Kids on a Mission

... a mission to litter the street with flowers, while dolled up in festive traditional folk outfits.

These little girls were busily tossing flower petals from their tiny woven baskets, all part of a procession celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi this past Thursday (a national holiday in Poland - also the start of yet another long weekend). Just one of many such processions around Krakow, this one happened to be going straight through my neighborhood.


 
 I remember doing the same thing as a child, wearing a red flowered skirt and ornate velvet vest just like the one above - both were hand-sewn and embroidered by my grandmother. This outfit is specific to Krakow, while other cities and regions in Poland have their own unique styles and patterns. 








It's fun to be able to admire these little works of art 'in action' once a year, walking the streets proudly with their very important mission in mind. Perhaps the only time of year when littering is encouraged. 

Boys get to dress up too - a glimpse of the traditional 'Krakowiak', top left

All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

A Favorite View

Ulica Bracka, looking north towards the Ratusz- always a lovely sight in the evening


All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

Krakow's Indie Market

Two weekends ago I (along with some friends from out of town) serendipitously stumbled upon 'Targi Dizajnu vol. 3', a sort of artisans market for independent Krakow-based designers.  Apparently this is a seasonal event, where mostly 20 to 30-something artists gather to showcase their various handmade wares, apparel, and accessories. The level of craftsmanship was pretty impressive, especially for some of the stylish hand-sewn purses and clothing items. It seemed like a lot of the designers are available for custom orders, and many are reachable through facebook if they don't have independent websites. A list of links to designers is available here.

A few of my photos from the event:

Upcycled bags by Trashki

Right: Jackets hung in background by Bosque

  

Plush critters by Entala

All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

I wasn't able to identify all of the products shown in my photos. If you see your product, please let me know so I can tag you.

Out of the City (Part II)

To a winter wonderland

A pristine snowscape broken only by the forest animals - including three wolves following the trail not long before us

Near the peak, everything still frosted over, cold mountain air prevailing over bright sunlight

Skeletons of trees

A long-anticipated view over the Tatra mountains (from Schronisko PTTK, Turbacz)

A furry friend who also wishes to enjoy the view.



All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

Out of the City (Part I)

To a quiet place

 
All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

Winter's End

On an early morning walk through the park, catching what was possibly one of the last frosts of the winter

Waiting in line at 8am for ... ?
 

An orange duet 

All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

A Brisk Welcome

Dziendobry (good morning), Krakow!

All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 CozyCity. Please cite if borrowed.

So Long...

 
Sunday was a bright, breezy winter's day in San Francisco. The sidewalks were bustling with shoppers and locals dressed in a wide range of layers, from t-shirts to heavy coats. This was to be my last visit to the city for a while, since I will be heading over to Krakow soon for a longer period of several months. 

I was on a mission to savor a delicious espresso at one particular cafe before leaving the Bay Area indefinitely. Despite being tucked away out of sight in a side street, Blue Bottle Coffee had a line out the door. This is not too surprising, considering how generally awesome they are. Perfectly crafted drinks and some good decor decisions are only part of what makes this particular Blue Bottle establishment a thoroughly pleasing Sunday afternoon stop. Luckily, we brought a camera to practice snapping photos. 

  

Waiting in line, eyeing the goods

Latte and cappuccino

 
The cafe's layout was efficient and welcoming, with wooden bars lining the large windows on two perpendicular walls as well as along the counter, and one large communal bench in the middle of the room. We also liked the placement of the espresso machine, making it so the baristas never have their backs turned toward the customers. The plain, bare surfaces and limited color palette allowed for open shelves that showed off an array of stacked ceramics, glass wares and paper sacks. The ceramics glazed in rich brown or white, like coffee and milk, looked especially nice against the cooler toned shelves (what color is that - robins egg blue?).

A major highlight of our visit to Blue Bottle was seeing their vintage glass-bulb siphon pots in action.  Basically, a halogen lamp heats water in a sealed glass bulb until the vapor pressure forces the water up a tube into the top chamber filled with tea or coffee grinds. The barista stirs the grinds with a small wooden paddle, and when the process is complete the heat is turned down allowing the liquid to filter back into the bottom chamber, ready to be enjoyed. 

Siphon Pots

Don't you wish you had these in high school chemistry class? What an enticing way to learn PV=nRT.

fini.

So long for now, Bay Area, and thanks for all the great coffee!


All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 Cozy City. Please cite if borrowed.

Browned Butter

Now that I've gotten in the habit of photographing some of my daily activities, this is what I was up to last night:

Preparation

Transition

Tasting (just had to try one or five)

The butter for these cookies was first browned in a small enamel pot, which as I learned only works if the butter is heated to a high enough temperature (otherwise it takes forever). Funny thing about browned butter - the 'nutty' smell is weirdly similar to that of crayons. Maybe it's just me though?

The recipe was adapted from this one. I used light brown sugar instead of muscovado, and less of it. I also used regular all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. The chocolate chunks came from a bar of 70% Scharffen Berger, and I loved their uneven effect in the cookies - adding that little element of surprise.  Needless to say, these cookies will disappear quickly.

All images taken by me - Copyright 2012 Cozy City. Please cite if borrowed.