Going Góralka in Zakopane
In case you didn’t know I am Polish. Well 1/2 Polish as my mum is Polish. My mum grew up in a mountain village called Zakopane which is located an hour and a half away from Krakow and cradled by the Tatra mountains. I grew up on a steady diet of Polish food, tradition and tales of my mum’s mountain adventures. Zakopane always seemed a magic place from what my mum told us. A place were you can drink water from a cool...
Rediscovering Krakow
Krakow holds many memories for me. Way back in 1998, I spent a few months studying Polish at the Jagellonian University. I fell in love with this beautiful medieval town and I have been dreaming of returning ever since. I did in fact return in 2004 for a couple of nights and was once again charmed by this magic place. Krakow used to be the capital of Poland. As a testament to this, Wawel Castle stands proudly above the main square on...
Auschwitz-Birkenau a second look (she says)
Today I visited Auschwitz Concentration camp. I have visited this site before in 1998 while I was studying in Poland. I felt the same sorrow and heavy heart I did at my first visit but have come away with an increased sense of responsibility to never allow these atrocities to ever happen again. A concentration camp isn’t exactly someplace you think of going on holiday but it is important to visit to truly understand the...
Auschwitz – He says
Today we visited the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was established by the Nazi’s from 1940 to 1944. I am sitting here drinking a beer – because I need one – and reflecting on what I saw and learned today. I am so overwhelmed by what I have seen that I find it difficult to put my thoughts into coherent words. Forgive me if I offend, that’s the last thing I intend. First I learned that the Nazi party coming into power didn’t...
Budapest the beautiful (she says)
This was my second trip to Budapest. I was here last in 1998 visiting my cousin who was working as a photojournalist for the Budapest Business Journal. It was a different experience but I still had the same feelings about this city. On arriving, I felt quite at ease with everything. We had a very smooth arrival. The metro was easy to work out and our AirBnB digs were great! We headed out for a meal on Vaci street and had some...
Recent From Punk on the run
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2016 Chicago Marathon – My City, My Run 20, Nov, 2016 -
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Recent From Pondering Punk
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Inflight reflections – my second Marathon motivation 06, Oct, 2016 -
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