Since I started travelling I have always been eager to visit my own country. This year I drove far east to visit Podlasie, one of the most beautiful Polish regions, for the first time. Here is a short summary of my journey. The idyllic Janów Podlaski Janów Podlaski is a small village in Podlasie and it is widely known for its Arabian horses breeding programme and horse auctions. The horse stud established in 1817 gathers horse experts from all over the world. I’m not a huge fan of horses thus for me this was only an idyllic village in Podlasie. A few kilometres south from the world wide renown horse stud we found a perfect location for a short and peaceful stay. It’s called Pensjonat Uroczysko Zaborek and it is located in a beautiful spot. Recently renovated old wooden buildings are available for guests along with vast green terrains of the forest, small ponds and meadows. We were lucky to stay overnight in an old beautifully renovated windmill. A small apartment at the top floor was spectacular. Inside of the living room, there was a huge windmill wheel converted into a table. Also, small windows and wooden floors made a huge impression of being close to the past of this regions. Full immersion in the green landscape was at our fingertips. It is hard to admit but even in such an idyllic place, you can experience a bad luck. There were other guests at the property and unluckily for us they were having a wedding party. They were loud and extremely disturbing until 3:00 a.m. There was no chance to sleep sound so I can’t say we fully appreciated the location. The next day the owner apologised us and gave us a small hand made gift to make a good impression. We were not fully satisfied with our stay but the service was friendly so I’d say we could stay there again in the future. The Holy Hill of Grabarka The next day we drove further north along the east border of Poland. We were aware that the Podlasie region is known for its religious and cultural diversity and we wanted to experience that, therefore, we drove to a holy hill for Orthodox pilgrims called Grabarka. It is a sanctuary with a small wooden Eastern Orthodox Church constructed on a top of a hill. There is also a wellspring with water that is believed to save people from dying out of extremely contagious disease cholera. The local story says that people who came to the place carrying wooden crosses on their back and drank water from this wellspring were saved. Since then the hill is full of crosses, big and small ones, and people still carry them as a penance or supplication to God. The wellspring is located at the foothills of the mountain and all pilgrims can draw water from it. The UNESCO site If you’re interested in wild nature you’ve probably heard about Białowieża: the ultimate wilderness of Europe. The national park (Białowieski Park Narodowy) established almost hundred years ago protects large parts of this wild forest. To all Polish and some foreigners, Białowieża is synonymous to European Bison, the biggest European mammal that still lives there. Thanks to a collaboration of state institutions and private companies not only the wilderness is well protected but also a breeding programme of the Bisons is well developed. The tourists can watch Bisons in a sort of semi natural habitat which is quite impressive. Religious diversity of Podlasie: The Eastern Orthodox and the Muslims Poland is known as a religious country with the majority of Christian Catholics. Out of historical reasons, the eastern part of the country is more diverse. Being highly influenced by our eastern neighbours who are almost entirely Orthodox, Podlasie kept its multi religious character. The houses of small villages and towns gather around Eastern Orthodox churches. Further, the big towns like Supraśl and Białystok have their own modern churches. We watched the small wooden churches from the outside as they were closed during the day. We also visited a big Eastern Orthodox Church in Supraśl which was deeply disappointing. We also visited a big Eastern Orthodox Church in Supraśl which was deeply disappointing. It was mainly due to a hostile attitude of the guide who let us wait long in a cold passage before we entered and then he said absolutely nothing about the buildings we visited and the orthodox religion itself. We even witnessed that he made fun of a tourist who asked some basic questions about the Orthodox faith. Moreover, the churches we watched were recently constructed so their architecture and their interior was not very impressive. There is even one wooden mosque in a village of Kruszyniany that serves to the local community of Tatars. The Folk Music Going deeper into the cultural diversity we eventually arrived in Supraśl and listened to a concert of folk music from the area. The artists Karolina Cicha and Bart Pałyga played a wonderful concert presented to the audience an exotic music of the Tatars. We listened to their band a few years earlier at the Poznan Ethnoport Festival and they developed their repertoire even further. We enjoyed it immensely and through the music our journey was complete. There is so much more to see and we’ve already decided to go back to Podlasie one day.  

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Music is an important element of the culture, no doubts about it. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy participating in various music festivals all over the world. The festival I’m introducing you to today is even more special: not only it promotes aesthetic values but most of all it protects the heritage of the region that I come from. This is also why this post is published under ‘Home City’ category rather than the general one. The Story This festival, called Musica Sacromontana, has been established only 10 years ago and there is an important motive behind. Let me start with a short description of the place, where the festival takes place. The Basilique is run by the fathers of The Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri and it is dated back the sixteenth century. The new sanctuary was approved by the bishop of Poznań then (Lubrański), and in the following centuries, the place played an important role in the life of the region, becoming a prominent center of the St. Mary worshiping and the musical archive. Making the long story short, this place of worship survived against the odds until the middle of the seventeenth century when the parish was given to the monks from the Congregation of St. Philip Neri, who has been known and still are, as the great supporters of music and liturgical songs. The turbulent history of this place is fascinating to me mainly because it shows what my country and my region went through in the last 300 years. This was a tireless effort of the local aristocracy and ordinary people in supporting the construction of the church and the monastery. It was against the wars, conflicts, plagues and a variety of other adversities. I love reading about it because I like to believe that my ancestors were brave, wise and determined in order to establish a place to develop their culture and faith. The disaster came with the Prussian Partition. The Prussians shut the place down. The Music Before the confiscate of the order in this place in 1876, the members of the congregation supported by the wealthy people of the region successfully collected an impressive archive of the musical works. The local library held a substantial collection of sacral music scripts of a great value. With the Prussian invasion, almost all of them got lost. Just as our favorite writer J.R.R. Tolkien says: “And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost“. It took almost 150 years until musicians and monks started recovering the scripts. It takes a huge effort and great organizational skills to search for the collection scattered in libraries throughout Europe. The Importance The association called Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Muzyki Swiętogórskiej im. Józefa Zeidlera established about ten years ago runs a large-scale research in Polish ecclesiastical archives and European libraries in order to recover the scripts and scores and bring them back to Gostyń. Some of the pieces found are of a great value. Along this difficult research, a wonderful idea of a festival came to life. Every year the audience of this festival is privileged to listen to one of the recently found scores. The works of this association are especially focused on one of the composers connected with the place: Józef Zeidler. His concerts, litanies, vespers, and other works are examples of classical music of the highest level. This is the reason why the association and the festival are of great importance to this area, the local culture and the history of the whole country. People who work in this association make an effort to save our heritage, or better say, the small pieces that were left. The festival Sacromontana has been enthusiastically received by the critics and throughout the years it was awarded by a variety of institutions in Poland and abroad (Srebrny Mikrofon Radia Merkury in 2007, Fryderyk in 2008 for The Best Album of Choral and Oratory Music, Les Orphées d’Or de l’Académie du Disque lyrique in 2015, and many others). The Concert Quite possibly you might think that the classical music is boring, and in worse case scenario, you might completely neglect it saying it is much too difficult to enjoy. I’m not going to argue it is otherwise. Indeed, to enjoy the classical music you need a certain background and experience. This is the reason why you should come to this festival. Musica Sacromontana gives you a smooth introduction to classical music. If you have never listened to classical music before this it a very good place to start. The association makes an effort in preparing a well-balanced repertoire and the musicians invited are excellent. The music played in this concert was easy to listen. It all started with three pieces by Górecki, followed by a lovely Divertimento by Mozart and concluded with Mass D-dur by Zeidler. Don’t get discouraged by the fancy names! This music is full of harmony. You will find there some strong emotions, but the classical music makes them easy to understand and experience. It is very suggestive and powerful which guarantees an evening full of excitement. Eventually, classical music is an important part of the European heritage and if you have never listened to any classical concert you miss quite a large part of the European culture. Here is my advice: if you wish to listen to the classical concert played by the celebrities in an outstanding environment, Musica Sacromontana festival is the best place to start. There is a free entrance to all concerts and the festival is organized annually in the last weekend of September and the first weekend of October. Save the date! My Experience I was lucky and I feel privileged: not only I lived in a big city with all cultural commodities but also my parents were smart enough to introduce these values to me in a very early age. For me, every concert of the classical music I listen to brings wonderful memories. I remember that an evening at the opera or a concert hall was a...

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Tbex conference is always packed with events. But there is always one of two days off to enjoy the place where the conference is held. This year we were very lucky to find ourselves in Athens – the capital of Greece. Although the weather was summer like only for 2 days we were still having fun laughing, drinking and dancing together. Once in a year it is great meeting all bloggers in the same place at the same time. Bike tour After one day trip with Jenny to Marathon I took part in cycling tour around Athens. No surprises here: I have always considered bikes the best transportation in big cities and also the best way to actually see the city. So when a company Travelncycle invited me and Susan decided to join them we didn’t have a second thought! Security first! We were a jolly group! Twins from Slow Spirit Blog, Franziska from Coconut Sports, Susan from VibrantIreland and Roni from TravelGuru were all invited to join Yorgo and Villy – locals from Athens who wanted to show us their city. Each of us got a helmet, highly visible vest and a bike. Now, I tried quite a few bicycles during my travels. If you remember my adventure on the Aran Islands you will surely know how hard and uncomfortable it was. Thus, I was shocked how easy this bike tour was! Even if we biked up and down the bikes provided by TravelnCycle were brilliant! Guys from this company also published few really nice pictures taken throughout the day: click here to watch them all. Around the city We started from main city site: Acropolis. The weather was perfect for a bike ride: no sun was shining and it was chilly enough to ride a bike without sweating. We biked through the main districts including famous Plaka and Psirri, less known Gazi with revitalized post industrial buildings, Greek Parliment to watch changing of the guard, Public Gardens and epic stadium called Panathenaic Stadium. The Stadium was pretty impressive especially because a finish line of every classic Marathon run in Athens each year is right there. Here are few pictures taken along our itinerary.         Fish Market One of the most fascinating attractions seen and experienced with all 5 senses was a fish market. What a place! Guys from TravlnCycle did great job taking us there so we could – at least for a short moment – see how locals live and do their daily shopping. This place was smelly and very very loud. Every seller shouted in Greek things we didn’t understand but surely they tried to catch the attention of the buyers, and they were very successful in that! I’m not a big fan of seafood but I loved this place! For its vibrant and unpretentious character. It gave us a grip on where and how Athenians buy their food. Chill Out The tour took us more than 4 hours so eventually, after seeing all beautiful byzantine churches, ruins of Hadrian Library, Temple of Zeus and million other sites, we headed towards an exceptional place called: Kerameio Cafe. All of us were tired and needed some regeneration before going back to a hotel so Yorgo and Villy took us to a brilliant place. The music, interior design and food was exceptional. I felt warm and peaceful in a minute. We sat around a table and started trying traditional greek food and drinks.  The tour around Athens by bike was fantastic. I had a great time not only visiting the famous sites but also interacting with our guides and other bloggers. I can tell you this: biking IS the best way to visit the city and with guys from TravelnCycle you can be sure to be well taken care of! Highly recommended! Tbex 2014 from Null & Full on Vimeo.  

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This is the last post from Marche. But before we’ll say ‘good buy’ to her let me show you the real pearl of renaissance architecture: Palazzo Ducale. I can tell you that Giorgia from Marche Holiday was right: Urbino is all about renaissance and Palazzo Ducale is the best example to show you this. Light Palazzo Ducale dominates the city skyline: it is visible from Fortezza and from few squares throughout the city. The most characteristic elements are two thin and very tall towers that were constructed in few stages. I had a bad luck and when I was visiting Urbino the towers were covered with scaffolding and couldn’t fully appreciated this precious architectural element. There were extensive conservation works ongoing in few rooms inside too. Despite of this, Palazzo Ducale impressed me so I can only imagine its splendor and plan another trip to Urbino after the works are done to fully enjoy it! “It’s all about light!” – I was told when the history of Urbino was explained to me. And you see it from the very first moment you enter this impressive building. A staircase you see below is the first one ever constructed this way. Starting from this building all other European lords and dukes followed this pattern. Duke of Urbino – Duca Federico Montefeltro – made his palace full of light and when others saw it they wanted the very same thing in their courts. This was the first staircase in Europe that has been constructed this way: perfect proportions, very large windows, beautiful ornaments and comfortable steps. Duca Federico Duca Federico was a powerful man! Indeed. He ruled Urbino from 1444 to 1482 and in these years he had completely changed this city. If you think about influential people in Italian history and art he is the one who comes to mind in top 3. Duca Federico was very special and Urbino is still his city. Although many years have passed and Urbino has turned into a vibrant university city it still keeps his original thoughts about greatness in it. Federico was passionate about two things: war and art. This is not a very popular combination, is it? Either someone loves to fight or to contemplate works of art. Federico loved both. And was amazingly good in it! Long story short: after he won few wars with neighbor dukes he became very rich. And instead of loosing his money on vanity he was determined to immortalized his love towards beautiful objects. He decided to construct a palace like no other. And he was very successful in it. Watching it today I can easily believe that this was a stunning piece of architecture in his own times. Artists Urbino, in times of Duca Federico, was full of artists. The best artists of renaissance worked here: Piero della Francesca, Giovanni Santi (father of famous Raphael), Luciano Laurana, Perugino, Signorelli, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Bramante and so many others. At some point every ambitious artist must have spent part of his artistic life in Urbino. What is really sad about it is that paintings and sculptures created by these artists are scarce in Urbino. Although Palazzo Ducale was turned into National Gallery of Marche there are few popular objects exhibited here. Not even famous portrait of Duca Federico and his wife that was taken to Galleria Uffizi. Palazzo Ducale I spent in this museum few hours and was able to visit only one floor. Although the museum does not have the most renown paintings of Italian renaissance it is still worthy to pay a visit. Rooms, corridors and stairs, everything immersed in Italian light make great impression. Following the itinerary you will experience for yourself the greatness of the duke. Starting from relatively modest and small rooms you proceed through the larger ones, up to his own apartment with amazing ‘study room’. A huge ball room with large windows and lovely celling is a cherry on the cake. What I appreciated the most was a very elegant details and ornaments. This particular interior design still keeps its beauty: modest but carefully crafted and with prefect proportions. I enjoyed my stay in this museum very much even though it has no new technologies employed. The building itself is stunning and walking in these rooms was a great experience. I really hope to get back to Marche as soon as possible. I would love to visit Urbino again, participate another truffle hunt, taste new wines or just sit under an olive tree. Thanks again my awesome hosts from Marche Holiday whose services I sincerely recommend and see you next time! So it’s not really a ‘good bye’, rather a ‘see you soon’! See previous posts here! For the record: I have recently started to work with City of Poznan – My Home City – so stay tuned for a series of posts from here! Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

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Before I went to Marche I knew the history of Urbino and that I knew I definitely wanted to visit it. Watching a portrait of the famous duke of Urbino – Duca Federico – and his wife in Galleria Uffizi, made me wondering how this city really looks like. Although Galleria Uffizi was a disappointment I was enthusiastic about my visit in Urbino. After all, not every day you visit the city pictured over five hundred years ago by a famous painter! I was aware of impressive cultural heritage of this city, especially works of Piero della Francesca, but what I saw in Urbino exceeded my expectations. So I went to Urbino twice. And I would do it again. With great pleasure! Sunset I saw Urbino for the first time in a golden hour of sunset. It made amazing impression on me: a perfect city located on Marche hills with stunning architecture and unmistakeable landmarks. When I entered the city it was still warm, just a perfect moment to enjoy italian summer when rocks and city walls give back the heat of the day. Even passing by city walls warm you up and I sincerely love this feeling. Funny thing: I lived only about 15 km from Urbino, in Casale degli Ulivi, but due to very hilly landscape I didn’t see the city before I literally entered it. In fact, the road to Urbino is not only full of ups and downs but also numerous turns and it all makes it a huge surprise: when you finally see the city you’re almost in! University From the very first moment you get the impression that Urbino is a university city. Downtown is filled with students having their aperitivo, meeting with friends or chilling out after a day spent inside the ancient walls. And this impression is both: true and pleasant. Visiting a city after sunset and finding it crowded, vibrant and loud makes me think this city is alive. Despite ancient architecture and a long history it is still attractive to young people. I even have a second thought of regret that I didn’t chose Urbino to study in Italy. It is charming! Hills Once I visited my friend in Switzerland and we went together to Lausanne. She told me that in Lausanne girls have most beautiful legs because they need to walk up and down everyday due to hills where Lausanne is located. After 10 years of visiting numerous cities around the world I can tell you it’s not only in Lausanne. On the contrary, cities constructed on hills are popular, especially in Europe. A good example is Urbino: so many hills, tiny little streets and breathtaking views it would be hard to find a similar one! Renaissance What Urbino is all about is Renaissance. City center was enlisted a UNESCO World Heritage Site and for good reason: it is a perfect example of a renaissance architecture and until today it kept its original structure and character. Precious! Walking around allows you to imagine how life in Renaissance was. I love the way it is kept and its public spaces are used today. And – as majority of places visited by me – there is no hordes of tourists. Only crowd is made by students and locals which I especially like. Evening I had icecream in early evening and ate it while hanging around the city. The best way to meet locals if you don’t have friends in a city is to enter a bar and have aperitivo. It worked well elsewhere so I thought I’ll try to listen to some local stories. I entered a bar that was as typical as possible: no fancy interior design, only simple chairs and friendly staff. When I ordered prosecco he thought I am an Italian from the north but I clarified my circumstances quickly. There was a mixed bunch of man and woman in this bar, in their late 60s, very friendly folks. We started to talk about sardines from Sardegna and ended up with talking about how good italian life is. I ordered another glass of prosecco and spent that evening with them. At some point a warm pizza arrived and so we all stayed until late. Got back home late but totally relaxed and chilled out. Urbino was so beautiful that I’ve shared best pictures of Urbino few days ago. Watch it here! Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? Here is an alternative way on how to visit Italy and get really close to the Italian way of life. I created a project ‘I love Ferrara‘ so you could join me and experience how beautiful and tasty Ferrara is. If you wish to immerse in Italy book your holiday now!  

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Urbino is a wonder! True: Italy is full of wonders, all sorts of them. Architecture, local celebrations, history, art … Italy has it all. It is hard to stand out of the crowd but somehow Urbino is really fascinating and its character is very particular. For me three best things are: its size, Palazzo Ducale and vibrant social life after sunset. It is hilly which makes the city very attractive and it also makes panorama seen from city walls breathtaking. It is large enough to walk around the whole day but small enough not to use any sort of local transportation. And I know why Giorgia from Marche Holiday wanted me to see this city so badly! Here are few pictures from this city.   There is also a very particular spot in this city, useful for photographers. If you walk up to a place called Fortezza you will see a truly amazing view at the city. This hill is close to Palazzo Ducale, in fact it is located inside city walls which makes this view spectacular. Pictures from there show the city in its splendor. No wonder UNESCO enlisted in a World Heritage Site.   I went to Urbino only twice and it was not enough to know this city well. There is a house of Raffaello Sanzio (better known as Raphael) who was born in Urbino and spent his early years here, got very close to local aristocracy and returned to the city many times in his adult life. I should visit his nativity house next time I’m in Urbino. Further, there are few interesting churches to be visited and obviously a revisit in Palazzo Ducale is a must. I’ll share with you a story of my visit in Palazzo Ducale later this week.      

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Marche – one of the smallest Italian regions – is splendid! I neglected it somehow while I was living in Italy. And I deeply regret it!  Therefore, I was very happy to plan this trip and discover Marche. Slowly. With no rush. And with wonderful hosts from Marche Holiday: Giorgia and Laura. They were telling me all local stories and the things that the are most proud of. We were eating truffles, enjoying the sun and watching a fabulous landscape from every place we went. I can tell you this: Marche is beautiful and worth visiting by all means! Three highlights here as an introduction to the rest of my story: landscape, Urbino, and food&wine. Landscape Are you familiar with the famous Chianti hills? Well, Tuscany is right around the corner and some hilly areas of Marche are pretty similar but I think Marche is more interesting. It has a very mild and sweet coastline. Pesaro, for example, is a good place to appreciate the beach, the sun and awesome colors of the Adriatic Sea. Further west you will find the hills covered with olive groves, vineyards, fields and forests. Finally, the hills become mountains with spectacular canyons, rivers and passes. Marche has it all! And it is all gathered in a relatively small space which also make Marche friendly and easily reachable. Urbino It overwhelms me every time: an ancient history ready to be touched at every corner. Urbino – a UNESCO world heritage site – is a perfect example. I will tell you the story of Palazzo Ducale and show some fabulous photos from this city but for now I can tell you that Urbino is amazingly beautiful. It is captivating and seducing with its colors and history. Food and wine Naturally, Italy means good food and wine, which is especially true in Marche. Acqualagna – where I was staying at – is famous for the truffles. Many of the dishes I ate were prepared of truffles in a variety of ways. I also had an opportunity to hunt for truffles with the dog, which I find one of the best activity I have ever had while traveling! Moreover, truffle dishes were always accompanied by excellent wines: the ones from in.PU.t or the one tasted in cantina Terra Cruda. Truffles, cheese, wine and olive oil are the basic tastes of Marche. So, one after another I will show you what Marche is all about. I will take you with me for a truffle hunt and a guided tour in Palazzo Ducale of Urbino. I will show you some breathtaking scenery and will present you some wonderful locals. Here is Episode #2: Living Like A Local! And episode #3: A photo gallery Gentle Hills of Marche, and episode #4: Cooking Lesson. Disclosure: my travel to Marche was possible thanks to a kind invitation of a local company Marche Holiday. All activities and my stay in Acqualagna were organized by them for which I am grateful.  

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Wang Church is the main touristic attraction of a little mountain village Karpacz. It is situated in southern Poland just at the foot of an old mountain range Karkonosze. This whole place is way off the beaten track of foreign tourists and hikers and I bet that most of you have never heard about it. Continuing my story of a week spent on hiking there this spring let me tell you few things about this church. This church is extraordinary: not only very old but also originally Norwegian. Surprised? I think most people are. Especially if you think how few of these churches last until today in Norway! It was constructed in 12th century in a small norwegian village called Vang from where it took its name (Wang in Polish). The history of this little wooden church until 19th century was pretty straightforward: it stood where it was constructed and served the local community for worship purposes. But then, in 19th century, something went differently than the ordinary. It was too small for the community and it was decided to be relocated so it could be used somewhere else. To make a long story short the edifice was taken to pieces and shipped in boxes, first to Szczecin, then transported to Berlin and finally reconstructed in Karpacz (in 1849). Apart of being an important touristic attraction in the area it is used by the local Lutherans until today. There are many curious details of this outstanding piece of architecture, like as it was constructed without a single nail, which is so hard to believe! Most of all, however, it is striking how different it is when compared with all other buildings in the area. It is bizarre. Even though the traditional houses around are also wooden these norwegian architectural details (lions, winged dragons, runes) are striking. It is carefully crafted and very well conserved so this is quite a treat for fans of norwegian architecture. If you are interested in norwegian architecture check this post by Jeff. He goes in depth of these marvelous constructions. What I love the most about this church is its smell. It is very special for two reasons: its age and my memories. As the construction is out of norwegian pine and the elements lasted for about 8 centuries the smell is very particular and – obviously – hard to describe. Try to think about old wooden buildings, like a mill or a barn. All years passed, all violent seasons’ change, everything marked it so the current smell consists of impossible to identify ingredients. For me it was also very special because it reminded me my childhood. It is an amazingly powerful experience: to smell the same smell after 25 years. Literally! THE SAME! 25 years is nothing when compared to 8 centuries so it hasn’t changed a bit! If you are curious what is the smell of the Wang church you need to visit it for yourself! Photo gallery from Karkonosze is here.  

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It looks to me that 2014 is a year of guest posts. Courtesy of Michael and Marlys from travel blog Easy Hiker another one was published.  This is a very interesting blog focused on short walks around big cities and also in countryside, coastal grounds and parks. I enjoy reading all posts but my favorite one was telling a story of Charles Dickens and his walks around London. I find it really fascinating and also useful. Next time I’m in London I’ll definitely visit some of the sites described. The guest post on Christchurch is right here. Enjoy reading it and let me just share the news I’m working on an important post on Christchurch that will be published next week. Stay with me!  

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What you see when you come to the city center in Christchurch? Ruins. Lots of empty slots. Huge cranes and trucks. Ongoing construction. All what the city needs to recreate itself. Despite this, I enjoyed my stay in Christchurch for couple of reasons: lovely weather, interesting spots, freedom of movement by bike, staying for longer than one day at the same place, and meetings with people. One of the best meetings during these few days in Christchurch was the one with Marc from The Press. He is a journalist with strong focus on the earthquake related issues so he was absolutely perfect to walk around the city with and talk about the disaster.  The earthquake Nobody expected this earthquake. Just like nobody expects many other natural disaster. It is true that both islands of New Zealand are located in seismically active terrain but the earthquake was expected to hit other parts of the islands. Not Christchurch. It all went differently than expected and when the first shock hit Canterbury everyone was surprised. In the worst of possible ways. In early morning, September the 4th, 2010, at 4:35 a.m. it all began. I can easily remember this feeling as the earthquake I survived hit Italy at 4:10 a.m. when me and thousands other people were deep asleep. It is shocking when a moving house wakes you up, all shelves and wardrobes at home fall down and you are left with impression that within a second you will be quite death, crushed with a falling ceiling. Traumatic event that leaves you agitated for long weeks and what is really annoying it is magnified with every aftershock. In Christchurch aftershocks were numerous and powerful. One of them brought even more damage and terror than the first one: on Tuesday, 22 February 2011, at 12:51 the earth shook again. One of the damages was particularly dramatic: the CTV building at Madras Street collapsed killing 115 people in a second. I could go on this way and report here hundreds of aftershocks, numbers of wounded and death, but I’m not going to report here every detail of these events. You can easily find it elsewhere. I’d rather report the guided tour around this destroyed city and – what’s even more important- a process of the city reconstruction. The disaster It is useless to describe any natural disaster: if you have never experience anything like this you will never imagine how do you feel when it hits. It’s just inexplicable. It is even more surprising how easily you share the traumatic events if you experienced it. Just like with Marc and other people from Christchurch: we could easily understand each other just because of the very similar experience we went through. Very few people are able to imagine the fear and panic that floods you in a second. And makes you act like a hero or a coward and you can’t really predict which one is your fate. Let’s leave these difficult emotions behind and think about the panorama after the earthquake. The city was badly damaged. It is said that about 80% of the buildings in city center were ruined. After the first few weeks filled with saving what’s left people started to clean the center. Those who haven’t left the city started to think about the future of this place and started from the basics: they decided to bring back some life to the city center. What’s next? Despite the annoying aftershocks people from Christchurch continued their effort and after few months the so called Re:Start was established. Below you will find a timelapse clip of the final week of construction. Sixty one containers arrived on the 29th August 2011 at the port of Lyttelton and were subsequently placed in the city center recreating the shopping space called Cashel Mall. All construction process was nicely done and currently I can assure you this is a very beautiful part of the city. People use this area for shopping, meeting friends, eat out or simply walking around. The feeling is pretty awesome, especially if you look at the close sites of bare land. It is also a powerful message that this city sends: the residents will not leave it just because it was so badly hurt. To see physically the strength of the wounded community  is really impressive.  To remember This is just the beginning of a large scale reconstruction plan. The scale is a challenge itself: New Zealanders need to rebuild almost the whole city from scratch. But even when they finally do people who survived want to remember it. How the city looked like before the disaster and they also wish to remember those who lost their lives under the ruins. A modern museum called Quake City was established. Firstly to explain to the visitors what happened, then, to keep some iconic elements of the buildings collapsed, to educate about the geology of the earthquake and to remember all who died. I think this is really important for the collective identity to keep records of traumatic events and I found the Quake City very interesting. Let me share two pics from this museum I find really inspiring (apologies for lousy quality – taken with a cell phone).   There is controversy behind the scenes, just like elsewhere in the world when a natural disaster occurs and the government tries to deal with it. Some people were not happy about the way the issues related to the earthquake were managed while the others were quite content about it. When the earthquake hit Christchurch received a substantial help from other cities and from abroad. The emergency squads were sent from many places and people hurt were not left alone. Human solidarity is always impressive but the longterm activity and final results matter. One of my blogger fellow – Ari – went to Christchurch earlier in 2013. She has slightly less optimistic thoughts about it. Read here story here to get the full picture of this disaster. I didn’t go into enough...

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