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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! 
Apr 29, 2010 02:00 PM Slupsk (PL) - there is more to say about it
The city of Slupsk deserves more attention that it has been receiving. It was badly damaged by the Red Army during WWII for no apparent reason, rather than jealousy, they say. It was a lovely little town with picturesque architecture. Some liked to exaggerate that it was a little Paris at the Baltic. Perhaps one day, I will write a short report about this place. A few very interesting spots still remain to these days, like the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes, two very intriguing churches, two city gates, the Witches' Tower, and small fragments of the old city walls. The city has also a great reputation for its local culinary experiments.
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Apr 28, 2010 02:00 PM Ustka (PL) - a spontaneous visit
Well, not entirely spontaneous, as I had been thinking about coming to the Baltic coast at the beginning of April, after I had broken my arm. My plan was to let my arm recover in a clean air, rather than being stuck in London. However, my doctors did not let me fly, and the infamous volcanic cloud messed up flights schedules.
Anyway, here I am. Weather is nice and the beach in Ustka is exceptionally wide, probably owing to favourable wind direction. This little town has been constantly changing, renovating its old district and improving the infrastructure.
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Apr 24, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - writing reports
With my one hand only, whenever less painful, I have been typing travel reports from the 'interrupted' holiday in Tunisia. In addition to the one published on the capital city, Tunis, I am planning to publish ten more. If at all possible, in the chronological order:
- Sidi Bou Said
- Dougga
- Bulla Regia
- Le Kef
- Tozeur
- Sfax
- El Jem
- Mahdia
- Monastir
- Sousse
Six of them are almost finished, but not in the right order. So, I will not publish them as yet. Had I not broken my arm in Douz (hence no report from there!), I would have had a chance to visit, and then report on, Kairouan, Hammamet and Bizerte, as well. I am particularly sad about the UNESCO-listed Kairouan, offering unique experiences for a traveller. Bizerte, on the coast also looked promising... Also, I would have probably done some actual sightseeing in Douz and Matmata, which might have be sufficient for a report, too. I did not even take enough photographs there, while whizzing from one desert emergency room to another, from an oasis hospital to a more civilised clinic, etc.
Well, if all goes well, Tunisia will have 11 travel reports on my Globo site, overtaking China with 9, and Madagascar with 6. I just realised that there were nine countries on my site with 4 travel reports each: Belgium, India, Iran, Italy, Libya, Montenegro, Peru, England, and Uzbekistan. I am sure, I can improve on that and write some more reports on Ghana and the United States, for example.
In order not to clog Globo with too much material, I plan to publish the Tunisia reports intermittently in the duration of the next few weeks.
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Apr 16, 2010 02:00 PM Europe - a no fly zone!
So, for the second day, most of Europe has been a no fly zone due to the ash spit out by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano located on the picturesque island of Iceland, right on the border of Europe and North America. Ironically, Iceland has had no issues with their airspace due to the eruption.
The airspace restriction of this scale is totally unprecedented! A complete shutdown of the UK's civilian sky has not happened before. And probably not only the UK's sky. Lufthansa admitted today that for the first time ever, none of their aircraft has been in the air anywhere on the planet!
Anyway, for the second day in row, the London sky has been free from the white streaks of jet fuel! I have never seen a clean sky like that before. I took a picture at sunset, to show you... Normally, on this part of the sky over London at this time of the day, there should be a dozen of long white marks and at least half a dozen of aircraft approaching the Heathrow Airport. But obviously not today.
On another note, I hope the winds are going to blow the other way soon, as I have travel plans that would require me to jump on an airplane or two, so it would be best if the skies re-opened.
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Apr 11, 2010 02:00 PM An aftermath of a camel rage...
I finally got a slightly lighter plaster on my broken arm. The other one that I was given after the operation must have weighed a tonne! And now, I could also choose the colour of my plaster. My original choice was blue, but when I found out that white and red were also available, I decided to go white/red to honour my ancestors following the horrific tragedy in Poland.
I thought I could post a photo of my arm for you all to see what an ingenious piece of engineering was committed inside my body. When I saw the photographs, I came to understand why it took the orthopaedic team six hours to fix my bones and the elbow, while I was breathing through a plastic tube. I am not sure if I counted them all, but I think that there are 18-20 screws inside of me...
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Apr 02, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - Day (-1); the hospital
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND WORDS ON MY GUESTBOOK!
Landed in the UK ok. My elbow did not explode ;)
I have been admitted to a hospital in central London, did additional x-rays and a detailed CT scan. No theatres are available today, the doctor will operate on me tomorrow morning. It will apparently be a complex operation, just like the doctor in Gabes (TN) said. And they would want to keep me on the ward until Monday or Tuesday.
I'd lying if I said that I was happy with all this, but things could have been worse, my friends say. I'm trying to relax, so, if they let me go home tonite, I might post a few photographs from my short visit to Tunisia. Will see how much I will be able to share before I go under the knife. Hopefully, I will manage to post some shots into this travel log, and maybe aselection of favourite photographs from Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd, Dougga, Bulla Regia, Le Kef, Sbeitla, Tozeur, Douz (!!), Matmata, Sfax, El Jem, Mahdia, Monastir and Sousse.
Uh, keep your fingers crossed tomorrow!
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Apr 01, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - Sousse
Sousse's medina is UNESCO listed, and its walls are spectacular, but there are virtually no gates. Just gaps in the ramparts! Sattelite dishes dominate the rooftops and massive blocks of flats are erected just yards away...
Basically, that was not cool. I would never deny people access to satellite tv, but it would have been diamatrically better to install cable tv in the medina and preserve its original character, I believe.
The Ribat and the square were my favourite parts. TND5 + TND1 for camera. The view from the Ribat's tower was superb. One could see the entire medina all the way to the Kasbah!
The restaurant by the Kasbah with a terrace overlooking the southern medina was quite lovely. The personnel was very friendly and their freshly squeezed orange'n'strawberry juice (a perfect detox) was divine. The view was dominated by the satellite dishes, but one could see the harbour in the distance and the Kasbah's walls and tower up close.
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Mar 31, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - Mahdia
I arrived in Mahdia last night, minutes before sunset. Its first impression on me was not great. It did not look special at all. I immediately liked the seafront corniche, but the busy new town, full of traffic, looked like any regular Tunisian town. I gradually began changing my mind, when I took a stroll along the seafront promenade towards the Cap d'Afrique. I spotted a few incredibly decorated doorways abd pretty houses. But when I entered the little medina at night, the conversion of my opinion about Mahdia was complete.
The little square by the fort at the Cafe Medina, surroundedby perfectly trimmed trees was definitely my favourite spot in town. This was because of the fort, which I always like, and the tables under the blue (or starry) sky, and under those fantastic trees.
The medina was small but its main gate was enormous! It was deep! It was like going through a cave. Incredible sight!
The corniche planted with palmtrees, benches and paved with large flat stone blocks, right by the sea was a very pleasant place to walk and take the breeze in the hair. Whether one had broken limbs (like me - well one limb, in fact) or not.
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Mar 31, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - Monastir
Although it has relatively few sights, Monastir managed to establish itself as a prime holiday destination in Tunisia. Well, it has a better beach than Sousse and El Jem nearby, both with great monuments.
The town seemed relatively clean.
Weather was great, although March/April are typically Tunisia's wettest months.
The obvious sights was of course the seafront Ribat, which featured in the film The Life of Brian, a hysterical satire penned by the Monty Pythons.
There was also a medina full of souvenir shops.
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Mar 30, 2010 02:00 PM Tunisia - Sfax
Sfax is a busy, but somewhat pleasant city. It is Tunisia's second largest town and its medina has a complete wall surrounding it. Inside, the old town does not impress more than other medinas in the country, but the wall is impressive. The Ribat, open to visitors (TND5 + TND1 for camera) had an exposition on Tunisia's architecture. I was hoping I could see the medina from its ramparts, but that was not possible. So, I wandered around the old town, inside and outside, included a stroll to and from the hotel (Sangho Syphax, former Novotel), and off I went to the next place, that was on the way to the airport for me to go home.
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