2018 in a nutshell

2018 is slowly coming to an end. We have a little less than 8 hours left before we can welcome 2019. It's time for a short recap of this year, mostly travel-wise. That's not going to be much, but at least something.

1. At the end of January, we took our little bunch to Egypt for winter break. We spent two weeks in a lovely, family-friendly hotel in Hurghada, where we enjoyed ourselves, took in as much sunshine as we could and the kids had a blast swimming and playing in the pools. We hardly saw anything, but it was a great time to rest. We had our daily routine adjusted to the baby's needs incorporating fun-activities for the older two, like mini golf, tennis, swimming pool, the beach and mini club. In the evening there was also mini disco.

2. In July, me, my dad and the kids (my mom at times, too) spent a few days in Hel. The days were filled with walks in the forests and on the beach. When the weather was better, the kids were also playing in the sea. I showed them the places where I used to play when I was a kid. These were slow, family- and memory-filled days for me.We also went to Hel a few times for one-two days before that, plus the kids even more times with my parents. I can't blame them for wanting to spend all their free time there.

3. In July, we went to my cousin's wedding to Bydgoszcz. Before the wedding, we spent half a day enjoying ouselves and seeing the city (which I always treated as a pass through kind of town on the way to grandma). We had a lovely time, the weather was stunning (hot and sunny, as most of the summer this year). It was all great.

4. In August, we went to Sobieszewo (which technically, is a district of Gdańsk, yet an island quite separated from it as well) to meet with friends, climb up a tower (water tank, in fact) and enjoy the view of the surroundings. While we had to book the visit to the tower tank, it was still free of charge (and if I remember correctly, still will be the upcoming year). It was a guided tour, the guide was very open to kids and we learnt a lot. Very well organised.

5. In August, we went on a three-week Eurotrip 2018. We had our car full of stuff, like tent and camping gear, clothes, food, toys, all we could think of and a general plan in mind, but we had no idea how far we could get with the baby on board. We already knew that the older two were great travel companions after our Eurotrip2016. And you know what? The baby fits our family perfectly. We not only managed to see all the places we wanted, but even more! Just see these few pictures, each from a different country we set our feet in.

Czech Republic

 Austria

 Slovenia

 Croatia

Italy

Germany

And that's basically it for this year. If we're not counting numerous fantastic walks in our hometown.

 
Apart from the travels, we also had a few family occassions to meet up and celebrate, like our youngest kid's baptism, our oldest kid's first holy communion, our 10th wedding anniversary, my husband sister's wedding, my cousin's wedding, my dad's 60th birthday, granpa's 90th birthday, our daughter's 1st birthday... just to name a few.

2019 is looking slow. We don't have any travel plans in mind. Neither close nor far. We're open to any opportunities (most likely), but we don't have anything particular in mind. We'll see what the next year is going to bring us.

In the meantime, though, I wish you all a great year. May it be better or at least as good as the last one.

Winter break - part 2

As I have already written, during this year's winter break, we spent a week in a hotel doing almost nothing (yet doing a lot at the same time).

We wouldn't have been ourselves, though, if we hadn't taken at least one short trip away from the hotel. In fact, we took two. But both to the same town (just on two different sides of the river).

The hotel is situated about a fifteen minute drive from the open sea. Since we live by the sea, we obviously had to see it. But all jokes aside, I love beaches and the sea in the winter. It's so calm, so quiet, so peaceful. And I don't mean the sea as such (cause it's usually windy, so the sea is full of waves, bigger or smaller), but... people. Or, as compared to summer months, lack of people.

We can easily take a walk, not stepping on somebody lying on the beach. We can run around. We can admire the power of nature. And this time, we also got to admire the results of a storm that we had in January. The beach in Ustka (cause that's the name of the town we visited), at least in its central part, was full of things that the sea threw out. Mostly branches, bigger or smaller, but not only.

The first time we went there, it was cold and right before rain. The skies (and the sea) were grey, dark. And towards the end of our walk, it actually started raining a little.

The second time we went there (this time we visited both sides of the river, cause the kids wanted to play on the playground we saw during our first visit), it was possibly even colder, but the skies were blue and the sun was shining. Two different experiences, two different perceptions of the same place.

Winter fun!

For the past few years, we've had crappy winters. And by crappy, I really mean crappy. Grey, cold, wet, dark, long, with hardly any snow. And if there was any snow, it was here usually for two-three days before melting completely. Not really what winters should look like. Though it had some positive sides, too. Fewer problems during everyday commute to start with. But the child in me misses snow. Winter should be white. Period.

Ten years ago today our Finnish adventure started. We met a lot of amazing people, had the most snowy winter, got to see St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo, got to visit Santa's village on the Arctic Circle and many more. It was a wonderful time. And so many things have happened since then. I'm not even going to try and name them. Too many.

Las weekend was a long weekend here in Poland. First one this year. And white! It was snowing whole Thursday. So Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all about snow. We spent a lot of time outside, seizing the opportunity to play in the snow to the maximum.

It was still snowing on Friday. But we started the day with a walk to the nearby forest, where we have hills perfect for sledging. We also had a snow fight, of course. Cause what's a winter without a good snow fight. In the afternoon, it was time to hit the garden again (again, cause the kids spent Thursday afternoon in the garden as well). The kids and K. tried to make a snowman, but the snow wasn't sticky enough. They got back home with red cheeks, all covered with snow and happy.

On Saturday morning, we ate a quick (yet big) breakfast, packed the car and an hour later we were on the ski slope. Yes, we went skiing. Even though we live on the coast, there are a few ski slopes in Kashubia region. They're far from big, but enough for us (and many others).

It was the first skiing adventure for Paulinka. And for me as well. Those who know me can assure you that it was huge. Artur didn't forget a thing (or forgot little, me being the one to judge) from his last year's skiing classes. After some time, me and Paulinka went to the bar for some hot chocolate/tea and fries, while the guys continued skiing for some time longer. Us, girls, loved the bar part of the day, too, might I add. It was a fun, yet very cold, half of day. We spent the rest of it at home.

Sunday was all about snow fun again. It was cold, but sunny this time. We went sledging, we were rolling in the snow. We definitely had fun.

The whole weekend was all about fun. Snow fun. Making memories. For me, snow fun is connected with hot chocoloate or hot cocoa once I get back home. And slices of bread baked with cheese. As simple as that. I want my kids to have memories with snow, too. They don't have to be the same as mine. As long as they are good. And hot chocolate/cocoa just has to be in the picture.

How was your winter weekend? Already waiting for the next one? We sure are. (My beloved camera is still dead. It's been too long. So all pictures were taken with mobiles. Which I hate).

Independence Day

Today's post is not going to be about travel. Though we were supposed to be on the road. Unfortunately, flu season got us. We stayed home.

We woke up today to see the world covered under a (light, but still) blanket of snow. And it was still snowing. It was so pretty. Yes, it's that part of the year.

But today is special not only because of (November) snow. Today Poland celebrates its Independence Day. On November 11, 1918, after 123 years, Poland regained independence.

Poland is an old country. Maybe not as old as some, but much older than others. We got baptised in 966, had our first king in 1025. We had our ups (like the 16th century) and downs (like the 18th century). The downs led to the partition of our country (or partitions, cause there were three that led to disappearance of our country from the maps of Europe: 1772, 1793 and 1795). Our Constitution of May 3rd, 1791 was the first in Europe (and second in the world, after the American one). Though it diminished many priviledges of the nobelty, it was already too late to save our independence.

Though we had the Duchy of Warsaw set up by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 and the Kingdom of Poland set up by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, no truly independent Polish state existed till the end of the WWI. We tried to regain freedom during the uprisings of 1830 and 1863, but they were both unsuccessfull. Polish identity never ceased to exist, though.

It was in the period between WWI and WWII when my hometown, Gdynia, was set up.

The young country couldn't protect itself from the nazi invasion of 1939. WWII started in Poland, in Westerplatte. And we lost independence again. First to nazis, then to soviets. It wasn't until 1989 that Poland was free again. Again trying to be part of Europe, part of the free world. We joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. We're still a young democracy, trying to learn. Many people, still affected by the old regime, believe that the country should guarantee them certain things (instead of doing something themselves to have them).

I don't want to get into current political situation and dispute, so I'll just end here.

In the middle of a forest

Imagine a place that is just an hour, maybe an hour and a half away from the city. Away from the place where you live. Yet, it is so distant that getting a phone reception there is a nightmare. You have to stretch to your limits, turn upside down (however that might have), or do any other things that will make you look totally hilarious to get the faintest phone reception that would maybe allow you to send a message. Maybe. Or will disappear in the middle of the process. And you'll have to start all over. (Well, it used to be like that when I first visited the place. Now it's easier to make a call ;)).

Imagine that you are woken up in the morning by the sun shining right on your face. You get downstairs, open the doors as wide as possible and drink your morning tea/coffee (or whichever beverage you prefer) listening to the birds singing beautifully right next to you.

You're in the middle of a forest. Just a few other houses (holiday homes) are around you. There's a great chance you'll meet nobody else here. Maybe one or two neighbours. If you're really lucky. But most of the time, you'll just have birds and squirrels as your neighbours.

The forest is full of blueberries. And mushrooms (rumour has it). If you're a fan. And butterflies. Colourful, magical. Ones that fly right next to you, not scared at all.

If you're bored with sitting by the house, you can always go down to the lake. The path is steep. And could get slippery, either from rain or from dry sand. But it's the fastest path to the lake. You can take a longer route. Take the road (forest road, not really for cars all that much), which is much safer. Well, at least in the sense that it's not so steep. Actually it's rather flat, believe it or not. Oh, and just beacuse it is wider and flatter, doesn't necessarily mean you'll meet more people there. Cause you probably won't.

When you already get to the lake, don't count on a beach. Just find yourself some place on the grass, drop your towel, shoes, clothes or whatever you wish to drop and get into water. You might see some people on the other side of the lake, but they won't bother you. It's still quiet. The water is clean. And refreshing.

This place. Kniewko, as we call it. Cause there's no official name, as far as I know. Just a street name (yes, that forest road has an official name. Sounds hilarious, but that's what it is ;)). In the middle of a forest. Away from civilisation. But close enough that if you really want to, you can commute to Tricity.

That's where we're going to rest after the whole road trip. Cause I figure we're going to be all exhausted, one way or another ;)

We're going to spend our last days of this year's holidays there. And by us I mean me and the kids. Cause I have a month off work (lucky me, I know) and my husband only three weeks. So I'm going to spend all days in Kniewko with the kids and Krzysiek is going to commute. So that he could spend the evenings and nights with us.

 I hope the weather is going to enable us all that...