Venice is one of those places you can read about in many different guides or websites, hear stories from the people who have been there already and browse photo galleries, but nothing compares to actually going to Venice by train, get off at the Santa Lucia train station and start strolling around the narrow streets, crossing bridges until you get lost or, if you are lucky, find by chance the Rialto bridge. I found a connection flight back to Dublin passing by Venice and I got the chance to spend a couple of days in the Italian former city state.

Almost 2 years ago I spent the Christmas vacation doing a small European trip through Germany, Czech Republic, and Poland, finishing it in Krakow, Poland. I took the night train from Prague to Krakow and I had a very good time there with K. celebrating NYE. We went to a nice jazz concert the last day of 2010, and I also had the chance to taste the food in the famous Bar mleczny for the first time. I also experienced the coldest winter ever. Poland is beautiful, but it can be really cold in winter!

The last week of November, we were surprised in Ireland by a "cold snap" that really lowered the temperature in the country and was followed by heavy snowfall. I love to walk in the snow, and this time I had the chance to do it a couple of times going to work and coming back home. I took this picture in Sandymount on the weekend just after the first snowfall.

During the Christmas holidays of 2010, I had the chance to visit a city that was on my list of "really want to go there": Prague. I was not disappointed at all. I really enjoyed my time there, visiting Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Josefov Jewish Quarter, and of course, the Old Town where you can see the famous Tyn Church. On my second day in this nice city, the sun was shining, and I took this picture of the famous landmark.

The last weekend of October I had the chance to visit Poland for the second time. On this occasion, we went to Gdansk, a beautiful city in the Baltic Sea that was completely destroyed during WWII but was very well restored. Here is a picture in Długi Targ (Long Market) showing the Neptune Fountain with the Main Town Hall in the background. I highly recommend visiting this city!

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