The yearly pilgrimage - 15 September 2004

I love Poland. I really do. Everything is nice and my grandparents provide me good free food.

Exploring my memories



I spent my first day walking around, in my annual personal pilmigrage to all the places from my childhood's summer memories. Since my childhood memory goes back to the comunism era or the year just after, every time I'm visiting the old places they are simply missing, or replaced by something else.

Kino Olimpia There is no more "olimpia cinema". 10 minutes by walk from home. I used to spent at least an afternoon a week watching american movies with polish subtitles, on the big screen. Or, when the big screen was unavailable, on a vhs. I remember watching Polic Academy in a small room with other 50 guys looking up to the small television with the video connected. I remember laughing just because everyone else was laughing, cause I couldn't see or hear a thing.

The Baltik Cinema has been destroyed. It wasn't just part of my memories, but was part of my mum's and grandma's. It has always been there, probably since God created the week and decided that Saturday was a good day to watch a movie, so He created Hollywood and uncomfortable sits in front a giant silver screen.
Kino Baltyk
Gong, Miniaturka, Apollo were long gone last year or two years ago. They have all been transformed in something else. A bar, a pub, a dance hall.
To see a movie, I had to walk to the multikino, a new (2 or 3 years old) multi cinema not too distant from the Stare Miasto (the Old City). I drank coke anThe Ratuszd ate popcorn while watching the movie (The Village) in the comfort of the simil sofa.

The Old City has always been part of my walks. Within 30 minutes from home I could enjoy a warm summer weather waiting for the mechanical kosziolky (the goats) to fight at 12.00 at the top of the municipal building, the Ratusz (built by the way by an italian, like half of polish artistic buildings) and drinking a cold drink.

On my wak back, watching people, I realized that:

  • guys younger than 30 look like hiphop skinheads (everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has shaven heads and hiphop trousers)
  • after 30s, men tend to look like Walesa. Big moustaches and a distint polish look, with a nice belly.
  • if they are not in 1) and 2) probably they are my friends or I know them, cause none of the people I have the pleasure to spend my time with are neither skinheads nor Walesa lookalike.
  • But they like the Pope. Nice guy, by the way.
  • I didn't see any fat young girl
  • after 50s some women tend to get fat.
  • if you're a girl and you're younger than 25, you're probably already married, with at least 2 kids, and still good looking
  • if you're a guy and you're younger than 25, you're probably already married, with at least 2 kids and not that good looking
  • dogs foul all the time and nobody cares about the smell
  • kebab is replacing the zapiekanka (the polish version of fish&chips kind of food) as national street dish
  • ski jump has replaced football in the last years as national sport


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