Week 2 Poland (Warsaw) : nightlife - Vincent Petit

Hello travellers! I’m blogging live from Warsaw Poland. Warsaw is a very nice city, with a lot of activity and many places to visit. We’re having a good time. As night falls, the nightlife in Warsaw comes to life and our trip would not succeed if we didn’t explore it. It’s quite cold outside so I thought it was a good idea to stay inside one of the many bars or clubs. Every good night starts at the bar and ends at the club. Warsaw has many bars such as Mono Bar, Paparazzi, lemon café and Sheesha. Paparazzi, the original café bar is the place to be when you love an atmosphere that is chic, glamorous and elegant. At Mono Bar you can enjoy jam sessions, concerts and 70’s and 80’s hits. Next there’s the stylish lemon café, 24/7. Set off with a fruity cocktail and you prevent your hangover with delicious omelettes and pancakes from the lounge. For an oriental adventure you have to be in Sheesha with its belly dancers and much more.

Things get interesting, however, when you visit the clubs of Warsaw. Big names are Opera, Platinium, Balsam, Klubo, Kawiarnia, Enclawe, Rich & Pretty and of course The Eve. In the basement of the National Opera of the Grand Theatre you can dance all night long . The dance floor is surrounded by stylish, Far Eastern couches. The dress code in the Balsam club is jeans and a t-shirt if you like to keep it simple.

Last but not least the Piekarnia Club, located in a former bakery. The club has 3 different rooms and has in the past been voted ‘the best club’. It’s famous because for the best local DJs and international DJ Stars. This is the club we’re headed to. It’s going to be the night of a lifetime. Enjoy!!!

Vincent Petit 2MA03

Sources:

·         http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-nightlife

·         http://www.paparazzi.com.pl/eng/

·         http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/warsaw/bars-pubs-clubs/barspubs/Cafe-Bar-Lemon_18570v

·         http://www.gowarsaw.eu/en/culture-nightlife/warsaw-clubs/opera-club?tab=desc

·         http://www.vamostravel.com/city_breaks/warsaw/nightlife.asp

Week 2-Economy-Poland-Karel Junior De Groote

Hello everyone,

This is karel speaking from Poland. It is awesome here but also a little bit cold anyway we are having fun. I like Poland so much because of their great economy and ofcourse the nice boys and girls. Did you know that Poland their economy is the sixth largest economy in the EU? One week before we started our trip, I was talking with Thomas that Poland is poor and has nothing to do. Well, I was totally wrong. Poland is the only member in the EU that avoided a decline of the GDP. Well in fact the main reason why they made such a great growth was by privatization of the small and medium state-owned companies. They encouraged the private business sector. Look at the pictures, all these great buildings. I feel myself back in New York city! We were shopping and walking around in the beautiful city Warsaw. High buildings, business people walking over the street with blind eyes and talking to a mobile phone. I LOVE IT! I love the busy people, it keeps me alive and enthusiastic. The agricultural sector is still slacking because of structural problems, small farms, surplus labor and no investment in it at all. I end this blog for now but I will keep everyone up-to-date in our future adventures. I see you next week back, have fun!

 Powitać

 Karel and his fellowship.

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Poland

Week 1: Belarusian culture - Thomas De Saffel

Hello everyone, I am Thomas and I will give you a more detailed view about the culture in Belarus. 

At this moment, the sun is shining and the temperature is moderate. I walked with the others in a busy street in the centre of Minsk. We passed by a lot of restaurants and places where you can eat. An ideal moment to taste the Belarusian cuisine. The Belarusian cuisine consists mainly of vegetables, meat(chiefly pork) and breads. The food is here usually either slowly cooked or stewed. By eating a Belarusian meal, we can compare the Belgian cuisine with the Belarusian cuisine. The meal was very good and very healthy. A random Belarusian talked to me in poor English that it is typical for a Belarusian to have a light breakfast and two hearty meals during the day, with dinner being the largest meal of the day. So, this is very different from our culture. A real must is the draniki, a kind of potato pancake. It’s the national dish of Belarus. The draniki pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic. It was very delicious and I really enjoyed it to eat this potato pancake. I should suggest to import this stuff to other countries.


In the afternoon, I visited a friend in the city Minsk. We know each other from the night life. He did a typical phenomenon for this area. A Belarusian host present an offering of bread and salt when greeting a guest or visitor to show hospitality. It’s a Slavic tradition to make the guest feel comfortable. He offered me also Kvass, a drink made from fermented malted brown bread or rye flour. It’s a non-alcoholic drink so nothing to worry about! I was very surprised how tolerant and warm the people live here. I think, I will come back to this city in the future. 


I thank you for reading this detailed view and I hope that I raise your interests in the Belarusian kitchen!


Thomas and his fellowship


Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus#Culture
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_cuisine
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_salt

Week 1 - Belarus - Michiel Houwen

This is it! We finally started our trip around the world. It was difficult to plan the whole journey but we managed to actually pull this off.

Minsk- The capital of Belarus

Our magnificent trip starts in Belarus. Yesterday we landed in Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus. When people talk about Minsk, some here like to refer to the old legend about Menesk, a man of extraordinary physical strength who was providing protection from enemies for the town and its inhabitants. In total, there are almost 2 million people living in the capital of Belarus. We had a great time in Minsk but we were obliged to keep on moving because Poland will be our next stop. We decided to take the train and continue our trip, luckily this isn’t a direct line to Poland and so we had the opportunity to take a look at the more natural places in Belarus. Dyarhynskaya Hara, or Dzyarhynsk Hill, is the highest point of Belarus, which is 345 meters. If you know that the average elevation of the country is 160 meter, this is quite the prominent part of Belarus. Fortunately we didn’t forget to bring our winter jackets because it’s about 2°C this time of the year. In summer, temperatures could rise to an average of 19°C, too bad, but this didn’t stop me from taking a quick swim in one of the lakes though. The fun lasted for about 2 seconds. For the experts, this country is actually the transitional zone between continental climates and maritime climates, which explains the differences of temperatures throughout the seasons.

One of the magnificent lakes

Unfortunately, not everything is as good as it sounds. This country was affected and infected by Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. Statistics show that 70% of the radiation entered Belarusian territory. As of today, about a fifth of Belarusian farmland and forests are still affected by the radiation. When we were looking for information about Belarus two weeks ago, we were actually warned about this. Luckily we won’t be around for long… I’m thrilled for Poland!

Take care mi amigos! Да пабачэння!

Used Sources:
 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070528165007AACYHy9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus
http://eng.belarustourism.by/