Hi!

This year’s summer holiday started with an unexpected short trip to Poland. But I’ll tell you all about that in another blog post.

Because of that trip, I started my sailing course one day later than planned, on Tuesday, June 23.

Every day I took the bus to the train station in Ängelholm, and from there I rode an electric scooter to the harbour. It wasn’t the most comfortable journey because I always had quite a lot of things with me. Sometimes I met a friend in the morning, and we travelled together.

During the first few days, there wasn’t much wind, so preparing the boats was quite easy. We didn’t even have to move them to the other side of the bridge.

We had five instructors: Vincent, Philip, Axel, Astrid and Harry. My favourite instructors were Vincent and Axel. They always played great music and were very relaxed. Hugo, who had been an instructor during previous courses, also came to help the crew. I was really happy to see him because he and Vincent are two of the nicest people I know—always helpful and smiling.

I usually sailed the small Optimist dinghies with Olivia. I’m not a big fan of those boats, but the company was fantastic! 😃 When we raced in the Optimists, each student sailed alone. I used to finish in second or third place.

I also enjoy riding in the motorboat. I know it’s not a sailboat, but it’s still a lot of fun. We were always excited when someone fell into the water. 💦😁 Of course, it was even better when it wasn’t me!

One hot summer day, while we were cooling off in the water, I didn’t manage to grab hold of the boat. Hugo came to the rescue and took me back to my boat. Another time, Vincent was taking me from one boat to another. Suddenly he accelerated, and I did a forward somersault and almost fell into the water. 😆

I learned a lot during the course. For example, I learned that it’s best not to run aground, that you have to take good care of the equipment, and, most importantly, look after your crew. There was plenty of time to learn, but also to have lots of fun. I was really happy when my parents signed me up for another week of the course.

This summer by the sea inspired me to become a sailing instructor myself. Hugo gave me some sailing books to study, and the plan is that before long I’ll be teaching children how to sail.

Ahoy, adventure awaits! ⛵

Ania

Hi,

I have BIG dreams. Some of them might seem impossible to achieve. One of them is to have a garage full of Porsches and McLarens. That dream hasn’t come true yet, but…

On the last Saturday of April this year, I was woken up suspiciously early—at 6:40 a.m. To be more precise, my mum woke me up. And that was because a surprise had been planned for me.

When Mum said, “Ann, wake up,” it didn’t have much of an effect. But when I heard the word “SURPRISE,” I jumped straight out of bed. Even mum was really surprised!

I went through my usual morning routine—including dad’s wake-up routine: morning exercises like stretching, working on my posture, foot exercises, and a few push-ups and squats.

To my surprise, dad was up early, too. He told me to dress warmly and pack a hat and gloves. We were supposedly waiting for a small white van that would take us towards Gothenburg.

Oddly enough, I didn’t have to bring my book and notebook for my “Page About” work. That was strange because dad always reminds me to take them with me. Instead, I was given two bottles of juice and a thermos of hot tea—which, by the way, I ended up bringing back home untouched.

I started to suspect that we weren’t actually going anywhere in a van. I also had the feeling that dad wasn’t coming with us. I wondered if I was going with Konrad, but then I also thought it might be Dominika and Michał. One thing I knew for sure was that dad would never let me go with someone I didn’t know.

Then Konrad arrived.

I was so happy! I got into his car—a black BMW. Without dad.

Just as we were about to get onto the motorway, dad called to tell us that I had forgotten my tea. So we turned around to get it.

Once we were back on the motorway, Konrad put on some Polish rap from the ’80s and ’90s. I’d never listened to music like that before. The stories the rappers told were actually pretty interesting.

No matter how much I tried to get him to tell me where we were going, Konrad wouldn’t reveal anything. He didn’t want to spoil the surprise. So I had to wait until we arrived.

Finally, we reached our destination: Epicar in Malmö.

There were so many cars there—and not the kind you normally see on the streets. They were sports cars and ultra-exclusive cars like Porsches, McLarens, and Mercedes.

Even the Epicar showroom looked luxurious inside, with dark green walls and orange offices.

This is a place where you can buy amazing cars—some almost brand new and others with a bit more history. There were even a few cars from 1969, while the newest ones were from 2020.

Every single car was beautiful, but my favourites were a white McLaren and, of course, a purple Porsche.

Konrad had to move a dark blue Porsche to make room for the cars that we would be driving. In total, 11 cars left the garage for the demonstration drive.

The cars had already been assigned, so unfortunately I couldn’t choose the purple Porsche I had fallen in love with. Konrad is tall, so we drove a bright green Mercedes with a very long bonnet.

Luckily, Konrad actually fit inside the car! And because of that long car hood, it felt like you had to leave a much bigger gap between your car and the one in front.

It wasn’t the most comfortable car for me either because I couldn’t see very much. But that’s not surprising—sports cars sit very low to the ground. Even so, it was amazing: driving with Konrad in a bright green car that everyone noticed, as part of a convoy of sports cars.

After the demonstration (and promotional) drive, we headed to the Porsche dealership. There were already lots of luxury cars parked there, including other famous brands. There was even a red Lamborghini.

But honestly, the purple Porsche was still the most beautiful car there.

Inside the dealership, Konrad met some of his friends, while I used the time to look around. I browsed through brochures and admired the nearby cars. One that really caught my eye was a green Porsche GT4 RS—it was absolutely gorgeous. I even got to sit inside it.

On the way back to Epicar, I rode in a red Porsche Cayman 718 driven by Emely. It didn’t make as many exciting crackling and popping sounds as the purple Porsche GT3 RS, but we were still driving really fast. (To avoid making my parents’ blood pressure go up, I’d better not write exactly how fast!)

We were on the motorway, so there was plenty of room to pick up speed.

After returning the cars to Epicar, we got back into Konrad’s BMW (which is also a cool car) and headed home.

It was an absolutely fantastic day.

I really like Konrad, and we always have an amazing time together. It doesn’t matter whether we’re playing padel, windsurfing, playing Hister or Czacha Dymi, or just hanging out.

I’m so happy that he took me with him. And I’m really glad dad came up with the idea of letting me go on this trip alone with Konrad.

It was WOW.

Bye!

Anna

P.S. We call Konrad and his wife Paulina “The Colourful Ones.” It used to be because of their colourful hair, but nowadays it’s more because of their colourful personalities—since they don’t colour their hair anymore.

P.S. 2. I’ve already started saving up for a Porsche so I can have one as my EPA car one day.