It's not really about the lack of prior knowledge, and I certainly don't mean that people aren't 'allowed' to go places that they want to.
What I mean is that we have a bit of problem, and have done ever since cheap flights became available in the 70s. People now believe that because they *can* go somewhere far away for the equivalent price of going somewhere near, that they *should* go there and it is somehow automatically better than the near place.
I've tried to cut out unnecessary travel, which has effectively meant that I haven't flown anywhere for a few years. It has become a sort of rule of thumb; if I can't get somewhere without flying, then I need to take a long hard look at whether I *need* to go there (note: different from want). I'm not saying that any mode of transport other than a plane is 100% green and planes are the only problem, I'm saying that unnecessary travel is bad and planes are the worst of the bunch.
For example, one of my riding mates has married into some family in Washington state; he now goes there every summer and says the riding is awesome. I might go with him one year, but for now there are loads of places in Europe that I haven't exhausted yet, so I'm doing those first. If, once I have ridden everything in easy reach, I feel the need to go further, I'll consider it. Oh, and I know that going abroad to ride my bike isn't really a *need*, but I want to go riding, so I choose to do it somewhere with less impact.
The OP was going to Krakow to get beer and maybe see some culture, but nothing in his post suggested that there was any reason for going that far except for the fact that it was far away / exotic.
Sorry if any of this sounds sanctimonious, it is not meant to. I just believe that if people thought for a second before sticking a pin in a map thousands of miles away, we would have more money driven into local tourism, less wasted fuel and less risk of knackering our planet.
I fully expect someone to come and shoot me down now on a technicality, or to say that because I ride bikes which are made of exotic materials I have no right to comment. I don't believe that. Surely *because* I ride bikes and travel around to ride them, I should be even more careful about reducing waste and unnecessary travel in other areas!
Dave 
) or Szklarska Poreba (MTB races/enduros aplenty).
