|
|
Everyone possesses his own place, his small homeland. Citizen has his city. We also have. More than one. But we do not want to create tourist guide or give lectures here, that is beyond our capabilities. It will be more interesting and real to look briefly at the cities with our eyes. For everyone see differently and it often turns out, that we live in the same place, side by side, but like on different planets, lighting years apart.
Rzeszów
Rzeszów - Mojżeszów. It was very Jewish, dirty, provincial small town in Austro-Hungarian Empire's province Galizien. When after WWII it slowly developed, shaped in grey style of Gomolka period (leader of Communist Poland in late 50-ties and 60-ties), I first time opened eyes as a baby and curiously looked around. That was my centre of the world and
point of reference. My private Greenwich Mercator. How could I see it's ugliness and greyness, its provinciality?
When I was about 6 years old, I visited Krakow. With it's "sukiennice", "obwazanki" (local kind of baked roll), ZOO and first of all, trams. That was the Metropolis! I became more critical since than. Maybe that is why I remember so well that few changes, new investments. Who remembers construction of the dam on Wisłok river, of the "Rzeszow" hotel,
(which was demolished recently), of Slaski viaduct? Who remembers plastering of Bernadine church, installation of first traffic lights on the runabout? I remember! City was changing slowly but steadily. It was growing, getting older. Climax of our relationship happened in my college period. I got familiar with every corner, on bicycle or on foot. Than I left for my studies, to the other side of the country and... we were never so close with the city again.
Isn't is strange? We see and admire development of the human, when he is small. It is opposite with the cities. Older and bigger it is, more interesting it appears. My city is getting mature. Slowly becomes average European, mid-sized city. It is not, that I like all new, which comes. Specially, when new wipes out traces of old, city of my childhood. Every visit in Rzeszow brings some discoveries. I wonder: how did you grow since last meeting!
Each new stroll base on evaluating: what new appeared, what old disappeared? Is it still possible to love city, which changes so much? I don't know, but have nothing against the idea to come back one day, to live here.
If I find some more time (when would it be?), I would like on this site to refresh memories with some old citizens of Rzeszow.
Łańcut
Łańcut is my home town. Here I was born, grew up an was living for 28 years. As an open person, I never had problem with social life. Waking through the town I had all the time to say: "Hi" or "Good morning". I used to meet my friends in many places, but I didn't really know Łańcut. It never bothered me for example, how the town looked like before, in the past. My knowledge was selective. I knew only, what was required at school, or what I remembered from visits in the castle, while escorting relatives visiting us from other cities. I was only once in Synagogue, as a child with my parents. I was living "next to it", passing by several times a day, why should I go there specially? The same was with all interesting places of Łańcut. Like most young people, I was interested in other things. But I have nice memories from Łańcut.
As a child I loved to go for mulberries. Mulberry tree was on busy street, so parents did not allow me to go there. Regardless the ban, all children were going there, so I. We had do go there frequently, to heck if mulberries ripe, if they are already sweet. Then we had to wait until they fall from the three. The tree was really high and had plenty of fruits. No one could resist these mulberries.. And, that was forbidden fruit!
I remember, that I was on my first date in "ZNICZ" cinema. I knew also every corner of castle park. There I kissed my boyfriend for the first time.
I remember, on "1st of May" neighborhood, we used to sit under pear three in group of friends, until late evenings and older boys tried to scare us with ghost stories. Sometimes I was afraid to go home alone...
There was a period, when I was going to disco in MDK (Youths Culture Club) every Saturday. There were discos! To enter, one had to be at least from 8th class, I was there two times in 7th class. My older sister told our parents, that we go to her friend, but she was here alone. On way back she picked me up from disco. I was really glad.
Every Sunday I was going for ice cram to Pasierb's . There was the best ice cream in Łańcut...
Now I live in big city - in Warsaw. There is no district I didn't visit, I can say something about each of them, show historic and interesting places. There are spots I frequently visit with pleasure and never have enough. One could say, I grew up. The truth is different: Witek, my husband infected to me his passion to travel, willingness to learn the country and the world. Things, I regarded boring and not interesting before, now can catch my attention for long time. I have never enough of sightseeing, gaining new information. I broaden my horizons with pleasure. It's pity to admit, but I know Warsaw better, than Łańcut. To re-discover Łańcut is my dream. Because I don't live there any more, it will take time, but should be exciting. I would like to share my discoveries on the website. I invite you in some time.
I recommend website of Łańcut castle museum:
http://v2.zamek-lancut.pl/
Warsaw
Our path of life caused,
that for many years we live in Warsaw. But we don't feel like "Warsawians" and will never be. That's good, because again and again, in different ways we can re-discover this monster, this black hole. It is slowly consuming and overpowering historical land in Poland, where Warsaw is located, called Mazovia or Mazowsze, (as archeologist Zdzislaw Skrok says in his book "Mazowsze nieznane" or Unknown Mazovia, recommended). But why to discover this monster, what for? Well, that is our way to domesticate it, to stop it from terrifying us - to know it well and perhaps to like it. I think, that this is also the way for getting used to Londons, Dublins
and other Shanghais, where somebody has to live, but feels alien. If someone is a kind of sightseer or interested in history, there are so many ways to crisscross Warsaw. When one does it systematically, orderly way, according to some prevailing idea, he can call even small stroll as a part of the project. We accomplished or we are in course of several such projects. They were mainly based on particular books. I will list them briefly:
There are much more ideas for tramping within the city. There is for example interesting book about traces of WWII, sometimes very mysterious or surprising, which disappear fast. There are remains of narrow gauge suburban railways, and so on. For us there is always the same problem - lack of time to start new projects.
|
