Poland's restoration is complete. Fortresses are full of shining armor. Castles are ready for royalty. Old towns look just the way they did four centuries ago − albeit with insulated windows, modern plumbing, and wifi.

I flew to Warsaw on a one-way ticket, planning to spend a week in Poland. I ended up staying two weeks in this delightful country. I could've stayed longer.

Knights? Fortress of Mary? Yes, the Teutonic Knights were an armed religious order. As reflected in the carvings and murals throughout the interior of the fortress, their mission was to spread Christianity through armed conflict. Interesting ...

Shipping has been a primary industry here for centuries, especially Gdansk.

Gdansk is where World War II began. Hitler recognized that, by capturing Gdansk, he could control shipping to eastern Europe. The German invasion of Poland began here on September 1, 1939. Gdansk is also where shipyard workers went on strike against their Soviet masters in 1980. This was the beginning of the Solidarity Movement, which eventually led to the break-up of the USSR.

Just up the road from Gdansk is the town of Oliwa which features a very special mechanized organ. If you ever get a chance to see this amazing instrument, you'll see carved wooden angels move as they blow their horns. Click here to see a video of the animated angel sculptures (watch carefully).

Keep going along the coast to the picturesque seaside towns of Sopot and Gdynia. If you go far enough, you'll end up in Hel, a village at the end of the Hel Peninsula. It's a nice place to go for a walk, but I didn't see anyone swimming. It was freezing in Hel.

As with people, animals are different from place to place. Out at the end of the Hel Peninsula is a place like San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, where you can learn all about Baltic seals.

Kraków's town square is packed with outdoor cafés, perfect for morning coffee, a beer and salad at lunch, or a delicious dinner. At all times of day, you can hear the bells chime in the basilica and watch the horse-drawn carriages roll by.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is the largest of the German extermination camps built during World War II. Here, the Germans murdered more than a million Jews, Poles, Hungarians and Roma from April 1941 until January 1945 in the pursuit of Nazi ideology.

Visiting the complex is an unsettling but deeply moving experience. There are two parts: Auschwitz, where many of the original brick prison blocks are still standing; and Birkenau, with the remains of four huge gas chambers, complete with crematoria. Birkenau is where most of the killing took place.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is a grim reminder of history’s greatest genocide.

This was my last stop in Poland. From here, I took a train to Prague.

I rode trains all over Poland. As an American, I appreciate how convenient an efficient rail system can be ... and I wish the U.S. had one.

• You can book your ticket last minute (or the day before) on-line or at the station.
• Train stations tend to be in the middle of cities. So, there's no need for a long trip outside of town to the airport.
• There are no luggage or security hassles. So, you can show up at the last minute for your departure.
• There's lots of legroom and headroom. The seats are wide, especially compared to airplane seats.
• The windows are big and clean. There's always lots to see.
• Without turbulence, you don't need a seatbelt.
• You're free to walk around, use the loo, or visit the dining car at any time.
• There are no restrictions on using your phone and other electronic devices. Each seat has a 220v electrical outlet.
• The on-board wifi is fast and free.
• You can take your dog and/or your bicycle on board with you.
• Good food is available at a modest price.
• If your trip is less than 500 km, it's faster and cheaper to take the train.

Having said this, here's a useful travel tip. If you'd like to see − and enjoy − Prague, I suggest that you come here in spring or fall when the queues to enter the castle are short, it's easy to find a free table at a café on the town square, and you can take a selfie and be the only one in the photo.

• Old Town Square
• Astronomical clock outside City Hall
• The Charles Bridge over the Vltava River
• Prague's gothic Castle overlooking the city

No medieval castle is complete without a collection of armor and weapons. The armory in Prague's castle includes armor for children.

The best parts of Prague are its curving cobblestone back streets with historic gardens, medieval cottages, small breweries with hidden cafés, and a surprise or two, such as monks who appear to float in the air like magic.

By day, the bridge is filled with tourists who give their money to portrait artists, street musicians, postcard sellers, jewelry vendors, and magicians. At night, the famous baroque statues loom like solemn ghosts over the pedestrians returning from the bars.

Compared to the rest of eastern Europe, Prague was more expensive and less hospitable. During the summer, central Prague can feel like it's populated entirely by tourists. I suspect that the locals were all at a football match or picking wild mushrooms in the mountains.

This town has a unique theatre with seating which rotates the audience from one scene to the next. This makes for great chase scenes!

I appreciated the fresh air, peace and quiet of this town. I spent only a day here, but it was just what I needed. This really is the fairytale town the tourist brochures promised.

Whereas Prague and Český Krumlov are in the province of Bohemia, eastern Czechia is known as Moravia. Bohemia in the west and Moravia in the east feel like different countries. If Bohemia is about towns and cities, Moravia is rolling hills and pretty landscapes. If Bohemians love beer, Moravians love wine.

Like most European cities, Brno is compact and pedestrian friendly. I spent a day wandering through downtown, entertained by shops, restaurants and street art. One item really caught my attention. The tank shown to the left was a gift to the city after the Soviet army liberated Brno from the Germans in 1945. It became a hated symbol of Soviet occupation until 1989, when Czechoslovakia finally gained its independence. As soon as the Soviets were gone, a local artist painted the tank pink in defiance of the retreating Soviet bosses. It's a colorful statement as to how the Czechs feel towards their former landlords.

I enjoyed seeing Prague and all that it had to offer. But I also appreciate visiting places where I can see what a country is really like.

At Olomouc's castle, I started learning about the Great Moravian Empire, Europe's first Slavic kingdom.

Way back in the 9th century, a series of Slavic kings united and controlled Bohemia, plus most of Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. That's a lot of territory under one rule. As has happened to me many times before, I wondered why I'd never been taught this chapter of history in school. Travel is a great way to fill in the gaps in one's education.

Soon, I was going to learn even more about Great Moravia at my next stop in Bratislava.

Incidentally, I had one of my best meals in Europe at a café on the square shown in the photo to the left. The café had no menus in English, so I just told the waiter to bring me whatever he thought was good to eat and drink. I love ordering a meal this way.

La Costa del Sol is a world-renowned tourist destination near Málaga. Until the 60's, this part of Spain was a quiet province of fishing villages along the sandy shore, with pueblos blancos (white villages) in the hills above. Today, La Costa del Sol feels a little bit like southern California with high-rise condos, golf courses, trendy bars and restaurants, and busy highways along the beach. Still, if you know where to look, you can find a few quiet beaches and charming villages. It helps to have a friend who has retired here − with an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean − who's willing to be your guide and drinking companion.

Benalmádena features a Quixotic castle dedicated to Christopher Columbus. I think the guy who built this castle must've spent a lot of time sitting in cafés in Benalmádena, gazing across the sea towards north Africa, snacking on a plate or two of tapas, sipping tinto de verano, chatting with good friends, and daydreaming. I did the same.

Melilla has been Spanish territory ever since Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand stole it from the Berber fishermen in 1497. In spite of numerous attempts by Morocco to reclaim this territory, Spain has managed to hold onto Melilla for more than 500 years.

Melilla is tiny − just a little larger than Mackinac Island in Michigan. Legend has it that the Spanish defined Melilla's boundary with Morocco as being the maximum range of their canons from the fortress they built on an outcrop overlooking the harbor.

Who is Enrique Nieto? He was a student of Antoni Gaudí, famous for the Modernisme style of La Sagrada Família, Park Güell and many other imaginative structures in Barcelona.

In 1939, Melilla appointed Enrique Nieto as its city architect. Consequently, Melilla is like a mini-Barcelona in terms of its palaces, parks and plazas.

Walking through Melilla is like walking through an art museum. I read that Mellila's collection of modernisme-style buildings constitutes the second largest concentration of representatives of the style outside of Barcelona.

One surprise about Melilla was that there were almost no tourists. Unlike La Costa de Sur, the sidewalks were empty and I never had to wait for a table at a restaurant.

This past year of travel − which included eating my way through Taiwan, growing a business in Thailand, island hopping across the Indian Ocean, bouncing through East Africa, wandering around eastern Europe, and relaxing in southern Spain − has been a "trip of a lifetime." Every year for the last nine years, I've had journeys like this. Next year, I'll have another. How many "trips of a lifetime" can one have in one life? I don't know the answer to this question. But I do know that life is short, and my time on Earth is finite.

Happily, I've learned a way to make my limited time on this planet feel as though it's lasting longer. It's simple: Live as fully as possible. Take chances. Get out of your comfort zone. Push the envelope. Follow your wildest dreams. The years go by more slowly when you fill them with memorable experiences and unforgettable adventures.