Poland: end of my decadence

June 2014
was when I visited Poland for the first time

Beginning of June

So, exactly around this time 10 years ago, I arrived in Kraków from London where I lived then

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For the first 1.5 days in Kraków,
I was in a dream

It was cloudy
It was chilly
It was unhappy

It was exactly what I'd expected from Poland

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"Why did you get an interest in Poland?"

Every time someone asked,
I answered (still answer) "Because I liked old Polish films"

The truth was slightly different

What grabbed my attention the most was
the atmosphere Poland seemed to embrace

Dark, Depressing, Melancholic

........simply put, "decadence"

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After 1.5 days in Kraków,
sky gradually cleared up
temperature rapidly went up

Brightful, Cheerful, Joyful scenes appeared here & there

Betrayed, I felt

This kind of "Happiness" was not what I'd expected from Poland in the slightest

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My travel continued from Kraków
to Rzeszów, to Lublin & to Warsaw

Days were all sunny
Nothing decadent

And while traveling,
I had to notice I was actually very enjoying, even appreciating,
this brightful
cheerful
joyful
hence, happy vibes

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For a long time,
I was fond of art works that were described as "decadence"

Now, "decadence" is a slightly embarrassing word to use,
and I am hardly attracted to such works

Looking back,
that travel in Poland was the time when I dropped an interest in "decadence"
& started to perceive Poland as well as art works (in general) differently

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.........A couple of months ago,
I was thinking to visit Poland at the beginning of June

to "celebrate" my personal 10th anniversary

Now June
Still in Tokyo

But soon