All Saint's Day November 1

We experienced a very different type of holiday here in Poland, All Saint's Day.  It's not like anything we do in the United States.  On this day, stores, schools, and businesses are closed and people travel all over Poland to visit the graves of family members that have passed away.  For some that have lost loved ones recently, this can be a somber time.  For others, this can be a time of joy reminiscing and spending time with family.  For us, we were told that it was worth a visit to a local cemetery so that we could take in the beauty of the holiday.  So, we did.  It seems odd to find beauty in a cemetery and yet it really was quite beautiful!

First though, I have to share with you a bit of ignorance on my part.  For the month prior to this holiday, we kept seeing all these lanterns for sale in EVERY store.  At first, I thought "Wow, people really do love their lanterns.  Everyone must decorate their homes the same way this time of year."  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that a light bulb went off in my head that these must be the lights used to decorate graves during All Saint's Day.  Indeed, they are and they make a stunning display as you walk through the cemetery, especially after dark.

On this day, buses were running about every ten minutes.  So, it was easy to catch a bus and follow the crowd to the cemetery.  By the time we arrived at the entrance, the bus was quite full and the cemetery was busy with visitors.  We took our time roaming around and observing the graves being careful to be respectful.  Unlike traditional graves in the U.S., traditional Polish graves are completely covered with a stone platform and a headstone.  It's on this platform that flowers and candles are placed.  Many graves even included younger photos of the deceased.  

Here are some photos we captured:

Lanterns come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Before entering the cemetery, there were several places where flowers, and lanterns could be purchased.

This area at the entrance to the cemetery is dedicated to the Polish people who died in exile.

This area is dedicated to Salesians.

Many graves have small benches facing the stones.

We planned our trip so that we could see the cemetery both in daylight and darkness.  The sky was beautiful.  The trees were beautiful.  The temperature was 60 degrees with no elements.  A perfect day to remember loved ones!

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We watched a drone go over the cemetery while we were walking.  This photo was taken of the cemetery we were visiting.
Photo Cred: Dron Expert https://www.facebook.com/drony.lubin/

An October Walk

We are headed to the woods in the background.

We've had beautiful weather this week and it occurred to me that this may be our only Autumn in Poland.  Only God knows what is in store for us after August of next year.  With that in mind, I want to make sure that we take time to enjoy each season we are given here.  So for school on Friday, we decided to take advantage of the warm air and bright sunshine with a long October walk.  We walked probably 5 kilometers in about two hours and it was absolutely gorgeous.  The air was fresh and earthy.  I came home both tired and refreshed.  I love that in Poland, the government owns most of the forests and they are open to everyone for walking, and biking.

 We haven't gone very far.  Yet, the city seems so far away.

 Saplings on the forest floor.

 Passenger train line is being installed and eventually will take us to some fun places.

Construction

People that know me well know that I love construction, architecture, and engineering.  I used to sit for hours combing through my father's books about cathedrals and castles and their construction.  Fascinating stuff!  In fact, my original career choice was architectural engineering or construction.  I ultimately chose a different path but I'm still so fascinated by the way things are built and I just love the work that goes into building.  Naturally, I'm drawn to the way things are built here in Poland.  It's profoundly different and in the long run, better and more economical in my opinion.

Two things we've noticed, most homes in Poland do not have air conditioning.  It is becoming more popular but with the way homes are built, it's rarely even necessary.  We've also noticed that our home here is fairly quiet most of the time since the walls are super thick.  During incredibly windy days, it is virtual unnoticeable from the inside of our house.  The walls and windows don't move or make noise.  I find it fascinating to look outside and see the trees bowing in the wind and yet, our block house stands firm and unnoticing.

I don't fully grasp all the details so I can only share pictures and bits and pieces of what I've learned or what I've seen.  Regardless of my understanding, it is fascinating and I sort of wish we could transfer these ideas and materials back to the states.  Here, homes and commercial buildings are built with similar methods and materials just on different scales.

This building is under construction close to our church.  Notice the blocks being used.  These are not cinder blocks.  They are significantly lighter and slightly larger than our traditional blocks.

This is a support column.  Long rebar rods with poured concrete are used to reinforce load bearing areas.

You can see in these pictures that another building already exists next to this site and there are doors in anticipation of this building's completion.

This picture from the front of our new church under construction shows the foam outer layer being applied.  This foam blocking is glued to the exterior and provides incredible insulation.  You can also see that once the blocks are finished on the exterior, windows and doors can be installed.

Once the foam block is on, a mesh layer is applied over the top.  It is on top of this layer that the final stucco like outer layer is added.

This is the stucco on the outside of our home.  It is textured and painted.

Windows here are quite fantastic.  You will notice right away that there are no screens.  In Indiana with all the bugs, this could be an issue.  In Poland, it's not a big deal.  Windows can open from just the top as you can see here.

When it rains, we can leave our windows open at the top usually unless it's terribly gusty.

For most of the summer, we left at least one of our windows completely open at night and often even our deck door.  Mosquitoes weren't an issue this year and birds don't even attempt to come in.

For us, the icing on the cake are the blinds.  These are an optional install on the outside of the windows.  If you want your room to be cool in the summer, simply drop the blinds completely during times of full sun.  No air conditioning needed.

It's also nice to have these blinds if you are a miner or someone working an off shift job.  These blinds can let in a little light through the small slots like shown here or they can be closed completely for a black out effect.  These exterior blinds are also nice for shutting out the nighttime city lights.

In this picture, you can see that electrical cables are placed after all the walls are placed.  Where the cables are run, a place is chiseled out of the wall.  Later, the walls will be smoothed out with plaster and these channels in the wall will be completely unnoticeable.  

Cables for electric hanging from ceiling in our new church common area.

Here Ed is working on the last bit of roofing on the new church.  It's similar to the metal roofing in the U.S. with the look of tile.  Some homes have actual tile roofs but it appears the colored sheet metal is more common now.

It is common for homes to be built in long rows with connecting walls.  You can see here that each home has a unique color palette with different roof tiles, window types, garage doors, and colors.  It's really pretty.

 In an attempt to dress up the apartment buildings built during Russian occupation, the city has undergone a colorful face-lift.  Most apartment buildings both old and new have vibrant colors.

Since the exterior of buildings is a stucco, all sorts of geometrical shapes and lines are used to create interesting designs on these apartments all across Lubin.

 This building has yet to be painted.  It desperately needs it!

 It appears to be next on the list for a face lift.  They have scaffolding sitting next to the building.  For the sake of the residents, I hope to see some pretty updates.

All the apartment complexes are very clearly labeled with the addresses on the outside such as this one.  This makes finding people so easy.