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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
May 12, 2010 06:00 PM Poznan (PL) - flights & hotel booked...
I am not even sure how many years it has been since my last visit in Poznan. It must be about 12-13 years. I cannot say that I miss it that much, but it would be nice to see how the city has changed. I lived there for four years between 1991 and 1995. And it has been bothering me that this great academic city has not been given enough credit as a good place to visit. So, I decided to go and write a short story about Poznan, based on the up-to-date information. I will go in a month. Just for a short weekend. I will take photos and report on the qualities. Hopefully, weather will co-operate...
Poznan will host a few matches as part of the Euro 2012 UEFA Football Championships. I just wonder how the city has been preparing itself for this event. I will have a chance to test the airport for example.
I will stay at one of the hotels in the centre. I wanted to book Hotel Mercury, but it was not available at a reasonable price. I stayed at the Mercury before when I was in Poznan back in 1996 for business. Oh, well. Uh, I am not expecting to see anyone I know in Poznan, who knows - it is not that a large city.
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May 11, 2010 06:00 PM Serbia - Belgrade and Novi Sad - the 133rd country
So, it looks like Serbia is going to be number 133 on my list of visited countries. I booked tickets for a weekend at the beginning of July with Wizzair. Belgrade is their new destination and I managed to snap a ticket for, what it seemed, a promotional price.
The plan is to explore Belgrade for a day and then venture north to Novi Sad for a day. I expect to take a train between the two cities, which I am sure is going to be an experience. I looked up the connections and the journey should take approximately 2 hours.
I have been resisting of going to Serbia. I disagree with the policies of this country and its overall attitude towards co-existence with their neighbours. The Serbs have been real trouble makers in Europe and still seem to be so arrogant. And yet, I decided to have a look around and sample their hospitality. I just wonder if they manage to change my opinion about them...
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May 08, 2010 06:00 PM Berlin (DE) - easy Sunday
I have almost forgotten that my arm was operated on a month ago whilst in a foreign country amongst the great people, but the metal piece of engineering did remind itself to me. So, after a very painful night, I managed to roll off the bed to make the brunch meeting with a mate on town. We were late. But it was a great, good value brunch washed down with hefe-weizen (obviously)!
Then, a stroll around my favourite parts of Berlin - Oranienburger Strasse, Bergmannstrasse, Simon-Dach-Strasse, Warschauer Strasse, Kopernikusstrasse, Libauer Strasse, ... I will not reveal them all. But the common element that they all have is the pavement cafes and restaurants, and bars, and clubs. So much buzzing everywhere. Yes!
And so, it definitely was not a sightseeing trip to Berlin. Again. Perhaps next time, provided I can fit a weekend in the summer, I manage to do more cultural things and take some up-to-date pictures... I am making no promises.
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May 07, 2010 06:00 PM Berlin (DE) - how typical!
It seems as though that by just dropping to Berlin to see my family, I might not be able to see the city's monuments ever again... ;) And now, without exaggeration, should weather been better, it might have just happened this weekend. But it was not. So, my friend and my cousin simply slept in and went to see what TK Maxx had on offer. There was not much. Then, we went to Mehringdamm for the Berlin's famous curry wurst. I think I had it before, but it must have been ages ago.
After that, we went back home. Two baked chickens and a few glasses of Cuba Libre later, we went to Warschauer Strasse, or rather under the Warschauer bridge, to test the Matrix club. Initially, we stood in a line for an adjacent club without realising our mistake. Just wondered how long it would take us to get to the door, and whether we are going to get in at all, one of us went to speak to the bouncer. When the guy found out that we were from London, he said that we ought come straight right to the top of the line. So, we did, and then realised we actually did not want to go in there! It was so funny, as we then spotted the door for the Matrix, and switched lines. For about 2 seconds, I felt sorry for the bouncer...
The Matrix had a relatively good mix of people, reasonable music, a number of dancefloors and their hefe-weizen was priced at the acceptable €3.70 per pint. Interestingly, there was a small cage at one of the dancefloors, where topless guys danced with a clad-dressed gal. Not all the time. Only at the beginning of the night, and then again - at a about 4 a.m.
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May 06, 2010 06:00 PM Berlin (DE) - hello again!
I am in Berlin again. I am not sure what number of times I have been to Germany's capital. My first time in this fascinating city was when it was still a capital of its own entity, but not Germany. The Berlin Wall was still standing. That was about 20 years ago.
The city has changed dramatically since then, obviously. And keeps changing. For example, the airport I have been recently using the most, the SXF, is being re-built into the capital's single airport, the BER, as the other remaining and still operating airport, the TXL, will close in 2011. The SXF-BER building site is Europe's largest construction site. It is fascinating to see how the landscape has been changing and the new motorway (Autobahn 113) running to the airport, which opened in late 2009, is superb.
Last time, I was in Berlin, a few months back, I could not visit the city properly due to family issues, but this time round, I should change that.
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May 05, 2010 06:00 PM Berlin (DE) - on my way again...
As the UK votes, I am packing for the weekend trip to Berlin, to see my family. They have moved, so this one is to check their new place.
I checked the weather forecast and hopefully it will be nice over the weekend. That would be great indeed, as we have been thinking of doing some open-air bar hopping in the area the new place is based. And a big brunch on Sunday! Well, we'll see.
I am not sure how much sightseeing we will do, as this will depend how hard we will eventually end up partying. It would be good to see some of the great spots of Germany's capital once again.
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May 03, 2010 06:00 PM Ustka (PL) - Weather came back, and more kids
The Head Master and the Librarians of my primary school in Ustka had invited me to meet the 6th grade and tell them a little about my travelling and photography. I agreed. It was set for today.
The Polish language teacher sacrificed her Polish lesson for the meeting. Such a shame that my Polish is no longer academic! It might have been better if it was a geography or art lesson. Anyway, it was a great fun. The pupils had lots of interesting questions. They were keen to find out how I have been choosing where to go, how many languages I could speak, what sorts of strange foods I had a chance to try, which nations were more welcoming than others, which was my favourite spot on the planet, what my favourite photography subjects were, whether I was publishing my pictures, where I was planning to go next, and what to do to be in a position like mine and see the world. Uh, and they asked whether I would place their photo on the Internet if I took one. So, I took one, and here it is.
The rest of the day, I spent at the seaside. I met my friends, took my parents and my aunt for a cup of mulled wine at the seafront promenade. It has been a great day again. Plenty of sunshine and good time.
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May 02, 2010 06:00 PM Ustka (PL) - Poland's Constitution Day
Poland had the first national constitution in Europe, and only the second in the world, few years after the one signed in the US. It was agreed by the Parliament on the 3 May 1791.
During the 1945-1989 regime, the day was used for pro-democracy demonstrations to counter-balance the May Day marches. The Poles have always been proud of their '3 May Constitution', also the communists and socialists had been quick to voice words of glory for the act and the document. Yet it took the governments until the regime collapsed to make the 3 May the National Day.
Today, the 3 May is a public holiday. Local communities celebrate in various ways. In many parts of the country, there are traditional feasts, festivals, all sorts of festivities. And since 1 May, remains in the Polish calendar as the International Workers Day, it is also a public holiday, a day off. So, effectively the 2 May is a zombie day. Most Poles take this day off as well and set off for a long weekend. Incidentally, the 2 May is known in Poland as the National Flag Day. Perhaps in order to let the Polish flag fly between the other two days.
Today, weather has been rubbish. It's been raining all day, and the temperature dropped from the comfortable 20C to about 7C! I wanted to go to Kluki to see the Kashubian Black Wedding. It takes place at the open-air ethnographic museum in Kluki, amongst the old traditional houses and barns. The locals, who live in the village, prepare superb festivities. There is traditional singing, dancing and cooking. The best are pastries (sweet apple pancakes) and meaty sour soup with pork saussage and egg. Yummy! And of course there is plenty to buy in terms of traditional handicraft, be it intricate table cloths, woven bed throws, embroiled towels and serviettes. Sadly, weather stopped me from going this year! Such a shame...
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May 01, 2010 06:00 PM Kobylnica (PL) - a birthday party
I went to Kobylnica. There is absolutely no reason to go there, unless one has a particular church fetish. There is an old church in Kobylnica, very typical for the region - a single nave and a large square bell tower at the end of it. Uh, Kobylnica hosts also two of Słupsk's large shopping centres. So, if one ran out of eggs, then this might be the other reason.
I have a completely different reason. My friends live there. Their 11 year-old son had his birthday on the 30 April and a big party takes place today. Lots of crazy kids running around in the garden, kicking balls, riding bikes, taking unauthorised dips in the stream (fully clothed, obviously!), screaming and making an impossible mess. Rather typical... What a joy! But there is something for the grown-ups, too. The grill! Saussages and pork, and plenty of organic beer. It has been a great party and weather has been helping a lot!
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Apr 30, 2010 06:00 PM Ustka (PL) - May Day
In the past, on the May Day, Ustka was famous for its ice-cream makers to open their shops. Long queues were forming in front of the Chomczynski's shop. People were buying mainly strawberry, chocolate, cream, walnut, pistachio, or blueberry flavours. Some came with whipped cream and raisins.
Not today. On the 1 May 2010, people decided to venture to the beach and take a walk. It was a beautiful sunny day, but it was a bit chilly. One of the restaurants on the seafront promenade was selling mulled wine, which was superb. I noticed many groups going on a short seafari on the converted fishing boats. The fishermen, given the EU ban on fishing, converted their vessels into a medieval ships offering rides along the coast.
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