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K and C Trip Around The World
  • Kelly Bernakevitch

K and C Trip Around The World

A 29-day adventure by Kelly Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 11, 2018
  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Krakow Day 1

    October 12, 2018 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    At the Frankfurt airport we had to walk a long way for our next flight. Probably the longest I have ever walked at any airport. We had plenty of time as we had over 2 hours between flights. As it turned out, we even had more time as our plane was 45 minutes late leaving.
    Once we arrived and got our luggage we took an Uber to our hotel. Taxis rate was 79z( $28) the Uber was 28z ($9)
    After unpacking and a quick rest, we set out on foot to the main Square. The Square reminded us of the Square in Prague except this one is much bigger. There are many restaurants around the Square with out door seating . Celeste picked a spot and the food was fabulous however the service was extremely slow.
    After dinner we walked back to the hotel and crashed just after 8 pm. I was too tired to type up our summary so that is why I posted today for yesterday.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Auschwitz - Birkenau

    October 13, 2018 in Poland ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    This has been a place I’ve wanted to visit for quite some time and it didn’t disappoint. We were picked up by 8:00 for a 1 hour 20 minute drive to Auschwitz. On the bus a movie was shown about the liberation of Auschwitz - Birkenau by the Russians in 1945.
    Quite moving. The bus was silent for 5 minutes after it finished.
    We had a young guide, Michael, who took us through the camp. Auschwitz covers an area of about 6 football fields. The buildings were there before the war and used as a Polish Military Camp. The ones open now are turned into a museum. Many rare photographs showing the life of Jewish people before the camps, arrival and selection process. They thought they were being resettled and so packed their best things as they left on the trains. Especially moving are the displays of piles of suitcases( each with a name on them), pots and pans, eyeglasses, and thousands of shoes. Also the children’s shoes as well as a display case featuring some clothes where I noticed a hand sewn patch on a sweater and darned sock - a Mother had carefully repaired her child’s clothes. Also moving was the display of women’s hair.

    And then the walk through the gas chamber where so many people lost their lives.

    After Auschwitz we took a ten minute drive to Birkenau, a much larger camp that the Nazis built. This is huge - 140 football fields or a section of land. Polish people living here were told by the Gestapo to leave in one hour. The Nazis wanted the land. Our guide, Michael’s grandmother was one of these people. Rows upon rows of barracks with horrendous living conditions and four crematoriums. The famous railway track that we have seen in pictures and movies is here.

    The job of preserving Auschwitz - Birkenau was started in 1947 by survivors. Over 1 million people visit each year. It is so important that we remember this place as the saddest place of human cruelty in the world and keep passing the memory of the Holocaust down to future generations.
    As is stated at a sign at the beginning of the tour -
    “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” - George Santayana    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Wielczka Salt Mine Tour

    October 13, 2018 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    After spending 4 hours at the 2 concentration and death camps. We boarded our mini bus for a 1 hour 25 minute ride to the Unesco World Heritage site . This mine has been around since 1200 AD.
    We descended 840 steps to start our tour.
    We walked over 2 km and we only saw 1% of the mine. We got down to level 3 which is 135 meters deep.
    Throughout the mine are all these areas where the miners have done carvings. They were amazing. At one spot there is a huge cavern where they had a big underground chapel.
    The mine is still active but not as much as their main source of revenue is tourism as they get over 1. 2 million visitors a year.
    It was very interesting to see and learn about the mine as see the wonderful carvings.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Day in Krakow

    October 14, 2018 in Poland ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Today we had a full day in Kraków. We went to the 9 am mass at St. Mary's Bascilica. Poland is a very strong Catholic Country with a deep reverence for Pope John Paul II. The mass was 100% in Polish but we could understand a couple of things from our Ukrainian Background and going to Ukrainian Liturgy, from the sign of the cross,to Alleluia, and to first few words of Our Father . The old priest gave a passionate sermon, however , we did not understand It but his actions were amazing. The church was beautiful and it was a joy to start our day that way .
    Immediately afterwards we had booked for a " Free Walking Tour of Old Town Kraków." The tour is operated by a company called Kraków Explorers and they have a suggested price you pay at the end whatever your budget can afford. Our tour guide Eugene was excellent . He is from Ukraine and left when the war broke out 4.5 years ago. We toured all around and learned so much about the old town. The Kraków 1/2 Marathon was on so walking around proved to be a challenge. I kept looking for Brett to see if he was in the lead pack.
    We were so impressed with the tour, after a perogie lunch which the restaurant was next to our hotel, I changed my shoes and we headed back for the afternoon tour of the Jewish Quarter with Eugene. He was great. We saw and learned so much about the Jewish people in Kraków and we saw a couple of film sites from Schindler's List.
    The evening we went to a Chopin Piano recital near the main square. The pianist was younger than Tyler and he played 9 pieces. The Chopin Ballade and the Mazurkas were my favourites.

    After over 26,000 steps today we were back at our hotel.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    2

    Vienna, Schonbrunn Palace, MNP Opening

    October 15, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today was an early rise because we had a 715 am flight from Kraków to Vienna. Upon our arrival at our hotel, we unpacked and headed out to Schonbrunn Palace.
    The palace was beautiful. We did the audio tour of all the rooms. It was amazing to see how the Hapsburg dynasty lived in their summer palace. The rooms were so well decorated and the masterpieces of artwork with a high attention to detail impressed both of us.
    Afterwards we strolled through the gardens eating my new favourite chips.

    Tonight was the MNP Opening Reception. MNP has come along way since 1997 ( our first trip) when there were 40 couples in Rome. Tonight we had 1500 people in 3 different ballrooms. Each room had different live entertainment and foods to try as part of tonight's theme " Taste of Austria.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Bratislava Day

    October 16, 2018 in Slovakia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today, as part of the MNP meetings we were supposed to go to Bratislava, Slovakia by catamaran. The Danube is so low the river is closed to boats. We ended up taking a bus to Bratislava. We did a bus tour and then a walking tour. The city is very hilly with a very interesting history.
    Tonight we had dinner groups, and had dinner with 3 couples from Swift Current, London and Brandon.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    MNP Meetings and Wine Tavern

    October 17, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    This mornings meeting was at the beautiful Hofburg Palace. The ballroom, the meeting was in had amazing paintings on the walls and the ceiling. It was a little cramped however, the partners I talked to said it was worth it.
    Afterwards we had a late lunch with our good friends Gerald and Myrna Braaten from Swift Current. Celeste booked Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant. We then proceeded to check out a famous dessert place Cafe Sacher. The line up stretched outside for a bit. It was well worth the wait .
    Tonight’s fun activity was we all went to various Wine Taverns. The one we went to dates back the mid 1600s. We had wonderful Austrian buffet dinner while musicians played.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    1

    Vienna City of Music

    October 18, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Our MNP tour today was a walking tour focusing on the city and music history. We learned a lot and in particular about all the places Mozart lived and hung out. It was good however I thought they would cover more places but you can only do so much in a day. Our tour guide struggled with English and was a kind of monotone.
    The church included here is St Michael’s, this is the 3rd most important church in Vienna and it is also the place where Mozart’s funeral was.
    Our tour ended with a 1 hour concert by a 13 piece orchestra plus 2 opera singers and 2 dancers doing Viennese waltzes ballet style. This was the best part of the tour.
    Our dinner group included couples from Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Montreal. The restaurant we went to was excellent.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Friday and Gala Dinner

    October 19, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We had our last business meeting this morning. Celeste was out shopping and afterwards we met in front of St Stephens. We had a late lunch with Grant and Diana Render and Celeste and continued shopping. For our Gala Dinner we were assigned to a Palace as MNP booked 7 Palaces for the dinner. All the Palaces were within walking distance to Hofburg Palace.
    The dinner was excellent and I gave a speech to the retired partners.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Viennese Ball

    October 19, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The MNP meeting concluded with a grand Viennese Ball at Hofburg Palace. We booked a good portion of the Palace as we had 3 different orchestras and a DJ in about 7 rooms.
    Our favourite was this 10 piece all female orchestra with 6 violins. I could have danced and listened to them all night. Many of our partners and spouses were blown away not only of the setting but the entertainment.
    At midnight we learned the Midnight Quadrille, a traditional dance they do at midnight at all Viennese balls.
    We love to end our meetings with a grand event and this was another amazing success.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Delayed

    October 20, 2018 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We arrived at the Vienna airport very early ( about 3 hours before our flight) only to find out our flight is delayed 2 hours. So we wait. The bigger issue is they told us we won’t make our connecting flight to Melbourne. Tonight and tomorrow now will be interesting. Stay tunedRead more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    10 minutes in Bangkok

    October 21, 2018 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I know the song goes
    One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster.....

    Our flight from Vienna to Bangkok was scheduled to leave 2 hours late. As it turned out we ended up leaving 2.5 hours late. The fight was about 10.5 hours. It was doubtful we were going to make our
    connection.
    While we were taxing they announced that gate agents were waiting for people with connections.

    As soon as we got off the plane there was Thai Airways gate agent standing right by the door of the plane with a sign with our names on it ( plus 2 others). We ran up the Jet way and they had a golf cart waiting for us and they drove us to security where we used the Fast Pass lane. We then proceeded with our escort to run to the gate. They held the plane for us as we were the last 4 to board.
    We were super impressed with Thai Airways service.

    So all I can say i
    .......
    10 minutes in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
    Not much between despair and ecstasy
    .......    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Impressed

    October 21, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Celeste and I could not believe that our luggage made it. It came off with the crew bag. It was the first passenger bags off the plane.
    We left the hotel at 11 am Saturday and now it is 11 pm Sunday.
    A very and tiring journey.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    First Full Day in Australia

    October 22, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Last night I slept like a rock. In fact Celeste had to wake me up to get going. Given I hardly slept on the 2 flights it makes sense.
    This morning we did a city centre tour on an old Tram. It is free in the city centre and they provide an audio guide along the route. It was ok.
    In the afternoon we did a free walking tour of Melbourne . Our guide took us through the old and new parts. Melbourne is a very modern city of almost 5 million people. They have built out all their alleyways and laneways with cool shops, restaurants , coffee houses and wonderful street art.
    Tonight we met 2 partners of William Buck ( MNP’s affiliate) and their wives for a real nice dinner and visit.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    1

    Great Ocean Road

    October 23, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today we took a day trip on the Great Ocean Road. It was a very long bus tour. The road was built by the World War I veterans to connect the small towns along the coast between Melbourne and Adelaide. There are 3 sections - The Surf Coast, The Green Coast and The Shipwreck Coast.
    We stopped 10 times along the way. We saw some real beautiful scenery.
    On our lunch stop we were on the lookout for Koalas. Koalas sleep 20 hours a day so it is rare to see one and even more rare to see one moving. We were extremely lucky and spotted 3 - one was climbing a tree and one was eating the Eucalyptus leaves on another tree. The last one was sleeping.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Great ocean road rain forest

    October 23, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We also walked through a rain forest in the afternoon. There are Eucalyptus Ash trees that grow to 100 meters. The walk reminded me of the movie Jurassic Park.
    The drive past the rain forest was green rolling hills with many sheep and dairy cattle grazing.Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Twelve Apostles

    October 23, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The final stop was the Twelve Apostles. It is a famous limestone formation on the Shipwreck Coast of the Great Ocean Road. It was extremely windy as the winds come from Antarctica, so they are cold southerly winds.
    There were only 10.5 apostles but one has weathered away due to the erosion of the waves and now there are 9.5 apostles. Over time others will erode while new ones will be formed.
    Round trip travel was about 550km. Left the city around 7:45 am. Returned 8:45 pm. The Great Ocean Road portion was very steep with many twists and turns. Not good for anyone who becomes car sick. Travel back to Melbourne was inland on a straight highway.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Golf Day

    October 24, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today Celeste and I went golfing at the Metropolitan Cub in Melbourne. We were invited by Lindsay from our Melbourne affiliate.
    This course is hosting the World Cup of Golf in 4 weeks. The World Cup is a PGA event held every 2 years.
    The course was very walkable. It is not very long for a PGA course but the greens and bunkers are the great equalizer. The greens are very hard and you had to be very conscious of them with your approach shots. The bunkers had the sharpest edges I have seen on any course. Mostly the bunkers had huge steep sides.
    The course had a lot of birds on it from cockatoos to parrots to their own kind of magpie. I was in awe walking on the fairways hearing the many different sounds.
    A nice relaxing day in the sunshine.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    1

    Sydney Opera House

    October 25, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today we were up early to catch our 915 am flight from Melbourne to Sydney. The view from our hotel room is Sydney Harbour and Opera House.
    After unpacking some things, we headed out to walk along the pier and get some lunch. After lunch we took a tour of the Sydney Opera House.
    The building is an architectural marvel, and has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.
    There are several theatres in the faculty. The concert hall is the largest with the Opera House the second biggest. There are a handful of smaller theatres as well. They all have live performances most nights.
    Tonight we attended a performance of Evita in one of the main halls at the Opera House. It was great to see some live musical theatre in such a magnificent setting.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    1

    Evening Harbour Cruise

    October 26, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This morning I went to the William Buck office of Our Praxity affiliate to do a presentation. The presentation went very well and they were very appreciative and we shared ideas on our respective firms.
    In the afternoon we headed out for lunch and some retail therapy. After walking for a long time with no success, a construction worker came up to us and asked if we needed help. I guess we looked lost and desperate. Celeste told him we were looking for a place to eat lunch. He told us to go across the street into an old heritage building. What a beautiful place it turned out to be. Wonderful lunch and some very unique shops. Celeste said it was like an angel was sent to guide us to go to that place.
    In the evening we were invited by Nick, my Sydney Praxity colleague, to go on an evening cruise of the harbour. The views of the city were beautiful from the water.
    We then returned to the dock and had a delicious dinner. After dinner we went out for an evening cruise to see the city at night. It was magical.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler
    1
    1

    Blue Mountains

    October 27, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This morning we were picked up at 715 am for our Blue Mountains Tour. The Blue Mountains are a flat Mountains 1.5 to 2 hours west of Sydney. It is very picturesque with wonderful vistas. They call it the Grand Canyon of Australia.
    Our first stop was this farm which was more of a petting zoo with farm animals and Australian animals. So we saw kangaroos , Koalas, cockatoos plus chicken, cows, turkeys you name it. A great place for young kids but we both agreed we could have missed this and they day would have been just as good.
    We stopped a few times to see the valleys, water falls, rock formations and tons of trees. They have a formation called the 3 Sisters here as well, nice but Canmore’s 3 sisters are more impressive.
    We chose the hiking option which while most of the members of our group went for a nice lunch at a restaurant we were given a picnic lunch and dropped off at the hiking spot. The hike was more like a leisurely stroll.
    Our last stop was at the Blue Mountain Botanical Gardens and they were beautiful. We would have love to take the hour from the morning and add it to the gardens.
    Tonight we enjoyed dinner with 3 couples from Australia and Celeste ordered the Kangaroo. Kangaroos are everywhere here (50 million)and the meat is like venison.
    A nice day and our tour guide was very informative.    Read more

  • Kelly BernakevitchK and C Trip Around The WorldTraveler

    Quiet Sunday

    October 28, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Woke up around 7:40 - Kelly was texting with Tyler so we decided to FaceTime with him and Brooke. Had a lovely visit together. Then downstairs for breakfast where we met up with ladies from the US. Had breakfast together and they invited me to join them in their outing for the day. Kelly was booked for a massage today so I went out with five other ladies to explore the weekend market nearby. Lots of interesting artisans selling clothing, art, knickknacks, food items and many things unique to Australia. We had an enjoyable time exploring together. Then it was time for lunch so we decided to stop into Sydney’s Oldest Pub. Watched some of the baseball game during lunch and then went back to the hotel.
    Kelly was done his massage by then and was hungry so we went back to the pub.
    I thought it would be neat to attend Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sydney but with a city of 4.8million people, the cab ride for one way was going to be $75. So we went at 4:00 to St.Patricks Church near the hotel.

    The Opening Reception for the Praxity Conference was this evening. Kelly has met so many wonderful people from all over the world through his attendance through the years. Now I’m getting to know them and their spouses. It was a lovely evening reconnecting. Early morning tomorrow with the Companions Tour. Kelly will be in meetings.    Read more

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