Red Tape Hot Box on active vacations in Poland
A few days ago, while sitting in a traffic jam on Puławska Street, I heard on the radio that the average citizen associates the media with bad news. This damning condemnation was sweeping in its scope, including all of the media - from respected TV broadcasts all the way down to the gutter press.
Now, I admit that when it's time for the news, I immediately switch it off. There are times when I'm completely fed up with hearing about another car bomb explosion; about another corruption scandal among Polish government officials; that there's no money in the budget for hospitals, schools or safe roads; that more factories are closing down; that the unemployment rate is rising (yet again). All of this bad news can really get you down. Thus, I came to the conclusion that instead of the usual Red Tape absurdities, this article is going to be about something optimistic. You might wonder, "But what is there to write about that's positive?" Well, believe it or not, there are a few things ... One of them, which I noticed just this year, is that more Poles are staying in Poland for their holidays, and getting more active while doing so.
This year, fewer people traveled to Greece or Tunisia, and instead chose to take advantage of our domestic health resorts. I was just one of the many to flock to the beaches of the Baltic Sea instead of the western or southern coasts, and I really had a great time. Although the sea itself still remains cold (OK, that's a bit of bad news, I'm afraid), our beaches are huge, the sand is golden, and the areas are kept relatively clean.
Many clubs organized group vacations and took advantage of the good conditions, and so this year, there were plenty of beach sporting events organized for eager tourists. All across our northern coast, you could take part in beach football and volleyball tournaments organized on professionally set-up beach courts. If getting sand in your bathing suit was not your thing, then you could try climbing artificial walls. If you felt particularly strong, there were power triathlons, consisting of shot-put, rolling a barrel and dragging a boat. And the kids weren't left out either: for them, there were beach playgrounds built, with the focus on both fun and safety.
Possibly all of these attractions will become a new trend, since the number of tourists on the north coast this summer rose to 140,000, compared with around 20,000 from past years. Poles are more and more in favor of getting active on their vacations, and the organizers are being challenged to come up with new sporting events, activities and attractions. I, for one, consider this to be good news and want to raise my voice and shout out something positively encouraging: keep it up!
