Uznam Archives - Conversations through the middle

This past week has been an amazing one as far as travel is concerned – I was in Luxembourg and Germany for a press trip to Villeroy & Boch, a company that makes gorgeous bathroom products and tableware, then I travelled to Poland as part of an organised visit to see what that lovely country has to offer.

I have taken so many photographs – isn’t that the great thing about digital cameras, you don’t have to worry about how much film costs, mind you, you end up with hundreds of images to sort through afterwards. I plan to write several posts about Poland as we covered so much during the trip and the same goes for Luxembourg and Villeroy & Boch. I am also going to post about V&B on my new blog (www.decoranddishes.com – I haven’t launched it properly yet but you can take a sneak peak now if you have a moment; I’d love to know what you think). It’s an interiors/homes blog so V&B fits perfectly there.

As for Poland, well I hadn’t realised how beautiful the country is. Yes, there is still evidence of its communist history in some of the plainer 1950s buildings, but there is so much regeneration going on, with designs that embrace the elegant and stylish as well as the practical. People are so friendly, the countryside so green and the changes that are happening there so rapid, surely it can’t be long before it becomes a more popular holiday destination. It already is with Germans I’m told, but with improving transport links there will be more opportunities for visitors from further away, including the UK.

Our trip was to West Pomerania – even the name sounds lovely. We flew in to Szczecin from Stansted, spent the night at the Radisson Blu hotel, them travelled on to Wolin, Swinoujscie, Uznam and Kolobrzeg, where we stayed at the fabulous Aquarius Spa hotel.

We visited a World War II bunker, watched a documentary on the real Great Escape (two of the escapees travelled through Szczecin on their frightening trip to freedom), spent several hours at a living history Viking and Slav centre, climbed two lighthouses, visited a Prussian fort, enjoyed a quick boat trip on the Baltic, walked on a beautiful white sandy beach, took part in sightseeing tours in Szczecin, Swinoujscie and Kolobrzeg, spent time in a nightclub, learned why Kolobrzeg is the spa capital of Poland, watched a mud treatment demonstration, enjoyed a luxurious spa body treatment, and ate masses of gorgeous food – including national favourite sausage and egg soup. And that was all in three days. Phew, no wonder I’m tired, but what a trip!