Exploring Warsaw

Michal & I went 'Monument Exploring', in Warsaw, the last weekend of February.  The activity was free, and cold, and helped us to get better acquainted with this city.  We haven't been able to get out much because of the weather - so this time we just decided to bundle up and go see what we were missing out on.  Here are many pictures from our little exploring adventure and what monuments they are or represent.

UMSCHLAGPLATZ MONUMENT

This monument makes the site of a former railway siding which from where some 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto (and elsewhere) were loaded onto cattle trucks and dispatched to almost certain death in the extermination camps.  This monument, of blocks of black and white marble, bear the names of hundreds of Warsaw's Jews. 

MONUMENT TO THE HEROES OF THE GHETTO

- Okay no description about this one.  I was pretty upset.  Apparently they decided to build (another) Holocaust Museum atop of the monument.  So all you get is a nice pretty picture of the building that they are constructing - and me with my sad face because we didn't get to see this monument.

KRASINSKI PALACE

 - We stumbled upon this really pretty palace on our way to the next monument.  Here is a little description about it.

Krasinkski Palace (pronounced craw-sin-ski) is in the Baroque style and is regarded as one of the most beautiful 17th century buildings in Warsaw.  It was designed for the maybe of Warsaw, Jan Dobrogost Krasinski (hence the name).  The triangular pediment features ornamental reliefs depicting the heroic deeds of the Roman patrician Marcus Valerius, who was an ancestor of Jan Krasinski.  This palace had to be rebuilt after war damage.  Now the palace houses a collection of antique prints and manuscripts from the National Library.

 - Since the Krasinski Palace is a part of the National Library, we walked around to the front and noticed lots of colorful horses with wings.  I have tried to research if there is any particular meaning to this, and I can't find one.  I think that every library has some sort of interesting modern sculpture in front - and I guess that this is the National Library's rendition of their modernity.

MONUMENT TO THE 1944 WARSAW UPRISING

This monument commemorates the heroes of the historic Warsaw Uprising.  The sculptures represent soldiers - one group defending the barricades, the other going down into the sewers (which was the way the insurgents moved around Warsaw during the uprising - in fact, one such sewer can still be found near the monument).  

In front of this monument, during the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the uprising, the President of Germany, Richard Herzog, apologized to Poland for unleashing WWII by the Third Reich and the bloody suppression of the Warsaw Uprising.

- I have no idea what the next building is, but it had this creepy hand atop the mantel of the door.

SOCCER STADIUM

- It's really hard to make out the stadium in this picture, but it's just above Michal's right shoulder.  Michal loves soccer and can't wait until (it gets warmer and) we can go to a game here.

ZYGMUNT'S COLUMN

Zygmunt's Column is the oldest secular statue in Warsaw. It was erected in 1644 by Zygumnt III's son. The monument is about 72 feet high and consists of a Corinthian granite column  and topped with a bronze statue of the ruler - who is depicted with a cross in his left hand and a sword in his right.  This monument, unusual in European terms, glorifies the secular ruler in a manner which had until then been reserved for saints and other religious subjects.  Despite repeated damage and repairs, this statue retains its original appearance.  (However, the column has been replaced twice).

 JAN KILINSKI MONUMENT

The Jan Kilinski Monument honors one of the commanders of the Polish uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia in 1794.  This monument was endangered during WWII when the Germans took down the statue.  However, the monument was recovered due to the efforts of the Polish Underground.

- Street shots leading up to the Rynek (or the Old Town Square).

THE RYNEK

Until the end of the 18th century, this rectangular market square was the most important place in Warsaw.  The houses around the square were built by the most affluent members of the community. Most of them date from the 1600s, and it is these that give the square its period character.  In the center there was once a town hall, but it was demolished in 1817 and in its place now stand the statue of the Mermaid.  

THE WARSAW MERMAID

- There are several legends to this Mermaid and why it is the statue honoring the center of the Rynek.

Michal's Legend Story:

There were two mermaids: War & Szawa.  They each swam from different parts of the Wisla River and met up in (now) Warsaw.  They decided to stay and together decided to name the city "WARSZAWA".

Legend 1:

According to legend, the mermaid Szawa from the Wisla River was in love with a prince called War.  The legend explains the naming of the City of Warsaw.

Legend 2:

Once upon a time, lived two mermaids in the Baltic Sea. These half-fish, half-women were beautiful sisters who had spent their whole existence in the sea, before apparently getting bored of the life aquatic.  One day they both decided to come ashore. The first sister headed up to the Danish straits, and so she sits at the entrance to the port of Copenhagen to this very day. The other sister swam first to the port of Gdansk, from where she decided to swim the river Vistula to its end.  The mermaid decided to rest on a sandy bank on the foot of what is today Warsaw's Old Town and she loved it so much that she decided to stay. 

Soon though, fisherman from the neighboring village began to notice that someone was letting the fish out of their nets.  Annoyed, they decided to capture the culprit and punish them.  They didn't expect to find the mermaid, however, as soon as they heard her beautiful voice, they vowed never to harm her.  Soon, the mermaid would fill every evening with her gorgeous songs to the merriment of the villagers.

One day, a rich merchant was walking by the Vistula and spotted the mermaid.  He had the bright idea, as merchants do, to capture her and show her off at a fair, making himself a fat profit in the process.  He tricked her and threw her in a wooden shed, but her cries for help were so loud that soon a young fisherman's son heard her, and with the help of friends, set her free.  The mermaid, grateful for their aid, promised to defend them and their village, which would later grow into beloved Warsaw.

Since then the mermaid, armed with a sword and shield, has been protecting the city and its inhabitants.  Today it is depicted with the city's coat of arms.

TRADITIONAL POLISH MEAL

- After our explorations, and when it got dark, we decided to end our day with a traditional Polish Meal.  We knew a member who worked at this place so we decided to go and visit her.  I've officially decided that the only "traditional Polish food" that I like is Michal's Moms (and his grandma's and cousins, aunts, etc.)  But seriously, his Mom makes THE BEST Polish food ever.  Everything else I have had is really gross and I don't particularly like it.  But I get excited every time Michal's mom makes a traditional meal for us.  She doesn't think that she is a good cook - but she is - she is WAY better than this restaurant we went to!

Tłusty czwartek

Last night we had over several friends and all the missionaries for a "Tłusty Czwartek" party.  In Polish "Tłusty Czwartek" means "Fat Thursday" and is celebrated the last Thursday before lent. Traditionally, it's a day where friends and family are invited over and everyone indulges in sweets (and other foods) which are forbidden during Lent, in which you fast for 40 days and are not permitted to eat these types of foods again until Easter.  In Poland the typical "sweet" to mark this festival or celebration is called "pączki".  The Polish reason for making paczki was to use up all the butter, sugar, eggs, & fruit in the house (because they were forbidden to be consumed during Lent, due to Catholic fasting practices). This treat is quite similar to a doughnut in the United States, but the ones here are filled with all sorts of delicious jams & jellies & cheeses, and the bread-dough is much more fluffy and not as greasy as a typical doughnut... and... there is no doughnut hole.     

Katie, Michal, Nina, Kristina, Sister Ence, the Elders

 Kinga & Sister Mann (who somehow missed our group photo)

We ordered a lot of paczki's and I'm glad we did because our guests decided to have a competition to see who could eat the most while they were there.  I was sure that the Elders would jump all over this, but (drumroll please)... it turns out that our winners were: Nina & Kristina (who both ate 6 or 7 paczki each).  They liked experimenting to see which flavor was going to be in the next one and they were our official taste-testers for us, letting us know which ones were the best.

Overall we had a blast with everyone that came and we can't wait to have another fun get-together at our home. 

Valentines Day

Since Michal had to teach Institute on Valentines Day, we decided that we would celebrate the Friday before.  Michal planned out an evening for the two of us which included dinner and a movie... but it didn't go as smoothy as he wanted it to.

We got lost trying to find TGIFridays (which - by the way - is nothing like it is in America!  Here it is overpriced and doesn't taste the same... in other words, I would NOT recommend this place to anyone here).

After we finished our (not-so-good) meal, we were still hungry and we decided that it was a must for us to buy the largest popcorn possible at the movie theater to satisfy our tummies.  This was not a wise idea... (details to follow).

Michal makes a great jedi warrior.

The movie was great, we went and watched "The Vow".  In Polish the title is: "I ze cie nie opuszcze" which translated means, "I will never leave you."  Since it is a movie about a woman who looses her memory and her husband fights to win her love all over again since she has forgotten who her husband is.

At the end of the movie I asked Michal, "What would you do if I lost my memory?"  And his reply was quite a shocker: "I'd watch all the 'King of the Hill Episodes' with you to help you remember how cool this show is and how funny it is."  Here I was setting him up to give me a cheesy, romantic response - and instead I get a white trash one.  I told him that with a response like that get a 'do-over' date.

Regardless, when the movie got over it was around 12:30 and Michal & I discovered that public transportation doesn't really run that frequently at this time of the night.  We were the only ones one the Tram & the Metro on the way home.

Michal used his charm and talked a tram driver, who was taking the tram to the garage, into dropping us off at a nearby Metro station.  From there it was about a 40 minute metro ride home.  And we walked into our apartment around 1:45.

Well, remember all that popcorn that we ate?  It was so salty that when we got home all we could even think about was drinking lots and lots and lots of water... which kept us up even later and later.  We weren't tired, we were just so thirsty.  By the time we ended up falling asleep it was well into the early hours of the morning.  I haven't stayed up that late since I was in College, and trying to convince Michal to stay up to even ring in the new year is a trial for me.  (Next time I'll just feed him lots of Salty Popcorn and that should do the trick!)

Overall, it was a fun adventure and one that took us through a lot of unexpected turns.  We tried to make the most out of a date that did not go as planned. I had fun and I'm glad that I have a great memory of our very uncommon, unusual Valentines day date.

Since we moved to Poland

It's been cold.

Very cold.

I don't think that I've ever been this cold before.  But we have decided that staying in the house all day is no fun.  So we try to get out and go exploring.  Michal & I found an outdoor market, like a Bazaar.  Here you can buy things really cheap - so we shared our knowledge with the sister missionaries & with Kristina and Ky Staples and we went bargain hunting with them.  Our Mission was to find Kristina & Sister Ence a warm coat.

I don't know how Kristina was brave enough to try on coats outside when it was so cold, but we found her a lovely gray one and it looks lovely & extremely flattering on her.

While it has been cold, Michal & I have tried to get to know people in our church better and have invited several over for dinner.

The sister Missionaries in our Branch.  Sister Mann & Sister Ence.

It's really pleasant to get to know more about people from here and what their interests are.  I also appreciate that they always speak English in our home and try to make me feel included in the conversation.  If the conversation ever turns to Polish, at least one person stops it and reminds the others that we need to speak in English.  It's also really nice that people are so willing to help me with Polish.  They teach me so much every time they come over, but it is so hard to remember everything that they taught me.  I get so frustrated so easily with the language, and I get so discouraged so easily... but when my new friends are so patient and try to help me, it helps motivate me.


My favorite part is walking them down to the Metro station where we always make it a point to take a jumping picture in front of the train as it's coming down the track.   Here are some of our favorites:

Marta & Kinga.  They love jumping just as much as me.  I think you'll see them appear in more jumping pictures as the weather gets warmer.

Books Read - January 2012

Since moving to Poland, I have had a lot of free time.  Here's how I've been spending it!  

(Ordered by books I liked the most with (Delirium) to the books I disliked the most (Living Dead in Dallas).  Think of it as assigning out grades Delirium = A, The Lovely Bones = A-, ... , Dead Until Dark = D-, Living Dead in Dallas = F).

I'd love to hear about what you are reading also...

If you have any good book recommendations, leave me a comment!

Going Away Parties

Since we were moving to Poland, there were a lot of people that I wanted to say "good-bye" to, but not enough time to make it around to see all of them.

Party #1

The first 'going-away-party' was with my colleagues.

Zions Bank was kind enough to throw me a going away party. I didn't expect it at all. They were so kind and Chris even went out and bought my absolute favorite thing in the world: White Chocolate Magnum Ice Cream Bars (which, in case you were wondering, I have not been able to find at all in Poland, in any grocery store, probably since it is so cold here).

Chris Olson.

Kristina Rodriquez & Sean

Nikki Best, Aaron Munro, JP Hardy (who is so great because he always makes me laugh), & Chad Witcher

(Also notice how excited everyone is to try out these phenomenal ice-cream heaven-in-you-mouth-bars!)

Diane Dunne - one of my favorite co-workers. She has such a die-hard, kick-ass, down-to-business work ethic. Not only does she do an awesome job at what she does, but she takes the time to teach you how to become better. Her approach isn't demeaning or condescending, but very caring. She really goes out of her way to let you know how she's feeling and how much she appreciates your work. These qualities are hard to find in a work place, but she really knows how to be your friend, make you feel appreciated, and motivate you all at the same time.

It was so nice of them and luckily, Michal was there to take some departing pictures.

Party #2

The day before Michal left to go to Poland, and a few days before I left, I sent out a facebook invite to as many people as I knew living in Utah to see if they wanted to come bid us farewell. Here is who showed up:

Heather Collier. I love this girl. I will forever be indebted to her. She showed and taught me how to soak up life and have a passion for all things European (and Ice Cream and Hansen). She has the most contagious positive attitude. One thing I admire Heather for is that she knows what she likes and she's not afraid to stand-up for it. She's not easily swayed by others opinions. She looks for the good in everyone and if she can't find it, she doesn't waste her time trying to get others to accept her. She really is such an inspiration to me.

Brooke Blair. What more can I say about this girl other than she lives 5 turns away from me (ha). Brooke is such a genuine person. You never have to ask this girl twice for a favor. She would give you the shoes off your feet if you asked, even in ice-cold, negative degree, arctic - you get the point. Brooke exemplifies what it means to be charitable and I think that anyone who has met her can attest to this.

Yvonne & Randi McKinnon. I met Yvonne & Randi in a very random way. But I found out that Yvonne is from the same city that Michal grew up in: Wroclaw, Poland. Over the 3 months while Michal was away, she would invite me to her home often and share all of her Polish cultural knowledge with me. She introduced me to the music, the literature, the history, the good-food, and helped me with any language questions that I had. I was so happy that they came!

Natalie (Jackson) & James Pace. Michal & I first met Natalie - oh - like 8 years ago at BYU when at 2 in the morning she was walking home from the grocery store with too many groceries to carry. We offered to give her a ride home. Later Natalie put in her mission papers and got her call to (none-other) than POLAND! We sure do love Natalie - and we love you too James & Charlotte.

Amanda (Hull) & Jared Mortenson. Who are pregnant! Yeay! We love this couple. Michal & I were lucky enough to watch them first hook-up, date, and eventually get married. I love Amanda. If it weren't for her, I think that I would probably be locked-up in a straight-jacket talking to myself, after working at Nu Skin. If you haven't worked at a call center - I'll tell you what - they can drive you crazy. Amanda is super patient and full of love, and loves to share her knowledge with me. She is such an interesting person. Michal loves being able to tell people that she is a 'porn-doctor'. I just love that she teaches me how to eat healthy. And Jared is just as smart. I love how much he appreciates Amanda and how every time he looks at her, you can just see the love he has for her. It melts my heart.

Julie (and my mom). We met Julie.... a long time ago... I don't really remember when, but I'm sure that it was a long time ago. She has become a great family friend. She has the most tender, caring, soft-heart. When she speaks to you, its straight from her heart and everything she says is loving and genuine. She always comes to support my family at our random events. It's a very thoughtful thing of her. I really appreciate Julie for how she has loved me as if I were her daughter.

Kristina & Ivan Rodriguez. The first time I met Ivan, (and I'm sorry you have to find this out on my blog Ivan), he drove me CRAZY. I thought - who is this guy? He came over with the Elders quorum presidency on a Sunday and talked for like 90 minutes. I just wanted him to go home so I could take a nap. Now every time I talk to Ivan I don't want him to shut-up because he is so interesting. He has this plethora of knowledge and is so, so smart. He found the perfect match - Kristina. I think that she is just as smart (if not smarter) than Ivan. Every time I talk to Kristina I feel like I am a better person. Or I feel totally motivated to go out and start a new hobby or skill. Have you heard the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Kristina is "Jack of all trades, master of all but one". She is incredible, she is an amazing seamstress, and amazing cook, has some serious computer skills (programming & that language that I don't understand), just to name a few. I love being around her because I feel like I can take on the world after her motivational speeches. The best part about Kristina is that she is one of the most patient, non-judgmental people that I have truly ever met. Sometimes I just want to vent, but she always looks at things from a very unbiased perspective and never judges anyone. She has so many great christ-like qualities. If I could be half of her one-day, then I know for sure I'll make it through the pearly white gates!

My family. Yeah, I think that they were bored. Understandable seeing as they had a houseful of strangers they didn't know.

I felt so loved to see all my wonderful family and friends come bid me adieu. There were tears, hugs, laughs, and good memories shared. The invitation still stands - anyone who wants to come and visit us out here, we would LOVE to see you and take you around Warsaw (just not when it's freezing outside in the winter).

Party #2.1 & #2.2

I did have a few late-comers, who stopped by to say good-bye. (The pictures are horrible and were done on my ipad since Michal had already taken the camera with him).

Katrin Martin. She is the very best visiting teacher I've ever had. Sorry to all the other visiting-teachers that don't get a shout-out, but Katrin makes you guys look like amateurs. Every time she visited she brought the most outrageously delicious german desserts (she is from Germany in case you didn't catch the subtlety there). And she has this laugh that is so contagious. Every time she laughs, you laugh, and then she laughs at your laugh, and it doesn't stop - you laugh for so long that your cheeks hurt. She is also one of the cutest tiny pregnant people ever.

Melisa Mulvey. What would I do without you Melisa? You are such an inspiration to me. You came into my life at the very best timing ever and have been such a loyal, faithful, honest, true friend. You are amazing in every way possible. Thank you for your friendship and for always being there for me. Thanks for just listening and making life easier for me. Thank you for hating the same people that I did, and loving the same people I did - even if you didn't really feel that way about them (or if you didn't know them), it made me feel much, much better (and justified). Thank you for showing me that it's possible to have a really good girlfriend who isn't catty, back-biting, and who leaves your life the instant something better comes along. I think that you are an incredible individual and you have so much potential. You are such a hard-worker and such a devoted mom & christian. And thank you for making me laugh and tease you whenever you were a little naive (about other countries - in specific). I miss you and can't wait for you to come and visit!

Big THANK YOU to all our friends who support us and who we are so lucky to call friends. We really appreciate you and you have made us better people for knowing you!

Ben + Fatima = 01/05/2012

So... on January 5, 2012 - Ben & Fatima were married in the Salt Lake City Temple for Time & All Eternity. It was a beautiful ceremony. Actually, the whole day was just perfect.

Candid shots are my favorite. Instead of posting formal regular posing pictures, here are a few of my favorite (unformal) candids from the day.

As you can see, the whole day was really a lot of fun. That's the best way to describe this wedding.

Fun.

The reason that I posted all these pictures is to show you that everyone was laughing, having a good time, and celebrating Ben & Fatima tying-the-knot. That's the way a wedding should be - a celebration with those you love. I'm glad that everything went so smoothy and the day was just perfect. Congrats you two! Thanks for sharing your special day with us.