Travel
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Literary Lisbon – book shopping with a map
“Better to go barefoot than without books” ― Icelandic proverb You’ve probably heard of Shakespeare and Company in Paris or the stunning Livraria Lello in Porto, but have you been to any of the bookstores in Lisbon? According to the World Cities Culture Forum, Lisbon has 35.97 bookshops per 100 000 people, which makes it the most bookish city in the world. It’s home to the oldest, the smallest, and one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. And no, these aren’t all the same place. Let’s explore some of Lisbon’s literary gems! There are many more bookstores in Lisbon. This post features only places that I have already visited. Lisbon Book Fare –…
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A Photo Tour of Katowice: Street Art, Neons, and Architecture
Katowice is where your childhood dreams of living in space, like the Jetsons family, can come true. While there are no flying taxis, the city has its own ‘flying saucer,’ non-pneumatic (yet!) glass elevators, and the Cosmos Cinema (Kino Kosmos). At night, the neon-lit streets are full of little alien-like figures called Beboks. Fans of the space age and modernism will never tire of exploring the city’s out-of-this-world architectural gems. I visited Katowice for the European Science Open Forum 2024, held at the International Conference Centre (which sits on an old mining waste dump site!). It was my first time in the city, and during the day, I soaked up presentations about transformation, innovation,…
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Mini Stories #4 : Breakfast at Karmelitermarkt: Vienna’s Slow-Travel Gem
Do you know the feeling when your weekend trip itinerary is packed because you just want to see it all, but you wake up in the morning and just aren’t in the mood? Instead of exploring all the magical corners of the city, you prefer to take it slow. That’s exactly what happened on my recent trip to Vienna. I looked through the window at the golden leaves and the grey sky and I found myself craving the cozy warmth of October—something the hotel buffet simply couldn’t provide. For an authentic Viennese experience, I decided to do what the locals do on Saturday morning – visited the farmers’ market. Slow-travel…
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Thieves’ Market in Lisbon and the Woman in Pink Scarf
Gloomy Saturday, June 2024 – day in Alfama (Lisbon, Portugal) We took the Azul metro line (blue line) towards Santa Apolónia. It’s only five stations from Marquês de Pombal. The Woman in the Pink Scarf sat across from me. She wrapped her head in a scarf decorated with golden and blue sardines swimming in pink waters. The vibrant flowers on her blouse complemented the pastel pink shade of her loose trousers. She answered a call with a smile, her golden watch glinting on her wrist. That morning, we were heading to the flea market at Mercado de Santa Clara, often called the Thieves’ Market (Lisbon’s oldest flea market, open every…
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Cracow Museum Marathon
Cracow – a city where every corner whispers history. And what better way to unveil the secrets of its past and present than to run a museum marathon? Every day, different museums offer free entry with Tuesdays featuring the most attractive selection. And the great news is that many of them are located within or close to the Old Town, so it is possible to just walk from one place to another. From Chelmonski to da Vinci From outside a beautiful palace, inside a modern exhibition space – Czartoryski Museum is displaying one of the most expensive art pieces in Polish collections – The Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da…
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Sunrise in Nexø
It’s 4 in the morning, and the sound of my alarm clock brutally disturbs the perfect silence of this blue hour. It’s still a bit dark outside, but we don’t need to turn the lights on. A cold breeze enters the room through the small basement window.We prepared everything in the evening, and now we just need to get dressed, pack our cameras, and walk for about 3 minutes to the beach. Nexø is still asleep. In the harbour, the boats are slowly swinging, waiting for the first cruise, and the doors to the sand sculpture museum are still closed.Only the birds have started their day already. One proud seagull…
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Macro photography ideas – Baltic Sea beach
White sand, green water and blue sky – Baltic Sea beaches are raw and cold. The subtle colour palette and a lot of empty space create perfect conditions to experiment with a simple, minimalistic photography style. The challenge is to find the object worth capturing and which isn’t too obvious. Typical photos from the Baltic Sea include sunsets, pier, beaches, shells and boats. What if your camera is already full of such photos and you experience the creative block? Try macro photography! In this post I share my ideas of objects worth shooting. Sand There is so much of it on the beach that we tend to ignore it. Sand…
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Cochem – the golden hills of Apollo
The iconic photo from Cochem always shows the castle (Reichsburg) on top of the hill. It is surrounded by vineyards, which in autumn change from green to yellow and red. At the base of the hill, there are many colourful houses. Big cruise ships slowly go down the Mosel river. This tranquil scenery has been caught in thousands of photos. What is so special about this place? Why is everyone so hypnotised by Cochem? Cochem has all components of a fairy tale village: castle on a hill, narrow cobbled streets, medieval half-timbered houses, hidden staircases, workshops and wine. It is where childhood dreams about becoming a princess come true. I…
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Bieszczady – 4 easy hiking trails
It is another rainy night in Kalnica. The water drops hit the metal roof. It is so dark that there is no difference if your eyes are opened or closed. As every other evening, we think about the next trip, but with a storm expected next day it is hard to plan long hiking high in the mountains. Luckily we have plenty of alternatives, suitable for worse weather, for when we are tired or when we feel like cycling instead of walking. Below I present 4 easy hiking trails in Bieszczady. 1. From Kalnica to Dolzyca The first trail leads from Kalnica to Dolzyca. It is a biking path through…
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Relaxing weekend at the Baltic Sea
Every now and then we all need a break. The best way to rest and forget about everyday issues is to go somewhere far from home. The farther we go the smaller our problems seem to be. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to take a few weeks off and fly to another continent. However, already just a weekend spent on recharging batteries can do wonders. What if we combine a short holiday with practicing mindfulness? It is not just a meditation, but trying to be present in the moment and live life more consciously. It helps to be more focused and ignore distractions. Such holidays, although short, will stay…
