Bon lundi!
Last spring I went on a trip I had wanted to go on for so long when at last Michael and I finally made it happen. It was a 16-day trip all around Poland. We had an incredible adventure which ranked as one of the highlights of 2014, yet I haven't said much about the trip other than my initial thoughts in my 10 Most Memorable Experiences in Poland post.
That's going to change this week. You see, when we told people that we were going on our big trip of the year to Poland, one of a few possible reactions followed. Surprise. "16 days?" Shock. "Poland??" And more clarifying questions ensued, usually boiling down to: 1. Why Poland? and 2. What's in Poland?
Today I can cover the why. I have Polish ancestry on both sides of my family, and I've always been interested to visit the country for personal reasons as a way to connect on some level with family roots. (And Michael is questionably Polish - he keeps telling me he is, but no one can tell me who in the family was from Poland. But I'll share Poland with him, regardless.) That and I've always had an interest in history, especially surrounding WWII. I felt the need to see Auschwitz just once in my lifetime, initially for its historical significance and later on more so once I found out a portion of my family died in similar camps. All of this made me want to set foot in and explore Poland, but it took awhile to sit down and figure out how to best spend our time in such a large country.
These next few weeks I hope to answer the second question on what there is to see and experience in Poland. I think this country is massively underrated as a travel destination, but has so much to offer curious tourists. So stay tuned for more on this wonderful country but be warned...you just might be inspired to consider it as a travel destination before the secret really gets out to the masses!
Coming this week - some of my favorite spots in the city I fell absolutely in love with - Krakow! I especially enjoyed its cool Kazimierz district filled with fun evening spots like this one called Singer.
Have you ever been to Poland? What attracted you to travel there?