful, sunny, lazy day.

Slow, sleepy atmosphere...

We were absolutely creative in finding different (mostly lying) positions on different parts of the boat:)

Here with Kamila and Askhat.

Spotting some boats on the horizon.

Kamila.

Checking our position.

Followin the other boat.

Very lazy but cheerful day...

Getting to the harbour - at this point everyone gets busy.

Sunset walk on the beach.

Party on the boat of course, at the end of the first day.

Welcoming the second day on the boat of course - breakfast together.

This day Nathalie joined our boat.

Tibor and Askhat.

Got a bit grey this time...

Jan, Nathalie, Kamila.

Time for a sailing lesson.

Me.

Last drink after the sailing together:)

Sunset in Nieuwpoort.

Yes, we enjoyed the experience.

Sailing 29.09-01.10.2006
Breskens (NL) - Oostende (BE)

Also this time we created two teams but boats were sailing separately...

Askhat at the helm.

Guys sitting at the top of the boat.

Our skipper - Raul.

Askhat.

Girls of the boat: me, Ilke and Kamila.

Alexander.

Mark - tough guy of this sailing;)

I was passionately taking pictures of every boat that was passing by.

Steering is never easy...me at the helm:)

Sometimes it was very steep on the boat...

...and fast, we were reaching up to 13 knots.
You can see a winch in the picture, everything turns around it:)

Sometimes it was quiet and sunny...

Almost end of the 10 hour sailing day.

Getting to the harbour...

Kamila.

Ilke.

Me.

Fishing boat.

Our boat moored between two other boats.

Walk by the sunset in Oostende.

Next day we got even more of shaky sea.

Teaching how to steer or at least in which direction to go.

Me:)

We got safely to the harbour. Our skipper had to check however the top of the genoa (sail).
That day we got some troubes with ropes. We had to cut two lines during sailing. Once, the boom went out of our control and hit the arm of our skipper... It was not as that smoothe as expected but still amazing experience:)

Flower carpet in Brussels

2006-09-15T00:04:00.000+02:00

Every two years, in the middle of August, the Belgians cover their beautiful square Grand Placa with a magnificent flower carpet.

The first one was created in 1971 by the landscape architect E. Stautemans.
You can check this link with the photos of flower carpets from previous years.

Every flower carpet has a unique theme. This year inspiration was alchemy of the Middle Ages.

Stars are moving:)

Lots of people are crowding around to see this...

The flowers, begonias, are packed together one by one so tightly (no soil is used at all) that they cant be blown away by wind.

Here with my aunt...

...and with Tibi.

Grand Place by night.

Chill out in Milan

2006-09-09T00:19:00.000+02:00

Together with Gosia, Kata and Betty we spent a loong weekend in Milan.
The main aim of the trip was just to have fun:) and for the first time I didnt prepare any extensive sightseeing program... Still we managed to see a bit of this trendy Italian city.

Central station welcome.

Now off to discover the city...

The main attraction of Milan is a beautiful cathedral... currently under reconstruction:/

Still you can climb it up and admire view from the top of it.

This is the main square.

Where you can play with pigeons (or rather they with you:)

Absolutely important to try italian ice cream...

and some local snacks.

Some windows display shopping on the famous boutiques street...

Nice walk through the city...

We found perfect place to chill out...:)

You can also get pregnant in Milan...;)

Castellio.

Triumph Arch.

Grass break.

Concrete break.

Beer break (at promotion of Lancia somehow)

Coffee break

Some walking, shopping...

From shopping to the cemetary...

Church.

Party in the night!

Next day we visited Internationa Furnitures Fairs, using of course every opportunity to lay down.

Dali style drawers...

Somehow it is reminding me this picture.

The last thing we did in Milan, was to miss our flight back to Vienna (me and Gosia).
We had to take night train...:/

My update IV

2006-09-06T00:42:00.000+02:00

Some small changes in my life again:

- changed the job
- taking part in a management program GrOW
- at yellow company again (DHL Express)
- moved out from beautiful Vienna
- live in the centre of Brussels now
- still will change department and country two times within the next year (rotation program)
- single again

Vienna will be greatly missed...

Some memories from my Viennese room.

Bird from Dominika which flies with me everywhere:)

The latest nice news is that we, Vienna friends, managed to organise vacation together, few days in Italy in October:)
It was a quite challenge to get in one place at the same time friends from Vienna, Natasha from Russia, Mariusz from Poland and me from Brussels:)

Naschmarkt in Vienna

2006-09-04T02:20:00.000+02:00

One of my favourite places in Vienna – Nachmarkt.
It is a colourful market located in the centre of the city.

You can find here fresh fruits...

vegetables...

exotic spices...

fish...

cheese...

bread mixes...

and all other colourful food from around the world...

The origins of the market go back to the 16th century. At that time "Asch" was the name for a milk bucket made of wood. In the 19th century people started to call the market "Naschmarkt", a wordplay because of the fresh food and sweets from virtually any place of the world that could be bought.

Current location of Naschmarkt is on Wienfluss, Vienna's second river, which was roofed over during the 19th century. Some dealers put up their stalls on top of this roof and that was that.

The range of vegetables and fruits is outstanding.

Particular specialities include goods from the Balkans, as well as Central European and Asian fare. The Naschmarkt itself is a multicultural place, you can hear any language from Chinese to Turkish and smell any type of food.

It is also a great place to have a beer and lunch at one of the many stalls, coffee shops and restaurants.

On Saturday morning, next to the food market, there is another attraction - Vienna's major flee market, that sells anything from junk to antiques.

Records, clothing of all kinds, jewellery and a whole assortment of odds are on sale.

My aunts having fun...

Naschmarkt and flee market are very nicely located...

by two beautiful art deco houses built by architect Otto Wagner...

close to Karlsplatz...

not too far from Secession - exhibition building of Viennese Secession Group.

Today, Naschmarkt is a unique mixture of Austrian traditions and oriental influences.
Even if you do not intend to make food shopping, the market is definitely a great place to visit, to walk through the streets, to enjoy the smell and colours, to take a glance at the gorgeous Art Nouveau buildings along the streets...

Naschmarkt

What Are The Keys To My Heart?

2006-09-01T02:34:00.000+02:00

Wow, hard to believe how much silly and true it is at the same time...:)

***The Keys to Your Heart***

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Puebla by night (Mexico)

2006-02-12T02:34:00.000+01:00

Puebla is situated just 2 hours to the east from Mexico city.
It is a very nice city, with lots of churches and colonial buildings.

Many of the colonial buildings are adorned with the azulejos (painted ceramic tiles) for which city is famous.

The city was founded by Spanish settlers in 1531 and named Ciudad de los Angeles.
Soon it became known as Puebla de los Angeles and grew to an important catholic center.

The Centro Historico is on the Unesco Heritage Site.

The image of the cathedral appears on the 500 peso bill.

The city is famous for its fine pottery.

This region is known for its special dish - Mole poblano.
It is a spicy sauce with chocolate, served with the meat (chicken, turkey).

We also tried this controversial mixture of tastes.

Palenque - ancient Mayan city.

2006-01-22T14:29:00.000+01:00

Palenque is an ancient Maya city, settled in the middle of the jungle, in the south of Mexico, in the state Chiapas.

It was first occupied around 100 BC, flourished around AD 700 and largely abandoned after AD 900.
The city was soon overgrown (jungle here is extremely dense) and remained unknown until 1746.

The ruins are made up of some 500 buildings spread over 15 sq km, but only few have been excavated.

In Mayan times all those grey buildings were painted in red, blue and yellow colours.

Everything here was built without metal tools, animals or the wheel.

Many plazas and buildings were constructed during the reign of the greatest Palenques king – Pakal.

Templo de las Inscripciones (Temple of the Inscriptions) is named after long Mayan inscriptions found on one of the interior walls. The inscriptions are saying about the history of Palenque and the temple.

The Temple of the Inscriptions is famed as Pakal's Tomb buried deep inside this monument. Pakals skeleton and jade mosaic death mask were moved to Mexico City. The mask was stolen in 1985...

This is El Palacio (Palace). Large complex with courtyards, tower, a maze of corridors and rooms.

The tower was constructed so that Mayan royalty and priests could observe the sun falling into the Templo de las Inscripciones during the winter solstice.

Hanging out in the ruins...

Relief sculptures in Patio de los Cautivos (Patio of the Captives) probably are representing conquered rulers (because of such characteristic like: jewelery in ears suggesting high positions, damaged genitals – as was done with conquered enemies).

Grupo de la Cruz (Group of the Cross) was built by the Pakal’s son – Kan B’alam. The “cross” carvings here symbolize the ceiba tree, which in Mayan belief held up the universe.

Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun).

Templo de la Cruz (Templo of the Cross).

Templo de la Cruz Foliada (Temple of the Foliated Cross).

As usual there are some people selling handicrafts.

North of El Palacio there are a ball court (juego de palota) and buildings of Grupo Norte (Northern Group).

One crazy guy – Count de Waldeck, lived for two years in the 19th century on the Templo del Conde (Temple of the Count).

Templo de la Calavera (Temple of the Skull) named for the relief sculpture of a rabbit or deer skull at the one of its pillars.

Palenque - immensely impressive place.

PS. Once I was on the meeting with the swiss researcher Erich van Däniken.
He was presenting one of his theories, saying that the ancient civilizations from Mexico were visited by a space-faring race.
His evidence was the picture from the Paklas tomb lid in Palenque.

Däniken claimed that the human figure portrayed in the relief is an ancient astronaut in the spacecraft.

New Year 2006 - welcome!

2006-01-22T13:34:00.000+01:00

It was the best start of the year I could ever imagine - with my vacations in Mexico, meeting Tania and Sandra and exploring this beautiful country!

Im looking up to the sky, enjoying life and searching for new directions.

Rafting weekend

2005-10-23T17:41:00.000+02:00

Together with my colleagues from work we packed ourselves in 3 cars and went out of Vienna to the nature, for the "rafting weekend", in a beautiful Steiermark (one of austrian regions).

We got to the place directly after work, on Friday evening.
This is our hotel, changed for party zone.

So lets get the party started.

Warming up...

Getting together phase:)

Early Saturday morning we are preparing to our rafting adventure!
Checking up the power of muscles.

Putting on suitable clothes.

Choosing the right helmet.

We are READY!!!

Now just checking our vehicle.

Getting into "tuned" mood:)

Perfect team:)

Last tips from our guide...

...and we are in!

Smile to the camera...

...and off we go!

During the whole day rafting we experienced fast and unpredictable stream of the river offering us lots of water attractions. We also took a break to climb up the waterfalls in the mountains and once to jump from the rocks into the river.
Unfortunately no more pictures from this time were taken.

We also witnessed a rescue action which reminded us about the danger and the need of staying careful all the time.

Afterwards we got into deserved hot bath, placed under the sky.

...with the beer in hands...

Our guide all the time with us, even in the hottest moments:)

Time for food.

Grilled sasuages in the menu.

After grill we moved to the fireplace and stayed till the late night.

...with the beer again...

...and lots of fun:)

Getting ready next morning.

Plan for today prepared by our guide.

The weather is beautiful. That is how it looks around.

We are heading off!

Next to the rafting and walking up the canyon (no pictures) we made a half day hiking up to the mountains.

Getting upper...

and further...

and upper...

It was such a cool, relaxing, exciting weekend!

Spissky Hrad - castle in Slovakia

2005-09-04T00:52:00.000+02:00

Spissky Hrad is one of the most precious cultural monuments in the eastern part of Slovakia. It is a beautiful, impressive castle, example of the architecture development from the 12-th to the 18-th century.
Placed in the middle of nowhere it is one of the largest castles in the Central Europe.

I went to visit it in spring 2005, together with beloved friend Eva.
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful idea:)

Although the castle is listed on the UNESCO world heritage list, it gives an impression of forgotten, lonely place, without mass of tourists, with high grass, no coca cola signs, silent and very charming.

Eva with a tractor.

Some flowers on the wall.

Inside the castle.

As Eva says: it is a place highly recommended!!!

Grass in Vienna

2005-06-27T22:27:00.000+02:00

I really like parks in Vienna...
You start enjoying parks especially if you have friends from cold St Petersburg who are extremely excited about seeing any flower in months like march, april or even may.

Here are few recalls from the time on the grass in different Vienna parks.

Schoenbrunn Park

Volksgarten Park

(me actually more interested in reading guidebook than in flowers:)

Park in front of Hofburg

Belvedere Park

Stadt Park

Another Park

Me and Natasha always prepared with cameras:)

Life Ball

2005-05-28T19:15:00.000+02:00

Life Ball is one of Europe’s largest AIDS charity events.
It took place on the 21st of May 2005, in and in front of the Vienna City Hall.

It is an unbelievable, free-spirited event with extreme dose of open-mindness and tolerance. It is a combination of different stage performances and controversial costume party, everything held in the name of unity for support to HIV/AIDS projects.

Together with some friends we were volunteers to help security during the concert.
That gave us a possibility to watch the show from the closer position:)

"Security team" heading for the concert.

Here with Agnieszka on our positions.

Mariusz, Kasia and Monika.

Some important guests arriving....

...and tons of other costumed participants of the event.

Some strange promotion of bakery Stroeck in the meantime.

Guests were always very eager to pose...

...and photographers to take photos of them.

Mariusz on his position.

We welcoming the guests:)

The audience.

Start with the opera performance of a hanging with Glorietta singer.

Ballet dances.

Liza Minelli singing.

Speech of Sir Elton John. His foundation cooperates with Life Ball.

Heidi Klum on the stage.

Fashion show by Donatella Versace.

Guests watching the show.

Gladiator with a lipstick:)

We having FUN.

After Party in Rathaus (City Hall)

For some more photos you can check gallery at:
www.conny.at
or
www.lifeball.org

Bremen/Hamburg (Germany) - few funny recalls

2005-05-10T18:11:00.000+02:00

Here some few funny moments pictured during our trip to Hamburg and Bremen in spring 2004.

Guys enjoying boat trip:)

Some street music.

John taking a rest;)

Some poses on Peterstrasse in Hamburg:)

Hangy and Ale - two in one.

John found green maluch (irish guy with polish car)

Hangy had to stop on highway to piss:)

My dogs - Asta and Asta

2005-04-19T18:31:00.000+02:00

We have three dogs at home. I will present you two of them now.

Here is Asta

and Asta.

Wondering how it happened that they both have the same name?
Here the story goes....

Me and my brother always wanted to have a dog. Parents didnt agree.
We were getting hamsters instead.

We were growing up and so our persistence did. Parents started thinking about letting us have a small dog, best sausage dog, male of course.

At that time our aunt from Lodz got from neighbours a small female, mongrel. She called it Asta and wanted to give us. Parents refused and my aunt had to keep it for herself.

Few months later I had 18th birthday and got from friends, as a total surprise, a small dog, female, mongrel. There was no other choice then to keep it. We called it Asta:)

Few years later my parents moved to our big house in Lodz, where our aunt lives.
So that is how we ended up with two female mongrels - Astas
:)

Chinatown in SF

2005-03-24T17:41:00.000+01:00

Chinatown San Francisco is considered to be the largest Chinese community outside of China.

Besides the well known Chinatown Gate there are a lot of pagoda-roofed buildings, as well as nicely decorated lamp posts and phone booths in Chinese style. Chinatown also has several temples. Three of them are located in the Waverly Place, which is also known as the 'street of painted balconies'. This street is certainly worth a visit.

Oriental style of this district, street lights, chinese letters, smell of chinese food, traditional chinese music, people (mostly Chinese:) and the general atmosphere of this area make you feel like in a totally different culture.

In one warm October night in 2003 we walked around in San Francisco Chinatown.

The place is pretty crowded and bit chaotic.

Pretty hard to figure out what is in the menu of the bar.

Oriented style architecture.

We liked it much so we came back there also next day.

Chinatown helps Chinese immigrants, especially those who dont speak english to adopt in a new country.
On the other hand it keeps them isolated from the real US life.
The same paradox Ive noticed in other parts of the world (for example in arabic district in London, where arabic people after leaving almost the whole their life in England cant speak english).

Cinema at home

2005-03-16T18:39:00.000+01:00

How to make a cinema at home:
(recalls from Bonn 2004)

1. Get the video projector from the company you work at for a weekend. Friend who knows how to make it work can be a help.

2. Invite some friends.

3. Place them in comfortable positions.

4. Get the movie everyone would enjoy (and some entertainment to warm up;).
Remember to take all the pictures off the wall first

and here we go....

Belvedere and Klimt

2005-03-16T18:36:00.000+01:00

Few steps from the Railwaystation Suedbahnhof in Vienna there is the Belvedere Palace with Kiss by Klimt in its art collection.

Belvedere was built as a summer residence by one (rich enough) prince.
It is a museum now with collection of paintings and medieval art exponents.

There are actually two buildings: lower and upper Belvedere - masterpieces of Baroque architecture, connected by a symmetrical garden.

My favourite and the best known is Kiss by austrian artist Gustav Klimt.

It is just beautiful to walk around, have a view of Vienna, enter the building to admire art works...

Balloon Races

2005-03-06T00:03:00.000+01:00

If you ever have a chance to watch balloon races - dont miss it!

I missed the one in Reno in 2003. I was too lazy too get up at 5am.
Photos took my friend Dorota.

My update II

2005-03-05T23:38:00.000+01:00

Im moving out from Poland for a while. Already this tuesday, 8th march, Im starting my new job in Vienna.
Btw. 8th march is a remarkable date - Day of Women. Here in Europe, in all former communist countries, it is specially celebrated:)

Im almost packed and feel good and relaxed.

I will try to keep this blog going with at least weekly updates.

why my brother is cool:)

2005-03-03T01:14:00.000+01:00

I have smaller brother - Tomek.
I say smaller but he is actually 23 and is much taller than me.

One of the things I like in him is that he can make alot of laughs at himself. Others can learn.
I pictured some examples.

So here we go...

In the cinema.

Making fun while cooking.

Culm goes in one of our heating systems. So few times a year my brother gets this job - and from IT student changes into a worker:)

No mercy even in winter.

Here with his friends in a special kind of "bar". As he says it is close to his university and offers the cheapest beer.
Obviously the place doesnt meet EU standards.

Here after passing his last exam in 2004

Eating pierogi at Christmas Eve 2003.

Here at university wardrobe

Go on brother, world belongs to you!

...and we will always love each other:)

Michael Schumacher Center

2005-02-27T11:43:00.000+01:00

Michael Schumacher is considered to be the best Formula 1 driver ever.
Pretty impressive - he won F1 championship already 6 times. In 2004 was 2nd - still not bad I guess.

He is german, was born in a town between Koeln and Bonn. Close to that place, exactly in Kerpen-Sindorf, there is a Michael Schumacher cart-center. It is here, where few year old Schumacher learnt cart driving.

It is a quite modern hall, with two tracks, equipped with electronic timing register so after the race you get report how good /bad you performed comparing to others.

There is also a shop of Michael Schumacher (everything in red)...

...and his museum. We skipped it though, to focus on racing.

Our team, ready to face carting race.

Getting ready.

Carts.

There are two tracks: out- and indoors.

After 10 minutes of this driving you have a feeling of being very tired and totally wasted. I have no idea how Schumacher stands one-hour races.

Still it was real fun, especially for someone who doesnt have driving licence:)))

Sometimes companies have their team building meetings in this center. Good chance to beat your boss;)

Witkacy - polish painter

2005-02-25T10:21:00.000+01:00

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy)
1885 - 1939

On 24th February we celebrated the 120 birthday anniversary of one of the most famous polish painter.

Just few facts from his biography:
- he was a playwright, prose writer, philosopher, art theorist, painter, artistic photographer;
- son of Stanisław Witkiewicz - famous writer, painter and art theoretician;
- his mother was a musician;
- as his father was against school system he didnt attend a school, just had private lessons at home;
- travelled much, notably in Europe, Russia, Australia;
- was an officer in the russian army;
- had many love affairs;
- experimented with drugs and recorded, in small notes on his painting, the drug that was influencing him at the time of painting;
- claimed that social development and the progress of civilization cause the downfall of religion, morality, art and philosophy;
- was the creator of so called theory of Pure Form - work of art is characterized by the fact that it engages the viewer through its composition, by the sheer construction of its separate elements, and only subsequently through its subject matter and the ideals which it advances;
- committed suicide with his wife after Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, his wife survived.

Few of his paintings.

self portrait