At the window

Copenhagen and Warsaw - the two sisters

In times of old, in the depths of the Baltic, lived two sisters - half fish, half women. Both of great beauty. One day, they came ashore and emerged from the foamy waters of the sea. One sister resolved to swim to Danish straits, where she lives today. We can see her sitting on a rock at the entrance to the port of Copenhagen.

The other mermaid swam to Gdansk - a small town by the sea, from where she moved up the river Vistula (Wisla). Legend has it that she came out of the water to a sandy bank, at the foot of today’s Old Town of Warsaw, to take a rest. As she liked the place, she decided to stay.
Consequently, fishermen from the nearest village noticed that whenever they went fishing, someone churned up the river, tangled up their net and set fish free. Thus, they resolved to capture the pest and punish it. But as soon as they heard the mermaid’s beautiful voice, they gave up the idea of doing any harm to her. What is more, they truly came to love this gorgeous woman-fish, who, since that moment, adorned every evening with her wonderful songs.
Then, one day, a rich merchant walking along the shore saw the woman with fish’s tail. The idea occurred to him that he could catch the creature, imprison her and show for money on fairs. He did as he thought. By using a trick he captured the mermaid and incarcerated her in a wooden shed. Fortunately, her cries for help were heard by a fisherman’s young son, who, assisted by friends, set the mermaid free.

The half woman half fish, grateful for the rescue, promised to defend them whenever they called. Since that day, Warsaw's mermaid armed in a sword and shield protects the city and its inhabitants.
She doesn't seem to be that scary, though. ^_^

Marriage in Warsaw...

結婚おめでとう ^_^

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 - May 24, 1543) was an astronomer who provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the solar system in his epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres). Copernicus was born in 1473 in the city of Torun (Thorn), in Royal Prussia, an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Poland. He was educated in Poland and Italy, and spent most of his working life in Frombork (Frauenburg), Warmia, where he died in 1543.

Copernicus was one of the great polymaths of the Renaissance. He was a mathematician, astronomer/astrologer, jurist, physician, classical scholar, governor, administrator, diplomat, economist, and soldier. Amid his extensive responsibilities, he treated astronomy as an avocation. However, his formulation of how the sun rather than the earth is at the center of the universe is considered one of the most important scientific hypotheses in history. It came to mark the starting point of modern astronomy and, in turn, of modern science, encouraging young astronomers, scientists and scholars to take a more skeptical attitude toward established dogma.

Sweethearts and roses

Lazienki park, Warsaw, Poland.

Frederic Chopin Monument

Frederic Chopin (the most outstanding Polish composer) Monument in Warsaw, Poland. Situated in the Lazienki park complex. Designed by W. Szymanowsky, and unveiled in 1926, it was destroyed during WWII by Nazis. But it was reconstructed in 1958 and brought back to its previous place.

It will rain soon...

f/2.8, 1/5s, handheld.
Nice color contrast between the plumbeous, cold sky and the warm church.

Bikes in Copenhagen

A lot of people uses bikes, in Copenhagen.

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It seems that someone wanted a motorbike, but didn't have enough money for it.

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Some of the bikes you can see around are useful to carry on a lot of objects, from the shoppers to the children.

Some of them, though, are not useful anymore ;-)

Sumo in Copenhagen

Not exactly the same as the one in Tokyo, but still quite enjoyable ^_^