Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

No river is perhaps as important for local Poles as this one. It's the symbol of their region, and their hopes, dreams and fears have been symbolised for centuries in this narrow valley in which the river flows.

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Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Out of curiosity, what comes up for you when you Google some variation of "drunk general statue" in Polish? I thought about including a reference to the UPA, but he was such a useless drunk that he didn't deserve even the slightest bit of maytyrdom!


Nope :) I'd say that the importance of this river culturally is far bigger than its size.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Yes, absolutely. A fascinating character, but for all the absolutely wrong reasons. Apparently there was an entire cult around him in the PRL, just to make things worse :/


This part is right, but the guess is wrong.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I aim to please :D But yes, it's a tributary of the Oder.

The exact location - let's say "all roads used to lead from Lenin."


I'm a very predictable person, don't you know!

Study / School meals in Poland [145]

I don't think this article was posted here, was it?

nauka.trojmiasto.pl/Co-jedza-nasze-dzieci-w-szkolach-i-przedszkolach-n126803.html

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Wait, wait, Atch...I'm always rolling it in both directions *and* I'm overdoing the kneading, so maybe this is the source of all my woes!

Maybe the perfect steak pie will happen one day...

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I admit it, the whole point is to impress you with my random historical knowledge!


Well, there's two big clues in the sentence. But first you need to know the river in order for this clue to make any sense. But nope, not Kaczawa nor Bialy Dunajec.

Aaand... If it's in bold, it's always a clue ;)

Food / Is brain-damaging vegan fad growing in Poland? [176]


Oh wow Maf, thank you for this! I love the way that it's relevant and up to date, and I've got the Robinhood one on now.

Life / Poles turn their backs on organised religion. [85]


You don't know your religion, do you?

Like others, you appear to have difficulties with the life of Lazarus.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Nope.


That's the entire point of my riddles ;) You need actual knowledge of Polish language, history and culture, rather than what can be easily googled.

Freedom and Friendship, the two most important aspects of this society.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


You're on the right track, but not this one, sorry!

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Nope. Another clue...

This river is sometimes compared to the Jordan by local inhabitants, particularly in song.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Bingo! Now the place, if you will ;)

(yep, it's a tributary of the Oder - begins near the village of Olza, near Chałupki)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I'm definitely not giving you any more clues!

(I will say - you're thinking in the wrong way about the Lenin clue)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

Well, now you're thinking in the right direction, but no, definitely nothing to do with the Szlak Lenina.

You're going to kick yourself when you figure it out :D

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


I'm trying to be awful :D


Naturally ;) The "Freedom and Friendship" and "I'm so predictable" clues should more or less guide you to the exact location. ;)

Oh sod it, one more clue:

From where I stand, men and women once paid their dues.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

There are not-quite-twin structures in this case. Which one is it? ;)

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

Bingo!

It's taken from Most Wolności looking south - more or less exactly this: google.com/maps/@49.7432592,18.6291063,3a,15y,192.77h,92.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sS5Kl2ZoOD2nE78XLcgJM9w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I'll explain the clues:

1. The Olza is mentioned in the anthem of Cieszyn Silesia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%82yniesz_Olzo_po_dolinie - the first line of the anthem contains the words "Płyniesz, Olzo, po dolinie," - You flow, Olza, down the valley. - or from my clue, in this narrow valley in which the river flows. It's pretty much the defining symbol of local Poles in that area on both sides of the current border, and the name of the region on the Czech side - Zaolzie - "beyond the Olza" - so it's very much in the local consciousness of the people, way more than other rivers.

2. All roads lead from Lenin - I was proud of this one. The current ul. Strzelnicza - which leads onto ul. Wolności in Český Těšín used to be called ul. Lenina, and back then, Most Wolności was a one way street for entry into Poland (Most Przyjaźni was for entry into Czechoslovakia). So - all roads did indeed lead from Lenin, as this was a major border crossing between Czechoslovakia and Poland.

3. Being predictable - several previous pictures featured border crossings or border towns, and the last one was also of a border bridge.

4. Freedom and Friendship, the two most important aspects of this society - a direct reference to Most Wolności and Most Przyjaźni. I thought for sure that anyone looking at a map of the Olza would see the two bridges called that ;)

5. This river is sometimes compared to the Jordan by local inhabitants, particularly in song. - a reference to Jan Kubisz and especially Płyniesz, Olzo, po dolinie.

6. From where I stand, men and women once paid their dues. - a reference to the customs duties being collected on the bridge in the past.

That was enjoyable :D It's particularly nice to make clues which simply can't be googled without knowledge of Polish history, culture and language.

Study / School meals in Poland [145]


It's a great example of the poor relationship that Polish people have with food. It's treated as an afterthought, something that is designed for calorie intake and little else. Things are changing among the younger generation, but the mentality in the public sector is that food is something that should be made as cheaply as possible, consequences be damned. It's the same problem in public hospitals.


We don't talk about my battle to eliminate crap from lunchboxes. Or more specifically, my battle with stupid teachers who thought that it was fine for kids to be bringing large amounts of sweets daily.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]

My next riddle:

You need to go next door to pick up your identity card.

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Study / School meals in Poland [145]

You'd think so, but some of them had very curious ideas about nutrition. My favourite situation involved a PE teacher telling a parent straight-out that her daughter was obese and needed to go on a diet, and the mother claimed that her nutrition was "correct". It turned out that the mother's idea of nutrition involved two "pizzerki" bought from Biedrońka and a packet of crisps!

Study / School meals in Poland [145]

...Lenka? have you got a cat crawlling all over your keyboard? :D

But no - the teachers should be enforcing the rules. We had a rule about reasonably healthy food only, but the teachers were unwilling to do the right thing by confiscating the junk (the kids could get something from the kitchen if they didn't have anything else) and writing to the parents to come and collect it from the school office. There was a clear policy in place, but several teachers from 1-3 thought it was 'cruel' to force them to only have healthy things.

Parents were told repeatedly, but some of them were incredibly stubborn on the topic and unwilling to listen.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


It is indeed. Remember that I'm very predictable :P


I admit to having a general love for Zaolzie, as there's such a unique culture there. Cieszyn is easily one of my favourite places in Poland too, and I've spent hours just wandering around the city on a warm summer day.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


This time, no :D

West met East here, the result of a carving knife used repeatedly.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Yes, it was deliberate ;) I was planning to lead people towards the area with some clues, such as writing something in Cieszyn Silesian. But I was really motivated by encouraging anyone reading to learn more about Zaolzie - if you get the chance, I'd really recommend exploring the whole area, as it has a very very interesting feel about it, even down to the bilingual use of Polish and Czech.


Bingo :D For an extra point - what was the meaning of "you need to go next door to get your identity card"?

Now to think up another fiendish riddle...

Life / Poles turn their backs on organised religion. [85]

Well no, we all know how one church Elder clearly got involved so he could help himself to the roof repair funds.

Food / Is brain-damaging vegan fad growing in Poland? [176]


Pineapple, mozzarella, tomato, onion and pepperoni. Get in.

Food / Is brain-damaging vegan fad growing in Poland? [176]


Also very acceptable, but with olives and onion.

Travel / Poland in photo riddles - part 2 [1680]


Aha, very close :D You're more or less right - for some reason, the seat of the municipal administration is in Skalmierzyce, not Nowe Skalmierzyce. So people need to go 'next door' to pick up their ID cards.

I can see that my originally planned riddle makes no sense now as you'll almost certainly know it ;)

News / Previous Poland's government corrupting the media. [125]


You do realise that PiS have applied so many new taxes and 'charges' that 500+ has more or less been swallowed by it?