Andrzej gives me a Polish gasoline iron (actually a trade, I will send him something interesting from the US when I return). The iron is shown here on the counter in my apartment, and Kate took a picture with “my” and “her” irons for comparison. This is quite large at 38 cm (15 inches) long, with a large bronze gasoline tank. I am guessing maybe 1920s.
While in Warsaw, I visited another iron collector. Andrzej Wilk has, like me, been collecting irons since a teenager. He collects irons from around the world, with a particular strength on the slug and coal irons. Like me, he has a very tolerant wife.
Those who know me know that I like to joke about bicycles used by REAL MEN, as opposed to those sorry woosies that have to use silly things like gears (and brakes). Real bicycles are not much seen in the US, but occur fairly commonly in store displays and advertising in Europe.
Being in Warsaw means another visit to the Copernicus statue. It was this visit where I first realized that the statue is surrounded by a solar system model, with all the planets to Saturn. The brass plaques and distances are not in scale. Ziemia means Earth in Polish (names also shown in English and Latin [I think]).
The pianist Chopin was born in Poland, though spent most of his life and died in France. His music gave voice to Polish dreams of once again being an independent country (from the 1790s to 1918, Poland was partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria). When he died, Chopin’s heart was brought to Warsaw and included in a column (second picture) in this church.
A picture of the main altar in the church. Kate lit some candles for her mother, father, and a recently deceased sister.
This is a modern wrought iron sign in front of a store. What I like are the details that one sees throughout the old cities of Europe: Note the snail at the base of this sign.
Wrought iron work on a fence, with Adama Mickiewicza in the background.
Some more pictures of the Old Town area in Warsaw. The second picture is of the Herberta Clarka Hoovera Square. President Hoover is not too well remembered in the US, as his presidency included the beginning of the Great Depression, but he is deeply appreciated in Poland. Hoover did humanitarian work in Eastern Europe during the early 1920s, then locked into a serious famine. He is one of those Presidents who was successful at everything he ever did except the Presidency.
Kate arrives for five days in Warsaw and Gdańsk. First stop is at the pottery shop to pick out some more tableware items for the B&B in Caribou Maine. In the second photo, Kate stands in front of the items of our selected pattern. We are buying about 42 pieces: dinner plates, smaller plates, bowls, platters, larger bowls/casserole dishes plus incidentals (creamer, sugar bowl, teapot, knapkin holder). These are being shipped to Maine – we will see if they arrive without breakage.