RH – Experiance

In addition to the professional aspects described in the Poland Project Report I was extremely lucky to have the generous support of many people, including former collegues, friends and local advocates. While overseas I was able to visit some very special places and people. As a fan of history, good food and architecture I consider myself to be vary fortune.

	Bruges, Belgium Visiting Bruges was an unexpected treat. My hosts extended the most heartwarming welcome including a guided tour of the town, delicious food and amazing accomodation. Moreover, I got to share time with old friends, meet their family and see things I would never otherwise. Thankyou M&S. Suffice to say coffee, beer and chocolate were just the tip of the iceberg.
Accomodation Trying not to spend too much money, I found hotels that, although comfortable, were humble in their amenities and, in most cases, compact. I chose locations close to where I needed to be, almost always with cobblestone under foot and good eats nearby. In addition to being able to adjust reservations right up to the last moment, traveling on a budget and finding a good location worked well.
	Beer with Zack Meeting up with a friend of the family. Thankyou Zack for making your way close to where I was staying. It was a wonderful location for some great conversation as well as really good beer and some tasty tacos. Jet lag never had it so good.
Prague – Farmers Market Stumbled onto the Náplavka Farmers Market located along the river Vltava in Prague, Czech Republic. It is a popular market located where you can find fresh produce and local foods. Walking from booth to booth with a cold beer in a frosted glass at 10:30 in the morning, the best. A Czech version of Spanokopita was my breakfast. I estimate beer and pastry = $5 canadian.
	Begijnhofe During my tour of Bruges we walked through the ‘Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaarde’. Here there are many white-coloured houses surrounded by a peaceful open ‘garden’ which was founded in 1245. It is a World Heritage sight. From what I learned it was built by the church and/or monarch to accommodate struggling women and nuns. Albeit the history is too complicated for me to do it justice, it was certainly a beautiful and very interesting place to visit.
Grand-Place, Brussels A long time ago my work in IT brought me to Brussels. Each time I was drawn to the Grand-Place. The first time is a story in itself, one I share with a good friend and former colleague. Historically the town hall was built in the 15th century, there was no European Union back then. Before then it was used as a market square for local trade. Fortunately, some of the bombing in WW2 did not destroy many of these historic buildings.
	Národní divadlo, Prague On my one day off I walked around Prague and sketched various historic monuments including the National Theatre. Europe has so much spectacular architecture. Although my trip was about art and mental health, I am grateful for the overlap between my NFP work and hobbies. Ooh, what a luckly man – I am!