Reflect.....Rejoice.....Ring the bells......

It is Christmas eve.  Time to rejoice and to thank for all the blessings.  Time to remember the beautiful children and adults whose lives were taken abrubtly in Newtown CT.  So far, Mother Earth has seen many brutalities all over the World.  War, hate, intentional and non-intentional crimes, destruction of nature, natural disasters to name a few.  Love, hope,  prayer, caring and sharing alone will ease the pain of loss and destruction.  Let the bells that ring tonight bring peace and consolation.

Let joy and love prevails.

***WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS***

             PEACE ON EARTH

All content copyright © by Sobana Iyengar.

Perogeis....Plum Vodka.....Poland......

Landed in Warsaw on a cold afternoon during early November. The fall season is still reluctant to go away and the trees still had some leaves. Luckily I had a weekend in between the busy work week to explore the culture and the city itself.  Warsaw, like most of the ancient cities developed on the banks of the Vistula river pronounced in Polish as "Viswa".   Poland's sad history covers many wars the important one being the Polish invasion by the Russians and the Germans.

The old town is the best place to stroll and to taste the Polish specialty like the perogeis. The restaurant owner understood my vegetarian requirements and recommended the one made with potato and cheese filling. It reminded me of Indian Samosa!.  Poland is also famous for vodka just like its neighbor Russia.

Needless to say, Perogeis and plum vodka are the best combination.


Apart from food, Polish music and art are quite enchanting.  Chopin's music can be heard on the streets. I mean literally! There are small benches on the street which has the recorded music of Chopin. When you walk the street and feel tired,  press the button, the music plays!

I did manage to see most of the tourist attractions that reminded of a war stricken past - thru photographs, museum artifacts and the co-existence of communities like the Jewish ghettos, buildings that are built on top of the rubble, the vibrant old town and the modern business centers.  The city looks beautiful with a poignant past, resilient present and full of dreams for the future.  Thanked the Marriott city center staff for making my stay a memorable one and headed to Frederic Chopin airport to catch a flight to Walldorf Germany, my next stop.

PEACE ON EARTH

All content copyright © by Sobana Iyengar.