I for Insurgent and U for Uprising

 

As for the Insurgent - I mean the monument to the Little Insurgent dedicated to the children who fought in the Warsaw Uprising that took place in 1944.

To make the story short - the young and younger citizens of Warsaw, then occupied by Nazis, organized an armed action against the occupants. 

The monument to the Warsaw Uprising/Warsaw Insurgents

Since at that time, the Russian Army was stationed on the other bank of the Vistula River, the young Insurgents believed the Russians would support their fight and help them liberate the city. 

 

The uprising started on 1 August and lasted for 63 days, the Russian Army did not take any action and did not support the Insurgents. Sadly, the Warsaw WWII revolt brought tragic results. 

 

During the fights, about 200,000 citizens of Warsaw lost their lives. In the aftermath, Nazi planes destroyed/flattened the city, and its 700,000 inhabitants were expelled from Warsaw.

 

More info about the Warsaw Uprising

• The Warsaw Uprising - Holocaust Encyclopedia
• Wikipedia 

Available on YouTube:

• Documentary about the Warsaw Uprising 
•  Polish drama made in 1957 (with English subtitles): "Sewer" - about the Uprising and Insurgents
  

Available on Tubi:

• Documentary
• Movie: Battle for Warsaw

On a cool July day (the temperatures in the 60s), we thought about it all while visiting Warsaw and watching the monuments.

The letter P with an anchor at its bottom was the symbol of the WWII Polish Underground State and the Home Army. The anchor = letter W. Both P make W (in Polish) are the acronym meaning "fighting Poland". It was also the symbol of the Warsaw Uprising.

Glory to the fallen Heroes!

G for Gdańsk

One of the Gs in "My Polish Alphabet" is for Gdańsk. The city situated by the Baltic Bay, in the north of Poland, is over 1000 years old. Its prettiest part is the old town, I think.

 The old town was totally destroyed during WW2. It was rebuilt in the 1950s and 60s.

Golden Gate (1612/14)

Long Street and the old town hall in the background

Long Street

Hedwiga in the attic window

Every day at 1: 03 PM, a figure of a young lady appears in that attic window on Long Street. It is Hedwiga, a heroine of an old romance described in a novel in 1891. As a young girl, she had been rescued from Turkish captivity and now is to be married by her guardian Johann. However, Hedwiga is in love with somebody else. She is waiting for her sweetheart, Lieutenant Kazimierz.

Neptune's Fountain (1605/16) in front of Uphagen's House.

 The two lions holding a shield (see one of the photos below) are the Gdańsk coat of arms.

---

"My Polish Alphabet" is about things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

St John the Baptist - Painted Church

In August, we visited some of the so-called "painted churches" in Texas.

The first one was St. John the Baptist Church in Ammansville. The church structure was built in 1919. The two previous ones were destroyed by a hurricane and fire.

The pretty pink church interior was decorated by Fred Donecker and Sons.

 

The settlement of Ammansville, situated 9 miles from San Antonio, was founded by Czech (mainly from Moravia) and German immigrants in the 1870s. The first man who made his home there was Mr. Andrew Amman. He came to the area on 12 March 1870.

 

 

 

Normally, we do not wear shorts when we go to church. That day was an exception - a whole day trip on a very hot Texas day. No Sunday type clothes were possible.

 Pretty, isn't it?

Not many people live in Ammansville theses days but it is quite a charming place.

Source:

Texas Handbook Online

 

 

Christmas Spirit in Central Texas

Recently we have visited the Texas Hill Country and looked for Christmas Spirit there. And we found it in many places!

• On the buildings

Old library building

• In local  shops

• In the park 

German style Christmas tower

Oh, so beautiful!

• In The Rockbox Theater, where we watched a funny one-act Christmas play and quite a moving holiday songs and carols concert. 

Great actors and singers they have there, make sure you do not miss the theater when you happen to visit this beautiful town of Fredericksburg.

There is always something new to see and experience in Luckenbach. This time it was traditional Texas style Christmas decorations - really cute!

The Luckenbach stage had new features too. We did not even had to bring our guitars there. They had already been fixed. Obviously, we played country Christmas Carols too.

Both of us very much enjoyed the visit, the weather was cooperating and we had a great time!

To sum up, if you do not know what to do with your money, you can help us get a brand new house in the Hill Country. We could move there. Your donations are very much welcome!

Previous posts on our visits in the Hill Country:

Fredericksburg - National Museum of The Pacific War 

Fredericksburg - Side Streets & Roads 

Fredericksburg TX & Its Main Street 

Everybody Is Somebody in Luckenbach, Texas 

Deep in The Heart of Texas

Fort Worth - Bass Hall & Sundance Square

The Bass Performance Hall building - situated not far from Sundance Square - is quite spectacular. Its facade, with two majestic angels, curved in Texas limestone, catches the attention of passersby. You simply cannot miss it. I like it a lot! The angels seem to announce: 'Hark! Great events take place here! Time to enjoy the art of music and dance!'

We have visited it quite a few times -  to see various ballet performances, including 'The Nutcracker' and 'Swan Lake' by Tchaikovsky. Such splendid experiences...

The Bass Hall interior is quite beautiful too - the paintings on the ceiling make it look as if it was a see-through roof.

The Bass Performance Hall area - Sundance Square of Fort Worth is also worth mentioning. It was named after Sundance Kid, member of Butch Cassidy's gang (train and bank robbers). The square mural, quite a piece of art, which you can see in the picture below, marks the Fort Worth part of the Chisholm Trail (used to drive cattle overland from Texas to Kansas  - from 1867 to 1875).

What are your favorite places in For Worth? Which ones would you like to visit?

Everybody Is Somebody in Luckenbach, Texas

Luckenbach is quite a curious place. The only one of its kind. Situated not far (nineteen miles) from Fredericksburg, in Hill Country, TX. The small place was settled by German immigrants in 1850. It was quite unknown until a popular Texas character, named Hondo Crouch, bought it from the family who had lived there since the very beginning of the little hamlet. Luckenbach's country music life and fame started developing then: among others - Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings performed there.

What is so special about Luckenbach? It is actually a ghost town but it is always full of people: musicians who gather there and give live country music concerts, country music lovers and all the guys who come to Luckenbach to feel and enjoy its leisure atmosphere. The old general store is the main meeting spot and visitors' site. The store used to be a post office - these days it is also a beer tavern. Besides, there is a traditional dance hall (you can dance on its wooden floor most weekends) and a blacksmith shop (used sometimes only).
Sitting beneath old live oaks you can relax, listen to music and watch roosters that rule in Luckenbach. They walk freely around the entire area, jump on high tree branches and look down on all the tavern visitors. Everybody is somebody in Luckenbach :).

When we came to Luckenbach, we met a man who was selling cowboy hats near the tavern. We talked to him for a while - as he learned we were about to get married, he offered to marry us at the spot - he appeared to be a local pastor. Well, if  we had not arranged our marriage in Fredericksburg, we might  have accepted his idea and invitation. With all the musicians present there and all the 'guests' enjoying the local spirit, we could have had quite an unforgettable wedding party in Luckenbach.

Yes, we almost got married in Luckenbach.

Not far from the old general store, there is also another souvenir shop, quite different to the antique post office. Tho shop is run by a man, descendant of the German settlers who used to live in Luckenbach.

Luckenbach artist and shop owner

If you are lucky and his shop is open, you can talk to him, buy a piece of granite decorated (by the man himself) with pictures depicting bluebonnets or/ and have a glass bottle engraved by him (eg. with some signs and a picture of armadillo). I am so glad we managed to meet him too!

Luckenbach website: http://www.luckenbachtexas.com