Greetings from the Polish Middle Ages...

[chriskrak]

2010 turns out to be a year of disasters for Poland. Just over a month after the spectacular plane crash that killed the president and 95 other people on board, the country is being hit by one of the worst floodings in living memory. The level of Poland's main river, the Vistula, is at its highest since 1844... Not really something to grin about, but the following, I think, still is...



Cardinal Dziwisz, the archbishop of Krakow, is also active fighting the floods. The former secretary of Pope John Paul II. has come up with a sensational contribution: he ordered the relics of Poland's national patron saint Stanislaw to be taken from their sarcophagus in Krakow cathedral on Wawel Hill (cf. the picture above) and to be set up in the Tower of the Silver Bells of the cathedral - from where St. Stanislaw has a beautiful view of the flooded Vistula river (picture below).



Taking into account that the relics were exposed in the tower when the flood waters in Krakow were already receding, the success of this measure is self-evident... And probably soon "Wojtyla's widow", as the cardinal was called in internet comments on Friday, will be able to announce that it was only the miraculous help of the saint which saved holy Krakow, "the Slavonic Rome", from total flooding.

A nice alternative suggestion came in another internet comment - that instead of the relics of saint Stanislaw (who was a bishop of Krakow killed by order of the Polish king in the XI century), the remains of the fresh national "martyr" Lech Kaczynski should be put into the tower :rofl:

 

[smallsleepyrascalcat]

At least the church is doing something, unlike the politicians who just visit and look..... praise the lord ;P

 

[brmstn69]

Don't forget about all the flooding here in the mid-west. Over 30 people have died...


And a who's who list of top country stars have lost their homes like Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, faith Hill and Kenny Chesney...



Considering that I live about 8 blocks from the river, in a city nestled within a valley, I've been very fortunate...:worried:

Well, I've been smart too... Before I bought my house I did a little research and found that during the worse flood we ever had, way back in 1937, my house was one of only about 6 in the area that remained above water...


This picture was taken just three blocks away....

 

[newage]

what shocks me even more is people who use to live in environmentally unstable places....you'd think after the first big flood or quake or hurricaine or tsunami or w.e...they'd pack up and leave..but nooo. Boy we humans sure are stubborn.

 

[brmstn69]

I'd say you were still very worried though. That's why I cannot understand people who pump tonnes of money into their houses --anything could happen.

Not too worried...

Real estate around here is dirt cheap compared to places like L.A and N.Y or London. The prices you'd pay for a decent one bedroom apartment or flat in those areas will buy a 4 bed, 3.5 bath executive home on a 2.5 acre lot with a 3 car attached garage and in-ground pool here...

I bought the house from a widow, when the last of her children had finally left the nest. She just wanted to get enough out of it to pay off her condo (I also think she wanted a smaller place so she wouldn't have any room if any of the kids tried to move back ) I got it 9 years ago for half of it's appraised value, with a 3.5% interest rate locked in, and even in the current market, it has since gone up in value by 50%. This is because it's in a "redevelopment" area, where the city is tearing down all of the old dilapidated houses to build expensive upscale homes and restoring the historic ones...

And if a natural disaster were to happen... Well, I insured the house for it's "replacement" value or the cost to rebuild a new home just like it, which is over $250K, roughly four times what I have invested in it... :thumbs up:

While I may be a man of VERY limited means, I am very good with my money and make the most of what I have, and I can pinch a penny 'til old Abe Lincoln's eyes bleed...:rofl:

 

[brmstn69]

what shocks me even more is people who use to live in environmentally unstable places....you'd think after the first big flood or quake or hurricaine or tsunami or w.e...they'd pack up and leave..but nooo. Boy we humans sure are stubborn.

But there really is no place on earth that is environmentally stable...

No matter where you go there are issues...

I'm in the mid-west, not only do we have floods, I'm right in tornado alley and I'm right by one of the worlds biggest fault lines. The last "tremor" we had was felt in Boston...

It doesn't matter where you move to, mother nature will find you...

Tornado zones..


Earthquake zones... (I'm in that little red area in the middle)


Flood zones...


Oh, there are also at least 20 active volcanoes in the United States, and we all know about hurricane zones...

That's just some of the environmental hazards of one country...

 

[alexfot55]

The history of Poland has so many bad moments like my country's . In comparison this is not a big disaster, in terms of numbers. I sincerely wish you will overcome quickly and I am sure you will. What I am not sure of though, is that serious measures will be taken for the flood not to cause so much damage again.

 

[brmstn69]

One caveat though is to remember that everyone should have a *home*. It is wrong to think of your home as a mere commodity, that you can sell on to some sucker for a quick profit. This is what we (through painful lessons) call "property porn" in Ireland. At some point you need to say 'this is my home --it is priceless', well ideally anyway. It's all about balance --the second trick is not to get obsessed with or overly attached to a property.

I like my house and I did by it as a home, not an investment. I chose this one because it perfectly suited my needs. I just got real fuckin' lucky that the economic aspects worked out so well...

And to be honest, I wouldn't mind it if I did end up putting more money into it than it's worth because it is MY home and I want it my way...