Blog Ani i Radka
This summer was a special one for many reasons. The end of my pregnancy and birth of our precious daughter were by no means the highlights but other than that you can see a couple of shots from Radek’s sailing adventures, his work trips to Berlin, our weekend at Wiejce Palace and a couple of other snapshots. Enjoy.
We’re having such a wonderful autumn this year it would be a sin not to take advantage of it. After a rough maternity start now I feel at ease with the new situation and am ready to explore the beauty of life with my family. So when my husband announced they’re having an off-site integration trip for his company workers and their families, we decided to go all four of us.
The place was Wiejce Palace, a 2-hour drive from Szczecin, situated in a lovely little village in the middle of nowhere. The place was so lovely that in the end we stayed there all time instead of doing exploration trips as I planned.
We arrived on Friday evening and had a walk around the premises. There were a couple of houses scattered around the main palace, everything was renovated and very stylish. There was also a series of ponds, horse barn and other animals around. Since we were off the beaten track really, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of this place, especially at dusk and dawn. The next day the integration party started. There were around 200 guests but it didn’t feel like so many. After an official opening, a series of team building activities started. That was real fun and ended in a huge water balloon fight. Splash splash everywhere 🙂 That seemed like a real fun.
The weather for such a water activity couldn’t be better. The end of September can be very cold in Poland but not this year. Actually, when the sun shined it was hot enough to get sun burnt. At least the clothes dried fast. Splash, splash!
And the team building…
The whole thing ended up with a barbecue till late hours. I can’t write anything about it as I didn’t participate (someone had to stay with the kids) but all I know was that helium tank was the highlight of it 🙂 We left on Sunday, relaxed, integrated and willing to come back again.
Oh, how I missed it. Nature and woods. Although our today’s trip was a super short one in a not-at-all secluded place (meaning: there were crowds around us), I still enjoyed this possibility to stretch out my legs and breathe deeply in a greenery.
Our baby girl is here with us. We love here so much, she’s a real gem. I’m sure we’ll live through lots of beautiful moments together! Welcome to the world, Kamila!
So the time has come for me to sail for the first time without an instructor. I rented the same boat that I had used for training and with a couple of friends I went to explore Dąbie lake again. We had the perfect weather. Unfortunately it was the perfect weather for swimming not for sailing. So for the most of our tip we needed to use engine. But nevertheless it was lots of fun on water and I did not sink 😉
A new chapter in our adventure book has started – sailing. This year for my birthday instead of a physical gift I got a new skill (course of sailing). After 4 weekends on boat and one exam later I became a sailor ;-). Now I can say that this was one of the best gifts ever.
After getting back to Poland we miss hiking a lot. But living close to see, ravers and lakes gives other opportunities for adventures. Some say that the best way to discover our city is from water. This is especially true during „Days of the Sea”, a yearly celebration when lots of polish sailing ships come to Szczecin to celebrate. Also stay tuned in the next year when Szczecin will host the Tall Ship Races and when the biggest sailing ships from around the world will come to our city.
Although I was pregnant, we managed to squeeze in a couple of outings and a long weekend trip in spring, so this time I may share with you a bit more photos from this period. We did a couple of excursions around Szczecin and one longer trip to Rugen island. Spring is such a perfect time to take photos. Plants grow, flowers bloom, the sun shines, people are happy and willing to go out. I love spring.
Poland:
Germany:
Today it’s Mother’s Day in Poland plus a national holiday (Corpus Cristi) so with such a combo we just couldn’t stay home. There are quite plenty kids around in our friends circle so we went in a bigger pack to see Ebrswalder Zoo.
Quite a lot of beasts to look at but the kids liked playgrounds the best. Nevertheless it was sure quite an educational trip. I really recommend this place as a family day out destination.
We have been blessed with good weather lately and it shows around in the nature. Flowers blooming, bushes waking up after winter, just the perfect setting for a morning stroll. Have a look at this little collection of spring macro photos I took this season.
Our last day on Rügen island turned out to be the best in terms of fun places to see. We directed our steps first to Binz – yet another lovely seaside resort – where we took a little train to Jagdschloss castle. Of course, beach and ice cream first 🙂
Jagdschloss was pretty interesting with all the antler, guns and, most of all, its openwork circular staircase that led to a tower that gave us the view on Rügen surroundings. Boy, I’m too heavy for this amount of stairs! And what Wojtek enjoyed the most was a fancy playground at the courtyard of the castle. Well, everyone had a treat.
Afterwards we came back to Binz for more beach, more ice cream and some lunch.
Our last part of the day was dedicated to Naturerbe Zentrum which is a national heritage here on Rügen. I guess it was one of the best attractions we saw here. We took the little train again, but there was no need to do that (better would be to take our car).Anyway, this centre is built in a forest and it’s an educational path (suitable for handicapped people – how cool is that?) that teaches you about various aspects of forest life. But that’s not the end… With not even one step to cover you find yourself at a remarkable altitude of 40m over the ground where, above the tree tops, you can really see the whole island. Amazing for adults and for children! See yourself.
That final circular tower was a real treat. It was built around a tree (that was one awesome idea) and I could feel like I’m in Avatar world a bit – tree centric. This maybe a little joke but there sure is some truth in it. I mean, I really felt the power of nature in this place and I felt like it was respected.
Rügen, we’ll be back!
