Let's plan July together: The rich men's world

People have always been interested in how the richest live. We all can easily imagine a modern "5-star room". But how did the rich live in, let's say, 17th century? Any ideas? What was modern then? What was trendy? What was the sign of success? Well, let us see! What say you?

In 17th century being "cool" meant "collecting pieces of furniture, each from different era, and the more the better". That pretty says it all. But you will be surprised how well they can match with one another. And how creative is their design. That is not all. Every piece of furniture in the Hipolit House is right where it was 400 years ago. It doesn't feel like museum at all - it feels like home. On the second floor we can see another rich man's house, but this time dated for 19th century. We can easily compare how much has changed during 200 years. I will not tell you what is the manner of the changes - if you want to know, go and see it yourself.

You can visit the Hipolit House throughout the whole month. I advise going on Wednesday - on Wednesdays you enter for free. More information about the exhibition can be found on mhk.pl.

Let's plan July together: Women power!

What comes to your mind when I say "rock"? Well, I am pretty sure that 90% of you just imagined a guy with a guitar, in torn jeans, screaming to the microphone, more or less looking like Kurt Cobain. If so, surprise!

Deap Vally are American rock duo consisting of Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards. They have just released their debut album titled "Sistrionix". Their music is often described as "White Stripes meets Led Zeppelin". They supported such artists as Iggy Pop, Muse, Dinosaur Jr. and The Vaccines. They also played at Glastonbury Festival in 2013. They have unbelievable energy when on stage and every their show is an unforgettable one.

Deap  Vally will play in Lizard King pub in Krakow on July 7th. More information about the band you can find on deapvally.com.

Let's plan July together: The legend in pictures

Have you ever heard about Stanley Kubrick? A silly question, isn't it? Who hasn't heard about him? He is regarded as the icon of the cinematography and his name is familiar to everyone - even those who do not enjoy watching films.

Kubrick's fan will surely experience an unforgettable adventure, but the exhibition is not created for them only. Those who do not know Kubrick's works will have a great opportunity to discover his genius. The exhibition presents over 1000 exhibits: iconographic items from films, costumes, props, original screenplay and books with director's notes. Visitors have also a chance to admire Kubrick's photos, documents, letters, awards, and technical equipment. The creators prepared four different routes for the exhibition: chronological one and three built around the main themes that can be found in Kubrick's films - war, technology and madness.

You can visit the exhibition any day in July. It takes place in the main building of National Museum in Krakow. More information you can find at kubrick.krakow.pl.

Let's plan July together: Crime and... art, baby!

Today I have something special for you. The very first attempt to show crime through art and art through crime. This isn't another boring exhibition that just presents pictures. This exhibition will make you THINK - and probably think in a way you have never thought before.

"Crime in Art" is the 4th exhibition in a series which combines art with the most significant civilisational themes such as history, sport, science and religion. The main goal of the series is to demonstrate how many inspirations hide in our everyday life, how many symbols there are just waiting to grab them. The previous exhibitions were "History in Art", "Sport in Art" and "Economics in Art". Now we are going to focus on crime.

The exhibition features such works as a collection of police portraits dating to the beginning of 20th century, prints from Andy Warhol's "Electric Chair" series and numerous works of Belgian artist Danny Devos, who has a great fascination for crime and serial murder. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication that will provide deeper insight into the presented works. You are welcome to visit Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow during the whole month. I recommend doing it on Tuesday, as on Tuesdays you can enter for free.

More information can be found at mocak.pl.

Let's plan June together: A history that cannot be forgotten

During the World War II in Krakow Ghetto lived one man who wasn't Jew. He was Tadeusz Pankiewicz, owner of the only pharmacy in the ghetto. The pharmacy still exist, now it's a museum - one of those you cannot miss being in Krakow.

The exhibition in The Eagle Pharmacy not only presents historical design of the place but also tells us a story about Krakow Ghetto. In 1941-1943 the pharmacy witnessed the tragedy of Jewish inhabitants and finally the liquidation of the ghetto. Every room focuses on different aspect of the history. One will show us everyday life in ghetto, another will tell us about Mr. Pankiewicz, the third - about the pharmacy itself. The Eagle is great addition to the nearby Schindler's Factory museum - it tells the same story but from the different point of view.

The pharmacy is open everyday - personally I recommend visiting it on Monday when you can enter for free. More information can be found on mhk.pl.

Let's plan June together: Celtic-style party!

Punk rock and celtic music? Seems ridicolous, doesn't it? Well, you'd be surprised - this weird mix do really exist and what's more it sounds good!

Dropkick Murphys is a punk rock band that consist of the desendants of the emigrants from Ireland. The nice thing is that they remember their origin and try to weave celtic motives into their music as often as they only can. Such idea may seem strange but trust me - it works. Punk is energy - and celtic music is energy also, only a bit different. Energy + energy = whoa! As simple as that. I can promise you that Dropkick Murphys concert will be fun. Definitely.

You can enjoy Dropkick Murphys' explosion of energy in Klub Studio in Krakow on June 18th. more information about the band can be found on dropkickmurphys.com.

Let's plan May together: River rafting!

Starting from April 25th we invite you for the exciting Dunajec River rafting. The trip takes place every day.

The trip on the wooden rafts conducted by experienced rafters in folk costumes is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe. It takes you through the beautiful Pieninski National Park. While on the raft you can admire amazing landscape with the high summits of Trzy Korony and Sokolica Mountain as well as enjoy the surrounding of nature still untouched by civilization. The castle ruins in Niedzica and Czorsztyn can be visited during the trip. There are also numerous sites enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List nearby.

You will experience thrilling adventure while on the rafts and surely relax in the charming Pieniny landscape. After the rafting you are invited to rest in a picturesque area of Czorsztynskie Lake. You are welcome to spend that day with Jordan Group. More information about the trip can be found on the website: turystyka.jordan.pl.

Let's plan June together: Eather dreams

Alchemia is one of the most important clubs on the map of Krakow. It is a place designed for underground, independent, ambitious events that do not fit well within mainstream or popular art. Alchemia is often visited by students but not for dull drinking. They visit for art.

The Unusual History of Eather is a Dutch band with Irish vocalist - and this mix says all, really. Scandinavian melancholy (which I will always recommend to everybody, it is sooo beautiful) and a volcano of energy from Ireland - that's a recipe for great music. It is hard to name the genre here because the music is too rich to describe it in one word. For me, listening to The Unusual History of Eather seems like floating in a fog so thick that it slows all the movement, and maybe even the time itself as well. I case I haven't made myself clear enough: yes, it is good.

You can listen to The Unusual Hisotry of Eather live in Alchemia Klub in Krakow on June 13th. More information available here: alchemia.com.pl.

Let's plan June together: Turkish tea-party

Etiuda & Anima is the oldest film festival in Poland that presents the works of  students of film and art schools all over the world. The festival itself takes place in autumn but a few related shows are being organised throughout the whole year.

I would like to recommend one of such events. Klub Gwarek in Krakow will organise a show of several short animations. All of them are created by the students of Anadolu University in Turkey. The animations are about 3 minutes long, each telling a short story built around a main theme. The whole show will last almost 2 hours and we will see over 30 films. The event is free - the idea is basically "come, watch and get inspired".

Klub Gwarek invites you to come on June 2nd at 18:00. More information about Etiuda & Anima festival can be found on etiudaandanima.com.

Let's plan May together: The party, the lad and the lost shoe

Who doesn't know the story of Cinderella? Which young girl didn't want to lose her shoe as a clue for a prince to find her? (well... me. I wanted to take a sword and go kill a dragon instead. I was a weird child. However, with no dragons around, a party with a prince would also be nice, I suppose...) Wouldn't  you want to come back into your childhood dreams for an hour or two?

The Metropolitan Opera form New York presents "Cinderella". A story of a poor girl who dreams of visiting the nearby castle and see a great ball with her own eyes. Her stepmother and two envious sisters do it every week or so, but Cinderella is always left home. One evening, when she is left alone again, her fairy goodmother appears. Cinderella is given an awesome dress and carriage (created of her old, stained dress and a pumpkin with magic) and can finally attend a ball. There is only one condition - Cinderella but be back home before midnight, for then the spell will run out and everything will turn back to its previous form...

How the story ends we all perfectly know. It is not about being thrilled about the ending, it is about being a child again for a few moments. We can become children once more on May 11th at Kino Kijów in Krakow. It will be fun, I promise.

Let's plan May together: A bit of Scandinavian melancholy

When somebody says "Scandinavia" what comes to our minds? I'd say it's snow, raindeers and tall blond guys with big pale eyes filled with melancholy. Well, I can see no snow out there, the same with raindeers. I cannot promise tall blond guys either but a bit of Scandinavian melancholy - as you please.

Airbag consists of a five (definitely tall) guys (but only one blond...) from Norway. Their music is located somewhere between art rock and progressive rock. In truth it is hard to label them. To describe their music properly, one must know the wide range of bands which inspired them. Listening to Airbag we sometimes hear Pink Floyd, sometimes Radiohead, sometimes the guys glimpse at late Porcupine Tree compositions, sometimes they flirt with their fellow countrymen from A-ha. You don't need to be Alfred Einstein to know that "progressive rock" label doesn't fit here really much. So let's do it another way. Let's look at the four legendary bands I wrote about and... let's come to Airbag concert!

The show will take place at Klub Studio in Krakow on May 25th. More about the band you can find here: airbagsound.com.

Let's plan May together: What do you have inside?

When I remember my childhood, it's filled with questions. I wanted to know everything. Why there are no dinosaurs anymore, how and when the sun is going to die, what happens with food once I gulp it? I had an illustrated book about the human body, it was my favourite one...

Now the world has changed and children are limited to the illustrations no more. So are we. We can go and see the inside of the real human body. We have such a possibility thanks to The Human Body Exhibition. Our bodies are a perfect machines built with so many different pieces it seems impossible that they all work together in harmony. It's a wonderful symphony of live. But it is also very fragile. We should watch it and learn to treat our bodies how they deserve it - with great care and love. The exhibition will surely be helpful here.

The Human Body Exhibition can be visited in Klub Fabryka in Krakow the whole May. I honestly recommend it.

Let's plan April together: A meeting with Rusalka

Rusalka is a creature from Slavic mythology. It's a water spirit, a female ghost inhabiting lakes (usually the ones where she died). She takes form of a beautiful young woman, naked or clothed in simple white dress. She is known to dance around the lake at night and tempt handsome men to come close and then... she drowns them (or dances them to death, according to other sources).

The famous opera by Antonín Dvořák tells a story of love between Rusalka and the Prince. The Prince saw her when wandering through a forest at night and instantly they fell in love with each other. Unfortunately, Rusalka could not leave her pond. She had to ask Ježibaba - a forest witch - for help. And help she received but a witch's gifts always have a price. Ježibaba turned Rusalka into a human but took away her voice. The Prince took her into his castle and they would live long and happy if not for a Foreign Princess. She came to the castle, beautiful, mysterious and... having her voice. That's when the troubles started.

You can see how the story ends on April 21st. Kino Kijów in Krakow will be transmitting the show live from The Metropolitan Opera in New York. See you there!

Let's plan April together: A little sacred spark in our eveyday lives

Christmas and Easter are two events when most of us seek to add a bit of sacredness to their everyday lives. These are times for meditation and focusing rather on the inside than the outside. The city of Krakow will gladly help you in this task. Lords and Ladies, I present to you the Misteria Paschalia festival.

Misteria Paschalia is one of Europe's biggest festivals of early music - focusing mostly on Renaissance and Baroque music. Every project presented during the festival is prepared specially for it. This year the concerts will start on April 15th and end on April 21st. We will have a chance to listen to such masterpieces as "Kantaten und Konzerten" by Johann Sebastian Bach or "La Ressurezione" by George Frideric Handel. The Festival Management chooses the musicians very carefully. For many of them this will be their debut at the Misteria Paschalia, but all of them are extraordinary and quite talented young people.

The programme and ticket information you can find here: misteriapaschalia.com.

Let's plan April together: A trip to outer space

There is something really charming about independent music. Isn't it beautiful that nobody limits a band's imagination and creativity? Isn't it beautiful that we receive the purest form of music, exactly as a band intended it to be? Isn't it beautiful that there exist such bands as God Is An Astronaut?

5 men form Ireland who release their albums by their own label Rocket Records. In truth, this says everything. This will be great evening filled with great music. What kind of music, you may ask. Well... it's complicated. As is all independent music. It's partly post-rock, partly electronica, partly dark ambient and partly everything else. Mostly it's what musicians enjoy playing. And if you enjoy your music, the audience will surely enjoy it as well.

The concert will take place at Klub Fabryka in Krakow on April 18th. You can read more about the band here: superadmusic.com.

Let's plan April together: Music of the Celtic souls

As you probably don't know yet (but soon you're gonna know it well enough), I have a great fascination for Celtic culture. And by culture I mean everything: history, mythology, everyday life, languages... and music as well. I wouldn't be myself if I didn't recommend you visiting Auditorium Maximum in Krakow for Gaelforce Dance concert...

Gaelforce Dance is a group of Australian dancers and Irish musicians. Together they perform a show similar to famous "Lord of the Dance" by Riverside. The plot is simple - a story of two young lovers, each of them trapped in a marriage without love. It is a tale of love, passion, hope and desperation - a universal tale easily understood regardless of nation, sex, even age. All of that is served in a mix of both Celtic and modern music. Trust me, you cannot miss that.

The show will take place on April 13th at 6:00 pm. You can read more about the band at gfdpromotions.com.