Krzysztof Hołowczyc - my life is one long holiday
I meet Krzysztof Hołowczyc in the underground car park of a Warsaw hotel, where he keeps the cars of his Supercar Club Poland. The garage is full of phenomenal cars that make your heart beat faster. Several thousand horsepower will be the backdrop to our conversation about free time and travel. Is his life really one long holiday?
justKowalski: Do you even need a holiday? You live in a beautiful place.
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: There's something in what you say. I live in a place near Olsztyn, surrounded by lakes and forests, where in summer it's my friends who come to me on holiday rather than me going somewhere. We have motorboats, jet skis and water skis right at hand. I spend the summer at home and go away when it is dark, cold and gloomy in Poland.
justKowalski: And when it is time to go away, what are your favourite destinations?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: Over the years we have got used to spending our holidays in two places: the Canary Islands and the United States. Of the Canary Islands, I like Fuerteventura best. I have been going back to the same place for years, a good hotel with a beach. In the United States it's Miami in Florida, usually in early spring. The humidity isn't too high then and there's no oppressive heat. We have also been to California, but at that time of year it is cooler there than in Florida. In the States we have also tried holidays in Texas, but now we no longer experiment and we choose Florida. Often, after landing, we hire a big SUV, book only one or two nights in advance and hit the road. Along the way we stop at places we like, and when we start getting bored, we move on. In the States everything is simple and predictable; everything has its price. If you have the money you buy it, if you don't, you don't. I often fly to Miami with a short stopover in Chicago, where I have friends and meet up with the local Polish community.
justKowalski: You said you usually go to the States in early spring? That isn't always school holiday time, and you have 3 daughters. How do you reconcile school with holidays?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: Let me put it this way: I am a firm believer that travel broadens the mind. Children experience a great deal when they travel and are exposed to all sorts of situations. It is not time wasted. I have also noticed that the promise of a great holiday gives children extra motivation to "study ahead". Of course, we are not talking about a two-week holiday; that would be going too far.
justKowalski: Your job often means being behind the wheel. On holiday, do you want a break from cars?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: Oh, no! A family trip means one big car. It brings us closer. In that huge SUV with three rows of seats there is more than enough room for us. Even if we argue, you can still find some privacy in that car (laughs...). In America you drive slowly, but we like travelling that way; it brings the family together. We talk a lot. A car has the advantage over a plane that whenever we want, we stop, rest, eat and move on. A car gives you a lot of freedom, and we like being on the move. Incidentally, I'll tell you, we were once supposed to spend a few days at a resort with a full spa programme. But the procedures, the fixed timetable and the lack of pace of the whole stay meant we soon gave up and left early.
justKowalski: What about South-East Asia? Thailand, Laos, Cambodia?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: To be honest, it just doesn't appeal to me. True, I have been to Singapore and Bali, but I miss that sense of security there, the security of being within Western civilisation. That world is foreign to me, a different culture; I don't even really know what I would be afraid of there, I simply don't feel comfortable enough in Asia to spend my holidays there. I have been to Africa and South America for the Dakar Rally, and I don't feel the need to go back. I feel that such a trip would involve risk, and I have had enough risk in my life. I don't want to put my family in danger.
justKowalski: Do you have the time and inclination for winter holidays? Where do you go skiing?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: We had a place like that in Austria, in Villach, by a lake. During the day we skied, and after sunset we went skating on the frozen lake. But we definitely prefer holidays in "warm countries", that is what draws us more; often, when most people go skiing, we escape to where the sun shines and it is warm.
justKowalski: Are there places you would really like to go to?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: Yes, Japan. We have never been there. One of my daughters keeps urging me to go. Japan, although completely different, is predictable and extremely interesting. I am sure I will feel comfortable there.
justKowalski: And have any places let you down? Failed to live up to your expectations?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: There certainly were places like that, but I don't want to keep anger or bad emotions inside me, so I erase memories like that. That's how I'm made. A few years ago we went to Croatia for the long May weekend, where friends of ours have a yacht, and unfortunately it was a disappointment. It was too cold for us. We started fleeing further south, all the way to Montenegro, in search of warmth.
justKowalski: And what about food travel? Have you ever made a detour to visit a famous restaurant?
Krzysztof Hołowczyc: Hmmm... when it comes to culinary travel, although it's not quite that category, I remember touring the vineyards in South Africa. We visited the famous Stellenbosch region. I had concerns about safety in that country, but I had flown there once or twice for work (a great many adverts are filmed in South Africa - note by justKowalski) and decided it was worth taking the family there.
justKowalski: Krzysztof, thank you very much for talking to me, and I wish you many more family journeys
