Hi!

The whole year I was trying to convince you that there are so many amazing places worth seeing in the world and that’s why we shouldn’t waste our money on clothes or on expensive accessories but rather buy some cheap air tickets and begin a real adventure!

So the last post this year will be about differences between a tourist and a traveller. Most of us think that they’re the same person but in fact, they’re not! Maybe lets star with tourist.

We can find them every where in the whole world. They usually book nice hotels, eat in the restaurants and visit all the most popular places. They follow one of many city guides and buy tickets for hop on hop off sightseeing buses to not get tired (especially in the hot cities). What’s more, they prefer spending time only with their friends, instead of getting to know some natives and they fear for taking risk or discovering new, wild paths.

So the traveller always tries to spend as less money as it’s possible and visit as many places and it’s possible. Of course, sometimes he decides to see the most popular places but just to see them and escape as quick as it’s possible because the crowd it’s one those things that gets him angry. That’s why he discovers city choosing unknown paths and meeting natives. He’s not afraid of taking the risk just to discover some breathtaking places and what’s the most important, he’s not afraid of getting lost because he not only always has his favourite map but he knows that he can always ask for help some local people. It’s worth adding that the traveller prefers spending money on the street food or on the next trip, than on expensive hotels or clothes. Talking about hotels, I just have to mention that he never chooses them. He prefers getting to know new people, that’s why he sleeps on couchsurfing, Airbnb or in law-budget hostels.

And you? Are you rather a traveller or a tourist?

Hey!!

So as I promised, this time I’d like to share with you my holidays plans. But don’t expect anything extraordinary because to be honest, my holidays will certainly be simple. First of all, I want to rest. I want to lie somewhere on the grass, listen to the music  and don’t care about anything. I can’t wait to go for a reaaaally long walk and to play volleyball in the park. For sure I’m gonna eat and sleep a lot. Then I dream about learning languages just for myself. Yes, languages are my biggest hobby and as from September till the end of June I’m always busy and I almost don’t have time for myself, for sure this summer I’m gonna try to improve a little bit the level of my Spanish and Portuguese. Talking about summer, I need to mention some crazy nights out with friends! What’s more, I want to plan some small trips both somewhere in Poland and abroad.  Almost for a month I’m searching some interesting  and cheap flights and to be honest, there are lots of them but usually the departure is in June or at the beginng of July and unfortunately it’s too early for me. But hope to find something till the end of June!

Hello guys!

Time passes so fast! It’s getting warmer and warmer and all my exams are coming! It means that it’s almost the end of my academic year, I’m so happy because I’d finally have enough time to rest a little bit and of course, to discover new, amazing places!

No doubt, it has been the hardest academic year ever! I moved to completely new city having only few friends there, I went at the new University and I started a new job. So, after three years of relaxing and having fun at University of Toruń, I found myself in completely different reality. Here, at University of Poznań, everything seemed so organized and professional. In one moment everything changed. I had to start studying really hard because I realized that to be honest, my level was really low. I thought that earlier my languages skills had been pretty good but I was totally wrong. I couldn’t compare myself to girls who studied here. I felt ashamed but thanks to it, I found my motivation and I started studying! And maybe now I’m not one of the best student in my year but at least I know that I did a really good job and I’m proud of myself!  Even if I won’t pass all my exams, I really deserved those holidays, that’s why I’m waiting for them more than ever!

So, next time I’m going to tell you something more about my holidays plans!

Venezuela

Hey!

So, let’s discover better a beautiful Venezuela! If you like visiting non-touristic places, it’s perfect place for you! It’s really hard to meet any strangers there because as I’ve already said, it’s one of the most dangerous country in the whole world and that’s why no one wants to come there. What’s more, it’s really easy to distinguish a tourist from the all other persons, as a consequence people who lives on the streets of the city centre always try to rob them or to convince strangers to give them money or food. Besides all those negative information about Venezuelans, they are really open and nice nation.

 People are always willing to talk to strangers and to explain difficult situation of the country. What surprised me, even if it’s hot there, Venezuelans wear jeans or some long pants, no one knows why! But coming back to the financial crisis, because of it, many people can’t even dream of having Internet access but what’s worse, lots of them don’t have fresh water in their houses. They get it only about 2 times per week! The only positive fact of living in Venezuela is a really cheap petrol and amazing old-fashioned cars! If you want to spend only 1 dollar to refuel your car, you’re gonna get 3,000,000 litters of petrol! The other positive thing worth mentioning are breathtaking landscapes, beautiful ocean with crystal water and many, really many shells everywhere on the beach! It’s just paradise on the Earth!

Venezuela

Hey!

Last week I’ve discovered on You Tube a really interesting channel about Venezuela. The author, who actually comes from Poland but lives there with his girlfriend, tries to show us everyday life of Venezuelans. To be honest, earlier, it means before watching a first video on his channel, I had no idea that currently this country faces such a serious financial crisis. Each day a Venezuelan currency, the bolivar, gets cheaper and cheaper. I checked it and it seems that nowadays 1 dollar costs almost 70.000 bolivars. 

What’s more, if you want to buy for example a milk carton, you need to pay 1,5 dollars and the average salary of Venezuelans it’s 3-5 dollars per MONTH. Can you imagine it?! It’s crazy! To help those poor people the government decided to give them out the food packages but to be honest, it doesn’t work as it should be because people have to pay for it (even if they have to pay only few bolivars, it’s always too much for them) and what’s more, they don’t receive it regularly, as they should. This guy says that people there are such poor that he can’t even show his camera walking down the street because someone would still it in the few seconds! 

Nowadays Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is considered one of the most dangerous city in the whole world. When it gets dark, there’s nobody on the streets. People don’t leave their houses and if they need to do that, they go everywhere by car without stopping on the lights because it’s too dangerous, someone could rob or even kill them! There are much more facts about Venezuela that we should know, that’s why next time I’m gonna tell you somethings more about this beautiful country.

Georgia

Hey!

What do you know about Georgia? I think that in your head there is only one, well known answer: it’s a wild country situated somewhere between Europe and Asia, but actually it’s really hard to decide where it belongs to.

Well, to be honest, we know nothing about Georgia. But I need to admit that last year, when one of my friend decided to go to Georgia for some European project and she started to posted many intriguing posts and amazing photos, I realized that maybe it’s worth getting to know something more about this country. That’s why I decided to show you today some interesting facts about this country.

*Although the country it situated on the border between Europe and Asia, most Georgians consider themselves rather Europeans than Asians. But on the other hand, there are many differences between Georgians and other inhabitants of Europe. For example, if you don’t know neither Georgian language nor Russian, it would be really difficult to communicate with someone in Georgia because most of them can’t speak English as many Europeans do.

* Georgians are really friendly and open-minded. They willingly invite and host strangers. What’s more, they always rely on their family and consider their relatives as the most important person in their life.

* On the one hand, Georgians are really religious. Almost 80% of them confess to believe in God and what’s more, this number still rises. But on the other hand, they are one of least tolerant country in the whole world. That’s why they don’t support homosexuality.

*The alphabet: Georgians language is really special and creative! They have their own beautiful alphabet, which consists of 33 letters, and many surprising sounds which don’t exist in any other languages.

The history: Joseph Stalin born in Georgia. Till today there are people who on the one hand adore him and are really proud of him but on the other hand, there are many Georgians who consider him a person who murdered their compatriots.

Colombia

Hi!

Even though the blog is called ‘Discovering Europe’, I’d like to visit with you more exotic countries as well. In the whole world there are hundreds of amazing places worth visiting that’s why today we’re travelling to Colombia!

To be honest, I started discovering Colombia thanks to TV series watched on Netflix called ‘Narcos’. This fantastic series tells the story of one of the most known drug lord, Pablo Escobar, and actually it takes place in Colombia. Well, the ‘Narcos’ explains and shows us the situation of this country in the 1980s and 1990s but I believe that it didn’t change a lot since that time because also nowadays 10% of national income comes from the drug production, especially cocaine.

I think that you already know that Colombia makes a perfect mix of everything! There are many rain forests, deserts, mountain ranges, an ocean, a sea and much more! This is the place full of contrasts and surprises. What’s more, the country is well known because of its emeralds. However, as always the most important aspect of each country is food! Visiting Colombia, you should try a soup called ‘ajiaco’ made from potatoes, corn and chicken and taste a typical cheese with chocolate - I’m not sure if I would do it!

Finally i’s time to tell you something about nice places to see! So let’s start with Bogota, the capital of the country. It’s situated 2600 metres above the water and that’s why tourists who come there in order to avoid a breathing problems, first need to acclimate a little bit. Bogota is surrounded by the mountain ranges that’s why despite beautiful monuments, like Plaza de Boliver, you would find there lots of breathtaking views. Then, you should visit Medellin (the city of eternal spring from which  Pablo Escobar  comes from) and Cali, the Salsa’s capital. It’d be nice to see Leticia as well, the town in Amazon.

So if you would like to visit Colombia but you need to wait a bit to collect money, I recommend you watching the ‘Narcos’ just to understand the Colombian everyday life and their history.

Albania

Hey!

This time I’m taking you to the country which is considered by Poles a little bit wild and dangerous. Why? Just because we don’t know it at all.

From year to year Albania becomes more popular destination among tourists from all over the world but fortunately it’s not crowded yet! Even if this small country doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the modern and developed European countries, it’s really worth visiting!

So maybe let’s start with some curiosities 😊 The currency of Albania is called ‘lek’ what means in Polish ‘medicine’. The national alcohol is Rakija (something like fruit brandy) and the national dish is Qofte (kind of fried meat). What’s more, there are lots of bunkers and what’s has surprised me the most, there is the UFO University in Albania as well!

The capital of the country of course is Tirana, a beautiful city surrounded by mountains where the luxury meets poverty. The capital of Albania is known because of its amazing, colorful buildings which you can find in every part of this small city. Visiting this place, of course I’d like to see the mosque Etehem Bey, the rests of the walls of the old city called Castle of Tirana and just many simple streets to discover the everyday life of Albanians.

After spending one day in Tirana, I think that it would be a good idea to see at least one more city. I have chosen the one called Berat, known of its white houses situated on the hill. This place is called ‘The town of thousand windows’ because when you admire it standing far away from the hill, you can see only many, huge windows.

See you soon!

Sevilla II

_{Sevilla part II}

_Hi!

_{Last week I was trying to show you the celebration of the Holly Week in Sevilla, however this time I'd like to focus on the monuments of this Spanish city.}

_{Well, Sevilla is full of various monuments and that's why it's really easy to find many interesting places in every corner of the city. Today I prepared for you a short list of those ones that seems the most interesting to me.}

_{La Giralda: an ancient tower which is built in place of the former mosque. Nowadays you can climb on the top of the tower and admire a beautiful skyline of the city.}

_{La Catedral de Sevilla: it's worth seeing because it's the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world.}

_{Barrio de Santa Cruz: very charming and romantic quarter full of white houses decorated with flowers. One of the legend says that Don Juan was born there.}

_{La plaza de Toros de la Maestranza: it's thought one of the oldest bullfighting arena in Spain. It’s still active and open so you can watch there a real show!}

_{Of course there are more breathtaking monuments to see, so before visiting Sevilla, I recommend you searching those ones that the most suits you :)}