139/365: Light up Lodz

139/365: Light up Lodz, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 19th

A small happening by a street art group. "Our city is full of dark places," they said. "Let's light one of them up." They are trying to draw attention to good locations in Lodz which are not being used to their full potential. The space where they asked people to bring their lamps is a pretty decent stretch where trees grow, and there could be benches and grass, except now all that's there is dirt, dog poop and drunks peeing on the walls. So instead of a little park, a place to breathe and rest, we have a dirty, disgusting area which everyone avoids.

With the lamps, just for one evening, it became a magical place.

92/365: Graveyard Votives for JP2

92/365: Graveyard Votives for JP2, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 2nd

Pope John Paul II died six years ago at 9:37 p.m. , and every year since the anniversary is celebrated solemnly across Poland. These are graveyard votives placed at the foot of a statue of JP2 by the Lodz Archcathedral. Hundreds of people gathered there tonight to light candles and pray.

This year is particularly special as in May, the late Pope will be canonised- he will become a Saint. Saints are extremely important for Catholics as they act as a medium between the faithful and God- now people will be able to go to Church and ask John Paul II to appeal to God on their behalf. It is also comforting for many to have 'one of our own' join the saintly ranks. John Paul II was loved in Poland, not only as a Pope but as our devoted kinsman, a mentor to many generations, an accomplished poet and philosopher, and our champion in the free world. Perhaps most notably for Poland, he made great efforts to make the West aware of the situation behind the Iron Curtain, and his work helped bring an end to communism and the Soviet command in our country.

64/365: Jug of stars

64/365: Jug of stars, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 5th

Another attempt at keeping the very very dark hallway lit at night without having to keep the main light on.

Previous efforts yielded varied results...

48/365: Dresden bei Nacht

48/365: Dresden bei Nacht, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 17th

Riding the tram back to the gastewohnung, I decided to catch some city lights.

42/365: Prisoner Dwarf, or a day in Wrocław

42/365: Prisoner Dwarf, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 11th

A while back I wrote about the Orange Alternative. The Wrocław Dwarves are a whimsical monument to that movement's struggle against Communism. They are scattered all over the town, and you have to keep your eyes well peeled if you want to find them all. More information on their official website: www.krasnale.pl/artykuly/4373/Where-did-Wroclaw---s-dwarv...

A lot to see in Wrocław, even on a single rainy day. I spent the night there before hopping on a train to Germany. So, what did I see?

The Tumski Bridge, for instance, built in 1889, which has apparently always been the place for lovers and those seeking love to go- old stories speak about chance meetings, special prayers (there are two churches close by) to find the one and only, and mistletoe hung from the beam. But in recent years a new tradition has grown. If you have found your true love, you must walk across the bridge, snap a padlock shut on the railing and throw the key into the river. This will guarantee you 'til death do us part'.

Wrocław also has a gas lamp district, on an island in the middle of the Odra river. The above-mentioned bridge is one of those leading onto it.

I was lucky enough to catch the lamplighter at his task.

And on that same island, my favourite part of the walk:

In the Blind and Deaf chapel at the Blessed Virgin Mary church, there is a mechanical nativity which is lit up from Christmas until Lent. Although we have a similar one in Warsaw (which I even got to turn on and off as a kid, since my parents knew the priest in charge), it's not nearly as insane as this one. The lights flash in time to the music, and there are countless figurines, toys and souvenirs all rigged up to the mechanism. They move, dance, twirl, sway, ride around and pop out of peep-holes.

This Nativity was built in 1967, and features toys and trinkets from all the years since. I found quite a few Disney characters hiding between the Christmas trees, next to wooden folk toys and soviet-era tchotchkes.

And of course, Evil Android Papa Smurf:

A big thank you to my former flatmates Marta and  Maciek for showing me around

360/365: Winter porch

360/365: Winter porch, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

December 26th

With blackbird. See? Zulka was all over the window staring at it, wishing she could pounce through the glass.

342/365: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

342/365: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

December 8th

In other seasons, this is a vegetable stall.

207/365: The Mothership

207/365: The Mothership, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

July 26th

I was too tired to scout for good photo ops after the Cracow trip, so here is a picture of the spaceship in my hallway.

188/365: Windows at night.

188/365: Windows at night., originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

July 7th

Did I mention I have so much work that I don't have time to take pictures of anything interesting? Yeah, well. The weekend will be better, I promise.

105/365:Candles in Lodz

105/365:Candles in Lodz, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 15th

A small tribute to our late President in the Schiller Passage. In Warsaw, people placed candles by the presidential palace, but in Lodz it's not so obvious.

I am not sure but it seems these kind of jar candles are not known in the West. I remember having to explain to friends from the UK that they were burning graveyard candles on their dinner table, and now I see a question in the comments that further shows they may be a mystery to the non-slavic countries. In essence they are candles made specifically for burning on graves, or, as in this case, in a public place as a symbol of rememberance. You would not, however, place such a candle in your window even if it symbolised the same tragic event. You don't take these home. They are for the dead.

We call them 'znicze'. The word dates back to pagan times, when some Slavic religions would keep an eternal fire burning on their altar. I'm afraid I don't know anything more on the subject.

As a point of interest, the panels you can see in the background are part of a very graphic and disturbing exhibit commemorating the Katyń Massacre of 1940. The President and the 95 other people who perished in the plane crash last Saturday were on their way to Russia to attend a service honouring the 70th anniversary of these deaths.

92/365: A cross of light for JP2

92/365: A cross of light for JP2, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 2nd

This cross of lamps was set up as part of the last station for the city's Stations of the Cross procession, on Piłsudski square where John Paul II spoke on his first visit home after becoming Pope. By a moving coincidence this year Good Friday falls on the anniversary of his death, and the Stations left later than usual as they were timed to arrive at the square close to 21:37, the hour of his death. We were there an hour earlier but we stopped to light a candle.

69/365: The lights on Piotrkowska

69/365: The lights on Piotrkowska, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 10th

There are lights on Piotrkowska all year round, except around Christmas they add stars and stuff like that. Piotrkowska is 'the only street in Lodz'. Or so they say in other cities, presumably because they're jealous. :P

Most buildings along the street look better than that one, though, at least from the outside. It's a bit like a false-front Western frontier town, where what's visible has been nicely painted but what's hidden is tumbledown and stained with pee.