Warsaw - walking priest

Walking priest in Warsaw. Poland was one of those few countries where even during the communism the catholic church could remain strong.

This photo was also featured in Flickr Explore.

Featured in Flickr Explore

The photo was taken in 2009 May in Warsaw when I was there for a short trip. It was in Flickr Explorer on the 9th of May 2009.

Hungarian Inventors - Rubik Ernő

I guess everybody knows the Rubik Cube. The cute and inspiring, logical game of the '80s. I also had one but to be honest I didn't know how to solve it. Only when I replaced the stickers on it::)

The Rubik Cube was invented in Hungary by Ernő Rubik in 1974. The cube itself is a 3 dimensional puzzle. A geometrically perfect cube created from 27 small cubes. Each faces of the large cube has different colors and I could solve perfectly how to mess it up by turning its parts vertically or horizontally. The problem started only when I wanted to match the colors again.:)

In Hungary the Cube was introduced in 1977 under the name Bűvös Kocka (Magic Cube) and became immediately extremely popular. They introduced it in 1980 on different international toy fairs and that was the start of the global carrier of the Rubik Cube.

The Rubik Cube is a creative way to combine mathematical algorithms with 3d solutions which is very useful in architects for example.

About the inventor:

Ernő Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary, July 13, 1944, during World War II. His father, Ernő Rubik was a flight engineer at the Esztergom airplane factory, his mother a poet. He graduated from the Technical University, Budapest (Műszaki Egyetem) in 1967 as an architectural engineer and began postgraduate studies in sculpting and interior architecture. From 1971 to 1975 he worked as an architect, then became a professor at the Budapest College of Applied Arts (Iparművészeti Főiskola). He has spent all his life in Hungary.

"Space always intrigued me, with its incredibly rich possibilities, space alteration by (architectural) objects, objects' transformation in space (sculpture, design), movement in space and in time, their correlation, their repercussion on mankind, the relation between man and space, the object and time. I think the CUBE arose from this interest, from this search for expression and for this always more increased acuteness of these thoughts..."

Presently he is mainly working on video game development and architectural topics in his own company called Rubik Studios. (source: wikipedia)

Mr. Rubik is still very active but he is not a media star type of man. He avoid any kind of media awareness, you can't see him in talk shows and in general he is hardly approachable. To me he is a serious engineer and spite of the popularity of his name he remain what he was. A thinking man.

Lewes - UK

The southern part of England is a special area of the UK. More sunshine, but original british landscape with a lot of protected settles like Lewes.

The settlement has a long history as a bridging point and as a market town, and is today an important communications hub, and tourist-orientated town.



History of Lewes:

The site that is now Lewes has a very ancient history. Archaeological evidence points to prehistoric dwellers and it is also thought that the Roman settlement of Mutuantonis was here, large quantities of artefacts having been discovered in the area. The Saxons built a castle here, having first constructed its motte as a defensive point over the river; they also gave the town its name.

After the Norman invasion Lewes was given by William the Conqueror to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. He built Lewes Castle on the Saxon site; and he and his wife, Gundred also founded a Cluniac priory here in about 1081. Lewes was the also site of a mint during the Late Anglo-Saxon period and thereafter a mint during the early years after the Norman invasion. In 1148 the town was granted a charter by King Stephen. The town also became a major port with docks along the Ouse.

The town was the site of the Battle of Lewes between the forces of Henry III and Simon de Monfort in the Second Barons’ War in 1264, at the end of which de Monfort's forces were victorious. The battle took place in fields now just west of Landport.

At the time of the Marian Persecutions of 1555–1557 Lewes was to witness the deaths of seventeen Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake in front of the Star Inn, now the Town Hall.

Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Lewes developed as the county town of East Sussex expanding beyond the line of the town wall and serving as a port and developing iron, brewing and ship building industries.

In 1846 the town became a railway junction with lines constructed from the north, south, and east to two railways stations. The development of Newhaven ended Lewes' period as a major port.[citation needed] Lewes became a borough in 1881.

In 1940 The Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over the town which suffered damage by enemy action. (source: wikipedia)

My experience there:

I have spent only a short afternoon in Lewes but I got caught by its atmosphere. If you are not doing anything else but just walking on the streets of this small peaceful town, its already able to impress you enough. Lots of medieval buildings which reminds me of the age of VIIIth Henry. I really loved it.

Lewes Bonfire:

The town's most important annual event is Lewes Bonfire, or Bonfire Night - Guy Fawkes Night celebrations on the 5th of November. In Lewes this event not only marks the date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, but also commemorates the memory of the seventeen Protestant martyrs. The celebrations are the largest and most famous Bonfire Night celebrations in the country.

History of Bonfire
Bonfire festivities on the 5th began when the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot was declared a national holiday. Celebrations in Lewes were not planned or carried out annually, but were more random events that were more like riots. They continued until they were banned by Oliver Cromwell during the Commonwealth. However, they were reintroduced when King Charles II returned, but still on a random basis. Interest waned by the end of the 18th century but in the 1820s large groups of Bonfire Boys started celebrating with fireworks and large bonfires. The celebrations became more and more rowdy until in 1847 police forces were drafted in from London to sort out the Bonfire Boys. There were riots and fighting, and restrictions were clamped down on the celebrators, their locations moved to Wallands Park, at that time fields, not the suburb it is today. However, in 1850 they were allowed back to the High Streets. By this time the former riots had become much more like the processions carried out today. In 1853 the first two societies, Cliffe and Lewes Borough were founded and most of the others were founded later in the same century.

QYPE

I have just arrived from the UK where I spent two very short days. It is crazy to travel like this. You fly, try to find your way from the airport then to the hotel, take part in your meetings, sleep a while, morning meetings and next early afternoon, flying back. It is so fast that it was hard to say whether it was a dream or a reality.

When it comes to short trips like this, everything is just a flash. Any impression around you - new noises, new smells and fragrances, new people and new architectures etc. - you do not really have time to orientate yourself nor to get accustomed and familiar.

For a trip like this, I usually prepare myself in advance. I normally will check online for maps where the hotel is located. Upon receipt of the address, I will start to check on the transportation. This time I had to take a ride on a train to Brighton and then to Lewes. I have no time to think about how to get from point A to point B so I make a detailed schedule.

I try to control as much details as possible, so I do the same for my very limited free time too. If I need a good restaurant in London, I go to restaurants London.

It is a worldwide review site where people share their experiences about restaurants wherever they go. I like real reviews of this sort. When it comes to evaluation or review, I prefer private stories to any commercial leaflets. To be honest, this include even any kind of professional evaluation.

Not sure that a place with Michelin stars is the best for me, especially if I do not like fancy, hypocrite places where you have to behave :) in a way that is not your normal self.

The most important to me about these review sites is that, up to a certain number of comments/reviews, you can start to see the both sides of the coin. We people are not the same, and so bars & restaurants, pubs London are also very different. Some people enjoy criticizing about everything and others are living in a pink world where everything is cool and excellent. The truth is usually somewhere between them.:)