There is magic in returning to Rome in November. Especially for someone living in Poland, which for Italians is “far” to the north. Indeed, in my country, sunny days are rare at this time, and warm sunny days basically do not happen.

And then there is Rome. On the one hand, I have an internal compulsion to always visit the same, almost obvious places for every tourist. On top of that, there are my own discoveries. I mean not only churches, but also coffee, alleys, smells.

And people watching. It never gets boring, and Romans (who are so easy to distinguish from tourists) have that SOMETHING on their faces.

But tourists, as always numerous, stop gracefully in front of my camera.

So in Rome nihil novi? Changes are slow. Eternal construction of the third metro line, eternal preparations for smaller and larger celebrations. Eternal chaos. And eternal order. Always the same. Just as it should always be in the Eternal City.

Music has been with me for 50 years. When my father found out about my birthday, he played Wagner’s „Tanheuser” at maximum volume in the apartment on Wschodnia Street. Lodz. As soon as I arrived home as a bundle, music began to trickle into my ear.

It was almost always classical music (with a few exceptions, where there was some space for The Beatles). Records, cassettes or reel-to-reel tapes were played over and over again, so I acquired knowledge naturally. I was shaped into a music lover, mainly by my father, who, despite his later fate, was a promising pianist in his youth.

I don’t play any instrument. OK, I once sang in a choir, apparently with good results, because I have good hearing. I strummed the guitar. I still admire the piano to this day, although the fact that I don’t play was a conscious decision of my parents, who didn’t want me to go through what my father went through as a child, back in the 1930s, spending hours in front of a great instrument…

Classical music is a broad definition. Which composers did I like and like the most? Mainly neo-romanticism, but also Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Chopin, of course… In first place, however, was Gustav Mahler, whom my father loved so much. His photo always hung in his workplace, which we called „the hole”.

My father loved Mahler’s music, explored the composer’s life and even wrote a novel, largely based on the musician’s biography. He did not finish his work. Fortunately, what he wrote remains to this day. My father never had the opportunity to visit places important in Mahler’s life. Those were different times and the possibilities were very limited. All that was left was imagination. Dad passed away thirty years ago. Today he would be 90 years old. I’m 50.

I must admit that I have passed through Vienna (the most important city in Mahler’s life) countless times. However, I have never visited the city itself. Where did the idea for a birthday trip with my beloved come from? I don’t know, it had to be that way. We liked the city very much, we had plenty of time for the main attractions, visiting galleries, the Prater, a concert of (of course!) classical music, good Wiener Schnitzel, Sacher Torte and delicious coffee.

Finally, a visit to a small, intimate cemetery… located in a quiet district of Vienna. Silence, no visitors. Finding Mahler’s austere grave was not a problem. A flower, or rather a piece of blooming weed, as a decoration. A short prayer. This visit to this place was for you, Daddy. And yes, I am 50 years old. But I want and intend to continue living and be happy. Trivial? Maybe. Real? Yes. After all, everything still depends on me.

It’s been a year. But from what? The beginning a war? NO. Exactly on February 24, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukrainian territory, unprecedented on such a scale- in terms of brutality, intensity, pure violence. But this war started much earlier. Unfortunately, the West has forgotten about it. And the conflict continued to smolder. After the seizure of Crimea, people were dying on the frontline almost every day. I remember the sadness of Ukrainians saying that they feel abandoned by the world, alone… However, it had one good thing in my opinion. The growing resistance and heroism, the defense of its territory already years ago had a significant impact on forging the steadfastness and self-awareness of the Ukrainian nation. And fortunately it seems that now also the western leaders have finally understood who they were dealing with. No more games with Putin.

This is a symbolic day and all the world’s media are talking about it. For me, this is an opportunity to go back with the memories to one of the most fantastic cities I have ever been to – Kiev.

I came to Kiev on business, but I always made sure that I had at least some time to experience this city. Great, crazy, intense, melancholic, modern, full of contrast city. And, above all, I met there sunny, wonderful people.

I hope that I will be able to return there soon. To go back to wandering the streets, drinking coffee, eating wonderful delicacies of local cuisine. conversations. About everything and nothing. And if I manage to take a few photos along the way – it will be wonderful. I keep my fingers crossed, especially on this day, for all Ukrainian friends. Glory to Ukraine!