Welcome to Australia! – I lately hear this phrase pretty often. It is the beginning of my new adventure. I’ll be staying in Sydney here for at least a year or maybe two. In fact, after two full weeks here, I am optimistic about this idea. It all came quite unexpectedly, like many things and travels in my life, and I’m considering it a great opportunity to know better this far away continent. Let me share with you five things I found rather surprising in Australia. Everybody runs Jogging and running are extremely popular. The CBD from early morning throughout the day with a peak in lunch hours is full of runners. They are mostly heading towards Botanical Gardens which is a fantastic place to run. Not only the views are breathtaking but also the shadowed paths and the nature around you are very encouraging. I came with no running shoes because of the luggage weight restrictions which was a mistake but luckily for me I found great running shoes in one of the stores and bought it right after my arrival. The weather is just amazingly beautiful which makes the whole running in Sydney pleasant. Everything is sweet This is something I found awkward: most of the food here, including yoghurt, tomato sauces, drinks and even milk is really sweet. I am not used to the sweet foods thus this was striking. I now pay attention in shops and before I buy any food I check the nutrition information for sugar quantity. Also, when I have my coffee I specifically ask for no sugar in it. When you come to Sydney remember to repeat ‘no sugar’ phrase, unless you want it sweet. Every day is sunny I’ve heard a lot about the weather in Sydney but let’s be honest: after living in Italy for years I did not believe it. The last two weeks were extremely sunny. From the early morning until late evening the sky is blue and the temperature is way above 20 degrees. Thanks to its location there is a slight wind from the bay which makes his city so easy to love! Everyone is chilled out Obviously not everybody but in most of the cases, I found the Australians easygoing folks. Not only they sit and lay down on green grass in parks and gardens but they also finish working early so they can enjoy life by visiting bars, restaurants, spending time with their friends or simply exercising. The peak hours are pretty narrow and after 5:00 p.m. everybody leaves offices heading home or leisure spots. Every tourist will find something interesting here Sydney has a lot to offer. From high adrenaline activities, through the music and theatre events, up to craft beers. In last two weeks, I went to two museums, had a few drinks here and there, run in the park, watched the huge ferry cruises muring in the harbour, walked along the beaches, did shopping and had a few dinners outs. All in all, you will find everything in Sydney. A huge variety of activities, places and fun things to do awaits for the tourists here. Sydney, I have a feeling we’ll come along quite nicely! Keep coming back for more info about Sydney, Australia and adventures of a foreigner in the Antipodes.  

The post Sydney at First Glance appeared first on Null & Full.

I rarely visit the UK for tourism. It’s been ages since I worked there. I treat London as a transfer city and I sometimes change planes there. I’ve never been to Cornwall before and my only visit lasted no more than 12 hours and yet I consider it one of the most valuable travel lessons learnt. The first thought that comes to mind is: how on earth you are able to learn anything in such a short time? And I must say that I am the first to be skeptical so let me tell you my story. I went to Cornwall for one reason: to accompany my niece. She is minor so she needed an adult in order to travel. So we went together to London and continued our journey further west. We finally reached our destination: a small town in Cornwall where she spent a week with a British family to develop her linguistic skills. Before I left her I spent the entire day with the family who lives there and this was one of the best days in my life as a traveler. First, we received a warm welcome at the airport despite a horrible weather and a 45 minutes delay. Kate was waiting for us and although we have never met before we recognized each other in a second. We started a conversation that lasted until evening. She took us home where we met the whole family: her husband Andy and their four kids. And what a family they have! Do you know the feeling of being at home away from home? This is how we felt when we entered their house. We had a quick bite (scones with cream) and went for a walk. In a pouring rain, we visited a spectacular site: rocky cliffs and old mine remains. We had ice creams, we watched surfers, and we talked. Despite the weather, it was fun! Being with them was like a SPA for our souls. Gentle people who simply care for each other and for their guests made this day memorable. Through a conversation, laugh, endless stories and the way they treated us we felt like we wanted to stay in Cornwall forever. They told us about their everyday life, school, work, friends, family life and entertainment provided by this small corner of the world, with a true delight. Happy people living in a lovely place! I had an impression that they discovered the most important secret of life: being happy in a place where you are and at the time that is given to you. Eating dinner together with this family was a treat! I had to leave the very same day but I felt I learnt a lot about life, people and traveling. Cornwall became a land full of peace, joy, and happiness. Even if it was raining all day I remembered it as the sunniest part of the world. I felt blessed and happy that my niece stayed with them for the whole week, having the best holiday ever. I can’t wait to meet them again. Lesson learnt? It is not always possible to stay in one place for a long time for a variety of reasons but when it is not possible focus on people. They are one of the best “medium” of culture. They will tell you more about life in a place than a guidebook and they will grab your hand and show you the best places on earth: a happy home full of love. It’s priceless!  

The post Cornwall: a Lesson Learnt appeared first on Null & Full.

Since I started travelling I have always been eager to visit my own country. This year I drove far east to visit Podlasie, one of the most beautiful Polish regions, for the first time. Here is a short summary of my journey. The idyllic Janów Podlaski Janów Podlaski is a small village in Podlasie and it is widely known for its Arabian horses breeding programme and horse auctions. The horse stud established in 1817 gathers horse experts from all over the world. I’m not a huge fan of horses thus for me this was only an idyllic village in Podlasie. A few kilometres south from the world wide renown horse stud we found a perfect location for a short and peaceful stay. It’s called Pensjonat Uroczysko Zaborek and it is located in a beautiful spot. Recently renovated old wooden buildings are available for guests along with vast green terrains of the forest, small ponds and meadows. We were lucky to stay overnight in an old beautifully renovated windmill. A small apartment at the top floor was spectacular. Inside of the living room, there was a huge windmill wheel converted into a table. Also, small windows and wooden floors made a huge impression of being close to the past of this regions. Full immersion in the green landscape was at our fingertips. It is hard to admit but even in such an idyllic place, you can experience a bad luck. There were other guests at the property and unluckily for us they were having a wedding party. They were loud and extremely disturbing until 3:00 a.m. There was no chance to sleep sound so I can’t say we fully appreciated the location. The next day the owner apologised us and gave us a small hand made gift to make a good impression. We were not fully satisfied with our stay but the service was friendly so I’d say we could stay there again in the future. The Holy Hill of Grabarka The next day we drove further north along the east border of Poland. We were aware that the Podlasie region is known for its religious and cultural diversity and we wanted to experience that, therefore, we drove to a holy hill for Orthodox pilgrims called Grabarka. It is a sanctuary with a small wooden Eastern Orthodox Church constructed on a top of a hill. There is also a wellspring with water that is believed to save people from dying out of extremely contagious disease cholera. The local story says that people who came to the place carrying wooden crosses on their back and drank water from this wellspring were saved. Since then the hill is full of crosses, big and small ones, and people still carry them as a penance or supplication to God. The wellspring is located at the foothills of the mountain and all pilgrims can draw water from it. The UNESCO site If you’re interested in wild nature you’ve probably heard about Białowieża: the ultimate wilderness of Europe. The national park (Białowieski Park Narodowy) established almost hundred years ago protects large parts of this wild forest. To all Polish and some foreigners, Białowieża is synonymous to European Bison, the biggest European mammal that still lives there. Thanks to a collaboration of state institutions and private companies not only the wilderness is well protected but also a breeding programme of the Bisons is well developed. The tourists can watch Bisons in a sort of semi natural habitat which is quite impressive. Religious diversity of Podlasie: The Eastern Orthodox and the Muslims Poland is known as a religious country with the majority of Christian Catholics. Out of historical reasons, the eastern part of the country is more diverse. Being highly influenced by our eastern neighbours who are almost entirely Orthodox, Podlasie kept its multi religious character. The houses of small villages and towns gather around Eastern Orthodox churches. Further, the big towns like Supraśl and Białystok have their own modern churches. We watched the small wooden churches from the outside as they were closed during the day. We also visited a big Eastern Orthodox Church in Supraśl which was deeply disappointing. We also visited a big Eastern Orthodox Church in Supraśl which was deeply disappointing. It was mainly due to a hostile attitude of the guide who let us wait long in a cold passage before we entered and then he said absolutely nothing about the buildings we visited and the orthodox religion itself. We even witnessed that he made fun of a tourist who asked some basic questions about the Orthodox faith. Moreover, the churches we watched were recently constructed so their architecture and their interior was not very impressive. There is even one wooden mosque in a village of Kruszyniany that serves to the local community of Tatars. The Folk Music Going deeper into the cultural diversity we eventually arrived in Supraśl and listened to a concert of folk music from the area. The artists Karolina Cicha and Bart Pałyga played a wonderful concert presented to the audience an exotic music of the Tatars. We listened to their band a few years earlier at the Poznan Ethnoport Festival and they developed their repertoire even further. We enjoyed it immensely and through the music our journey was complete. There is so much more to see and we’ve already decided to go back to Podlasie one day.  

The post The Podlasie Story appeared first on Null & Full.

Meet Dan: he is an experienced runner and today he shares his tips on how to manage running while treveling. If you’re keen to travel the world as much as I am, there are obviously some important considerations worth taking into account before you begin your sojourn. You’ve probably already thought about the places you’d like to go visit, the must-see landmarks you don’t want to miss, where you’ll be staying, or even how you’re going to finance your worldwide travels. All of that goes without saying. However, something that many world travellers should be doing — but likely aren’t — is to think about their health over the course of their travels. Sure, you want to savor the locals’ eats and drinks, but what are you planning to do for your fitness routine while you’re on the go? Not everywhere you go will have a state-of-the-art gym, and it’s unlikely that you’re going to travel somewhere with your favorite spin bike in your bag. What’s an activity that you can do anywhere, at virtually any time (with safety precautions in mind, of course), and one that requires minimal equipment? In other words, what’s a perfect activity for you to maintain while you’re travelling? The answer: running. Below, I’ll provide some quick and easy tips for how you can manage your running habit while traveling. Do some research There is definitely some fun and added value to exploring your new locales by foot, but before venturing into the great unknown, it’ll behove you to do at least a tiny bit of research. More than anything, you’ll want to do this for your own safety. Ask the locals where you’re staying for some recommendations, and trust your gut. If something seems “off” to you, listen to your instincts and stay away. Run a local race  Some people really enjoy making vacations out of far-flung races, but even if you didn’t plan your travels around one particular race, when you get to a new location, it’s worth asking around and researching online to see if there’s a race going on while you’re in town. Some places host races year-round, virtually every weekend, while other places only have 1 or 2 big signature events each year. Regardless, races are a lot of fun and typically promote a great environment, and it’d be a great way to meet locals and find out more about the place you’re visiting. Follow the path Once you’ve gotten your bearings in your new destination, let your feet do the talking and see where the roads take you. Of course, bear in mind your own safety, and don’t venture out in the middle of the night, but if you have some free time, go off the beaten path to see what’s around you. It’ll help you master your new surroundings, and you’ll likely find that you get a new appreciation for your home away from home. Meet up with area runners Check out the internet before you get to your new destination to see if there are any local running groups or clubs that meet up regularly. If so, correspond with them prior to your arrival to find out if you’d be able to jump in at one of their workouts or group runs. By their very nature, runners are typically extraordinarily accommodating and friendly individuals, and even if there’s a language barrier, I can all but guarantee that you’ll have fun traversing the roads and trails with your newly-found friends. Treadmill While running on a treadmill isn’t the most luxurious or glamorous way to run, runners everywhere will admit that it “gets the job done.” Particularly if you are traveling by yourself, if you’re in an area where you’re uncertain about your safety, or if you can’t run during daylight hours, hitting up a treadmill in a local hotel or gym is one way that you can ensure that you satisfy your mileage goals (and your safety). If you have detailed workouts to complete, taking to a treadmill can make nailing the workout much more manageable than figuring out how to do it in a foreign land. Know the rules of the roads (or sidewalks) One of the most important aspects of running while traveling is that the onus is on you, the visitor, to both know and heed the rules of the road/sidewalk where you’re traveling. It’ll be critical that you do everything you can to ensure your own safety abroad, and this includes even the most basic things like knowing local traffic rules and direction of travel. You may not be used to drivers being on the left, for example, or cars being on the right, but your ignorance don’t grant you a free pass when you’re running outdoors. You definitely don’t want to injure yourself (or someone else!) by your inattention to detail. While most places subscribe to the same red light/green light scenario, in many places, crosswalks are a luxury, stop signs are mere suggestions, and there are regular showdowns in traffic among pedestrians, vehicles, pedicabs, livestock, bicycles, mopeds, (and the list goes on). Make yourself into an informed runner and tourist before you go so you don’t fall victim to your own mistakes or stupidity. Mix it up Particularly if you are an endurance runner, it can be pretty tough to figure out ways to fit in a long distance run while you’re traveling. If you’re strapped for time or for distance, consider mixing up your runs into something shorter and more intense: think high intensity interval training (HIIT), sprints, or even speedwork, like tempo runs, mile repeats, half mile repeats, or quarters or 200m repeats. You can still manage to get in a solid workout and a satisfying sweat sesh, even if your mileage is significantly shorter than what you’d like, and as a bonus, you won’t be losing tons of travel and exploration time in the process. Traveling and running are both super fun and accessible hobbies, and one need...

The post How to Manage Running While Traveling appeared first on Null & Full.

Four years ago I published the first post on this blog. It was about how it all started, the travelling thing. It goes back almost fifteen years when I studied in Milan. Little I knew but judging from my current perspective this was the first big breakthrough of my adult life. Suddenly the map of my world grew and showed many blank places that I wanted to explore. I was lucky to work as an academic for almost ten years. I feel privileged that my job brought me to the remote location of this globe. I travelled the world and participated in a variety of scientific conferences. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. At the same time, my passion for the travel literature grew and I started a transformation of my home office into a library. I discovered the best travel book ever written. It is The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier. It still is my favourite book, even though I travelled around the world, followed his footsteps in Ireland and Japan, and turned into a philosopher of travelling. Eventually, the urge to explore the world became overwhelming. I used the end of my research contract at the University of Nottingham as an excuse for focusing on travelling per se. The travelling became my job, hobby and the way of life. I never turned it into an obsession or a mindless collection of places, national parks or countries. My travels were always slow, focused on meetings with people, reading books, or just hanging around, visiting the same place more than once, often in different seasons. Off the beaten track I went. The big question of why and how people travel always intrigued me. Naturally, my research brought me to a point when I wanted sharing my experiences with others. Thus, here is the big news: the first publication of my book called “Podróżując” (On Travelling) will be soon available in Polish. I wrote it to share my philosophy of travelling. By telling a story of the journey around the world, I explained many aspects related to anthropology, cultural studies, linguistics and social relations. Above all, thanks to my Polish language teacher, I spent countless hours on raising my linguistic competencies to make sure this book is simply beautiful, clear and easy to understand. For a while, I considered publishing it with an ordinary publishing house but then I realised that this book is not only about the thoughts, not only about the content. I thought that it should be published by myself to influence the whole process, decide on every small detail so it became a beautiful object. Instead of colourful pictures, you’ll find there a series of sketches by my artist friend Natalia. The cover designed by Jarek tells you a story about the journey that turns into the way of life. I devoted to this book almost two years of my life to make sure it meets the highest standards. In order to do so, I did not submit it to any random publishing house. The time has come. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the second big news: I established a publishing house. Yeah! Hurray! Together with my beloved husband, we created an enterprise called Null&Full. The company we have owned for a couple of years promotes conscious travelling. Under one umbrella it offers guided tours in Ferrara, runs this blog and finally, publishes travel literature. Our aim is to raise awareness and promote discussion about the modern travels. In our recently established publishing house, we shall focus all our efforts on finding the best pieces ever written, pick up sketches and illustrations, work on a layout, choose the right colours, and publish them as works of art. As for now, we publish our books in Polish but we shall do our best to publish the book “On Travelling” in English too. We will keep you informed regarding the process of translation and about the date of publication. We strongly believe this is another wonderful journey that we shall share with you. Keep your fingers crossed!    

The post The Big News. Or Even Two. appeared first on Null & Full.

A winter stay in Valpolicella would be incomplete without a few visits in the local restaurants. There is a lot to choose from! Even if the AirBnB house we rented is located in a small village there is a variety of places that serve a high-quality food. Italy is famous for its food and sometimes you might get lost is a variety of names. You might wonder what is the difference between ‘osteria‘, ‘trattoria‘ and ‘restaurant’ thus here is a simple explanation. Osteria The least formal of all places that offer you food in Italy. It sometimes is run by a family and offers you a place at the common table, shared with other guests. The food is always fresh, prepared from the local ingredients and often there is no menu: the owner of a waiter tells you what is served today and you choose from it. It serves wines, often produced by the owners (‘produzione propria‘), brought to the table is carafe rather than a bottle. Recently there is a new trend to make the osterie more attractive by using a modern design or hosting ‘aperitivo‘ in late afternoons. The one I visited here, in Negrar, was called Osteria del Bugiardo and it was fabulous! Trattoria Less formal than a restaurant more formal then osteria. It always serves local food but the main focus is on wines. The food is always simple, the choice is limited and the customers are in major part locals. It has been always an important place for the meetings of the residents and a common space for exchanging the ideas and gossips. Restaurant Obviously, there is a huge variety of the formality here. There are exclusive restaurants that serve a high quality, expensive food but there are also those less expensive and well connected with the area. It is true especially in Italy where many people visit a restaurant with their families, friends and colleagues. It is worth checking with the locals which restaurant is good but if you can’t do it just pass the restaurant in the evening (20:00-21:00) and judge it out of the number of cars parked in front of it. If the restaurant is not in the city centre, next to the famous touristic spots, this strategy works just fine. Especially in the countryside: good restaurants are always full of locals! Bar or pasticceria Pssst! I know that there’s a lot of people who love sweets thus I would strongly encourage you to visit bar or pasticceria in the morning. The best place to start a day in Italy is the one that bakes their sweets in situ, in their backyard. Fresh, warm sweet brioche in the morning will lift your spirit!  

The post What is an ‘osteria’? appeared first on Null & Full.

I completed a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela two years ago but this journey was so important that the more time passes the more it influences my life. Recently, I got asked about the essentials, that is, what a pilgrim should bring to the Camino. I thought this is a really good opportunity to go back in time and refresh my memories. We’ll be soon flooded by articles of the New Year’s Resolutions and walking the Camino might be one of them. 5 Essentials… obvious things to bring The following five essentials is a must to all who undertake any long or short distance walk Comfortable shoes, Small and light backpack, Container for water, Hat, Waterproof jacket. The Camino taught me one basic thing: never bring a new pair of shoes! Use the old ones that your feet are used to. I learned it hard way: bought the new shoes two weeks before walking the Camino and paid the price. The blisters were killing me for the most of the time. Now, I am an experienced trekker and I never do such things but this time I clearly underestimated the challenge. I thought that after walking the King’s Trail (120km) and completing two marathons I should be just fine. So again: NO NEW SHOES! Have mercy on your feet! My backpack was only 55 litres and at all times, it weighed less than 10 kg. This is a basic rule if you want to enjoy the journey. This will guarantee comfort and will allow you to focus on more important things. I saved a lot of space by using clothes made of merino wool. They are odour free and it allowed me to limit my clothes significantly. A hat was extremely useful out of the obvious reasons but I was very happy I brought it because the heat totally surprised me. I thought that the end of September should be calm and cold but on the contrary, it was horribly warm. I suffered for the most part of the walk and the next time I walk the Camino, I’ll do it in late October. 5 less obvious things to bring The following five things made my walk more enjoyable. Sleeping bag, Sunglasses, Guidebook, Mp3 player, Flipflops. A very light sleeping bag (600g) ensured comfort during the nights in shelters. Some of them provide a disposable sheet and pillowcase but not all. Besides it’s always nice to lie down, relax and sleep in something that belongs to you. Mp3 player helped me in a few cases. First, a calm music that I listened to after reaching the shelter helped me to relax and sleep in the afternoon when people around were making noise. Second, when I was crossing the mountains with painfully blistered feet I was listening to the relaxation music that helped me arriving the shelter. There is a great bonus that comes with it: even today I still find this piece of music deeply relaxing. When I feel overstressed I can always listen to it and calm down by remembering my walk. Flipflops will allow your feet to relax after you reach the shelter and also will keep your feet safe while taking a shower in a shared bathroom. One more thing to bring A proper mindset is everything. After walking the Camino, quite naturally, I listened to other people who walked it. I read a few books and talked to some pilgrims. People tend to underestimate the Camino is what I’ve learned. The fact it leads through the cities, little towns and generally civilised areas make people think it is easy. Many of the pilgrims admitted that they have not expected hardship nor problems but in most cases, they were faced with the sudden difficulties. Therefore, prepare yourself! Do your research, check the details, plan your trip. Proper preparations are of great importance. At the end of the day, I wonder whether the hardship of this walk is what the pilgrimage is all about? Maybe all pilgrims need to face the difficulties to experience their vulnerability, community with others and learn about their own weakness? Share your opinion in comments. Do you have plans to walk the Camino in 2017?  

The post 11 Things You Should Bring to the Camino appeared first on Null & Full.

This is a guest post written by Alex from AuthorizedBoots.com who shared with us Top 13 Hiking Tips for Beginners. I know there are many people here who are trekkers and hikers themselves thus I’m sharing this article with great pleasure. It is important to remind ourselves some basic stuff from time to time so here are tips by Alex. Enjoy reading and plan your next hike wisely! Top 13 Hiking Tips for Beginners If you are looking for an adventure, the mountain might be the place for you. It hides a lot of beauty that is often unknown to us. Hiking is not just a form of exercise. Hiking is a way to get to know yourself and a way to discover the nature in its original form. When you finally decide to take that path, you will probably ask yourself what we need to start a hike. As we venture through the woods, this article is designed to remind us a few things before we decide to go on our trekking. 1. Weather Condition Weather plays the decisive role for your enjoyment in the mountains and the success of the hiking trip. Snowstorms, poor visibility, rain, fog and similar conditions are unfavorable for hikers, and can often be the cause of accidents during the trip. Before going out on your hiking trip, be sure to inform yourself what type of weather is expected in the coming days, because, based on that, you will know what kind of equipment and clothing to take. Important: Never ignore the weather forecast as it can lead to dangerous situations that could be life threatening! 2. Hiking equipment – What to bring? This primarily depends on how many days you plan to spend on your trip, where do you plan to sleep and what time of year is it. You should also consider how many people will be present. If you plan to sleep in the house, cottage, log cabin, mountain home, etc., then you should not carry a tent and sleeping bags. Otherwise, that equipment is inevitable, but your luggage will be much bigger and heavier. In hiking, we must be thorough on what are the things to bring, it will be helpful if we will be bringing these essential items Map   Compass Water Extra Food Rain Gear and Extra Clothes Fire-starters or Matches First-aid Kit Army Knife or Multi-Purpose Tool Flashlight and Batteries Sunscreen and Sunglasses Footwear Hiking Poles These identified essentials are necessary for a successful hike. It does not only prepare you for the possible dangers but it will be your main weapon for the whole trip itself so that you can enjoy your escapade. Certainly, one of the most, if not the most important piece of equipment is hiking boots. Next important part of hiking equipment is the backpack. The size of the backpack is chosen depending on the situation. Don’t forget to bring hiking sticks, as they will ease your way through the mountain. Other important hiking equipment to highlight would be a cap and gloves. Sunglasses with UV filter, protective cream with high UV factor, and a map. Forget the map, you will find yourself wandering around like a lost sheep. 3. Orientation You should know how to use a compass. Sometimes that dictates a crucial moment between life and death. You’ve probably heard stories about people who got lost in the wild because they are not oriented which they cannot determine the direction of their movement. It is extremely easy to stray from the path, especially in adverse weather conditions. Don’t think it only happens to beginners. Experienced hikers can get lost too. 4. Picking the right camping spot At first glance, it may seem easy, but choosing a suitable place for camping can be a big problem.  Placing Your Tent: put it in a place that is dry, protected from the wind, has trees near it, and is at least 2 miles away from the swamp. It is desirable to camp in the proximity of water.  Avoid Rocky Grounds: avoid places with dense vegetation, and places populated by rodents. In the mountains, you should watch out for landslides of rocks, snow and blizzard  5. Food and water It is not so difficult to find water in nature. You can obtain the topographic map with marked sources or you can get the information from the local population. The real challenge is how to be confident that the water is drinkable. We found that some of the best ways to ensure clean water is to understanding some of the best ways to purify water. As for the food, you should take a sufficient amount of carbohydrates like fruits, grains, milk, and bread. Carbohydrates provide energy to our bodies and they, usually, come in the form of sugar. It is, also, good to bring some chocolate or glucose sweets which can quickly restore your energy. If you are hunting for meat and need to kill the bacteria before consumption, it is imperative that you either know how to start a fire or invest in some of the best camping stove. 6. Learn how to start a fire If you don’t know how to start a fire, you should definitely learn. Everyone likes sitting by the campfire, singing your favorite songs or talking about funny life events. A campfire provides us with light, warmth, and heat for cooking. So let us make sure to find a good spot for it. 7. Bring a cell phone You should always start your trip with a fully charged battery and use it only in an emergency or life-threatening situation. Take not that bringing a mobile phone for a hiking trip is a must. Signal Reception: The signal received may be too weak to send a text message or call someone. It would, therefore, be advisable to carry a spare battery.  Phone Placement: The mobile phone should be kept in the inside pocket of a bag and will only be used for...

The post Top 13 Hiking Tips for Beginners appeared first on Null & Full.

We all got used to the mainstream rhetoric that promotes long-term traveling. Every day, the leading newspapers and mainstream media argue that leaving everything behind and quitting the job is a great scenario to all who feels tired, burnt out and unhappy with their lives. I have already written a polemic article on Why blaming nine to five office job is a bad idea here. In this article, I will argue that long-term traveling is unsustainable. Lack of strong social ties The general idea, favored by numerous bloggers and travel journalists, is that through traveling you make new social relations. While this is true, nobody tells you that the quality of the new ties is far more different than you might think. Sociology defines ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ social ties and everybody needs both to live and prosper. Strong ties are the ones sustained with our close family members and very close friends, while weak social ties are all others, characterized by low frequency, intensity and with low influence on our behavior. Long term travels result are twofold: one the one hand the absence at home results in weakening the strong ties with our close family, on the other hand, our lives is full of meaningless weak ties with random people. When you travel a long time and you are a guest at home you become a sort of “Skype family member” who is always far and absent. At the same time, you meet a bunch of new people on everyday basis, who you rarely meet again, if at all! Long term travels limit our personal development and healthy relationships which are equally important for our lives as the food and sun. Social exclusion Through long term traveling, we exclude ourselves from the social live of our hometown, family, neighborhood, coworkers, and friends. Not only we are physically absent and we are not updated on what is happening in all groups we felt part of, but also we feel more attached to the universal group of travelers and globetrotters. Rather than a healthy feeling of belonging to a social group we feel part of a virtual and very vague group of people, who cannot efficiently support us, cannot physically be with us when we need them and can go away far, far away with no warning, disappearing from our lives. Also, when we meet non-travelers our conversations tend to be monothematic and thus when we go back home we don’t feel like part of this micro world anymore. Non-travelers, out of a variety of reasons, tend to exclude us – travelers from their company. We don’t have any common subjects to talk about. And any contact results in frustration on both sides of the fence. Health and wellbeing Long-term travelers tend to neglect their health problems. I personally know many of them and it is quite common to postpone regular dentist visits for ages, not to mention other doctors or regular basic blood exams. Even if the major part of them has an insurance for the accidents they do not have an access to the basic healthcare. This is a paradox: while there are thousands if not millions of people around the world who would dream about the basic healthcare, many modern travelers resign of this right they had in their home country, along their full-time employment. Long-term travelers tend to suffer overweight. As traveling make the establishment of a routine extremely complicated, the first thing you neglect is physical exercises. Many of the travelers I know do not perform any physical exercises on a regular basis using as the main excuse ‘lack of time’. There is more to that! In every place on earth, there are super tasty local specialties that you need to taste, resulting in getting more kilograms every year. Hardworking instead of a holiday The beforementioned ‘quitting the job to travel’ usually involves a career switch. Very quickly, everlasting holiday promised by journalists and bloggers turn to be a hard work. After all, the money will run out and will need to deal with it, and you need to find a job. One of the ideas is relying on a job market in a country where you are currently staying. It has its downfalls. It might be illegal as you need time and money to get the working visa, or it is a poorly paid low profile job, like cleaning toilets. Yes, this actually happened to a traveling couple after spending 50,000 USD on traveling they found themselves in a situation when they are literally cleaning toilets for food and shelter. You might think they are not smart enough. Come on, so many people earn a living out of their travels, right? Yes, it is possible to make this business switch but are you aware what this means? A 12 hours working days in this travel business are considered standard, no weekends off, constant availability to all partners, press, etc. this is what travel business is all about. There is also a constant presence in online media which all results in overworking and burn out. Wait, but they promised that through the long-term traveling you will beat burn out and you will be happy! I can only tell you this: if you don’t know how to be happy where you are, traveling around the world will not help you. I am strongly convinced that the healthy, well – balanced personal development does not demand any traveling at all. Obviously, you can travel, do sports, work 9-17, enjoy family life, you can literally do whatever you want but you need to be clear about your lifestyle, your dreams, your habits and your relations. And the happy life asks from you regular effort and engagement on an everyday basis. Don’t neglect your personal development only to impress somebody with your travel around the world. Be yourself and find your life balance and don’t forget to be happy! Psychological costs Last, but not least: long-term traveling costs a lot. Psychologically and emotionally. There are a couple of things here....

The post Why long-term traveling is unsustainable? appeared first on Null & Full.

It looks like this spring has been a series of weekend retreats. As the writing of my book occupies the major part of my weeks I find a few free days to enjoy the weather. Last weekend I spent in Tatra, the highest Polish mountains, located in the south of the country. This was a great weekend because my Italian friends joined me and we walked together. It was their first time in the Polish highest peaks. Here is a review of our stay so you could plan your visit there. A weekend retreat – the itinerary This was a classic weekend retreat with two extra days. We met on Saturday in Kraków where my friends arrived by plane. We drove to Zakopane and stayed for the night in a hotel with a breathtaking panorama over the mountain range. We left on Sunday morning and climbed to Wiktorówki for a mass, and continued our walk up to the valley called Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich (Five Lakes Valley). We stayed overnight in the refugee there, hoping for the crowds to vanish. On Monday morning, we continued our walk up to Świstówka and walked down to Morskie Oko, one of the most popular places in the mountains with overwhelming crowds. We walked down back to Polanica, from where we took the bus and returned to Zakopane. We stayed for the night in Kraków, from where my friends went back to Italy the next day. Overall we walked 25 kilometers, with the drop of over 3000 meters: 1500 meters up and 1500 down. The Tatra Mountains The High Tatras is a special place for me. Not only I visited these parts of the world with my Dad when I was a child but also I was visiting it regularly as a teenager. I felt always a strong connection to the snowed peaks and rocks, small lakes and cascades. I have many wonderful memories from the trails there, both in spring and winter time. The mountain range is pretty modest and the moment you climb up to 1500-1700 m.a.s.l. you can see almost all peaks at the same time (it’s only about 175 km²). There is a National Park established over fifty years ago and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The crowds The modest surface of our highest mountains results in crowds. In order to avoid people you should probably visit this place in late autumn or early spring but it might be risky due to the difficult weather conditions. It is good to avoid May and June as the school trips tend to visit Morskie Oko making the noise and the mess all over the place. The best way to escape the tourists is to go up, where only a few people go, stay in a refugee overnight and walk even higher the next day. The Weekend We had a great time, no doubts about it! The weather was splendid even though the forecast was very pessimistic. There was not even one drop of rain and two days were full of sun. We were lucky to bring with us summer outfit, hats, and shawls to cover the skin. We had a few snack brakes with an amazing panorama in front of us. The Controversy One of the most famous tracks in the Tatra Mountains is the Eagle Path. There is an ongoing debate whether the path should be closed down due to the recurring deaths of the inexperienced climbers or whether it should be left as it is. I walked the Eagle Path a few years back and it is rather demanding. I would not suggest you to walk it unless you are experienced, have no fear of heights, are able to follow the via ferrata and can handle the extreme fatigue.  

The post Tatra Mountains: a weekend retreat with friends appeared first on Null & Full.