Friday 25 May 2012

Poland - best yet!

Poland - well, what can I say? It is a wonderful country; flat, gently rolling countryside perfect for cycling,dotted with small villages ... but what has struck us most of all, is the the people themselves. We have been shown such kindness and generosity on so many occasions. After a cold wet day we arrived at a small campsite just inside the Polish border at Giby.
There were no other campers except us, but the young couple who ran the place cooked us a lovely traditional Polish meal and I spent the evening playing uke while
the guy played guitar and sang.
In Stzabin, after an even colder and wetter day wa stayed at an Agrotoutistik hostel rather than camp. There the old lady, who owned the place, proudly showed us her visitor's book - of previous cycle tourists and others who had enjoyed her hospitality.


Over the next two days the weather completely changed, and so it was, hot and sweaty we arrived at a little supermarket in Lomza. We bought our provisions for the day but before w left the owner insisted on making us coffees and giving us cakes - he even offered to let Di shower and 'wash up'!
Down the road, four guys in a little garage, spent over an hour trying to weld my broken pannier rack, eventually succeeding by making a new bracket. 'How much'? I asked ... but they would accept no payment!
Two days later still with very hot weather and the sun beating down, we got to the village of Wierzbrno and couldn't find anywhere to put the tent up. I asked a young woman and her father, if we could stay in their garden. 'Of course ... that is no problem ...'
Soon her two adorable little children overcame their shyness and came to explore our tent. The lady (Aneta) made us coffees and a bowl of tomato soup, and her father sharpened my knife for me as I sat preparing our dinner. Her husband (Rafal) arrived home from work - probably surprised to find a tent in his garden! - and we all had our photos taken together. At 7.00am the next day the whole family got up and waved us goodbye.
And so it has gone on ... the Polish people have made this journey very special for us both.
At the moment we are in Kazimiertz Dolmy, beside the Vistula river, just south of Warsaw. It is a beautiful old village, but I fear it will soon become very 'touristy' once word gets around ... so DON'T tell anybody!

The campsite owner has thrown a party for all his camping 'guests' providing us with sausages, bread (and, for those of us who stayed up chatting with him around the fire, lots of vodka!!)

Krakow
A few days after leaving Kasimeirtz, we again found ourselves with nowhere to camp. Yet again, the first house I asked at invited us to set up our tent in their garden, ... and then to have a barbecue with them ... and then spend the rest of the evening inside the house with them having ice cream ... and of course, lots of vodka. Magda, the family's daughter was only visiting. She lives and works in Krakow - so, we have also been invited to go and stay with her for a few days when we arrive!!


It is a beautiful city and thanks to Magda who showed us around, we got to spend a few lovely days exploring. (And a bus ride out to the salt mines was amazing)


Monday 14 May 2012

Baltic States

We're here in Kaunas (Lithuania), in a nice hotel for two nights, preparing ourselves for the next stage of the journey - into the wilds of Poland. Before we leave though, here are a few impressions of our whistle-stop tour through the 'Baltic States'.
Estonia  is now a member of the Euro Zone and seems to be on the 'up' (at least for the time being ... lets see what happens to Greece) The people are lively and friendly and there seems to be something of a Scandinavian flavour especially in the North. We arrived in Tallinn early, on a freezing cold morning, beneath a steely grey sky, flecked with rain. It gave the impression that the old city was rather 'faded', but I'm sure that on a lovely summer's day it would be gorgeous.
The influence of Russia close by is still felt, but it seems that the country nowadays is very much 'looking towards the West'.
Latvia
too seemed to be quite vibrant but prices in Lati were cheaper than in Estonia. The coast road beside the Baltic was a delight ( especially to get away from the dreaded E67!)
The people once again were friendly, and eager to talk to us. Riga was beautiful. The "Old Town' was thriving with cafes restaurants and shops, open squares, and small parks, and had a real vibrant feel to it.

Lithuania
Lithuania appeared to be less prosperous it seemed, and the people much more reserved especially in the countryside, where we'd been waved at in Estonia and Latvia, here we barely get an acknowledgment. Having said that though, the hospitality shown to us was again, wonderful.

Kaunas is the country's 'second city', but it was nevertheless  an interesting place to visit. Both Rigs and Tallinn had the edge over it though.

All three Baltic States seem to be really trying to look to the future, and put the horrors of the 20th Century behind them. It is in contrast to the outlook of many in Britain, who didn't have to suffer the same oppression, and look back now to the 'good old days' when Britannia ruled the Waves.

Cycling.  All three, (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are pretty well flat. They are threaded by the E67 'Via Baltica', which is the chicken run for all the big trucks and other traffic hurtling between them. There's no cycle lane worth talking about (a 2m wide strip at the side of the main carriageway for a few sections, but mainly you are in there fighting for elbow room with the trucks ... ). We managed to avoid it for most of the way, but the minor roads are not always surfaced and so progress was quite slow. The main factor though is the wind. Much of the countryside is open farmland with little protection. If the wind is against then it's like cycling up Church Street all day ...


So, that's the Baltic States crossed. In two days we'll cross the border into NE Poland. We'll be out in the sticks for some time ...

Saturday 5 May 2012

On the road at last

Well, here we are on our next journey. Everything went smoothly on the flight to Stockholm, apart from the SAS baggage check-in staff, who couldn't get their heads around the fact that a cycle is a different shape to a suitcase and wont fit through their X-Ray machine.
Google's Street Map did it`s job once more and we found our way effortlessly for the 40k from the airport to our hostel.
It filled the bill as a place to sleep, and was equipped with shared showers and kitchen facilities and several Lithuanians. I perhaps made them wish the Iron Curtain was still intact when I played my ukulele.
Next day we had a look around Stockholm before heading out to the ferry port. It ticked all the boxes for `classic European City` ... impressive churches, elegant waterfront buildings, quaint `old quarter` ... etc, etc ; but somehow there was something missing? (I guess we`re not in Horwich any more Toto!)
The ferry (The Victoria) was large, with comfortable cabins, and being mid-week and out of season, relatively empty. We`d opted for the cheaper 4-person shared cabin (rather than a 2-berth to ourselves), but as it happened we were the only occupants. The Baltic was like a mill-pond and we woke up in Tallinn, relaxed and raring to go!
Overnight, the hot sunny weather we`d enjoyed in Stockholm left us, and it was cold and overcast with a fresh NE wind. (thankfully at our backs). We left the city and covered about 50k out into the sticks and then looked for a place to put our tent. On the outskirts of the tiny village of Hagudi, a few km off the beaten track, I asked at a door if we could put our tent up nearby (in sign language of course, cos even with the phrase written down my pronunciation of Estonian is nothing like how it should sound).

Two old ladies answered the door and insisted that it was too cold for us to camp, and that we should stay inside the house. We were shown a lovely warm room and were glad to take up their offer. In the evening once again I treated the people of the former Eastern Bloc, so long deprived access to modern western culture, to another ukulele recital.
Next day we were up and off by 7.00am. Again it was very cold although by lunch time the sun did come out and the afternoon was very pleasant weatherwise. That was the only pleasant part as we found ourselves battling down a seemingly interminable road through pine forest and open farmland. Heavy lorry after tanker after more trucks hurtled past us on our 0.5m wide cycle lane, for hour after hour. There was nothing for it but to grit our teeth and complete the 112k into Parnu. It was the longest day`s cycling we have done and when we arrived we were pretty well #/(%&)%)ed. The campsite was closed so, with the help of a young woman who I asked for directions, we found a cheap hostel. At only 20Eu for the pair of us, beach-front and with a sea-view it was marvelous.
The lady was friendly and welcoming and so we decided to have 2 nights here and look around the town.
Parnu reminds me of Morecambe. A faded seaside resort that was once, in its heyday, the height of chic, fell into decline, but which is now perhaps on the up again.
So, thats the story so far as `Day 4`. The cycle path follows beside the sea now for the next 150k and we ought to be in Latvia by tomorrow night. (and the sun has come out again ..... :-)