Crete has so much more to offer than just the pretty beaches straight out of the brochures of your local travel agent. Don't get me wrong, the beaches and all the famous spots are amazing but what really stuck in my memory were the hidden gems inbetween.
Setting off from Chania, we headed to the west of the island next. We rented a car for a few days to be able to drive around freely. Crete is quite well connected in terms of transportation, all the major cities and spots are connected with motorways and the busiest one is connecting the whole island from east to west. Well, but very often to get to the final destination the drivers must have some nerve. The island is very mounainous and steep, curvy roads are almost unavoidable. They will sure increase your adrenaline level for the day but the views will be rewarding and you won't regret it.
As soon as the governments opened up the borders and tourism ressurected after the lockdown, my friends talked me into visiting the isle of Crete in Greece.
The pandemic didn't affect life on the island much, while chit-chating with locals i learned that there were less tourists than usual, but at the point of our visit it was already getting back to normal. My observations confirmed that it seemed normal. The streets were packed in the evenings, popular beaches were full and a cacophony of different languages cut the air in essentially every place that had something to offer.
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic my parents and I had decided to travel around within the Polish borders just a little bit more than usual. This was the first vacation that we planned together in years, and the destination that we chose was West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie). The choice was not a completely random shot, because my father's family resides in this part of Poland and we used this oppotunity to come over and simply catch up.
This region is the most north-western region of the country. Heavy german influences can be easily observed in city-planning and the omnipresent germanic architecture. I don't want to generalise, but my observation was that the region's golden age has ended after being transferred to Poland, it is kinda still living off its herritage instead of moving forward. But! Not to be negative only, I personally really liked the germanic feel. It almost felt like visiting a different country that accidentally spoke the same language as I do.
As we all know, 2020 was an absolutely insane year, with so many unsettling things happening and the Coronavirus pandemic that basically froze the whole world for a few months. Every traveller was bummed out because of the lockdown's causing travel cancelations. With no steady forecasts when is it going to be safe to start moving around the world again, it was quite impossible to plan anything ahead when it came to abroad travels. I had to postpone travelling to Australia and Azores islands and I still don't know when are any of those happening.
But! Life goes on and one ought to adapt to a new situation, right? I used it as an opportunity to finally visit some places in my own country that I haven't really explored before. It is a bit of a shame, that i have been pretty much around the globe but haven't bothered to appreciate what I have on my own doorstep. Hopefully, it's not too late to fix that.
