I heart Polska

The carnival was a little lack-lustre.

In April, 2009, a 3-hour train journey east of Berlin brought Chris, Rob and I to the second city of our crazy trip across Europe: Poznañ (pronounced "Poznanya").

We quickly fell in love with this amazing place, soaking up the atmosphere created by the Easter celebrations in the square at the centre of the city. Traditional singing, dancing and all sorts of activities for the kids of the city were on show, which gave the city a small-town feel.

Rob and I took a lot of photos while we were in Poznañ, but, for me, the one to the left was the one I had to upload here. I was guilty of feeling Poland would be a cold, unwelcoming place to visit. The initial idea I had is represented by the dreary backdrop, which was quickly overpowered by the warmth (and obvious beauty) of the inhabitants and the atmosphere due to the Easter celebrations, represented here by the colourful balloons. It's ok, even I found that a little bit nauseous. I liked the balloons, and thought it was a bit funny that they were tied to such a crappy chair.

It was a wonderful place to be, and a great entrance point, for us, to central Europe. I can't recommend this city enough.

Retrospections...

Cathedral of Intercession of Theotokos on the Moat (commonly known as St Basil's Cathedral, or The Building I'd Most Like To Eat, If I Could), Moscow, Russian Federation

For what's left of 2010, I'll be looking back over the last few years and picking out some shots that represent everything I love about traveling, seeing new things and taking photos of said things.

This is, as the caption describes, St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. I have been to Moscow many times, but not often have I found myself there as a tourist. I worked on Sakhalin Island (just off the east coast of the immense country), and passed through Moscow en route to/from work. It was on this particular trip that I decided to buy my first dSLR and where better to give it a test run in Russia than in Red Square?! Seeing this building in its wooden-framed (yeah, I know!), red-brick and ornamental glory is quite the treat. Amidst the madness that is Moscow, this building, once the tallest building in the city, stands out like a beautifully-decorated sore thumb.

People sometimes ask me what I've thought of spending time in Russia. Having spent 3 years working in the country, I've can relay that I found it to be equal parts welcoming, intimidating and intoxicating (and yes, in the alcoholic sense!). I did find, though, that even attempting to speak the language works so much in favour of the outsider. Wide eyes and open mouths greet the expat who attempts to speak some Русский.

Back to the photo, though. I was extremely lucky to stroll into Red Square on a beautiful September afternoon. While not really sure how my camera worked, I set it up (i.e. Auto mode, hehe!) and pointed it at the cathedral. A pretty simple process, but it worked!

Welcome. Tá fáilte romhat. Bienvenue. Willkommen. مرحبا 歡迎

Hello agan, Ireland.

Ok, this is my blogospherical debut, and I'm going to spare any boring details.

I want this blog to encourage me to take more photos, more frequently, and subsequently become better at doing so. That's the purpose of this endeavour, in a nutshell.

I'll give a little commentary on each photo, too, and why I wished to share it with y'all (I'm still trying to purge some American slang from my system :) ).

The first image I've uploaded is a view of Ireland upon my return from a fantastic year in the US. I'm uploading it because it shows me what a wonderful place I'm from, and its a place I sometimes take for granted. That's it!