First impressions

Chopin's presence is truly felt everywhere: notes come out from the speakers of the LOT plane ready to take off while piano music lifts our spirit in the city center small streets encouraged by Chopin's profile on chocolate packaging in every "delicatessen" store we see in the city.

Dark grey anonymous buildings do not even try to reach the sky: they humbly show about for to six floors, rarely more. Their sad little entrances seem to hide an infinite number of apartments where plain white curtains hide everyday tools from the view of the passersby. In the corresponding parking lot, BMWs, Mercedes and Mazda cars, all brand new, quitely wait for their owners next to red Lada that have almost turned to a rusty pile of communist dust.

Brand new malls, huge IKEA, Auchan and Leroy Merlin stores stand proud and alight along the new highways: their colorful banners are visible from far away and make up for the new landscape all devoted to capitalism and its symbols (and uniformity), together with woods, small farms and crumbling or abandoned houses. Prostitutes in bright shorts and high heels wait for the occasional customer, standing under the sun while hurried drivers zoom past.

Wooden roofs and doors, all carved and with different hues for a happy and precious chromatic and texture effect. Like a new form of crafted lace they are home to families living up in the mountains where the cold air whips our faces in the spring. The sound of the hoofs on the tarmac announces the simple carriage and its strong local horses, big, solid and honest animals ready for the curious (and tired) tourists who are eager to reach the feet of the slopes and the ski jump where international competitions are held in the winter.

Credits: TheDaydreamer (via iPhone)