Trip with backpack only

Helo everyone!

Cheap trips entail big renunciations. Firstly, we buy less expensive tickets or just hitchhiking, then book accommodation mostly at Couchsurfing or AirBnb web sites (my post about how to get free accommodation). If you stay at the campsite with your tent or if you do not want to spend money on bus tickets to get for example to a hotel, you have to reduce size of your luggage to carry it easier. Best option is to take a backpack with you but it doesn't allow to take everything you want and of course it`s not easy to fit all things inside. That is why I prepared some tips how to pack your backpack easier and more ergonomically:

• If you take only your backpack - choose one with 25 liters capacity at least.
• If you take a laptop with you, pack it firstly, but never place it horizontally at the bottom of backpack - the best position is close to your backbone and of course vertically where it`s covered from any unwanted damage.
• If you take additional pair of shoes, place it flat down at the bottom of backpack to fill the space as best you can and provide great stability of the backpack. But firstly insert your underwear inside them! It will give you more space and prevent flattening your shoes.
• Next after the shoes, place your the bulkiest items like jeans, sweater or hoodie. Role it tight and push to the bottom to make sure you are using all your space. Then put all the rest you have left to fill empty space at the bottom e.g. socks.
• Above thick clothes, place t-shirts, folded and then tightly rolled too, opposite of the way you laid your bulky items. That just provides a nice flat surface. Button up shirts, fold them in half and place them on top.
• Last thing to fill any inside extra space is electronics for example memory cards, power banks just to have frequently used items.
• If you take your jacket or rain coat with you, hold it outside the backpack with buckle or simple twine.

Hope you like my tips! And of course it would be great if you share yours to improve everyone`s experiences with trips. Have a good day! 😊

Above the clouds

Good evening!

Memories, postcards - you need them to evoke memories about your journeys. If you travel a lot, probably you have got a good camera, unless you use your smartphone to take photos or record movies. It`s nice to have them, and keep all data from every place you have been. But what if I tell you that you are able to take better photos or to make videos from places where nobody have ever been? I You can do it with UAV - unmanned aerial vehicle or simply called drone.

Maybe now you are thinking that I'm crazy because they are so expensive, but I can assure you that drones are 5 times cheaper and 5 times better than 5 years ago. For example a very good drone with 4K (very high resolution) camera costs in Poland about 2000 PLN (500 USD). Of course, it`s a lot of money, but it would be cheaper and cheaper in short future. I think that for taking photos and making videos in a quality as you can seen in the video at the bootom of this post, it`s definitely worth it.

The next question which is worth to think about is: "Am I able to fly drone?" Well...Of course you are - evolution of technology is so fast like it have never been before. Flying a drone is like playing a video game - when you push stick up drone moves up and when you push it down, drone falls back, simply. New drones are very stable - they keep horizontal and vertical position easily , even in strong wind, thanks to sets of sensors like visual positioning system, global positioning system, GLONASS and many others. 

They are able to flay away further than 1 km and higher than 500 meters. Don`t worry, you will not lost your drone - if connection would be lost, it will come back to a start point! Great, don`t you? One thing what could stop you is battery. Anyway, it`s pretty good because you are able to get up to 20 minutes flying time and of course he will back home or land automatically if the battery get low. There`s much more safety systems.

In my opinion, today is the best time we could have to get a drone, because we don`t need license to fly, which could be hard to get, I think. They are easy to fly and give a lot of fun and different points of view about the whole world around us. I really recommend you to buy one if you travel a lot or you are photo maniacs 😀

Following the history….

If you were an attentive student in high school you would remember two important dates in polish history. Those are 1569 and 1791. The first one reefers to The Union of Lublin and the second one refers to the Reciprocal Guarantee of two Nations adopted by the Great Sejm (Sejm Wielki in Polish). This two historical events leaded to create a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which replaced the personal union between this two countries. That is why some places in Lithuania have a special sentimental meaning for our Polish nation.

Firstly, I think that everybody knows the words of this famous invocation:

Lithuania, my country! You are as good health:

How much one should prize you, he only can tell

Who has lost you. Your beauty and splendor I view

And describe here today, for I long after you [...]

Yes, this words comes from the national epic “Pan Tadeusz” written by Adam Mickiewicz. Maybe you won’t believe but the first edition of his book - “Ballads and romances” - was printed in 1822 in Vilnius. Today we can also find there a museum dedicated to our poet.

Vilnius is the only one capital In Europe which is situated in the middle of two historical civilisations – Latin and Byzantine. This is the reason why this beautiful city is known of its nationality and religious tolerance. 

We can also find there the biggest Old Town, which extends on the surface of 360 hectares! From 1994 The Vilnius Old Town was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in recognition of its universal value and originality. What is also important, the capital of Lithuania was called the European capital in 2009.

I put below the video which will help you to discover the most important places in this beautiful Old Town and its history! Have a nice trip! :)

Heaven on earth

Today we`re going to a real heaven - full of small islands with gold beaches and crystal turquoise ocean around, without noticeable horizon joining the sky and water which looks like endless highway for ferries and planes at once - that is French Polynesia.

It`s a place where lots of newlyweds from all around the world would love to spend their time, but not only them - I think that every person dream about it! There`s quiet, lot of nature, many beautiful views which no words can describe. But where is it exactly? Well, it`s hard to get there due to small airfields and a very long way from the closest continent. It is situated between Australia and South America, near the International Date Line on the Pacific Ocean. That is why the ticket prices are so high - one way ticket from Poland costs about 14000 PLN (4000 USD). But there is no price to get to heaven, don`t you think?

French Polynesia is administrated by the French Republic and the official language is French, but English is widely spoken. It is composed of 118 geographically dispersed islands stretching over an expanse of total land area 4,167 square kilometers. 67 islands are inhabited and total population of country is about 260,000 people that live mostly in or near the capital of French Polynesia - Papeete. Every year islands are visited by 200,000 people. Not much for such a beautiful place, but taking into account the price you have to pay to get there.....

The most popular activities there, as you can imagine, are water sports e.g. diving, surfing. But many people comes here just to enjoy resting at clear, blue water with colorful reefs and fish and colorful nature around. But don`t worry about venomous snakes or insects. There aren`t there! 

Huh, what a great place it is! I always dreamed about it and I hope that one day it will come true...

It is really hard to describe the beauty of this place with words. Maybe the movie below will do it 😉

Some facts about Rio Carnival

Hello again! It is a pleasure that you have visited my blog again :) 

So today I will tell you about Rio de Janeiro Carnaval.

As you may know, every year, 40 days before Easter, in the capital of Brazil starts the greatest  and the longest carnaval all around the world!

The first festival dates back as far as 1723 and every next year it was bigger and more colorful. About two milions people came there from all over the world, but in fact most of them are not from Brazil due to high ticket prices that costs from 55$ to 3000$ and which are not affordable for typical Brazilian. Fortunately, inhabitants are able to watch the parade on the television. 

Acording to the tradition ritual, during the opening ceremony, King Momo (king of the carnival) takes the Silver keys from the hand City Mayor then raises the keys to open the festival.

Parade is like a competition where a lot of dancers from more than 200 different samba schools, from Rio prepare performance based on dancing and creating show on colorful, themed floats. The focus of the festival is the parade that takes place at night on Sunday and Monday, in the Sambadrome stadium. 

Today's Carnival derived from the ancient carnival of Romans and Greeks held to welcome spring and honor the beauty of life. For Brazilians, Carnival is thier pride and opportunity to honor the beauty of human body - like the ancient Olympic spirit - and express the unique culture of the Brazilian Samba dance through traditions.

Below I put some video from carnaval. I hope you will enjoy it :)