Never thought that I would end up in Hel :-) At least now I do know where the expression comes from.

Exploring Kielce

After a full week in Warsaw and “becoming a popular TV star” in Poland (watch my live interview on Dzien Dobry TVN ) I drove to Kielce, 2,5 hours drive south of Warsaw. I was invited by Marcin, the Vice President of the Polish Tourism Organisation to explore his hometown. And like before, I never heard of this city. He had to indicate his city on the map. A bit embarrassing.

Arriving in Kielce, the staff had reserved a special place for my camper next to the main entrance of the hotel. A funny image of seeing a camper parked just next to the reception of the Binkowski Hotel & Resort in Kielce. I decided to leave my dear friend and buddy Loekie in the camper. I was afraid that she would be scared of the cleaning ladies and that she might escape. You never know.

Arriving on Friday evening and discussing the program with Marcin for the weekend. Starting on Saturday morning with a visit to the Targi Kielce - exhibition and congress centre. The second-largest trade show location in the country, after Poznan. An interesting fact.

After, we drove through the city and enjoyed a cup of coffee with the famous Pączki (Polish Donut) on the terrace and talked about the opportunities for Kielce as a MICE destination. Marcin left and the local guide took it over for the next 2 hours, walking and exploring the city.

In the evening I had dinner in the hotel, a nostalgic moment to sit amongst all the families with children. I started my career as a hostess for Neckermann in Turkey where I lived in a 5-star hotel for 7 months and shared my breakfast and dinner with the guests.

And then the second night in a hotel, it was strange, to be honest. Although it was nice to use the facilities in the room, I really fell in love with my camper. No hotel room can beat this, sorry Kielce.

The next morning a short bike ride through the forest of Kielce to explore the surroundings of the hotel together with Marcin.

And then I hit the road again, and I was still not sure if I would drive directly to Sopot to stay there for 10 days in a row or take the opportunity to go to Hel because I heard nice stories about the beach. I am very happy that I drove all the way, including 2 short traffic jams and almost an empty tank….

Breakdown

After 5 intense weeks (remember I started this journey also to relax and to reflect on my new life) it was too much, I had my breakdown. It started upon arrival, it was late, almost 8 pm and was tired and just wanted to park my camper, eat and sleep. But it took all much longer than expected. The next day I opened my inbox and read the mail from the tax office in Belgium (yes, still working on the follow-up of the administration in Belgium of my husband) I almost got a heart attack.

Next, after calling my business coach we decided to stop our collaboration and also the collaboration with my wingman Jaro will just continue on a freelance basis, due to financial reasons.

I cried, and being tired of all the impressions, meetings and conversations of the last weeks, including the grieving process and adapting to my new life and the financial consequences, I felt really lonely. The days in Hel were tough and a confrontation on all fronts, a turning point in my life.

Sopot

A few days later I left the peninsula and drove to Sopot, just 1,5 hours drive from Hel, I entered a totally different world. A professional camping ( Park45 camping and resort Sopot) where I have all the facilities and my camper is standing literally 30 metres from the beach. Just more people compared to the other campings but in general still very quiet. And again here, the only Dutch amongst only local people.

The next day I explored Sopot together with Jaro, and I was surprised. I didn’t have the feeling I was in Poland. Some people say it’s the charm of Brighton (haven’t been there yet) but it’s definitely totally different from Hel. Hel was a very seasonal destination, focused on a season of just 3 months, where Sopot attracts tourists over a longer period of time.

And an audience with a larger budget, outstanding facilities for leisure and MICE and many spa’s (have to come back to explore the spa, didn’t had the time unfortunately).

I spoke to Bartek Barski, can you imagine, it was his second day as the new CEO of Sopot Tourism Organisation and his team, he confirmed the huge potential for Sopot.

Bartek Barski - President of the Board Sopot Tourism Organisation (Sopocka Organizacja Turystyczna)

And I discovered that morning that Sopot hosted a group of four travel influencers from the Netherlands and the team invited me to join for lunch in, the Fisherman, the best restaurant in town.

Dutch travel influencers and bloggers in Sopot

Meet my fellow Dutch bloggers and travel influencers:

Denise van Rijswijk InHetVliegtuig.nl
Henriette Bokslag WellnessSpots.com, Travelaroundwithme.com
Naomi van Hagen & Lois Weeterings Travander.nl

It was so funny to speak Dutch again because besides the only Dutch man I met on the camping in Warsaw, I don’t speak my own language during my journey.

After the delicious lunch Jaro and I explored Sopot as a MICE destination and I was again overwhelmed by the many opportunities and the high standards of the destination. We visited Sheraton Sopot Hotel and its impressive conference center, and legendary hotel in the city - Sofitel Grand Sopot.

The final places to visit this day in Sopot were “Monciak” main street of Sopot (PL. Bohaterow Monte Cassino str.) and MOLO - the longest wooden pier in Europe. Finally Jaro showed me the Crooked House (PL. Krzywy Domek), one of the most photographed tourist attractions of Sopot.

I burned my calories and counted almost 20 km on my step app.

Gdansk

On Friday we were invited by Anna Gorska, the passionate and energetic lady with an interest for international associations. We recorded during the pandamic a podcast together on How international associations can benefit from social media and marketing, but we never met in person.

We discovered Gdansk together, again a totally different city. A charming harbour city and of course we talked about our common passion for the industry, life and the current situation.

Friday late afternoon…. and for the first time nothing on my agenda for the weekend. Well, except for the long to do list to catch up with 1001 things, no visits, appointments or travels. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for all the opportunities I do get along my journey but the past weeks were like a marathon.

So I ended up spending the weekend like a normal person. Joining a yoga session on the camping site, doing the laundry by taxi (!) groceries, cleaning my camper, jogging along the beach, enjoying a cup of tea on a terrace… and sleeping. And on Sunday afternoon I started to prepare for another dynamic week…

Meet Visit Gdansk and Gdansk Convention Team: Lukasz Wysocki, Małgorzata Kopij and Anna Marzec

#MariskaJourney Partners

Photo credits Sopot & #1 Gdansk: Jaroslaw Marciuk

Go to Hel

Exploring Kielce

Breakdown

Sopot

Gdansk

#MariskaJourney Partners

Undiscovered potential

Be careful what you wish for