Zaspa

This is one of my favorite places in the Gdansk area. I discovered it a few years ago and I loved it. There are mural projects in the U.S. but nothing like this. The art does not necessarily make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear because it does not hide the fact that the buildings are classic socialist structures built in the early 1980’s, but it does make the area quite unique and pretty. The area used to be an airport and Lech Walesa lived there during his Solidarity times. If you have a chance to visit (very accessible via local bus), I highly recommend it. Wear comfortable shoes. 😉 If you click on this website then click on the paint roller you can see all the murals. These photos below are some of my favorite murals. The photo with only apartments shows the starkness of a building not with a mural.

http://muralegdanskzaspa.pl/map/

This reminds me of “Duck Dodgers in the 21st Century”.

An old photo but still a goodie. I hope to post something weekly about my travels in Europe – old and new.

I went to Katowice one spring to help out a friend of mine who lived there and I got to see up close and personal -Spodek. It means “saucer” in Polish. It is a multipurpose development that opened in 1971. To me it screams socialist architecture. This building has the main dome, a gym, a hockey rink, a hotel and three large parking lots. According to wikipedia it was the largest indoor venue in Poland until 2014 when the Tauron Arena delivered in Krakow. The Tauron Arena hosted 2014 the FIVB World Volleyball Championships THAT POLAND WON. 🙂 It also hosts major concerts and sporting events.

Brussels

I was recently in Brussels and those who know me know that I love chocolate, especially European hot chocolate. I stumbled upon this little cafe near the Magritte Museum and had this. THIS is how hot chocolate should always be served.