Lash at Moraca River – Podgorica – Montenegro
Big Change in my Travel Plans 2019!
It’s not often that I make a major change to my travel itinerary.
That’s because I’m such a big planner.
I actually love pre-researching for my upcoming year’s travels, making notes about all the places I want to see & all the things I want to experience, along with practical travel info. like currencies & exchange rates, transportation & accommodation costs, languages, safety advice and so on.
Learning about places gets me even more excited about my upcoming travels, anticipating clearly all the amazing things I’ll get to see and do, many for the first time ever. And I also feel like I won’t miss anything fabulous because of lack of knowledge.
So I generally have an entire year’s travel itinerary set before I head to a new country or new region of the world.
Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Kosovo – one of the great places I learned about by pre-researching Kosovo!
However, that doesn’t mean everything is set in stone or that I allow no flexibility in plans. I often make little changes, like staying a longer or shorter time in an area, adding extra destinations or attractions. And I certainly allow myself to make big or even huge changes if there’s a compelling reason.
Case in point right now. Here’s what’s up…
Many years ago, my favorite aunt embarked on a massive family genealogy project, the end result being two voluminous tomes detailing all the extensive information she had amassed. From that research, she learned that one half of her family immigrated to the USA from Poland. We’re part Polish!
Lake Koman – northern Albania
A few years ago, she took herself and her husband on over to Poland to discover and meet a bunch of long lost cousins, aunts, uncles and other assorted relatives. Then earlier this year, her son, my cousin Troy, made a trip to Eastern Europe, making a two-week stop in Poland to meet said relatives.
With the way paved for me by my aunt & cousin, I have been planning to reach Poland next year to meet the clan myself.
However, a few weeks ago I found out that my aunt & uncle are heading back to Poland in early September – that’s this week! – for a big family reunion.
Since I’m so darn close (compared to being in the US or SE Asia or C America), it seemed a shame for me to miss meeting up with my fav aunt & uncle and a family reunion, really just a hop, skip & jump north of Bulgaria, where I’m currently traveling. Well, more accurately, just a flight away.
So I’ve been searching for flights to Krakow to go join them. Late last week, I finally found my ultra-cheap flight from Sofia, Bulgaria to Krakow! I am going to Poland!
For me, this is a huge & sudden change in plans. First and foremost – and most obviously – I’m suddenly going to a country I hadn’t even thought of visiting til next year. Secondly, I’m very quickly going to meet a whole new slew of relatives I never knew I had until rather recently, along with getting to see my aunt & uncle.
And it’s all coming up very quickly.
It feels like my life has been instantly turned upside down with a huge onslaught of things I have to do & complete within one week, before my flight on Sept. 4th.
Added to that, the hotel reviews work I’m doing here in Bulgaria right now will suddenly have to be all completed before Sept. 4th.
Then there’s my usual weekly travel blog work to complete. And, wouldn’t you know it, just now a big advertising project landed in my lap, to add to the workload.
I’m also currently visiting the most adorable, wonderful historic mountain town / ski resort center, called Bansko, Bulgaria. I just love this gorgeous town.
Alas, with all the multiple workloads and travel planning, I hardly have any time to enjoy the cute cobblestone historic center, the cool historic museums or the spectacular mountain & river views here in Bansko.
But I am sneaking in hour-long walks, lunches at adorable outdoor restaurants, stray-cat-petting sessions and glances out the window while sitting at my laptop.
Plugging away at everything diligently, I’m sure I’ll get it all completed one way or other. Then I’ll be off to Poland on Wed evening, Sept. 4th !
Well, actually not quite that easily, as it turns out. My ultra-cheap flight from Sophia to Krakow (probably a 2-hour direct flight) will take a whopping 20+ hours! Yikes!
Yeppers, I first fly to Athens, where I have a 16-hour over night lay-over. I’ll sleep in the airport, then entertain myself there at shops & such until my actual flight to Poland leaves on Thursday afternoon at 4 pm, arriving in Krakow 2 ½ hours later.
The following day, Friday, Sept. 6th, the 3-day intensive family reunion begins! I’ll have to take a 3-hour bus from Krakow to the reunion town and then jump right in. I’m sure it will be an intensive, exhausting weekend – especially since socializing makes me feel exhausted.
But I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun, eat lots of tasty homemade food and enjoy getting to know all my ‘kin’. Wish me luck!
After all the family fun, I’ll spend 1-2 weeks in Krakow, hanging out with my aunt & uncle and meeting even more long-lost relatives! I hope I also have time to explore beautiful Krakow. It looks fab!
From Poland, I will resume my travels, but in reverse. As a result, I’ll be adding two additional countries to the route.
On my way to Romania I’ll have to travel through Slovakia and Hungary. I’ve heard numerous times that both countries are wonderful. So I’m excited to visit them as well, though I’ll have to move at a pretty brisk pace (for me) in order to stay south of the cold weather moving into Europe.
As a bonus, I’ve been assigned even more hotels to visit in Slovakia!
I’ll explore Romania in October, the rest of Bulgaria in November, then head down into Greece for December and January (which is what I was planning to do anyhow. Back on track at the end of the year!).
In the process, I’ll be adding another unexpected three countries to my explorations this year, getting an extra 7 luxury hotels to visit in Slovakia and will hopefully stay one step ahead of wintery cold on my way south to Greece.
Stay tuned for more Eastern European adventures….next stop Poland!
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
