Okay, so, what can I say? I have not missed a day adding some blog entry or other since shortly after returning from my latest real trip away, when I took my son to Kentucky, Ohio, and western Pennsylvania and New York (Niagara Falls), with a short excursion into Ontario. That was in late August, and so that means it has been nine months, basically.
A lot has happened in nine months, and I feel good about this streak.
But all things come to an end, right?
I will have to take a break for a while, but for good reasons. My girlfriend (Basia) and I are taking a trip to Europe. We have a layover in Berlin, and I am really hoping to be able to visit that city! Always wanted to visit Berlin!
But the main thrust of our trip will be Poland, where we will visit Krakow and some of the surrounding points of interest (hopefully), before going to her home region of Bierstadczy, which I hear is very rural and beautiful countryside. It is supposed to be incredibly quiet and peaceful there, with few cars even. Very dark at night, with no lights to hinder the views of a sky filled with bright stars, and with no activity or noise to disturb the stillness of the night.
I can't wait!
Believe it or not, this is actually going to be the longest straight off vacation that I have taken since a six-week hiatus to France in 1998. Since then, I have come close to two straight weeks, without actually quite getting there. This trip will be for the full two weeks, and I am definitely looking forward to it!
That may sound extreme, but I should point out that there were a couple of trips that were between ten to twelve days, although even these were in the early 2000's. I rarely had much paid vacation time to work with, so I tried to use the time wisely. Generally, I would take maybe two to three weekends (sometimes extended, sometimes not), and use these with days off, so as to make decent lengths, miniature trips (this is what I did, for example, last August, when I went from Florence, Kentucky, to Niagara Falls, with my son). It is not the best, but it at least allows distracting trips to occur with relative frequency. It makes me feel like I am doing something, and enjoying some of what life has to offer.
This time, I have to admit, I am very much looking forward to having this much time off. It will be good just to get away from work - particularly my weekend job. The stress level has been increasing steadily, and so has my general fatigue. Frankly, it will be nice just to be able to sleep in a bit, without pressure. Perhaps take a nap if I feel like it. To enjoy days with (hopefully) little to no pressure. Now, that would be a vacation!
It has been thirteen years since my last visit to Europe, and this will be the first time that I will be visiting either Germany or Poland, so this should all be new for me. My hope is to get a lot of really cool pictures and stories to share, as well as the history of some of the places that we are planning to visit, so as to keep me busy for when I get back!
There are actually a lot of things that I have been working towards or for concerning this blog. Outside of the trip-related posts to come once I get back, I hope to start a series on some amazing places that I have not actually had the pleasure to visit yet. Another series that I have been working on will focus on some unusual, extreme communities. Also, I hope to resume activity with the band versus band series, which seem to be among the most popular posts (but many, they take a lot of research and effort to complete!). Hopefully, perhaps a few more on stamps. There will be some books that I should review also. And, of course, continuing with the "This Day in History" series, which seems to be going smoothly as well.
Plus, there are some other ideas that I am working with, trying to make happen. It will take a bit of a juggling act, but I would like to see these through. Should be interesting, at the very least.
So, I will likely be a busy boy when upon hopping across the pond and returning to New Jersey life here. Some of the ideas are actually pretty exciting, and on some level, I am pretty pumped about it. Please excuse me if I don't exactly want to rush to that point. Right now, I'm just looking forward to the trip, and hope that it proves nearly as interesting, refreshing, and relaxing as I have been hoping it will. The last thing I want to think about is the inevitable return to the grind.
But, for now, I can actually relax, because it is vacation time! See you guys on the other side of it....
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