Trip Pulse: Broken bones and the Baltic sea

It was June 15, 4 days before our next departure to the Canary Islands, a nice evening without Niko in Leszno’s waterpark complex. We had some time to ourselves to enjoy the pool, water massage and a ride down the water slide.
The result? Natasza’s broken collarbone. Many doctor visits later, one surgery and a few painful and emotional weeks, we are ready to move on…

It’s August now and the plans are forming with renewed hope. We have learned a lot during the last 8 weeks:

  • We know we are not invincible and need to take every possible precaution to make sure our trip continues safely
  • We need to be supportive when times get tough and arm ourselves with patience and love
  • We have learned to respect each other’s roles more
  • We are very appreciative of the support we have received from our friends and family (Thanks Kate, Igor and Nika for a wonderful visit in Leszno)

  • Natasza is feeling better now and is ready to tackle the world again (she is going to the hospital tomorrow, to have the metal rods removed, finally)


    As part of her recovery, we took a much-needed break to fill up on vitamin D, Iodine and whatever else the Polish sea has to offer. Kołobrzeg is a small touristy town right by the Baltic sea.

    We rented an apartment close to the park and the beach. We struck gold with the weather as it is usually very unpedictable.


    We have heard many Polish folks say; “Having sunny days at he Baltic sea is like winning the lottery … “


    Guess we did …

    We really liked the beach, however being unaccustomed to the cold water, Niko was the only one brave enough to take a dip in the sea (average water temperature during summer is between 16-19 degrees Celsius). We did however enjoy fresh fried fish, smoked salmon chased by delicious cold Polish beer. We also enjoyed our daily stroll by the very green promenade parallel to the coast.

    Niko’s favorites were soft ice cream and fries, not necessarily in this order:) Niko and Martin also loved the military museum with real decommissioned aircrafts and weapons.

    It was a nice short break.

    Are you planning a trip to the Polish sea? It may not be warm but it is beautiful. What are our thoughts? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

    Here are our pictures from the trip to Kolobrzeg:

    Final Thoughts on … Italy


    Tempo al tempo.
    – All in good time.


    1. What we enjoyed the most or the least:

    We enjoyed:

  • Picturesque landscapes, rolling hills of Tuscany, beautiful Amalfi beaches with crystal clear waters, architecture, art and history
  • Greatly developed infrastructure including highways, bridges and tunnels set in mountains
  • We loved Italian cheeses and the mocca pot
  • Red vino from the Montepulciano region
  • …and delicious Gelato
  • We didn’t enjoy:

  • Naples which proved to be very dirty, sketchy and frightening … we left right after arriving
  • Too much white flour for our taste, no more pizza or pasta for us for a long time:)
  • Crazy drivers everywhere
  • 2. Activities our toddler Niko enjoyed the most:

  • Niko loved playing in fountains (especially those with fish), beaches and boats, visiting churches (looking for baby Jesus:)), running around with Kuba in Tuscany and eating gelato
  • 3. Our average expenses: Italy is expensive

  • Accommodations: 90 euro/day ($125) per night for one bedroom apartment
  • Restaurants:30 – 50 euro/visit for 3 of us
  • Food, transportation (car rental) and entertainment:60 euro/day ($85)
  • 4. Our first impressions of the locals, their culture and customs:

  • Italians are very expressive and very proud of their heritage. They struck us as courteous but not too effusive.
  • They are very religious and don’t like discussing religion and politics but love their La Passeggiata, the ultra social neighbour-friendly stroll every evening.
  • Only the Madonna can save Italy’s insane drivers:)
  • 5. Our favourite places and activities:

  • Every region we’ve visited had its special atmosphere, uniqueness and feel. We loved Tuscany, Rome, the Amalfi Coast and San Marino (not Italy but you know what we mean). We haven’t seen everything Italy offers, but we are sure that it’s worth seeing! Check out all of our posts about Italy, here.
  • Here are all of our pictures from Italy and San Marino:

    [flickr-gallery mode=”tag” tags=”italy” tag_mode=”all” user_id=”25496882@N03″ ]

    Exploring Italy with a toddler (Part 3/3)

    This will be our last instalment about our trip to Italy (and San Marino). After three exhaustive posts, we realized we could not keep up this style of writing for much longer….we have come up with a new format that hopefully proves to be maintainable and enjoyable. We decided to break down our posts into four main categories:

    Trip Pulse

    quick and more up-to-date post about where we are at the time with links to most recent pictures

    Final thoughts

    Q&A style post with our thoughts that summarize the country we have just visited with links to favourite country pictures and videos

    Random contemplations

    posts related to things not necessarily connected to travel but rather commentary about our personal learnings while away from home.

    Travel Tips and Resources

    practical and hands-on information we have obtained via research or experience we wish to share with friends and other travellers with kids.

    If you have other suggestions or comments, please share them in the comments section below! Thanks!

    Let’s get back to Italy for one more second.

    Beautiful Amalfi coast

    is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, of course another UNESCO site, which is a natural world wonder married with a 2000 year history. We stayed in a small village called Minori a great starting point of our coastal discoveries. The narrow and windy roads delivered thrilling driving experiences for the not so faint of heart. Home to giant lemons, lemon liqueur Limoncello, picturesque yet stoney beaches, the Amalfi Coast delivered breathtaking views and rich experiences. No wonder, the Amalfi Coast was the holiday spot of Ancient Rome.

    Any of its towns offer a unique feel, historical touch and views. Positano, Sorrento, Minori, Ravello, Amalfi and most beautiful village beach of Praiano are places you can not miss on your next visit.

    Find out more about Amalfi Coast here and check out our photos below:
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    Tivoli Terme and Rimini

    On our way back to the airport we stopped over in Tivoli Terme, a small town outside of Rome known for its natural sulphur spring waters. Even-though the waters promised many health benefits

    The The smelly health benefits of sulphur springs here is what you can expect…a bath in rotten eggs…both from a visual and the scent perspective. Our clothes smelled like sulphur for two weeks after we came back!
    We also stopped for a few hours in a coastal town called Rimini known for its long and crowded beaches and the birthplace of the great Federico Fellini.

    San Marino

    is the world’s oldest and one of the smallest and wealthiest republics. The cleanliness of the streets and beautifully kept up houses in this small country confirm that people whoThe moutain of San Marino live here have a high standard of living. Fascinating history of the republic with its stint with communist and fascism governments is worth looking up. The most beautifully set old part of San Marino is a must see,
    delivering breathtaking views, amazing architecture, plethora of food and counterfeit goods vendors.

    Check out our last set of pictures from Italy and San Marino. Enjoy.
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