We’re prepping for our Europe trip next week. One of the great things about staying with family and friends in Europe is that you can pack light. We’re hoping to beat last year’s weight by enough so we can each have a single bag to lug around. There’s no wedding this year, which offers us some great weight savings.
Every year I leave a few pairs of socks, underwear, t-shirts and sweaters in Poland. This way I only need enough clothes to get me to a laundry, which is 2-3 days max. I also wear my heaviest and bulkiest clothes when going from place to place.
This year we’re in London for a couple days, then we’re off to Tirol Italy where my parents have rented a house. My brother is meeting up with us for about a week of hiking and eating in the mountains. Then it’s off to Poland for a couple weeks with family and seaside relaxation.
Our airfare was significantly higher this year, probably due to high fuel prices. I wonder if we’ll be able to fly to Europe in a world with a $500 barrel of oil. At the current rate of increase that’s less than a couple years away. Montreal-London via sailboat?
The Western border between Europe and Poland is opening. This means when you drive from say, Berlin into Poland (about an hour and a half), you won’t have to go through a passport control. One minute you’ll be driving through the rolling hillside and wind turbines of Eastern Germany. The next you’ll be driving along the pole straight pine trees of Zachodniopomorskie (West Pomerania).
When I first visited Poland, I had to wait in ridiculously long queues at the Polish consulate in Toronto to apply for a VISA. Then with Poland entering the EU, they dropped the VISA requirement for Canadians (we STILL have a VISA requirement for Poles visiting Canada). Poland has boomed since entering the EU, with something like 6% economic growth over the last several years; all I see is construction cranes in Kolobrzeg, the city I stay in when I’m there.
But now that Poland has toughened up it’s Eastern borders, they’re entering into Schengen Zone this December. All land and sea border controls will be closed!
