Tag: Szczecin

Świdwie Lake

As you could read in my previous post, I’m hungry for nature and decided to have a nature trip every week. It’s good for my mental and physical health, Wojtek loves it and it’s educational, it brings our family together – only advantages! Today we went to see Świdwie Lake. It’s pretty close from us and it’s a birds and wildlife reserve with no access for tourists. But you can get a glimpse at its beauty from an observation tower. Although one can get with a car as far as the tower, we stopped a bit earlier and did a 3 km loop through forests and fields.

I really don’t want to flood you with pictures but I just find them all so pretty! It’s difficult for me to narrow the collection down. It’s a different landscape than what we were used to in France and maybe that is why I like it so much. It’s not bad at all!

The observation tower was real fun. We didn’t spend much time there because our 2-year-old decided he wanted to throw pebbles in the water instead but even this while we were there was a real relaxation. And the views were fantastic.

Our way back to the car was faster as we cut through the field. The day was getting to an end it was real pleasure to walk amid the trees, grass, birds, waterholes and other nature wonders.

It was not our first time at Świdwie Lake. In 2012 we went for a bike ride there. It was even better that day as we came in just right at the sun dawn and the landscape was simply a-ma-zing! Have a look at our 2012 shot:

Back on a trail

I guess it’s time for me to come out to the world and to announce we’re expecting baby #2. A baby girl this time. This is why it has been relatively little traffic on my blog lately. I had some problems with the pregnancy and for 6 weeks I had to stay at home and couldn’t do any activity. Well, whoever knows me can imagine what it meant for me. At some point I just couldn’t bear it anymore and when I got better I took the first occasion to associate with the wildlife.

There are a couple of wild forests and lakes around Szczecin – we still have lots to explore. Today we went to a place we both knew – Binowo lake. I have to say, it was the perfect choice. It was secluded (you can’t believe the crowds in parks in Szczecin on that day!) and beautiful. It was the first real spring day and the walk was simply adorable. Wojtek also had lots of fun digging in the earth with sticks and throwing stones in the water. And for me.. I really don’t know if I changed or what but I simply don’t feel well in civilization any more. I promise myself to do such getaway into wildlife excursions every week if the weather and my condition permit. I feel like my cup has filled again.

Christmas Market in Szczecin

We’ve seen plenty of Christmas Markets, in Switzero-France they were taking place basically every day a month before Christmas. But the one in Szczecin is special for me. It was that day in 2012 when we learnt that Radek got a position at CERN. We visited the Christmas Market, full of questions and excitement in our heads. That was 3 years ago – a heck of a time. Now we are back in Szczecin, with Wojtek, who loved the Christmas Market even more than we did. Only 3 years and such a change.

Journey into the past

What to do on a soggy day in a city with a toddler? Well, there are a couple of possibilities, today we’re testing one of them. We visited The Museum of Technology and Transport in Szczecin. This lovely museum has been put together in an old depot which only adds the charm to it. You can really travel into the past – most of those rarities I can’t remember. But I know them from movies and legend stories so it was educational even for me. I don’t look back with emotion to the old times so for me it was only educational, but I imagine that for elderly people it might be quite a touch of tenderness to see all of that.

Orienteering event in Puszcza Bukowa

My desire to be in the bosom of nature didn’t stop with us coming back to Poland. Sure, this has been a hectic time for us with the move and me starting working full-time, but these are the days like this one that keep me going. Our friends Magda and Michał are frequent contestants of orienteering events and I always wanted to join them on a trail. So yet another „to-do” thing to be crossed out 🙂 Theoretically it was only a 10 km route, however you needed to double it to get to the starting point and came back to the car. So all in all we closed this soggy but rain-free day with ~22 km.

 

The start was at the Lion’s Mouth fire place in Bukowa Forest. I really intend to get to know this forest better. It’s close to us, vast and beautiful. And the names of the places are so funny. I have to say, the organizers did a great job. There was a fire place, maps, 10 orienteering points to be found and lovely prizes for everybody who attended. I was very excited to be taking part in this event.

 

Group photo credit: Arek Arecki

The route was very pleasant and the points were really easy to find. We struggled only once (which actually cost us the place on the podium but I’ll come to this later). I had so much fun on the trail, it was pure pleasure to me. Have a look at the photos from the contest.

Radek and I finished fourth. The first two places were taken by runners and we lost by seconds with a third couple. Radek was pouting a bit because we decided to run the very last part and I slowed him down with my turtle pace. And I didn’t let him leave me 🙂 Well, you decided what’s better – winning a podium place or being a decent husband 🙂

We will sure be back the next year!

Photo contest

A huge advantage of coming back to Poland is that there are so many events going on around and we can actually take part in them. There is nothing that stops us, no language barriers, no elevated costs, no problem with care for Wojtek. We really enjoy this a lot in our city.
Anyway, we learnt there was a photo contest for amateurs. The theme was: alteration. Radek thought it would be fun to participate and together with our friends he went on location to shoot 🙂

There was a limited time for this challenge. He treated the motif very strictly. Have a look at the photos he made (and I  processed later).

We didn’t win but it was lots of fun trying 🙂

Discovering France, Switzerland, Poland and Italy in spring

This spring was plentiful of activities for us. the weather is very good this year so we can benefit from that having 1-day trips around, we did an almost 3-week trip to Poland and went for holidays on Sardinia. here are some flashbacks from this time.

Versoix:

Toddler’s Group Bake Sales:

Szczecin:

Annecy:

Meyrin:

Sardinia:

Christmas and New Year in Szczecin

Finally, it’s this time of the year, my favourite without any doubt. I am happy we could spend Christmas with family and friends this year. We celebrated Christmas Eve with all our family sitting at one table (17 people children not counted). Before that we had done lots of Christmas preparations like decorating a tree, cooking pierogi or setting up winter decorations. First day of Christmas meant more family visits to us. On the second day of Christmas we organised a meeting to all our closest friends – a traditions that was started 10 years ago and has been cherished ever since. I am grateful that I have so many dear people around me and that I can share those moments with them.

Our visit passed quickly and we never had a moment for ourselves to rest. We had lots of visits, did some walks in the city greenery, went shopping a couple of times, did even more visits… Despite having such a busy time we managed to rest a bit and charge the batteries for the New Year.

On our way back home (by home I mean France now) we experienced a little setback… I mean, it’s winter so it was nothing very unexpected but recent high temperatures dulled our vigilance. And here’s what we encountered…

Fortunately we made it safely to Saint Genis and we are back to our everyday life ready for new challenges. Next on: ski course in the Alps!

Autumn in homeland

I spent two weeks in Szczecin – my home city. I like my place, really. Although for various reasons my stay in Poland was a bit overwhelming, I really enjoyed those peaceful moments in parks where I grew up, where I would play as a child and later would go to school every day. Now, that I am an expat living abroad, I try to cherish those rare moments of me dealing with my patrimony.