Team Sullivan's Adventures in Warsaw

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Craziness in Warsaw!

It is Poland's time to shine during the month of June! The Euro Cup Football (Soccer to us Americans) Tournament is being held jointly by Poland and the Ukraine during this month. The tournament is a huge deal and happens only once every four years! It is second only to the World Cup. Over the past year there have been a number of qualifying matches to determine which countries team's would even make it into the tournament. Poland's team isn't great, but fortunately for them they get automatic entry into the tournament as host country. The tournament kicked off this past weekend and has been so much fun to watch!

There are three different cities in Poland hosting games....Warsaw being one of them. While the stadium in Warsaw is across the river and about 15 minutes from our house, the "Fan Zone" is a stones throw from our apartment. We can hear all of the fans at all hours of the night. : ) Warsaw has set up this Fan Zone surrounding the Palace of Science and Culture. It holds nearly 120,000 people, has 8 giant screens for watching the games, numerous food and beer booths, and even a new McDonald's has been built on this site. This is one of the first times that Eastern Europe has hosted this tournament, so the Poles are quite proud to show off their country and want people to have a great experience! All day on Friday the city started buzzing with tons and tons of people dressed in their red and white gear ready to cheer on their home country. Poland played well Friday night and tied 1-1 against Greece. They will also play the Czech Republic and Russia in the first round and the two teams with the highest number of points at the end of the round will move on in the tournament. According to the Poles, they will all be thrilled if Poland can make it onto the next round...from there things will get difficult if not, impossible. Depending on who you ask Germany and Spain are favored to win the whole thing. We, of course, are rooting for Poland! And, not just the football team, but for the country. We have grown to love this country and hope that all of the fans from all over Europe love it too!

We'll be glued to our TV for Tuesday night's big match....Poland versus Russia. With the crazy history between these two countries there is a lot of pride and bragging rights at stake!

GO POLAND! Biali i czerwoni!

A few pics of the Fan Zone by our house

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Corpus Christi

Today is Corpus Christi, a very important Catholic Holiday, in Poland.

The Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) or Boże Ciało is a Catholic Feast observed on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in villages, towns and cities all over Poland. In smaller areas, virtually the whole village or town becomes involved in an organized procession through the streets. Householders will decorate their windows with religious icons. Traffic is stopped and at midday the congregation leaves the Church. It will then walk in a procession along the streets, stopping en route at various temporary shrines in order to pray. The shrines are decorated with branches from birch trees and members of the procession will tear off twigs from the various shrines for luck and happiness. Young girls dressed in their first communion dresses (which look like white wedding dresses) scatter rose and other flower petals on the streets. These petals are for Christ who Catholics believe is walking the streets alongside the people during these Corpus Christi processions. Throughout the festival, the Priest walks around holding the monstrance under some sort of umbrella (called a baldachin) held by four or more men from the village or town, while altar boys swirl burning incense around him. The most prominent procession in Warsaw is along Krakowskie Przedmiescie, along the route to Old Town. In Lowicz, the procession is very lively and colorful as the participants dress in the national costume.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Senoritas in Madrid!

When I heard that my Aunt Irene was going to be visiting Spain last month I knew I wanted to find a way to see her. She was gracious enough to extend her visit and I flew over from Warsaw to meet her in Madrid for the weekend. Unfortunately, Tom could not make the trip due to some business commitments but we girls somehow survived. ; )

We had a fantastic girls weekend! We had a leisurely weekend doing exactly whatever we felt like. There was no pressure to see every museum on Madrid or hit every tapas bar...more importantly, we enjoyed quality time together. Throughout our weekend we still managed to check out this beautiful city! We went on on bus tour of the city to get a good overview, walked around a number of plazas (including our favorite - Plaza del Sol), indulged in tapas and Tinto de Verano, explored the gorgeous botanical garden, and of course, bargained with the street vendors for souveneirs. We also celebrated our girls weekend by sleeping in late, sharing champage and birthday treats, watching a movie in bed and checking out Boys Town in Madrid for some eye candy.

It was so fantastic to share this special time together! We had a total blast running around the city. I am so grateful that Irene spent the last part of her trip sharing it with me. We created such great memories that I will always remember. It's these experiences that make living overseas so special! Thanks Irene for sharing your vacation with me! We love you!