Before we go....leaving Europe is so sad for us. We felt so grateful that we had an opportunity to have such an incredible adventure. We felt embraced by all, safe in every corner, free for a very long time, welcomed for who we are and what we have to say, to offer. We are leaving full of joy and with high spirits. We are, truth, hesitant and a bit anxious for what it lays ahead of us but we have learnt to deal with the most unexpected and we trust that we can resolve many situations. We have grown in confidence and that feels awesome. This journey has had so many twist and turns....it is not so much what we have seen (which is a lot!) but what we have uncover on our way, how our path have evolved and specially the people that we have met.

For all the cultural richest of this continent and for all its glamour- past and present...there are their people and nature. We have eaten their food, slept in their streets and parks, swam in their lakes, rivers and oceans, run in their forest, hiked in their mountains. Most importantly we heard their stories, shared secrets, dreamt their dreams. They gave shape to our voyage, they have added colours and music; love and laughter. They have given sense and meaning to all. They have made all of this possible and much more.

Their generosity, friendship and openness have impacted us enormously. I am sure that we are much better people now because all of them. To all of you: Ali and Issy (UK/France);Trudy and Gerard (France); Jane and Edu (UK), Rolf and Karina (Germany); Ruth and Jorge (Sweden); Richard and the magnificent gang at Maribo Kayak club (Denmark); Fanitsa , Albi and Georgia(Italy); the beautiful families of AC Passion (Spain); Baptiste and Anastasiia (Poland); Ton, An and Kiki (Netherlands); Alex (Lithuania); Ain (Estonia); Kari and Teija (Finland); Ulvi and her lovely family (Estonia); Isabel, Sigfried and Patricia (Germany), Elke and Nicholas (Sweden)... and all the others who have made our dream come true; we are taking you with us in our hearts! Thank you so so much...we will be back!!!

and...we can't leave without saying thank you to our friends Tito and Clau (in France); Uli and Ani (in Morocco); our family and Claudi (in Fiji); Graci (in Argentina); our kids (in Sydney); Marita y Nute (in Argentina following our blog!).... they have been a huge part of our trip...they being with us in and out; before, during and after....in our lives....always!!

September 20 to 28

Lodz. If I have ever been looking at places with such anticipation and wonder, certainly this took all the prices. This is where my bobe comes from. So I got her on my soul and together we walked this city. Of course she did not recognised it!. That exquisite boulevard with all the cafes and its tables outside, the shops, the elegant reconstructed buildings. I stopped to buy a few little bath ducks for her next granddaughter who is due to arrive in November, in the time when go to Argentina. On both sides of the boulevard plenty of houses "as is", untouched, and further down and crossing the whole city the new railway is in motion. It is a big city. I always image this place as a quiet village!. I know that this city like so many in Poland have been totally destroyed during the war and what has not being destroyed has not being repaired in full. Instead lots of shopping centres are popping everywhere...

We headed down to Lower Silesia, the region of castles and fortresses.

Now, Wroclaw... what a beautiful place! The "Venice" of Poland; it has so many bridges and churches and monuments in baroque and Gothic (with bricks...as it was in this part of Europe..as opposed to stones), we run in its beautiful forest and kayaked in the canals. We heard the many stories of this place and look for the "gnomes", the little statues that adorned the whole village. And the biggest town square in the whole Europe!! It is a square inside a square with squares on the side ...hahaha There is such a great atmosphere. It is a university city, with more than 140.000 students! So of course, bars and cheap restaurants and pubs and "romantic places" a galore

The next few town, all so charming....Swidnica with the biggest wooden church in Europe, Walbrzych with its impressive castle and Klodzko where we discovered the town underneath the town...a series of labyrinth and tunnels that was built for defence.

Driving from town to town, crossing entire pieces of worked land; I am amazed at how many beautiful houses we found everywhere. I would say that they are from the last 10, 15 years max... As we are about to leave this country I stopped to reflect. I am so pleased that we come here and even happier that we took a good time travelling through this country. The journey in Poland has been an emotional one. The stories have moved us in so many different ways. So much despair and sadness, but also so much pride for their people for the way they have rebuilt their lives, their homes. 

Border between Poland and Germany