1. I usually spend my holidays in a scouting camp doing various sports like volleyball and basketball. Scouts also sing a lot together and I like that. We most often pitch the tents somewhere in the Polish countryside, possibly also near the sea or a lake. I like spending holidays with scouts because we are friends and being with friends is always a great thing!
2. I adore the sea and all the activities that the countryside offers, as well as good food and drink.
3. The ones I miss most when being in the countryside are my family, best friends and my dog.
4. If I had a chance to go to Slovenia, I would love to go to one of the spas or to a lake or river, because I like swimming very much and I am good at it as I am used to spending quite some time in the swimming pools. Besides swimming and sunbathing I would try some local food. Maybe the sweet walnut roll called “potica” which is a speciality of the region. In wintertime I would be interested in doing some extreme skiing in the mountains!

Andrzej Junak, 30, a teacher by profession, from a town of Stargard Szczeciński, Poland.

1. I spend my holidays both in the country and in town. When in the countryside I usually visit my friends. There my holiday is “active” only in the sense of increased social activity that I take part in – if you know what I mean, ha ha... However, when I go abroad, it is usually towns and cities that I visit. There I take part in many cultural events such as theatre, cinema performances and pub-crawls. I go on holiday when I can – you should not forget I’m a teacher, so I can’t really choose the preferable season.
2. As I’ve already mentioned I usually go to the countryside to visit my friends. I don’t see them very often, that’s why going to the countryside is such a big event for me. I enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. I like to observe the beauty of landscape changing with seasons. As you may guess, countryside is a great attraction for a “town boy” like me.
3. Holidays in the countryside are a unique experience and as such must be taken for granted. I don’t want to change anything.
4. I would go to the Karst to visit the Škocjan Caves. I’ve heard it is a very beautiful cave under the protection of Unesco. I’ve also seen some pictures of it and I was impressed by the cave’s depth. I would also like to go to the coast in summer. I am especially interested in the architecture of small old towns there. In wintertime I would enjoy skiing in winter resorts. I would like to ski down some long slopes, very fast of course!
5. I like to leave the countryside when I’ve had enough of it. Sometimes I suddenly miss the bustle of the city. Also, I don’t go to the countryside when something more attractive happens elsewhere.

Małgorzata Zdybiewska, 50+, working as a teacher trainer in a teacher college in Radom, Poland

1. As I have a long holiday I usually spend a lot of time planning them well in advance. I usually go abroad for various English language courses during July and August. Sometimes I work as a teacher trainer on summer courses of English as well. I also try to spend some time with my family either hiking in the mountains or yachting in the Polish lake district. I find this part of my holidays very active.
2. When I spend my holiday in the countryside I usually try to study the culture of this region by attending festivals or any other events. I eat and drink local food. I also meet and talk to a lot of local people. I regularly visit the Polish Tatras where I ski during wintertime where I already know quite a lot of local people.
3. Nowadays I miss nothing. There are all modern facilities in local houses. I never watch TV when I am on holiday even though you can watch all channels also in the countryside if you feel like it.
4. If I spent my holiday in Slovenia, I would be interested in mountain climbing in your Alps, having nice, relaxing holidays in the spas, and I would also be interested in spending holidays at the seaside. But as my son is very keen on canoeing mountain river tourism could seem most attractive for my family. Though rather strenuous, I believe it might be a perfect idea of an active way of spending holiday for us.

Michael Houten, 40+, an education co-ordinator from England, presently working in the city of Kraków in Poland.

1. For several years I didn’t have a “holiday” as such, but went back to the U.K. to visit parents who were not well. A holiday for me is often just not working. I like reading a lot in holidays as this is something I cannot do as much as I would like to during my work life. When on holiday, I would prefer to be away from a city. I like walking in the countryside or relaxing by the seaside, but not in the U.K. If I go to a city, then I do the obvious sightseeing, visit some galleries, etc.
2. What I appreciate most is fresh air, absence of people, opportunity to walk or cycle in the nice surroundings, peace and quiet and the colours in different seasons. Cross-country skiing is one of the attractions as well – only if my knee allows me to do it.
3. Sometimes, depending on the country of course, the accommodation facilities are not great: no hot water, low quality of the rooms, etc. Other than that, I don’t miss anything else.
4. I would go on a tourist farm, either in the hilly or alpine region, or I would spend some time on the coast. What I would like to do in Slovenia is move from one place to another each day, or perhaps take trips from the same centre and return there. I would prefer to be outside the whole time, but I wouldn’t want to miss a glass of vintage wine in the evenings.

Petr Fejt, 20+, a teacher of English from the Czech Republic

1. I always spend holidays in the countryside, either at home or elsewhere, in the summer. I often travel, mostly on my own. Last year for example, I did a bike tour on my own and I also went to Slovakia to a working camp. When I’m at home, I spend a lot of time repairing or constructing something or simply mowing the grass (which I hate). A good book is always my friend when I feel a bit bored.
2. The answer is simple: people and their lifestyles. The thing is that I like comparing cultures. When I don’t feel like chatting with people or meeting new faces, I simply enjoy walking in the countryside.
3. Sometimes I miss things like the Internet and my hi-fi.
4. I would certainly want to do some climbing and rock climbing in the Alps, as well as I would go skiing, both cross-country and alpine, to some of your winter resorts. I would also like to visit the Karst region, because I always like to experience something unique that cannot be found elsewhere. My idea is to be in the region and make some day trips. I think of myself as of quite an adaptable person, and I would certainly adapt to the situation if the reality was different of the one I would have imagined. I assume that farm tourism in the Karst region is something like staying on a farm, observing and taking part in farm life and chatting with the owner from time to time. I think this would be a perfect holiday.

Tasks

• Compare the ways Petr and Magdalena, of different nationalities and the same age, spend their holidays!
• Compare the ways Ewa and Małgorzata, of the same nationality but different age, spend their holidays!
• Choose one of the people from the pictures and design a holiday itinerary for him/her according to his/her wishes in your country.
• Write a postcard to your friend/grandmother from your holidays!