Finally, it is time to say goodbye to 2020 and prepare the traditional summary of the year. Will it be pessimistic, sad? Don’t. What we have been able to experience and see is ours, and this year has shown like no other how important health, safety and the ability to connect with others are.
The year also showed that we can make plans (not just travel plans), but we can’t be sure of anything, hence we ourselves are not sure if we are ready for 2021 ;)
Table of contents
What was 2020 like?
He was strange, he was different, and, to write more emphatically, he gave a blow like no other in our slightly more than 30 years of life ;) And by no means is this about canceled trips or unfulfilled dreams…. We saw how little it takes for the world to stop for a moment, changing plans but also the lives of many people. This ranges from missing products on store shelves in March, to reduced contact with others, lack of access to education, and closed businesses and numerous bankruptcies. And yet, let’s remember how many people rubbed themselves to death, and how many sadly passed away…. The effects of the pandemic will still be visible, for many months if not years to come, because contrary to various assurances we have not yet won with the epidemic ;)
Nevertheless, looking at the last 12 months, we focus on what has been successful, and try to see the glass half full, not half empty. Yes, a lot of collaborations fell through for us, a lot of speeches and meetings with you didn’t happen, but on the other hand we saw places we hadn’t planned to see before, discovered new ways to travel and got to know each other like never before, because we haven’t happened to spend that much time together at home yet ;)
We won’t bitch about how we spent our time at home, because we did, however, hit the road many times and saw fantastic places, mostly in Poland.
The year 2020 got off to a fantastic start. Already on the first weekend of January we were in Mazury, and on the last day of January we were moving to the United States. So the year was shaping up to be a great one, and there were more plans in the back of our minds: Dubai in March, South America in August, on top of that a campervan trip around Europe. It came out a little different ;)
It turned out to end in Florida, which we now consider incredibly lucky. Later, the peak of joy was a trip to Kos and bringing our venerable RODOS, which had been badly neglected and we even wanted to sell it at the beginning of the year (yes, now we are rich :P ), into relatively good condition.
What has this year taught us? Flexibility, patience, but above all, appreciate what you have. We value health, family… We long to go out to restaurants or cafes, play in playrooms or swimming pools, visit museums or get together with a large group of family or friends. We also miss meetings at the coffee machine at work, because almost all year the apartment also serves as our office (we work full time without change :)).
Time for numbers
We expected the numbers to go down this year, but it’s really not too bad! So thank you in the first place for being with us, all the time reading and supporting virtually :)
The time of being cooped up at home with the kids was not a time conducive to creating much content (we still adhere to the rule that with the kids we don’t both sit at computers), but we tried to be active on social media. We have also acquired a great deal of respect for parents who not only work full time, but also find time to fulfill themselves in other areas (such as blogging) – how do you combine this? :P
Okay, specifics!
The blog itself was nevertheless visited by almost 1,000,000 readers in the past year!
We also crossed such a symbolic barrier for us – 100,000 fans on FB!
Instagram is the channel that seems to have jumped the most in statistics. IG stories reach several thousand people, and we also liked the channel even more :)
If you are not with us yet, you are welcome here:-)
When it comes to travel numbers, they are definitely not as impressive as in 2019, but after all, it’s not about numbers, it’s about memories! We have left the 2019 numbers for comparison ;)
We have 4 joint flights to our credit (2019: 13 joint flights).
We visited 2 countries (2019: 10 countries).
We were at 3 different airports (2019: 9 airports).
In total, we flew 20,546 kilometers (2019: 32,362 kilometers).
We spent more than 27 hours on board aircraft (2019: nearly 50 hours).
Below we bring you our top travel memories of 2020. There were not a lot of them, but the Top 10 quietly collected, and many we have not yet described on the blog ;)
1. the Kennedy Space Center and the rocket launch at Cape Canaveral
The definite No. 1 of the past year was a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida combined with watching a rocket launch.
The place made an incredible impression on us! Here you can learn about the history of space flight, see rockets and spacecraft, take part in simulations, feel like you’re on a space station or a flight control worker, and even touch a rock from the moon! A huge dose of knowledge, and at the same time many attractions even for those younger space enthusiasts :)
We’ve been to the Masuria region as many as three times this year, and we still feel like we’ve only seen a small slice of it.
We spent the night in fantastic, family-friendly places, saw open-air museums, museums, tried our hand at water sports, watched animals in their natural habitat, went boating, explored nature on walks….
3. beaches in Florida
Beautiful, wide, clean beaches, fine, soft sand, only the water a little too cold for long swims ;)
Definitely some of the best beaches we’ve ever seen. If we had to point out the most ones then definitely Siesta Key Beach, Fort DeSoto Beach, Cocoa Beach, Miami Beach (the last one on a must see basis, but if you are interested in something more intimate then we recommend Crandon Beach by Miami).
Somewhat forced by the situation, we motivated ourselves to go tenting with the kids for the first time, and it turned out to be a hit :) All day outdoors, pitching a tent together, trips to the bathroom at night with flashlights, cooking on a gas stove – these are adventures ;)
Disneyland could not be missing from this list, it was one of the key highlights of the trip to Florida. And here it should be noted that Disneyland is several facilities in Orlando and you need to plan your visits well to see what interests you most.
We’ve been to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney Springs – completely different facilities, but it was Magic Kingdom that we enjoyed the most.
6. Kos
At the beginning of 2020, we would not have thought that Kos would be the top of our dreams when it comes to trips abroad :) And yet it did, and we have no regrets. We bought the trip with a travel agency to be sure to return in case of another border closure. On site, we took a car and saw many beautiful corners, including the beautiful village of Zia and fantastic views of Kefalos.
7 Magical Accommodations in Poland: Ziołowy Zakątek and Pensjonat Uroczysko Zaborek
There are some accommodations in Poland where one would like to stay longer. This year we returned to the Pension Uroczysko Zaborek, where as always it was magical and incredibly tasty (seriously, the food alone is worth coming here for).
At the end of the year, we went to the Herbal Corner in Podlasie, recommended by many people, by a toss. It is a beautifully arranged place with several accommodation buildings, a restaurant, a playground, a botanical garden, a herbarium, an open-air museum and many farm animals. We were here when the snow fell and there was almost a festive but peaceful atmosphere. We will definitely return when it is warmer and the place is full of greenery.
8 Sandomierz
In autumn we set off for the capital of Polish apples, Sandomierz. We viewed apple orchards, explored picturesque Sandomierz, snaked through ravines, were in the Pepper Mountains, and even drove up to Krzyżtopór Castle nearby.
A very cool option for the weekend, although we recommend visiting Sandomierz itself during the week, as it experiences a veritable siege of tourists on Saturdays and Sundays.
Magic Gardens in Trzcianki is a fantastic option for families with children. We guarantee that here you will spend an entire day playing, discovering secret passages, tunnels, you will feel like real knights, you will be absorbed by interestingly arranged playgrounds, rope park and much more.
It is definitely one of the most interesting attractions for children in Poland.
10. RODOS
Finally, something off the top of my head ;-) This year we spent definitely more time on the plot than we planned. We are slowly making for ourselves our oasis of peace here, arranging for our needs, also providing a lot of entertainment for the children…. so, even if 2021 will be marked by closed borders, we have our piece of land where we will escape :)
The goal for 2021?
Survive;) We do not enter the New Year with airline tickets purchased. Aside from one trip, we have no other plans, as they are out of the question for the time being anyway. We will take whole handfuls of what will be given. Instead, we have a lot of dreams, the less and more realistic ones. In 2021, however, health and safety will be a priority.
If at least once we manage to fly somewhere further by plane, it will be full happiness, seriously :) And to think what travel plans and dreams one had a few years ago, and now a person dreams only of the one and only one. The opportunity to travel, explore new corners and cultures is much more appreciated.
In 2021, instead, we will have one special “journey”, which we will soon initiate you into :)
Finally, traditionally, we wish you the same fantastic moments in 2021! Because that it will be better than the passing one is obvious ;)
...prefers a quiet, lazy vacation, but does not miss the opportunity to see something interesting and bravely keeps pace with Kamila. Contrary to appearances, he also loves active leisure :) He is responsible for the organizational and practical part of the trip, i.e. he makes sure that we get to the ... More about us >>
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