Before March 2020 I used to travel a lot for my company. Just a number - 155 flights last year. And this is working in IT, not being an airline pilot. But 2020 has changed everything. Travels have been replaced by hikes, mainly in mountains. Since this crazy year is coming to an end, let me share with you 12 pictures, one for each month. The first three are from pre-COVID19 era.
1. January
Before COVID-19 changed the rules of the game, I had had two business trips to Australia. Melbourne in January and Sydney in March. On both occasions I had weekend at my disposal and did see bits of Australia. My choice for January is 12 Apostles - a group of scenic rocks off the coast of Victoria. There are actually only 8 rocks, so the name is not quite accurate. I have a post on that trip on my blog in Polish (use Google Translate widget provided there).
12 Apostles, Australia
2. February
Between my two long haul trips, I took my parents to the Tatras - alpine-like mountain range in Poland. We enjoyed perfect winter weather - blue skies above and snow underneath. The photo of February comes from Chochołowska Valley - an easily accessible valley cutting deeply into the Tatras.
Chochołowska Valley, Poland
3. March
Back to Australia in March, I had an opportunity to get to the top of the continent - Mt. Kosciuszko, 2228m. I have devoted my very first post at Peakd to that trip.
View from Mt Kosciuszko, Australia
4. April
As probably most of you, I spent most of April inside of my apartament. I found only one photo on my camera - a rare stroll to a nearby St. Dorothy hill.
St Dorothy hill, Poland
5. May
The hard lockdown had no sooner ended than I used my first opportunity for a mountain hike. Nothing spectacular, but I am fond of this picture, as it was my "breath of freedom". The photo depicts a mountain hut and was taken on the top of Krawców Wierch, a mountain on the Polish-Slovakian border. More pics from that hike on my blog in Polish.
Krawców Wierch, Poland/Slovakia
6. June
I did several mountain hiking trips in June. However my photo for the month comes from Zalipie, a village in south-eastern Poland where houses are traditionally painted in colorful flower patterns. I should say "used to be painted", as the tradition is dying away. Again, story and photos available on my Polish blog.
Zalipie, Poland
7. July
Hiking in the remote mountains of Beskid Niski in Poland, I encountered this rare beauty - a fire salamander. It stood still, posing. Well, it must have thought that its camouflage made it invisible. Full story in Polish.
Fire Salamander in Beskid Niski, Poland
8. August
I completed the Main Trail of the Beskids in August. It is a trail stretching 500km across the mountains of south Poland (the Beskids). Lots of photos, lots of memories. The photo I chose is the sunrise on the morning of my last stage on the trail. Taken from a mountain cabin on Stożek Wielki.
Sunrise at Stożek Wielki, Poland
9. September
As a mutual birthday present, my sister and I went to the Tatras and climbed a peak called Szpiglasowy Wierch, 2172m. On our way up, I took a close to perfection (well, in my humble opinion anyway) picture of Wielki Staw Polski. Full story here.
Wielki Staw Polski, Poland
10. October
October started for me with a high note. I climbed Babia Góra, 1725m in the night, to see the sunrise spectacle from the top. The mountain, while far from being the highest, is the second most prominent one in Poland. The sunrise wasn't perfect and the hike was quite an experience due to extremely strong wind averaging 100km/h and gusts approaching 140km/h. And, yes, the story is available on my Polish blog.
Sunrise at Babia Góra, Poland/Slovakia
11. November
As you may have already guessed, I am passionate about mountains. November makes no difference, as they say - there's no bad weather, it's only a matter of your clothes. The day I took the photo below was cold but sunny. Great weather for hiking. While ascending a peak called Polica, 1369m, I looked back and was stunned by the view of the Tatras emerging from morning mists. More photos here
View from Polica, Poland
12. December
Ok, enough mountains (well, not really - I still hike every Saturday). The photo of December is from Kraków. I visited there on a cold, nasty and gloomy Sunday afternoon. Not the perfect weather for taking pictures, but Kraków has something magnetic and I did enjoy my stroll around the Old Town of Kraków. The photo depicts Sukiennice, merchants' hall in the center of Kraków Main Market Square, the biggest medieval market square in Europe. More photos and a short write-up are available at PeakD, in English.
Sukiennice, Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland
Which photo did you like the most? Which story would you like to hear?
