Feuilletons | Monika Gapińska
How about a city break without going anywhere?
- Please, do not ask me if I am going away for the May holidays and if I have a city break planned to Italy or Spain. Well, I'm going to take a city break without going anywhere. I'm staying in Szczecin! – said my friend at the cafe entrance, with whom I arranged for a chat over coffee.
As it turned out, in the company where she has been working for a short time, the young team of co-workers considers it almost strange to stay at home during picnics and weekends. So, for nearly a month now, my friend has been asked whether she is planning a weekend in Barcelona, whether she wants to spend a few days sightseeing in Krakow, or a picnic in Berlin. Such tourist trips to large cities have their attractive-sounding name (and recently disliked by my friend) – this is a "city break". Along with the upcoming so-called long weekends, around May 1 and 3, as well as in June, when the Corpus Christi holiday also prolongs the weekend a bit, the internet is flooded with tips from tourism promoters on where it is best to go for a city break, what directions are just trends, where to expect a lot of tourists, and which trip guarantees less crowded places, and so on and so on.
I allowed myself to mention the fashionable name "city break" in front of my friend after eating a portion of the cheesecake and just after ordering the tiramisu. Apparently, when you absorb the right amount of sugar, you become more at peace with the world. At least I do. So when I decided that my friend already had a lot of sugar in her body, I suddenly fired up this question:
– What are you going to do this May city break without going anywhere? – I asked. – You will probably clean the wardrobes, wash the curtains, wash the windows and the fridge, and in the evenings, sleep on the couch with fatigue during the next episodes of My Brilliant Friend.
In fact, I included my plans for the city break without going anywhere in this offensive question. However, I was scolded by a friend – and I decided to become a tourist in my own city at her instigation. It may sound a bit strange, but I am already looking forward to visiting places where I was shamefully many years ago. Therefore, it's better to remain silent about the exact number. It's a pity as I can reach these places in half an hour or so from home.
The list of tasks for a city break without going anywhere is long. It includes, for example, a trip to the Szmaragdowe Lake, a walk along the boulevards on the Odra River, a bicycle ride through the Wkrzańska Forest, gymnastics in the Kasprowicza Park to classical music, together with the Baltic Neopolis Orchestra, and necessarily Saturday events at the Lentz Villa: a debate on values in culture and a concert as part of the Szczecin Classic Festival. "A la polacca" is the title of this evening. The program includes only gems, such as works by Mikołaj Piotr Górecki or Grażyna Bacewicz and on stage the masters: Agata Szymczewska – violin, Emanuel Salvador – violin and Andriy Viytovych – viola. A feast for the spirit!
So, internet advertisements such as: "Are you free for a picnic?", "Use this time well for an intense city break" will not encourage me to change my plans. This year, during the May holiday, I am going to be a tourist in my own city and enjoyably spend this time. And I will certainly watch "My Brilliant Friend" then.
I allowed myself to mention the fashionable name "city break" in front of my friend after eating a portion of the cheesecake and just after ordering the tiramisu. Apparently, when you absorb the right amount of sugar, you become more at peace with the world. At least I do. So when I decided that my friend already had a lot of sugar in her body, I suddenly fired up this question:
– What are you going to do this May city break without going anywhere? – I asked. – You will probably clean the wardrobes, wash the curtains, wash the windows and the fridge, and in the evenings, sleep on the couch with fatigue during the next episodes of My Brilliant Friend.
In fact, I included my plans for the city break without going anywhere in this offensive question. However, I was scolded by a friend – and I decided to become a tourist in my own city at her instigation. It may sound a bit strange, but I am already looking forward to visiting places where I was shamefully many years ago. Therefore, it's better to remain silent about the exact number. It's a pity as I can reach these places in half an hour or so from home.
The list of tasks for a city break without going anywhere is long. It includes, for example, a trip to the Szmaragdowe Lake, a walk along the boulevards on the Odra River, a bicycle ride through the Wkrzańska Forest, gymnastics in the Kasprowicza Park to classical music, together with the Baltic Neopolis Orchestra, and necessarily Saturday events at the Lentz Villa: a debate on values in culture and a concert as part of the Szczecin Classic Festival. "A la polacca" is the title of this evening. The program includes only gems, such as works by Mikołaj Piotr Górecki or Grażyna Bacewicz and on stage the masters: Agata Szymczewska – violin, Emanuel Salvador – violin and Andriy Viytovych – viola. A feast for the spirit!
So, internet advertisements such as: "Are you free for a picnic?", "Use this time well for an intense city break" will not encourage me to change my plans. This year, during the May holiday, I am going to be a tourist in my own city and enjoyably spend this time. And I will certainly watch "My Brilliant Friend" then.
