Marching into Spring!!

Ok, so it sounds like the only thing we talk about on our blog is the weather! True, that we haven't taken pictures of ourselves doing our day-to-day activities--thanks for the interest though Chelsea!

So, this picture is of missionaries who we had over at our place a week ago last Sunday. Missionaries play a big part of the lives of the members in our small branch in Warsaw. We enjoyed feeding them after District Conference. Two of them finished their missions last Thursday. They are all wonderful missionaries!

On a walk last Friday afternoon when temperatures were in the 60's we passed by a portion of the wall that remains from the Warsaw Ghetto. In several areas of Warsaw you will still find the sections of the walls that were built to imprison thousands of Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

We saw a number of monuments as well that serve as reminders of the heroic efforts of the citizen militia that gave their lives to reclaim the city. The Warsaw Uprising is a very well documented and powerful story of the faith and conviction of the Poles. It didn't have a very happy ending for them at the time. However, in retrospect it serves as an important source of pride and symbol of their will to be independent and free.

On our walk we passed by the Krasinskich Palace. It is one of the many palaces that were built in the 1600s by the wealthy Magnates that held all the power and influence in the region. Now it's used as part of the Polish National Library. Speaking of books, there are some great books to read about the golden age of Poland and the dominant presence it had in Europe at that time. One that was loaned to me a week ago is "The Polish Way" by Adam Zamoyski. I read his book "Chopin," last month and appreciated even more after listening to some of his music.

Last Friday's major quest was to walk to the Holy Cross Church where Frederic Chopin's heart is supposed to be interred within a column. (Because so much as destroyed in WWII there are those who doubt it's still there) I was so excited to learn, after reading the book about him on a trip to Gdansk, that the VERY first day I googled Chopin to hear some of his music it happened to be his 200th Birthday--March 1!

I have enjoyed listening to some of his pieces in the days and weeks since! Some of my favorites are Yundi Li plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 and Yundi Li - Chopin "Fantasie" Impromptu, Op. 66. If you've listened to those two pieces on youtube, don't stop until clicking on Chopin's Funeral March. The beginning is certainly morose and familiar but the middle part is breath-takingly beautiful! No wonder the Poles adore Chopin!

Here's what Chopin and I have in common: he used to cry when he heard his mother play the piano and my older kids would also cry as babies when I got out my violin!! Ok, crying for different reasons so I put my violin away for decades. But, I brought it with me after Christmas vacation, so I spend some time almost every day playing it without any complaints (yet) from our neighbors! If you're a fan of Chopin, check out my favorite Chopin arrangement for the violin: Jacobsen-Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2

While David works 10 - 12 hour days, I keep a rather leisurely schedule studying Polish, playing the violin, forcing myself to exercise to a DVD, having folks over for dinner (we found out that Polish people eat way less than we do--at least one couple we had over did) going on quests such as searching for addresses of those I visit teach along with my partner who guides me through tram and bus routes, and lots of walks, especially to a mall where today I found a nice Springy green sweater on sale--great because clothes cost more in Poland! Lots of reading books! Also skyping and staying in touch with our kids. Hey offspring, send us some of your pictures and I'll share your news!

Well It's Still Winter in Warsaw

Although we've had some warm weather most days high temperatures hover around 0 c. After church today it was too beautiful outside with large snow flakes falling which makes Warsaw look pretty, fresh and clean.

Partly blue skies with some snow is not unusual here. But more often we have in between gray skies with some sleet, rain or snow. Having enough snow that sticks to the trees is a bit more unusual this late in the year.

Just a walk down the hill over and back up again towards the Royal Palace we found this scenic view. Call me crazy, but I still think it's worth having a snow storm now just for the pristine pictures.

Not David though, who was anxious to get back to our apartment for warmth and Sunday afternoon leisure time. After a long week, spending some time in Gdansk he's grateful to catch up on some pleasure reading.