Day 96: Santa's Name's Day.
Date: 6 DEC 2008.
The place that I visited today is the Wilanów Palace. Here is a little background of the palace.
"Wilanów Palace survived the time of Poland's partitions and both World Wars and has preserved its authentic historical qualities. It was built for the Polish king John III Sobieski in the last quarter of the 17th century and later was enlarged by other owners. It represents the characteristic type of baroque suburban residence built entre cour et jardin (between the entrance court and the garden). Its architecture is original—a merger of European art with old Polish building traditions. Upon its elevations and in the palace interiors antique symbols glorify the Sobieski family, especially the military triumphs of the king.
After the death of John III Sobieski in 1696, the palace was owned by his sons and later by the famous magnate families Sieniawscy, Czartoryscy, Lubomirscy, Potoccy and Braniccy. In 1720, the run-down property was purchased by one of the wealthiest women in Poland and a prominent stateswoman, Elżbieta Sieniawska. Between 1730 and 1733 it was a residence of August II the Strong, also a king of Poland. Every owner changed the interiors of the palace, as well as the gardens and grounds, according to the current fashion and needs.
In the year 1805 the owner Stanisław Kostka Potocki made a museum in a part of the palace, one of the first public museums in Poland. Besides European and Oriental art, the central part of the palace displayed a commemoration of king John III Sobieski and the glorious national past. Although the original palace was badly damaged by the Germans during World War II, it escaped demolition after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising because it was not in the City of Warsaw, but rather on the outskirts, at one end of the Royal Route. After the war, the palace was renovated, and most of the collection stolen by Germany was repatriated. In 1962 it was reopened to the public.
The palace and park in Wilanów is not only a priceless testimony to the splendour of Poland in the past, but also a place for cultural events and concerts, including Summer Royal Concerts in the Rose Garden and the International Summer Old Music Academy."
And here are the pictures of the palace and its surroundings.
A Chinese pavillion.
The garden within.
Some Sculptures.
More pictures of the garden.
After a morning visit to the palace, I went back to Marta's (my host) place as she promised to show me the polish culture. In poland, noone celebrates birthday until recent years. Instead, they celebrate name's day. Each day of the calendar year has a name to it and most people are named after one of these names. And so if your name is AAA for example, and AAA happens to be on 1st of May, you celebrate this day instead of your birthday as this is the your name's day. Interesting ya?
So today happens to be the name's day of Santa. Yes, it is the name's day of the well known old man. So everyone in Poland celebrates this day as to them, it is the start of Xmas!! Marta's friend invited her over for a celebration over dinner and she invited me along. I was ofcourse more than happy to join in.
Just to clarify something, When they say dinner, they actually means lunch. I got a little confused at first but after I asked, I finally understand how it works. Breakfast = Breakfast, Dinner = Lunch, Supper = Dinner. Get it? They do not have the term "lunch". How interesting. If I never clarify, I would have got the timing wrong!!
Here we are at the Dinner at lunch time. Haha..
Since its Santa's name's day, it is a tradition to have some chocolates.
Here are the people at the Dinner. Its pretty international. They are all students under the AIESEC program doing their internship in Poland.
Traditional Polish Food.
Polish drink.
Then after a great meal, we went out to the city center together. Here are some pictures taken along the way.
Cute Baby!!
And we ended up in a Karaoke Pub for some drinks. Interestingly, noone sings in the pub. Haha.
Anyway, since its the first day of Xmas. It was also the lighting up of the Xmas Decoration. How can we missed it? Off to the streets we went, wondering around the city center and the Xmas market.
Hmmm.... What should we do next? Lets go to a house party. Sure! But before that, let us get some food. Haha.. We were hungry again.
On the way to the supermarket to buy our own beer and such.
Although this house party was not as wild as the one I went to in Krakow but still I had lots of fun. I met lots of students at the house party. Most of them, if not all of them were under the AIESEC program. We have people from Ukraine, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, India etc etc. Very international ya?
Marta (My host) and me
"DJ" of the night.
At the end of the party, everyone were so tired that we just sat on the floor to chat with one another
How do I look with my new specs?
Ha. No it's not mine. It has got no degree.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
The place that I visited today is the Wilanów Palace. Here is a little background of the palace.
"Wilanów Palace survived the time of Poland's partitions and both World Wars and has preserved its authentic historical qualities. It was built for the Polish king John III Sobieski in the last quarter of the 17th century and later was enlarged by other owners. It represents the characteristic type of baroque suburban residence built entre cour et jardin (between the entrance court and the garden). Its architecture is original—a merger of European art with old Polish building traditions. Upon its elevations and in the palace interiors antique symbols glorify the Sobieski family, especially the military triumphs of the king.
After the death of John III Sobieski in 1696, the palace was owned by his sons and later by the famous magnate families Sieniawscy, Czartoryscy, Lubomirscy, Potoccy and Braniccy. In 1720, the run-down property was purchased by one of the wealthiest women in Poland and a prominent stateswoman, Elżbieta Sieniawska. Between 1730 and 1733 it was a residence of August II the Strong, also a king of Poland. Every owner changed the interiors of the palace, as well as the gardens and grounds, according to the current fashion and needs.
In the year 1805 the owner Stanisław Kostka Potocki made a museum in a part of the palace, one of the first public museums in Poland. Besides European and Oriental art, the central part of the palace displayed a commemoration of king John III Sobieski and the glorious national past. Although the original palace was badly damaged by the Germans during World War II, it escaped demolition after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising because it was not in the City of Warsaw, but rather on the outskirts, at one end of the Royal Route. After the war, the palace was renovated, and most of the collection stolen by Germany was repatriated. In 1962 it was reopened to the public.
The palace and park in Wilanów is not only a priceless testimony to the splendour of Poland in the past, but also a place for cultural events and concerts, including Summer Royal Concerts in the Rose Garden and the International Summer Old Music Academy."
And here are the pictures of the palace and its surroundings.
A Chinese pavillion.
The garden within.
Some Sculptures.
More pictures of the garden.
After a morning visit to the palace, I went back to Marta's (my host) place as she promised to show me the polish culture. In poland, noone celebrates birthday until recent years. Instead, they celebrate name's day. Each day of the calendar year has a name to it and most people are named after one of these names. And so if your name is AAA for example, and AAA happens to be on 1st of May, you celebrate this day instead of your birthday as this is the your name's day. Interesting ya?
So today happens to be the name's day of Santa. Yes, it is the name's day of the well known old man. So everyone in Poland celebrates this day as to them, it is the start of Xmas!! Marta's friend invited her over for a celebration over dinner and she invited me along. I was ofcourse more than happy to join in.
Just to clarify something, When they say dinner, they actually means lunch. I got a little confused at first but after I asked, I finally understand how it works. Breakfast = Breakfast, Dinner = Lunch, Supper = Dinner. Get it? They do not have the term "lunch". How interesting. If I never clarify, I would have got the timing wrong!!
Here we are at the Dinner at lunch time. Haha..
Since its Santa's name's day, it is a tradition to have some chocolates.
Here are the people at the Dinner. Its pretty international. They are all students under the AIESEC program doing their internship in Poland.
Traditional Polish Food.
Polish drink.
Then after a great meal, we went out to the city center together. Here are some pictures taken along the way.
Cute Baby!!
And we ended up in a Karaoke Pub for some drinks. Interestingly, noone sings in the pub. Haha.
Anyway, since its the first day of Xmas. It was also the lighting up of the Xmas Decoration. How can we missed it? Off to the streets we went, wondering around the city center and the Xmas market.
Hmmm.... What should we do next? Lets go to a house party. Sure! But before that, let us get some food. Haha.. We were hungry again.
On the way to the supermarket to buy our own beer and such.
Although this house party was not as wild as the one I went to in Krakow but still I had lots of fun. I met lots of students at the house party. Most of them, if not all of them were under the AIESEC program. We have people from Ukraine, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, India etc etc. Very international ya?
Marta (My host) and me
"DJ" of the night.
At the end of the party, everyone were so tired that we just sat on the floor to chat with one another
How do I look with my new specs?
Ha. No it's not mine. It has got no degree.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 9:21 PM
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