Read the previous post. The industrial monuments are not beautiful. At least not to everyone. It is important, however, to visit at least one of them while you’re in Sardinia, due to historical and social reasons. The last 200 years of the history have been tightly connected with mines. And, as often happened elsewhere, the mining boom turned into a spectacular failure leaving behind hundreds and thousands of people in a tragic situation of unemployment. It all happened very quickly and until today this area has been marked by this scenario. We visited the biggest mine in the area called Montevecchio. Two guided visits focused on workshops and minerals excavations were an eye opening experience. First, the scale of this place impresses all visitors. The terrain of the mine is spread through miles and miles on the ground, and even further under the ground. The visit started with watching huge buildings which in the past hosted workshops. Although they seem quite empty today there are still a number of old machines collected so you could get a feeling of this place. A huge furnace, smaller gantry, milling and a variety of other tools and objects are in display. I found it touching that the tools are left in the exact spots as in the past and above our heads the black and white photographs showed the labourers working on them. Above all, the smell of this place is compelling. For me this was a smell of a garage owned by my grandfather. A place where a lot of unused objects where kept which meant an endless playground for me as a kid. This is a mix of old oil, a variety of metals, rust, and a child’s imagination. Workshops were a place buzzing with the energy of the people who worked here. The noise and the heat were mixed with a fellowship of the skilled labourers for whom this place was everything. The Daily Life of the Miners A modest daily income was only enough to survive and in the major part the workers’ length of live was really short. The incidents, injuries and deaths were the common events and to some extend the management of the mines were covering them up so not to pay any recompense to the families of the dead. The most what the mine could do when a father of the family died was to keep his job for his son. Men, women and children altogether were living in this dreadful place. I can’t even imagine the heat in the middle of the summer and their tiredness after a long walk from a nearby village and 12 hours shift. I’m trying not to think about all dead miners whose bodies were left underground and never returned to their families. We passed from the workshops to the very heart of the mine: a tunnel to the underground galleries. A huge engine is placed in a nice looking building just in front of the mining shaft. Both connected with a huge rope. Our guide told a story on how important the job of a controller of this engine was. At the beginning there was no communication between the engine room and the underground thus it was up to the experience of the operator to stop the elevator with miners at the right depth. As the work was continuing 24h a day there was a constant move up and down. The elevator was carrying people and minerals so this was crucial place. And a few times it happened to stop an elevator in a wrong place making the miners a wrong idea of the gallery. Some of them jumped right into the darkness to be never found. In the peak of its activity Montevecchio was employing up to 3600 miners. In the course of optimisation of minerals’ excavation the management built a number of houses so the people would come to work less tired than after crossing a considerable distance from the villages. They also constructed a small train that would bring the miners to the mine. And the most important invention was a sort of a small train locomotive equipped in a loader. It increased the tonnage of the rocks excavated from 6-8 wagons per two miners per day to 60. The improvement was unprecedential in the history of mining and Montevecchio, where this machine was constructed, sold it to the mines all over the world. The Ecology Visiting the industrial sites is somehow a devastating experience. Not only in terms of social changes that deeply transformed the Sardinian society but also in terms of a pollution of the environment. Until today, there are some small streams and rivers polluted with sulphur, acids and heavy metals. Although it’s been years since the last mine was closed the repercussions of this industry still bother the local villages and the whole island. Looking at the landscape crushed by the human activity left me deeply disturbed. Sure, it’s been ages ago and the current technology is well advanced in keeping the pollution to the minimum but there are hundreds of places around the world where the human activity will leave scars on the face of earth. Broken glass of the buildings, rusty conveyors, small trains left to be rotten and empty pools make the overall impression of the final destruction. Armageddon would probably look very similar.  If you are interested in industrial sites Sardinia is the perfect place for you. The Montevecchio museum is highly recommended: not only the tours are interesting and well planned but also the staff is very friendly and knowledgable. If I was to chose one out of two – Galleria Henri and Montevecchio – I would definitely go for Montevecchio! In ten days weeks, I’m going back to Italy. I’ll bring you more stories from Emilia – Romagna so stay tuned!  

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This is a very particular museum. It has been recently opened to public and it has already gained a ‘must see’ label. I have heard enough enthusiastic comments on it to plan a visit as soon as possible. Just last week I hosted few Italian friends and it seemed a perfect excuse to finally go there. Due to heavy rain and cold weather it was an awesome idea to spend our afternoon. What this is all about? Porta Posnania (pl. Brama Poznania) is an innovative museum focused on the beginning of settlement in the area currently occupied by city of Poznan. Using the most recent electronic gadgets it takes you for a journey into deep past of the place. Basic on the artifacts found and using most recent scientific research the exhibition has an ambitious aim of familiarizing the visitors with the ancient history of Poland. The location and a building itself – a sharp modern concrete cube – is impressive. Not only it occupies space that it further reveals in front of your eyes but also participate in revitalization of long neglected area: Śródka. The cube located at the eastern bank of Warta river is connected with the oldest part of the city: Ostrów Tumski (a island where cathedral is located). The museum located on the island hosts few exhibition rooms where currently a modest display of photos takes place (pl. Śluza Katedralna). One of the photos’ authors is Erik an owner of a charming little cafe in the city center. Through a glass and stain covered bridge you enter the building and it really makes a great impression. If you are fan of modern architecture you will appreciate it. What to expect? Right at the entrance a large hall with all facilities welcomes you. After a ticket purchase you get a small electronic pocket guide with headphones with a short explanation on how to use it. Here, your adventure begins. What I like the most about these little devices was that after entering exhibition rooms it automatically gives you an overview. What my Italian friends did not like was lack of the italian language version (still, german, french and spanish seems handy). The interior of the museum is kept in black colors. There are no windows along the whole itinerary apart of the glass corridor that splits the building to two halves. I think it all helps to keep the visitors’ attention on information given. So far, so good. There are four basic parts of the exhibition focused on particular events chronologically. What is missing, I think, is a consistent narrative along the way. There are tens of designated sites where by clicking on your device you get more information about a particular artifact, building, event, etc. It is however not shown how to proceed. Picking the spots randomly you might find yourself in a chaos. Likes and dislikes Most of all this museum is like no other. Heavy usage of modern technologies makes the ancient history alive. A variety of multimedia including videos showing reconstructed workshops, settlement and fortification is impressive. Also, an itinerary dedicated for the kids and a room with child friendly objects is really nice. One of the best features in my opinion are displays showing important parallel events from all over the world. It was something that was always missing at the history lessons. Impressive illumination of particular elements was also eye catching. Although the whole experience is intriguing there are some things I did not like. Scattered narrative is one of the things that lowers the educational value of this place. You can go through the exhibition and still do not have a clue on the Poznan and Polish history. Perhaps the particular spots that contain important information should be highlighted. A distinction among basic facts, important elements of narrative and short anecdotes might be a good idea. This museum is a prove that even the most ancient history can be exhibited in an attractive way. I am pretty sure that being so modern is a huge advantage. It meets the tourists’ expectations, I think. Also a modern building in this very special place will hopefully melt in the area providing valuable meetings with art and culture. I will be looking at its activity and events organized throughout a year. A nearby area of Śródka has already experienced side effects of the recent construction of a bridge for pedestrians and the museum opening. There are at least three new coffee shops and restaurants along the street stretching from the museum towards Malta artificial lake. Few years ago it would be useless to open a cafe here but now it seemed a great idea. My favorite one is called Cafe La Ruina and I took my Italian friends there. Apart of brilliant interior design and board games to play they offer amazingly good home made cakes. The best conclusion of our itinerary! Disclosure: this post was kindly supported by City of Poznan, however, all opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.  

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Writing about home city is challenging. It’s very difficult to find the right perspective. On the one hand, there are too many stories to tell, too many memories to share and just too many places to write about. On the other hand, local stories and excessive detailed description will not interest travelers nor tourists. So here is the thing: I will show you my city just as I do with my foreign friends who visit me here. Places I normally go, things I usually do, events I always participate. This is a very personal itinerary of Poznan. And as local as it gets. Food Starting with basics: I’ll show you my favorite places for having a coffee, a delicious dessert or sites where I simply like to chill out with my friends. So next post will take you on tour around the Poznan cafes. Some of them are charming and very busy with locals while others are quiet and peaceful. This is true for Poznan: everyone finds something for himself or herself. A huge variety of cafes awaits you. Not only cafes are busy places here: people all over the world spend time shopping fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers. You must be familiar with pictures of exotic food markets and I’m going to show you how people do their daily shopping on city markets. It’ll be very colorful and crowded, just like elsewhere! Art&History Poznan is an excellent example of a place where history and art are fascinating! No worries: no boring museum with old paintings. Far from it! I’ll take you for a long walk around one of Poznan districts that is called Jeżyce. I’m going to show you a fabulous art deco style of the houses that survived last war. Spectacular details, glass windows, door, balconies and stucco. Few sites here reminds me my trip to Barcelona and I hope you’ll share my delight with these beauties. Further, I’m taking you to one of the most modern places in the city where ancient history becomes alive. Sounds weird: modern technologies and the ancient history? Fair enough. You’ll se for yourself. Events Poznan is a city of festivals. No doubts about it! Throughout the year there is no weekend without a music or cultural event. Seriously! You can chose from street theaters’ festival, ethnic music festival, jazz festival, films and music festivals and so many others! I will focus on two events I participate: Dancing Poznan and 15th Poznan Marathon. I think these two events are very particular and you will find out why if you read these posts. If you wish know Poznan better, see whether this city is an interesting holiday destination or just check what to do here follow posts published under “Home City”. Trust locals – they know best!    

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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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If you follow this blog long enough you know that I like visiting small and off the beaten track museums. Although I appreciate the mainstream art I immensely enjoy modest exhibitions focused on a single city or a theme. A good example was one of my favorite museums of all times – The Little Museum of Dublin – of which even the name is cute. Visiting small museums all over the world I realized they have a particular set of properties that I like very much. The exhibition is small enough to visit it in a relatively short time. Its narration is usually cohesive and understandable. And lastly the staff is very friendly and because of the size of the museum it also gives you an opportunity to interact directly with them (=experts). My last trip to Munich was very enjoyable in terms of one day hike in the Alps but also two interesting visits in a museum: Neue Pinakothek and Deutscher Alpenverein Museum. Pinakothek: the name says everything. It is very traditional sort of a place with beautiful pictures on walls. Large, obviously. I liked it but the second museum by the Alpine Club was much more sophisticated. Museum Focused On Mountain Tourism Deutscher Alpenverein Museum has only 4 rooms. Seriously. And in these tiny little rooms it contains exhibition focused on brief history of hiking in the mountains. B-R-I-E-F. What is striking is that this sport is so young! More than 250 years ago nobody would climb mountains for fun! It was originally connected to scientific and academic world: various geologists would climb some mountain ranges to get know the properties of rocks or to record the geological history of the area. And they were doing this in their ordinary clothes which always makes me laugh! By 1900 all prominent European peaks were climbed and named and I think it shows the real explosion of this activity. For couple of decades, however, climbing remained a highly exclusive hobby and climbers were recruited mainly from upper classes. In early years all Alpine Clubs, including the British one established in London and the German one established in Munich, were for selected wealthy and highly educated people. In that time British aristocracy simply invaded Swiss Alps climbing all highest peaks and enforcing its exclusive character. Along the development of this expensive hobby critical changes occurred. On the one hand climbers seeking out increasingly demanding challenges caused design  and production of modern climbing tools. On the other, a substantial development of facilities was noticed. Soon, the European Alps became a crowded place. Urban comfort pushed into the wilderness, as the Visitor’s Guide puts it. Two important mainstream trends: skiing and physical fitness – contributed later to further expansion of the mountain tourism making it also open to young people of non aristocratic backgrounds. And finally this process ended up with increase concern over protection of wild mountain area, as we know it today. My visit in Alpine Museum Being small and being focused on mountains seemed to me a perfect combination to spent one afternoon in Munich with. The weather was nice so I took a long walk along the river to finally reach a small island where the museum is located. Just as I expected: a warm welcome from a nice lady just for a start. After I paid 3 EUR of admission fee I received a thorough explanation of the exhibition with a short guidebook in English. One of the weaknesses of this place is a total absence of the English signs but with this little booklet I could enjoy my stay in this museum and actually understand what I watched. It took me about 1 hour and a half to watch the exhibition, read the information in a booklet and talk to the staff. I always enjoy watching old pictures and equipment. It always strikes me how difficult the beginning of climbing was. But what I love most about this sort of museum is the thought you have on taking for granted some of the present habits. And suddenly you discover that the obvious things are not that obvious. And that the moment when you’re ready to hear the story told in a museum like this. I enjoyed listening to it very much! Haus des Alpinismus und Alpines Museum, Praterinsel 5, 80538 Munchen, Germany. Disclosure: all pictures were taken with my cell phone rather than the real camera. Apologies for the poor quality.  

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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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Crossing Ireland by bus gave all Tbex blogger an opportunity to see the landscape of the island. We saw endless green pastures with sheep and cows walking around. We saw stone walls and some small towns in county Mayo and Connemara. BUT until our last day we hadn’t have an opportunity to get a full picture: the cultural experience was missing. Our guides from Failte Ireland thought about it in advance and so the last morning was spent in a charming remote location called Cnoc Suain: Conmara Gaelic Culture Experience. Irish Cottage I saw the typical Irish cottage before on my recent trip to the Aran Island but I didn’t have a chance to enter one. People who run this place- Cnoc Suain- bought an old cottage and renovated it. They did their best to keep most of it as it was hundred years ago. Our tour started in one of the cottages in front of the warm fireplace. Cosy is a word that I used in Ireland every day! But have a look for yourself! Isn’t it cosy? Entering the cottage brought us not only to warm and cosy interior but way long back in time. One of our hosts demonstrated the traditional bread making speaking and singing in real Irish! That was really powerful experience as the Irish language is very different from English. She was telling the stories about the previous owners, about the everyday life organization,  emigration to the US and hardship of the rural life. It was like a visit at the house of grandparents who love to tell the stories. There was everything what I recall from my childhood: warm, smell of a fireplace, good food and lovely voice that was telling the stories. The owners do their best to bring the old times to live and they are pretty successful. Turf After we experienced the taste of traditional irish bread we went to another building prepared for groups to give a precise information about the turf that has served to heat the cottages for a long time. We saw the whole process of growing, harvesting and drying. The host’s story was accompanied with touching and smelling the plants at every stage of the turf production. Music & Dance We left the turf and switched to a lovely cottage with wooden floor and warm fireplace. There was a local musician who was waiting for us with his show. He told us about the traditional Irish whistle demonstrating like 7 different sizes of it. He was playing his accordion and singing the traditional music. At some point few volunteers had their first dancing lesson. That was fun! The dance didn’t seam to be difficult but large group of people doing the same thing at the same time is always spectacular. They were quite good at it! The conclusion of our stay at Cnoc Suain was watching the other cottages ready for the guests. You can actually rent a small cottage only for yourself and stay as at sort of B&B. It is really cute! Not only from the outside but it is also very cosy inside. I think it would be really fun to stay here for a little bit longer to enjoy the silence and wonderful Irish landscape.    

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If I went to the Little Museum of Dublin earlier it would be on my list of my 5 best museums in the world! I mean it! Although it is small for me that was one of the best things I saw in Dublin. For many reasons. Mainly because it stands for a completely new way of organizing a museum and get people interested in an issue or a place. But also because of its marvelous exhibits and wonderful staff. If you’re in Dublin you simply cannot miss it! I first read about this museum at Everywhereist blog and I knew I wish to visit it when I’m in Dublin. And I made it! So thank you Geraldine for sharing it! Less is more The name of this museum is absolutely right: it is little. 2 floors of half of this building at the picture above is enough to get people interested in Dublin and its history. First, a gentleman who welcomes you. An old fashioned bow-tie made me wonder from the very beginning whether he and the whole museum is there for centuries. Surprisingly it’s not. In fact it was established not that long time ago – in 2011 and until now it has collected over 5,000 artifacts! All donated by the Dubliners. It’s lovely with its green color all over the place: green ad in a front, green walls, green signs and pillows. Green makes you sure about being in Ireland. I entered this museum with great expectations, a warm welcome at the front desk made me sure about the fact it’s going to be spectacular. And it was. It really was. New Meaning Of Cosiness I got informed that a guided tour is about to start so took few pictures with my cellphone (sorry for poor quality) and I sat in a comfy armchair waiting for a guide. This was a relief! After a long walk I simply needed it. There were some books displayed and candies in a jar so after 5 minutes I felt like at home. I had started reading a book about Dublin and I forgot about the whole world while suddenly heard a voice. I was almost surprised with it but a very warm welcome of a gentleman (in bow-tie again!) made me wondering if this museum can possibly get any better. And it got better with every minute of this guide speech! This was amazing travel in time: a century of this city story just flew in front of our eyes! Thanks to amazing gift of storytelling of this guide we felt like the real Dubliners at the end. My story Each of the objects kept in this museum has a long and fascinating story behind. When I was watching the collection of photos I saw one that caught my attention. Remember when I was telling you a story about John Minihan? An Irish photographer who was famous for his pictures of Samuel Beckett? Well, his well known picture of Beckett was right there, in front of me, with John’s own inscription. Under the photo there was a framed letter and a picture of ordinary Irish house. I asked our guide immediately about this photo. And so, here is the story: a little boy got a homework at school. He was to get information about his current house from a previous owner. He suppose to know how was life 20 years earlier. It happened that the previous owner of his home was Beckett. And so he wrote a letter to Samuel Beckett (who was born in Dublin). And….he got a reply! A letter from Beckett is kept right next to the photo of the house. How cool is that? The best is ending of a letter, saying: If you ever meet my ghost in house or grounds, give it my best regards. The guide said a boy was scared but also thrilled to get a reply. I can easily believe it. If I received a letter from Beckett I would be deliriously happy. But even though, finding this story and sharing it with you make me feel really proud. Perhaps you are a German speaking tourist who would like to plan a trip to Dublin? Here is little something for you: a post on best activities in Dublin by Monika. Enjoy!  

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