what's new:)

It's been a long time since I wrote anything here. Time to catch up, especially that the weather outside makes me smile so much that I need to share first traces of the spring in Denmark. Have a look and enjoy with me:

It's amazing what influence weather has on our mood. Since few days, sun is shining very often. Suprising? Oh yes, especially in Denmark. I was rather used to constant rain here. And right now, if it was not cold I wouldn't leave my garden, I guess.:)

Another reason to smile? International Women's Day! Yes that's today:) Even though here, it is not celebrated to the same extent as in Poland, since I woke up and turned on my computer I really feel delighted.  So many of my friends posted greetings and beautiful postcards. I know it is only virtual, but still very nice, still shows that people remember about this holiday. 

That inclines me to touch the subject of Facebook. I remember when my friend send me a link to the very critical artical about Facebook. It said, to what extent it changed the mode of our communication. According to the author, before we were forced to have more contact in real life. When we wanted to talk to somebody, we had to call or visit that person. Right now we write on the wall, send message, we limit ourself to the screen of the computer. I partially agree. 

I have noticed that sometimes I also spend too much time on Facebook. Few times I was even wondering if I shouldn't delete my account so I spend this time in more constructive way. But I know I won't do it. For me Facebook has far more advantages than disadvantages. I am sure that I would lose contact with many people. Obviously not with my close friends. However i am sure I wouldn't be so updated with what happens in their life. 

Thanks to Facebook I also I regained contact with many of my colleagues. We are not constantly in touch, but  it is realy nice to keep contact with them, even though it is just from time to time.

Another thing, I wouldn't dare to say, that Facebook made me limited to online communication. Really often I use it to set up meetings in real life and it cost nothing, in contrast to mibole phones.

What about privacy issues? People might know too much about us? True, tha's why I don't have public profile. I don't give everybody access to all information about me.

I understand that some people might not need Facebook. That's fine, everybody can choose. However I am sure, that right now I find it really useful and I am not going to resign from this online social community;)

Anyway, in days like today, when I received many wishes through Facebook, I appreciate this tool even more;) 

P.S. Special greetings for my amazing friend:* Ewelinko enjoy the day!

Blueberry nights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kac_uSP_pJY

It's been a long time, I planned to see this movie. I made a first attempt with my friend, but it turned out that it is not a  kind of movie you can watch while talking and laughing most of the time. Even though it isn't action movie, it really needs attention, not to miss any of the profound thoughts and observation... So now when I am sick, the opportunity to focus my attention came.

Watching Elizabeth working in bars, cassino, it reminded me times when I used to help my friend in a bar. It is so true that you meet so many people, listen to their stories. You participate in their lifes. It is not that they just come for a drink or to chat with friends. So often they come alone, spend hours in a bar. They need to talk. They usually need somebody who can listen. Do they feel lonely? Probably many of them yes. It is like a part of your job to give them opportunity to talk. Not always it i easy. Sometimes they get too drunk. Sometimes they become rude, agressive. Hovewer I really liked this job. It was actually one of the moments that made me realized that I need a job where I have contact with other people. Of course I wouldn't lke to spend my whole life working in a bar or restaurant. For some reason I do my studies. However it is still one of my dreams to open my own caffee one day  on the side of my regular job:)

"Recently I have been learning not to trust other people. All in vain." It is soooo true. I coudn't agree more. I am sure that most of people could say the same. So often we give too big credit of trust to others. Suddenly disappointment happens and what we think?  Of course "Never again the same mistake!" But in fact, we can't live without other people. We need each other, we need close relationships so we have to open ourselves and take the risk that in fact we might be hurt... Anyway, even though it sounds as paradox, after being hurt we become somehow stronger. We learn something and maybe we will suffer again, but probably it won't harmful to the same extent....

And just to conclude: "People are our mirrors. After each reflection we like ourselves even more."

Winter is back:)

So to my surprise winter came back to Denmark:) I feel like a child every time I see snow around me... And luckily it is different type of snow than in Rennes:) Here, at least it stays on the ground for some time. A bit like in Poland? :)

Few years ago I would think it is crazy to ride a bike in the middle of winter when everything is covered with "white duvet". But now I love it! And I love this type of cold days... Then I stay in the appartment, sit comfortably under the blanket, drink warm tea,  listen to chilling music and just enjoy this time.

Let's have a look through my window:

My balcoon and very "inviting" chair:) Just sit and enjoy!:)

And at least one element that brings back memories of spring in the middle of winter:

Flower on the window:) Now I really feel like at home:)

For the end of this post,  some music that perfectly fits for cold winter evenings:

Enjoy!:)

Starting next chapter...

Time flies like crazy. I have a feeling as if I have just arrived home before Christmas after two stressful days and nighs at the airport. I already got used to being a home and... time for new adventure. Denmark for the fourth time!

This country has something that keeps me coming back again and again:) As usually I took the bus to come here. 30 hours! Sounds crazy and imppossible to go through? Probably it is just a matter of getting used to. I dare to say that I like it... :) And it is not only because of practical reasons like taking bigger bags (by the way, journey after the journey I am trying to be more minimalistic, I learnt how to make proper selection, but still in the end I am surpirised howcome my bags are so heavy?!). It is also because when I have so many hours, I can slowly get used to changing views, cities, countries. It is not that rapid as with the plane when I take off and after 1,5 hours I am suddenly here. I prefer slowly when I am getting tired, falling asleep and this way preparing myself for something new.:)

And what's more, on the way I always either meet interesting people or discover nice places. This time, both of the options happened:) I met a vey nice girl travelling to Germany. I like this kind of meetng,  even though I know that I will never again see the person, but still it is interesting and always brings something fresh ;)

And about the place.: we stopped in the seriously amazing restaurant in Poland. Below I put some photos to proof "this amazing opinion":

How I felt about this place? Absolutely not willing to leave! So cosy, warm, charming and with the soul! Absolutely wonderful!

Close to my heart...

This time I started with photos:) Any ideas where they could have been taken? Nature in all of them...Can't be a city? Indeed it is! That is Supraśl, the small city in the north-east Poland. Of course there are many worth-seeing buildings always presented on postcards. However when I think how Supraśl looks like, it is the nature that immediately comes to my mind. I love that it is soooooo REAL:) It isn't organized, planned, it is just natural. Intensive colours during spring and summer, sooooo blue sky and sooooo blue grass...This is what I remember from long walks with my very good friend:)

And obviously my friend is the most important reason why this place is so close to my heart! It's well-known truth that places are not just about how they look like but mainly about the people who are there:) And she's been always in love with this city. It's like her magic world which I also fell in love with:) I always feel sentiment bringing back pictures of all the nature that can calm you during long walks...

I also feel sentiment when I think about her room... Drinking the most delicious tea in the world, eating cake and having long coversations about everything and never feeling like going home:) I wish I could show the pictures of her room... That's the unusual, charming and warm place as well! Just entering for the first time, you could see that the person who lives there must be very special, interesting and with really good taste! This place perfectly reflects her personality and has its soul... Great soul :)

The boy in the striped pyjamas

Definitely hard movie... I needed few attepts to finish, especially before the final scene...  Definitely it is really good, story told in a perfect way, actors performing at high level, very convincing. Watching I could really feel the whole situations. I could really believe the story... Probably that's the reason I needed few breaks.

Such movies can pefectly give a picture of the history from the human point of view. The friendship between little German and Jew. "We are not supposed to be friends. We are supposed to be enemies." Bruno cannot understand this. Why? What is the reason? He feels incredibly guilty, when he denied being litlle Jew's friend. He cries and tries to meet him again and play as they did before. He wants to apologize and still be friend. He is a good boy who wants to explore the world. Things that he observes, hears... they make him undermine the authority of his father. Should he be proud of him? Is he really a good man? So many questions in his head which will be never answered...

And the wife of the soldier who was promoted... How is it possible that for such a long time she didn't know what he really does? How is it possible that for such a long time she was proud of him? Happy wife? Life of lies? Probably these are the questions she ask herself when she finds out the truth... What does she feel to him then? In the movie she didn't put her feelings into words, but the way she behaves, acts toward him suggest that must be disgust, hatred. What does she do when little Bruno died? It wasn't showed in the movie... but it seems quite obvious...

Very sad story... However it's definitely worth seeing...

I wrote about many things and I forgot about the most important! How could I miss my HOMECITY for four months?!!!

Time for RENNES of course :) The city is very, nice. It is not big, but with a lot of charm, really cosy and friendly. I remember my first days when I was walking with map in hand, looking for some places, asking people and trying not to get lost. I smile when I think about this. Right now I could walk with closed eyes:). Just four months but so many memories connected with so many places...

My school- Ecole Superieure de Commerce 

Still my school, but inside- the main street :)

Opera

This is quite characteristic design in Rennes.

One of many street that I loved walking through...

And another street :)

Château de la Loire

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teaux_de_la_Loire

This trip has very high value for me:) I have really good memories not only because I have seen how amazing the castles in France are, but also because the way the whole trip looked like. I have never done something like this, completely opposite to the way I used to travel. Book hostels in advance, take a train? Not at all! :)


The plan was to hitchhike for five days :) And actually, to my surprise it worked really well. I can't hide that at the beginning I had a lot of doubts... So many times I heard bad stories, what may happen when you stop cars... Anyway, SOMEHOW my friend managed to convince me and right now I am really grateful to her. I am sure that was best way (even though a bit risky...) to experience French culture. 


We met soooooo many interesting personalities. We had sooooooo many opportunities to speek French (next benefit=> improving French:D). Besides, I was surprised how easy it was to stop cars. Sometimes just few seconds! LIKE IT :) Nearly every time, our drivers took us even further than they were going, just to help us. I was positively surprised how helpful and open people can be. And I must admit, we have many good and also funny stories to tell about the people that we met:) 


Besides, we never knew where exactly we would spend a night. Therefore on the one hand uncertainty was our main companion there. Pas de problem :) Pure fun and excitement! Thanks to this trip I realized how much fun you can have, not planning EVERYTHING, just knowing where you want to get and doing everything spontaneously. We looked for hostels when we already got to the planned city in the late afternoon. From tourists information points we took phone numbers and adresses to hostels and luckily earlier or later we found a place to sleep :) 


Below I put photos of the castles that we saw. There are two that made the biggest impression on me. The first one was in Villandry. I loved it mainly because of the garden. It was really amazing! You could see that there is a lot of effort and "heart" put to make it absolutely incredible :) I could spend there the whole day, just admiring its beauty :) The second one was in Chambord. It was the last place we went to and it was really big WOW:) The architecture is absolutely breathtaking. Anyway,  we heard the same from many people we met on the way. It was like the main castle that HAS TO BE SEEN :)

Angers:

Saumur:

                                 Langeais:

Chatonier:

Azay-Le-Rideau:






Villandry:

Chenonceau:






Chaumont:





Ambois:





Chambord:

Saturday shopping

Instead of sleeping long hours on Saturday morning, there is something more interesting to do in Rennes:) Let's have a walk to the city centre and see, taste and maybe buy some of premium quality French products!

A range ofthem is really big: sea food, meat, bread, cheese, wine, honey and many others. Unfortunately they are more expensive than in regular shops, but that's the price of better quality. It must be true if so many people go there every week!

Anyway, it is worth going there also to experience a little bit more of "French culture":)

Enjoy the photos!

There is no love sincerer than the love of food :)

Maybe this sounds like cliche... Yes yes millions of people say the same, but anyway I am going to write this: What immediately comes to my mind when I think about France? Obviously (!!!) croissants,  cheese and wine :)

Still when I see French croissants (now unfortunately just on pictures...) I feel like tasting them... Living in France, so many times I couldn't resist, especially that boulangeries are nearly everywhere. Indeed, they are very tempting... :)

For four months I was a big fan of French cheese. What I have noticed, each morning my kitchen was empty, or some of French students just came for a glass of milk, juice, fruit. I know it is so unFrench to eat big breakfast... In this aspect I couldn't adapt. Maybe a cultural difference? I've been always used to eating solid breakfast to have energy for the whole day. (That's a good explanation, right? :)) To be honest, the first question that I always ask myself when I wake up is: What am I going to eat for breakfast? This is the first pleasure I give myself each day :) 

But coming back to French cheese, I will never forget my boyfriend's face when he saw my breakfast... Taking bread, "smelly" cheese and vegetables, I could read the question from his face: "Are you going to eat this?" Yes, he was shocked, because as a French representative he was fine just with yoghurt in the morning:) Until the end of my stay, me and my "smelly cheese" we were one of our jokes :)

Last but not least... WINE obviously :) I will never forget what a big choice was there! And I really loved tasting it. Now I know why French people are so proud of their wine :)

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

This "smart sentence" perfectly reflects what I feel right now towards my stay in France. I spend there four months as an exchange student in Rennes. Seriously, I left this country with tears in my eyes. I can say without any doubt: That was amazing time! Even though at the beginning I was getting mad when the buses were cancelled because of strikes and dealing with huge beaurocracy (for example sending few times the same documents to the same institution... Indeed, this can be iritating), I really love this country :) These months passed definitely too fast and I wish I could go back there again... I am sure I will do it. There is still something left for me. I didn't have enough time to visit the south of the country. France is obviously too big for such a short period of time. Anyway, I didn't waste my days there. These are few places that I visited:

Saint-Malo
The castle above is amazing! In the afternoon, after the outflow, water disappears and it is possible to reach the castle, just walking there. For the first time in my life I have seen something like this.

La Rochelle
I loved this town. It is very small, but sooooo charming! Perfect place for a peacuful weekend there :)

Bordeaux
Big city with the soul:) I loved its architecture, even though so many similar buildings in the city make it easier to get lost there... Anyway we managed :)

Paris- of course!
This is a "must"in France:) However, to be honest, being there for the first time few years ago, I didn't really fall in love with this city. Maybe it was too big for me at that time? Anyway, this year, going there for the third time in my life, seriously I started having positive feeling to Paris :) I guess that's the influence of travelling to many places and now it comes easier to "find myself" in large cities.:) I LIKE IT :)

Lille
I spend there just few hours on a way from Brussels to Rennes, waiting fior my train, so I didn't have a lot of time to explore the city. However, what I noticed, Lille has a beatiful market square, architecture and in general it gives impression of very harmonious place.