"Here and there" evaanna's Profile

I have only just started writing a page on Gdansk and am only planning to write ones on Sopot and Gdynia, even though I have stayed in the Polish Tri-city many a time, visiting Chris's and my families. Just after the war my uncle came to Gdansk, fell in love with the city and a local girl (not necessarily in this order), settled there and soon became one of the best, if not THE best, guides to Gdansk. And we and some of our friends had the privilege of being shown around the city by him personally. I did not have a camera then, and, in those pre-internet days, never even suspected I would join VT. I am absolutely sure my uncle would have been delighted to help me with my page but he died a few years ago. In later years, we only visited the Tricity in passing on our way to the Hel Peninsula. We took some pictures then which you can see in my albums. When I have done more research, I hope to be able to write more about it, especially that we have just moved there for good and have already done some sightseeing.

Gorgeous scenery of Gdynia-Orlowo

When you visit Gdansk, you must not miss the other parts of the Tricity as they deserve just as much attention - the lovely resort of Sopot with its famous pier and the charming pre-war houses and the port of Gdynia with a promenade and great views of the sea. The three cities are really one, bordered by the sea on one side and the forested hills on the other.

Icon writer

In 2009 we spent the last four days of August in the east of Poland, visiting some wonderful places along the so-called Tatar route: the villages of Bohoniki, Kruszyniany and the towns of Sokólka and Krynki. We loved it there so I will now be writing pages on them, one by one. So far, I have completed a page on Suprasl, a town east of Bialystok which we visited on our way, with a gorgeous fortified Russian Orthodox Monastery of the Annunciation and the fascinating Museum of Icons and one on Bohoniki, a village with the tiniest mosque you can imagine and the largest Tatar cemetery in Poland. You are now welcome to visit them.

Three friendly ladies in the village of Nowa Biala

After many years of holidays taken in other parts of Poland or abroad, in 2008 we returned to the Tatra Mountains. This time we concentrated on the mountain villages in the area, demanding little serious walking but abounding in interesting architecture and offering great views of the Tatras. We found a nice place to stay in Jurgow near the recently reopened border crossing with Slovakia to be able to make trips on both sides of the border. We took lots of photographs and I have added new pictures and tips to my Bukowina Tatrzanska, Kezmarok and Vysoke Tatry pages and have written three new pages:Chocholow, Jurgów and Zdiar in Slovakia. Another place we revisited during that stay was Niedzica - a village only 40 km away from Zakopane with a stunning 14th century castle high up on a rock.

Cape Clear Island

I have wanted to visit Ireland ever since I fell in love with its music as a student years ago. I have seen some postcards of its beautiful landscapes but could only dream of going there. And yet in 2007 my dream actually came true thanks to Katherine (Ekaterinburg), my VT friend, and her husband Denis, whom I would like to thank for their wonderful hospitality and all the fun we had together. It took me weeks to describe all the places I visited and there would have been even more of them be it not for the rainy weather, which spoilt my trip to the Ring of Kerry. I hope to go back there some day, but, if not, perhaps I will at least be able to see the great views I have heard so much about on the pages of other VTers. In the meantime, I have now completed my pages on Cork, Kinsale, County Kerry and County Cork, see how lovely they are. In fact, Ireland seems to be unrivalled for fantastic scenery wherever you go so you can see more of it on my pages. The sun did shine sometimes for me too... And the Irish people I met were all incredibly kind and helpful. I simply loved their great sense of humour and open-heartedness. And now I come to realise why so much of the world is grey: all the colours have gone to Ireland!

Alan and Lin in their living-room

In late July 2006 I came back from a wonderful holiday in the heart of England. My VT friend Alan (alancollins) and his wife Lin had invited me to spend a fortnight with their family, which includes their sweet dog Kezzie. I very much enjoyed staying in their beautiful house, talking to them till late at night or just sitting on the porch looking at their charming garden, with the birds flying here and there, the bumblebees feeding on the flowers and the frogs croaking in the pond. It would have been even nicer be it not for the stiflingly hot weather, which would not leave us even for a day, but nobody could help that. I would have seen very little with the heat wave on so I owe it to Alan and his air-conditioned car that I was able to do so much sightseeing. He drove me to many wonderful places around Banbury: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Broughton Castle, the charming Cotswold villages and showed so much patience which no one but a VT-er could have had while I took the photos. Thank you, Alan and Lin for the fabulous holiday. I hope to be able to repay your kindness and hospitality when you come to Poland.

For more pictures, see my album.

Barbara in the garden of St Mary

Thanks to Alan and his wife I was also able to re-visit my old friend Barbara, who in turn drove me around Oxford on one of those hot days so I was able to take many more pictures of this beautiful city. I have added them, together with some new tips, to my Oxford page.

Alan, me and Shane

To make my happiness complete, one day Alan kindly offered to drive me to Cardiff to see another of my VT friends, Shane (uglyscot), whom I had never met before. The three of us held a lovely, if not long, VT meeting and another one on the following day, when Alan came to collect me. Just imagine - two trips from Banbury to Cardiff on two consecutive days! Isn't he wonderful?
I would also like to thank Shane and her daughter for their warm hospitality and driving me to the centre of Cardiff and the beach on Barry Island on the second day.

I took nearly 300 photos, most of which have now been put on VT. My Oxford page has grown considerably and quite a few pages have been added. Banbury, the Rollright Stones and the wonderful Cotswold villages of Wroxton, Hanwell, Broadway, Deddington, Chipping Campden, Hook Norton (with Great Tew included) and Bloxham now have their own pages and tips. See how beautiful these villages are, with their thatched honey-coloured stone cottages overgrown with creepers. I have also written a page on Broughton Castle with its gorgeous gardens, Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon and the historic town of Warwick. Hope you enjoy my new pages no less than I enjoyed writing them.