Adventure in Bydgoszcz and Toruń

3rd post of the Europe trip 'series' - Bydgoszcz and Toruń.

------------------------------



Despite being in Bydgoszcz for 5 days, I never really had the opportunity to explore the place. The Old Town Square, the super huge shopping mall Focus Park and the Minor Basilica of St Vincent a Paulo were the only places I've been to.



The Minor Basilica of St Vincent a Paulo, the largest church in Bydgoszcz, is a Roman Catholic church of a neo-classical architecture. In 1997, the church was elevated to Minor Basilica status by the Pope John Paul II.



Here are some statistical facts about the church: it has a height of 65 m, a length on the NE axis of 81 m, surface area amounting to 2700 square metres, and a total capacity of 135 000 cubic metres. :)



The architecture of the church is a contrast with the other churches I've seen in the Old Town Square, which most of them are of gothic designs. I prefer baroque and neo-classical buildings. :)



And I love the blue blue sky. :D



What I like about Bydgoszcz and Toruń is that both places are relatively peaceful, with no hustle and bustle of the tourist crowds. Unlike the other cities.



Toruń is a city near to Bydgoszcz, about 30 minutes bus ride away. This medieval old town is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous astronomer that proved that the sun is at the centre of the Universe. Toruń is listed as a World Heritage Site in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.



It was suggested by Laura and Artur that we should visit Toruń, because it is a beautiful place. I couldn't agree more. :)



Our first stop in Toruń was the Old Town Hall, with a statue of Nicolaus Copernicus.



We climbed up the tower of the Town Hall, to catch the panorama of Toruń.



Beautiful. :)



I always find street buskers fascinating. More so when they are in the old towns, dressed in ancient yet fanciful costumes.



I think these street buskers hold on to their missions and aspirations to bring smiles to the people, rather than earning those little pennies. But hey, who knows, their special talents might be able to bring them big bucks. :)



Laura and Artur brought the group around the old town of Toruń, and we visited the Cathedral of St John, and bought the famous gingerbread biscuits.



Iris and I then went on to walk around the outskirts of the old town with Laura, and we came to the city walls, where the Leaning Tower was. The Leaning Tower is one of the characteristic sites of Toruń, and it was named so, because this 15 m-tall tower has a deviation of 1.4 m.



The sun was setting, but I love the warm hue. Makes photos look so much nicer. Haha..



I remembered we walked quite a distance, around the old town and the outskirts. By then most of the shops were closed, but the things we saw along the streets were much more interesting. :)


'Little Bastard'

The three of us decided to give our feet a rest, and to feed our hungry stomachs at a rose-themed cafe hidden away in a corner of the old town.



I love the ambience of this cafe. Away from the buzz, behind the brick-red city walls, under the cool shades of the trees. The tables were decorated with roses, even the crockery and napkins were with rose designs. A hidden garden. :)



Laura had her tea, Iris had her hot chocolate, I had my iced coffee. :) We had their speciality pork salad and apple crumble. And I must say that their apple crumble was damn delicious! Yummy! And the ice cream that came along didn't seem to melt much! :D



The day in Toruń ended on a nice note (and dessert). The cool weather, together with Laura and Artur as our superb guides, made it even more enjoyable. Honestly speaking, the day in Toruń seems to be more memorable than the other cities that I've been to. I always believe that the connection and interaction with the people is the key element of a memorable experience.

Laura has been a very wonderful guide and interpreter. The help she has rendered during our stay in Bydgoszcz and Toruń was something we could never be thankful enough for. Despite the many problems we had faced during the festival, she was always in smiles and helped us seek for solutions. She is part of our success and achievement in Bydgoszcz.

It is nice to have known a friend like her. :)

Performances in Bydgoszcz

2nd post on NUSCO's Europe trip series - performances.

------------------------------

The main objective of this trip was to compete and perform in the 32nd Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions.

The competition was held on the mornings of 1 and 2 July 09, at the Music Academy. Frankly speaking, it was quite tiring, having to wake up early, get dressed and be ready at the venue before 9am.

There were a total of 10 groups participating in the competition, and we were the first to perform, and the biggest group of all. :) To be honest, the repertoire we presented was something different to the ears of the audience and the judges, which I believe is one major factor that contributed to our achievement.



The competition was tough. The other groups also displayed great showmanship of talents in their performances. The diversity of the performances was also pretty fascinating, some of them were so amazing, that just left me in awe.



I like the flute band, Brevis, from Belarus. I've never seen so many recorders that come in different pitches and sizes. The boys were versatile, they could just exchange their recorders with one another for different pieces. Oh, don't remind me of the saliva. Haha..



But seriously, I've never heard music so beautifully played on the recorders. Very soothing to the ears. :)



A couple of groups performed on the accordions. But this group, the Victoria Trio, also from Belarus, was of high standards. The accordion is quite a complicated instrument, I don't understand how all the little buttons work. And their fingers seemed to glide all over the accordions. Haha..

The competition also featured some interesting sights as well. Like this violin-trumpet (or is it a trumpet-violin?). A combination of the contrasting brass and string instruments. :)



There was also a rock band participating in the competition. The music was good, no doubt. The tune of the Polish song is still in my head. But somehow, the setting was so wrong. A rock band in the hall of the Music Academy. So out of place.



We had our own concert on 2 July 09, also in the Music Academy. I think we enjoyed our own performance and had fun. Afterall, the competition was over, and the audience was enthusiastic. We even received a standing ovation. :)



It was quite scary for me though, because I had to be the emcee, and I never liked being the centre of attention on stage. Poor Artur had to be our interpreter, but I must say that he did a great job. Not easy for a 15 year-old kid to be standing in front of the audience and translate whatever that was on my script. :)



The gala concert held on the last night was a splendid performance put up by all the participants of the festival. Almost 800 Bydgoszcz people came to watch the concert held at the Opera Nova. It was really a showcase of the diversity of the cultures. (Video can be viewed here.)



I didn't get to watch the first half of the concert. All of us were at the backstage, waiting for our turn to be up on stage. The kids had fun though, interacting with the Latvian group and even learned their Latvian dance. (Video can be viewed here.)



I was at the audience seat during the second half of the concert. Some of the performances were familiar, because I had watched them during the competition period. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable to hear some of my favourite pieces.

Towards the end of the concert, things started to get exciting, because it was the prize-giving ceremony! It was quite scary, to see hundreds of participants gathered on stage, but it was grand as well, because everybody was dressed in their bright and colourful costumes.

As they announced the various prizes and the respective receipients, anxiety started to show on everybody's face. The voice of the interpreter was muffled by the cheers from the audience and participants, and that sent us guessing what prizes were already awarded and what were left.

One by one, names were called out, but not NUSCO's. The chairlady of the European Krzysztof Penderecki Music Centre then made a long speech (which of course was in Polish), it just left things hanging.

Then, 'NUS (she pronounced it as 'noose')... Chinese Orchestra'. Loud cheers filled the entire hall. We won. The Grand Prix – The prize of the Minister of Education and of the European Krzysztof Penderecki Music Centre. :)

I wasn't on stage to feel the high spirits of the orchestra, but witnessing the winning moments from the audience seat was equally satisfying.









A milestone for NUSCO. :) A happy ending for NUSCO in this festival, which also meant an ending to our stay in Bydgoszcz. This festival has added vibrancy and colours to the city, but I think it holds even stronger meaning to all participants, no matter how the results turned out to be. The interaction, the fun, the showcasing of one's own talents and cultures, would be something memorable, and perhaps unforgettable.

Adventure in Bydgoszcz

First post on the NUSCO's Europe trip 'series'. This is starting to be like a travel blog. I like. :)

------------------------------

It was in 2005 the last time I took a long haul flight. Coincidently it was also with NUSCO to Switzerland for a performance cum tour. This time round, it was with another mission - to compete in the 32nd Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions.



Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland, with a population of around 360,000, making it the 8th biggest city in Poland. All of us had a hard time pronouncing the city name, and hence named it B-Town. :)



We set off on 28 June 09, and began our 12-hour flight to Frankfurt, before transiting to Warsaw. It was long and tiring, but little did we know that the next 10+ hours would be worse than that.



The airport in Frankfurt was so huge that I wanted to curse. The security checks were super slow and queues were long, so horrible that Iris and I almost missed our flight. Enough said.

When we reached Warsaw, we were greeted by the extremely helpful English interpreters assigned by the festival organiser. Laura and her nephew, Artur, have made our stay in Bydgoszcz pleasant, which made it even more memorable.

It was another gruelling 5 hours from Warsaw to Bydgoszcz. The bus was poorly ventilated, and the journey was bumpy. We were literally melting in there. Toilet break at the gas station was one hell of an experience too. 46 people queuing up for only 2 cubicles, and we had no Polish zloty to pay for the toilet usage. We had to resort to tricking, by not closing the doors for the next user. It took us almost half an hour. With no money to buy food for lunch, we were starving. By the time we got to Bydgoszcz, it was already evening.

The hostel was erm.. old. haha.. Another 'memorable' experience. Room was dusty, and the beds squeaky. Iris and I would wake each other up whenever we toss and turn in our sleep. I'm thankful for having my backpack when it comes to climbing up the stairs to the 3rd storey, where our rooms were. :D

The toilets.. only 4 shower cubicles in the entire hostel for the females. Doors were translucent. Haha, I shan't elaborate further.

Bread with cheese, ham and butter were served for dinner. The Polish hardly eat anything warm for dinner, not quite like us the Asians, our dinner is usually the heaviest meal of the day. Not surprised that the Polish call their dinner 'supper' instead.

To understand a country's culture, supermarkets are a good way to find out. That was our evening walk. :)

The next day morning, we had our rehearsal for the competition at the Music Academy.



Small as it was, the acoustics of the 140-seater auditorium was good.



After our rehearsal, we had some media interviews by the Polish regional and state radio stations. I suppose they were pretty curious about the Asian culture. Just like how some other cultures seem exotic to us. :)



Iris, Mr Lum, Artur and I had to meet the mayor at the city's office. We took a walk under the hot sun to the Old Town Square, where the office was. The meeting with the mayor together with the other groups' representatives was more like a dignified gift exchange session. Haha.. And we had a TV interview as well, totally caught unprepared.

In the Old Town Square, I discovered that Polish people like eating ice-cream. Of all kinds and flavours.



The afternoon was then spent in the square, for the festival's inaugural concert. Very colourful. Just look at the photos, and you'll know what I mean. :)









Somehow all the old town squares in Europe look similar. But what I like about Bydgoszcz is that it's rather peaceful, and not so tourist-y. I hate crowds.



And the cobblestones give all the old towns a very unique feel. I like. :)



And pigeons fly high in all the old town squares too. Haha..

During the inaugural concert, all the participating groups were there to receive a token of appreciation from the city. According to the Bydgoszcz's culture, the host would give a big loaf of bread to show their appreciation to their guests.



Don't ask me why. haha..



The friendly Laura brought me and Iris around the Old Town, and that was the only few times we got to explore the city.



Bydgoszcz has an iconic bronze monument across River Brda, the Przechodzący przez rzekę (Crossing the River). It was presented to the citizens as a gift, on the occasion of Poland's accession to European Union.



Europe seems to embrace the culture of graffiti art.



The sun was setting, and here comes the golden hour! :)



Most of our time were spent during the actual festival events. Quite a pity, because I think Bydgoszcz would have other nice places to walk around too, other than the Old Town Square.



To end this post, this raspberry ice-cream from Bydgoszcz was superb! :D