While living and working in Porto for the month, I've been taking advantage of my weekends to get out on day trips to explore the northern Portuguese countryside. However, for one Saturday, I planned a day trip across the border and…
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One of Porto's most stunning buildings, the Bolsa Palace, can be found just north of the Ribeira, Porto's waterfront, in the Infante D. Henrique Square. The Palácio da Bolsa or Bolsa Palace was never actually a palace for royals -…
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On a hot and sunny Sunday in mid-October, I took the train down from Porto, where I'm remotely working and living for a month, to visit the city of Coimbra. This fourth largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon, Porto and Braga,…
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My all time favourite activity (especially while traveling) is hiking. I love getting out on the trails, exploring new paths and getting to experience the beauty and wonder of the natural world. With Portugal's only national park situated just north of…
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For my first weekend in Porto, I decided I was settled enough and that it was time to head out of the city on a day trip. Fall is in the air, though much more belatedly than in central Europe,…
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Bom Jesus do Monte is a stunning UNESCO-listed Portuguese Catholic sanctuary perched above the city of Braga, about an hour northeast of Porto. 577 steps lead up to the grounds which make this a popular pilgrimage site, finishing at the church…
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I wrote with such optimism our plans for Belgium back in September last year, when Nico and I decided to move back to his country from our beautiful New Zealand where we had met, fallen in love and traveled together. However, Belgium…
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Poland is a culturally rich country in eastern Europe, bordering Germany to the west, Czechia and Slovakia to the south, and the Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east. Many of these nations have visible influences in the country and,…
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Vegan food in Poland?! People I spoke to before my trip wished me luck in a country traditionally known for its hearty meat and cheese-based dishes. Well, you may be surprised to learn that Poland is considered one of the…
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The final stop on our cross-country tour of Poland was the city of Gdańsk. We absolutely loved Gdańsk; in fact, it was our favourite of all the cities we visited (although Warsaw and Kraków aren't too far behind!). Gdańsk is a…
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Warsaw is Poland's bustling capital city in the eastern side of the country. We spent 24 hours in Warsaw after our time hiking in Tatra National Park, and loved the atmosphere, history, culture and vegan food scene to be found…
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During our travels around Poland, one of the most important cities we visited was Warsaw, the capital. Home to a turbulent and important history, much of which is focused around WWII and the post-war communist era, we wanted to discover…
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While I did a small hike in Luxembourg back in May, it was the mountains I truly craved. Having not seen them since my time in New Zealand over a year ago, I made sure to plan a stop in Tatra…
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A visit to the Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi Concentration Camp that saw the murder of 1,100,000 people is more heart-breaking than you can imagine. While I have neither the authority nor the ability to appropriately explain the story…
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