Beetroots have many culinary usages. The Most popular are soups and beetroot salad with horseradish to go with meat. The most valuable beetroots are those with dark flesh and thin skin and a uniform color inside. It is said that the most tasty are beetroots which are not bigger than 8 cm. The juice from these raw vegetables has the most nutritional value, so eating them in this form brings us the most healthy spoils. In second place among dishes are beetroots roasted in their skin. Next in line are soups and in last place, cooked beetroots.

The sweet taste of beetroots goes together perfectly with the taste of distinctive cheese, so today's recipe makes use of these ingredients.

I have read an article about Stephen Hawking's new project intensifying the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. Scientists plan to use Green Bank from the US and Parkes from Australia, the biggest telescopes in the world, to scan an area of outer space that is ten times bigger than any area explored before. This project will engage many scientists and will cost millions of US Dollars. The project is supported by the British astronomer, Martin Rees, and the Russian businessman, Yuri Milner, the latter of which handed over 100 million dollars for the project.

Every time I read or hear about such activities I have two thoughts which quarrel inside my head and cannot be reconciled. From one side I think that it is great that humankind makes scientific progress and that such geniuses as Hawking exist, since without them we would not have any progress or many useful things. Today such people discover the cosmos and its opportunities, whereas once they worked on the light bulb, penicillin or the discovery of new lands.

No doubt these are positive and worthwhile activities. I only have some doubts about the cost and the ultimate goal. It would be easier for me to accept a search for new places in the universe where humankind could produce food or relocate in a crisis. I do not understand the point of a goal where we should find another civilization in the universe whatever the cost. It would be good if we managed to find some allies, but what would happen if we found enemies – a more developed civilization with a hostile approach towards aliens?

There are places which tell us about their history on their own. To this group belong castles ruins, palaces, military fortresses and heritage parks. If the people who care for them are also engaged and full of passion, these places become even more enjoyable for tourists.

When we went thorough the brick-built gate into the Boyen fortress, we were welcomed by a guard with a very serious facial expression and a small squadron of Prussian soldiers. All these minor details made the Boyen fortress look more realistic and very attractive for children.

The Boyen fortress in Giżycko was built between 1843 and 1855 as a strategic construction to control the pass between Niegocin and Kisajno lakes. The Fortress is an example of Prussian Fort building knowledge from the mid XIX century and is one of the best remaining relics of defence architecture from the XIX century in Poland. It is difficult to believe that this huge fortress, which occupies around 10 hectares, was built so fast. The attention to detail and aesthetics of many elements is remarkable, even though this is a military fortress. The biggest surprise for me was seeing one of the best remaining openwork buildings, which in its prime served as a pigeon loft for almost 700 carrier pigeons.