I’ve just returned from a trip that carried me through Berlin, Poland, and London. Each place had its own rhythm, but it’s Poland that holds my heart, especially Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, and the seaside town of Sopot. Still, before I take you deep into Poland, I have to start with Berlin.
Berlin: A Meeting on Museum Island
We arrived in Berlin with the Orlando Urban Sketchers, and one of the highlights was meeting up with the Berlin Urban Sketchers on Museum Island. Imagine: a cluster of grand museums rising from the water, each one filled with history, each one framed by the soft late-summer light. We spread out with our sketchbooks, sketching facades, domes, and statues. There’s something instantly grounding about sketching side by side with people you’ve just met, it dissolves the small talk and opens up space for real connection. Afterward, we gathered together, chatting about art, travel, life. It was just one afternoon, but it left me with the sense that no matter where you go in the world, sketchers will always find each other, and in that moment you feel like you belong.
But Berlin also gave us one of the most unforgettable walks of the trip: along the Berlin Wall. Stretching before us, covered in murals painted by artists from all over the world, it was both haunting and beautiful. The colors and messages, layered over history’s scar, felt like a collective reminder that art can heal, resist, and remember. What struck me most was the sight of a modern building rising right in the middle of it all, as if the present were physically threading itself through the past, refusing to let history stand still.
And then, Poland…
Poznań: The Heart of the Symposium
Poznań was the heart of my time there. I went for the Urban Sketchers Symposium, though I didn’t have a ticket this year. To my surprise, that didn’t matter one bit. The city square was alive with artists from all over the world, sketchbooks open, pens scratching, pages turning. At first, it was intimidating, so much talent everywhere I looked. But soon I realized it wasn’t about keeping up. It was about being present, being part of that hum of creativity.
The weather seemed to bless us: clear skies, a warmth that never turned heavy. We hopped from café to café, from square to square, sketching churches and streets and the pulse of everyday life. Stickers were exchanged like tiny treasures. Bright little pieces of identity passed from one pocket to another, crossing continents in backpacks and sketchbooks.
One evening was especially dear: a member of the Orlando group who couldn’t attend gifted us a Polish dinner in his absence, and one of the Orlando Urban Sketchers organized it. We gathered around a table filled with pierogies and beer, laughter tumbling out as easily as sketches. That dinner felt like the truest spirit of sketching: people brought together by lines on a page, becoming family for an evening.
Bydgoszcz: An Unexpected Conversation
In Bydgoszcz, I had another kind of memorable encounter. We were sketching at a café when three Ukrainian siblings approached us. The eldest smiled and leaned in to compliment our sketches, her words warm and genuine. Soon we were in conversation, and she told me their story. They can’t return home right now, and yet their perspective on the world was so sharp, so full of knowledge and resilience. They impressed me deeply…not just for their strength but for the kindness with which they shared it. It was a reminder that sketching doesn’t just connect you to a place, it opens doors to conversations you might never have otherwise.
Gdańsk: A Port City Full of Surprises
Gdańsk was one of the surprises of the trip. I hadn’t expected it to be so beautiful or so busy. Like any great port city in the world, it was alive with movement, commerce, and the constant rhythm of boats coming and going. We stayed at a hotel right by the water, and I loved watching the vessels slip in and out of the canal.
What captivated me most, though, were the churches. Their spires rose above the town, calling to be sketched, and we happily answered. We even sat inside a couple of them, sketching quietly and respectfully, surrounded by centuries of art and devotion. One discovery stood out: learning how important amber is in this region. In fact, we found a church with an entire altar sculpted from amber, glowing like something both fragile and eternal.
And then there was the WWII Museum. Impressive doesn’t even begin to cover it. Built partly underground, with its sharp, modern angles jutting out of the earth, it felt like stepping into both a wound and a monument. The exhibitions took us through the story of how World War II began right here in Gdańsk, at Westerplatte, and unfolded across the world. The way the museum blends personal stories, letters, photographs, the everyday belongings of people who lived and suffered, into the larger sweep of history was powerful and deeply moving. It was impossible to walk through without feeling both the enormity of loss and the resilience of the human spirit.
Sketching in Gdańsk felt like sketching inside history itself: the blend of portside bustle, sacred stillness, and the shadows and lessons of the past.
Sopot: Salt Air and the Baltic Sea
From Gdańsk, we took a short train ride to Sopot with the Orlando Urban Sketchers. In the morning, the beach town was quiet, almost hushed, as if still waking up. By the time the day stretched forward, more people filled the streets, but those early hours belonged to us.
We headed straight to the beach, dipped our toes in the Baltic Sea, and then sat down together for a group sketch. Before us was the enormous wooden pier (the longest in Europe) stretching into the horizon. Each of us tried to capture its presence in our sketchbooks, the vastness of the coast, the brightness of the water.
Afterward, we gathered our drawings for a little “throwdown,” as Urban Sketchers always do, laying our sketchbooks side by side in a joyful, colorful spread. I even sprinkled a bit of Baltic beach sand into my sketch on top of the watercolor before it dries, hoping I’d bring back home that day forever with me. By then we were hungry, so naturally, we wandered off for lunch to a wonderful local seafood spot.
London: A Solo Return
The last part of the trip brought me back to London, alone this time, after many years. In fact, it had been twenty-two years since I last set foot in the city. Returning felt both nostalgic and brand new, a reunion with a place that had changed and yet somehow stayed familiar.
I tried to stay away from all the touristy areas and stayed in the lovely and trendy neighborhood of Marylebone. I walked its streets with my camera and my sketchbook. It turned into a kind of pilgrimage: a photo walk, a sketch walk, hours of exploring on foot and of course hopped on “The Tube” for a quick visit to Covent Garden.
Though it was the tail end of the trip, I still felt the same spark of excitement I’d carried through Berlin and Poland, because sketching and photography have that power. They don’t just record a place; they recharge you.
Looking back, I realize again how much sketching has given me as well as much as photography. It began as something small but has grown into a meditation, a way to still my mind when the world spins too fast. Drawing keeps me grounded. And when I travel with a sketchbook, I move through the world differently. I don’t just pass through a city…I linger, I notice, I stay.
To finish, here are a few playful questions that capture the essence of this trip:
An urban element I could not stop drawing?
Church towers! They seemed to appear everywhere, each one different, each one demanding a page of its own.
A story that I will never forget?
Definitely meeting the Ukrainian siblings in Bydgoszcz. Their kindness, their courage, their insight, it turned an ordinary café sketch into a memory I’ll hold forever.
How does Poland sounds like?
The toll of church bells, the clatter of plates in outdoor cafés, and the scratch of pens across paper. A chorus of history and daily life.
A souvenir I tucked in my backpack to always remember Poznan?
The stickers I exchanged with other sketchers. They’re tiny, colorful symbols of connection that will always remind me of the symposium.
First impression of the city?
My first impression was the openness of the main square, like a stage waiting for artists. A memory I treasure is that dinner of pierogies and beer, surrounded by sketchers from near and far, sketchbooks piled in the middle of the table like a shared offering.
Closing the Sketchbook (for Now)
As I think back on Berlin, Poland, and London, what strikes me most is not the distances traveled, but the threads of connection stitched along the way, lines on paper, meals around a table, chance conversations with strangers who became part of the story and acquaintances who became lifelong friends. Looking back, I’m mindful that each sketch and each photo frame was its own small anchor, holding me steady in places both new and familiar.
The sketches.. the pictures.. your blog, beautifully captured the trip.
What an amazing chronicle of your international journey! Was so fun to read!