Category: Poland

ZAKOPANE, POLAND

Tuesday 29 September

We get up and pack up before going in to pay for our stay.  They tell us we can only pay with cash, but we don’t have very much and we are cranky they didn’t bother to tell us this when we arrived.  So we get our bikes back out of the van and head down the road in search of an atm.  Right beside where we found one is a bakery so maybe not so bad after all as we buy some bread for todays lunch and breakfasts.  We head back to the camp, pay and then head out of Krakow.  The Polish are nice people and more speak English (a little) than I thought would, but as it showed this morning, they may be able to speak a bit but don’t always understand what you are saying back to them – a bit like my French really.

It is a cold day and it takes a while to warm up this morning.  The temp is only about 11 degrees as we head south.  The last couple of nights have been much cooler – heading around 6 degrees.  It doesn’t take us long before we are close to Zakopane.  We stop at a McDonalds again for a coffee as the Polish ones all have a McCafe and their coffees are always good. Unfortunately there has been a bus load of teenagers pull up just before we did and it is crammed with them.  We head away south – with only 20 or so minutes to go.  The countryside here is interesting, obviously more mountainous than we have driven for a while and the houses are far larger and look more ski chalet type of places.  It is obviously a very popular place to either live or stay as there are a lot of places along the road as we drive in.  Poland has the most obtrusive advertising I have seen in any of all the countries we have been in so far.  You are absolutely bombarded by billboards and advertising everywhere.  There were quite a lot of countries where we never say any advertising at all, even McDonalds weren’t allowed to put up their big M showing where they were in a couple we were in.  Not so here, the bigger and brighter the better.

We missed the campground on the way in so decided to park in the centre and have a look around before finding it on our way back out.  We found a large carpark where the guy told us we could park all day for 15zlotys.  We asked if we could stay all night for that too and he said yes.  So we thought about what we would do as we strolled the town.

The Tatras behind Zakopane have a light smattering of snow on them at the moment which is why the temperature is very cool and on checking it is only about 8 degrees, but is getting down to 2 degrees tonight and 1 degree tomorrow night.  We don’t really want to wild camp without electricity as this means not having the heater on (I don’t like it on gas) and it is way too cold for that here.  The town reminds me a bit of Queenstown or maybe more of Arrowtown but is a much nicer place.  Queenstown has gotten too chintzy and has far too much Asian influence and commercialism which destroys the Kiwi uniqueness of it.  The town centre although still commercialised here with souvenirs all around and hiking shops a dime a dozen it still very cool and a great place to have a look around.  A lot of the food places are selling mulled wine – my absolute favourite so we have to sit and have a couple of them to see how good they are.  I think my Jamie Oliver recipe is better but it is still rather nice to have on such a cool afternoon.  I manage to find a pair of inexpensive water proof hiking boots (I had to leave mine at home) which are made in Italy supposedly which I must check on and see if the truth prevailed.  We decided that if we can get electricity then we will stay in the carpark we are in for the night and save a bit of money, and we find an electrical point outside a business, so this is it for the night.  We just have to have our power out well before 9am and move the van over a bit so no one knows we camped here the night, not that I think anyone would care really.

Tomorrow the weather isn’t supposed to be good, but we will see.  If it isn’t so good we may not go for the hike up the valley, but may stay an extra day and do it Thursday when it is supposed to be a very sunny day. At 10pm we were fortunate enough to time a quick call to Nedra & Kev in NZ as we have skype where we can call landlines for 3 cents a minute and it was early morning. . So as we can we will call family over the next few days but time difference and connectivity will have to be taken in to account.  We were chatting to Gina our niece when somewhere in Zakopane there was a huge boom like a bomb going off but have no idea what it was and no sirens so we are still guessing. Even Gina heard it over the phone and said what the heck was that!  Anyway we managed to get to sleep but as is usual sleeping in a non camping area you never truly settle.

Wednesday

It was very cold when we woke up and probably near 0c. We moved the van away from our power source so we don’t upset any apple carts and head into the village after brekky. It only managed to reach 4c today so well and truly rugged up-gloves and beanies. Because of the inclement weather we decide to do the hike tomorrow but decide to ride the cable car up the mountain (but a small one) and then walk a couple of ks and come down the ski lift. After a satisfying coffee and cake at a very warm café we get some bread buns to make lunch for today and tomorrow and a couple of beers for later. The trip up the slope was quite quick and I suppose we could have walked it if we had known but we want to save our energy for tomorrow anyway. Out of the cable car and the temp seems to have dropped a bit so we walk down another road of vendors selling the same wares and food as in the village, bloody hell a hard sell today. The funny thing is we are noticing that though it is cold and coming on to winter they are all selling these pastry/doughnut/roll type thing that you eat cold and supposably don’t have any filling. There are literally dozens of the stalls but no one really eating them. The potato pancakes however in town are doing a roaring trade  I had some in Stegna which were divine, these are ok but not as good) Boy what I would give for a Redcliffe Banjos meat pie!! Which reminds me that I haven’t had any lamb or beef for about 3 months you just cant get it. We were in a Tesco shopping mall, and remembering all the export lamb we sent there when I worked at the meat works, surely I could find a lamb chop? Nothing, not even a sausage. Oh well chicken and fish, thank god Vicki likes these. I live in hope but reckon I will just have to have more smallgoods which I must say Europeans excel at. Anyway as we were walking it started to lightly snow which was so cool especially for someone like me from Whanganui probably not so much for Vicki from Dunedin( even though adores the snow) but though light it was a wonderful experience. From up here the view was incredible and it really is a beautiful and natural valley so we can appreciate why it is very popular all year round. We stopped at what we thought was our ski lift down and had our bread rolls while mesmerised by the vista below us that had similarities with parts of the NZ south island. As the temp bit even though the sun came out it was time for a hot wine so went into a little kiosk and indulged. This has become a slight routine as cold beer or wine doesn’t quite cut it. We went to put our tickets to go on the ski lift down but told our one was a km up the road so off we went. There are lots of new buildings going up here, chalet types that are quite large so maybe business ventures and holiday homes most in the traditional log cabin style but far from rustic. We stopped and chatted to a few woolly local sheep (with horns) and tried to entice them with some luscious side road grass but maybe they suspected we were kiwis and our advances were suspicious. No you aussies I did not spot Baaaarbara!( though the funniest thing I saw a beer from Poland with an emu and kangaroo crest on it but didn’t buy it cos I figured it was a Fosters copy) Our ski lift happened to be the old style open chairs not the previous 4 berth covered Rolls Royce type so jumped on but surprisingly it was nice slow journey down the ‘mountain’ through and over people’s back yards which took probably 3 x longer than the ‘rich man’s lift’ so in the end it was great as we got to see for miles around. We trekked back into town via the main road in and turned off to find the old town but not quite what we were expecting to find so went back to the main area. We picked up some fresh tomatoes and raspberries ( they sell forest mushrooms which we are tempted to try them but look funny though probably ok we just cant get over the fear of ‘tripping off’ somewhere though they do sell them on the side of the road in the forests. Even when we were going through Birkenau there were mushrooms in the paddocks but at least they looked like the ones in NZ.) and took them back to the van as everything here is quite close then went in search of our favourite hot wine seller. Two hot wines each($2aud for 300ml) and the night air was approaching 0 so thought best to get the van warm and have some green curry for tea for a change. Funny though we add to it and it just gets tastier.

We arrived back to our van and as it is after 6 we backed the van back into last nite’s position and hook up the electricity. We tend to keep the lights low so as not to draw any attention to us till it settles down but tonite a large van parked right next to us. Fortunately I spot stickers in the side window its ok just another fellow traveller. We are neighbourly so say hello as safety & solidarity in numbers. They are Hungarians and speak a little English but they are off for some dinner so we will catch in the morning as they are off to Krakow so maybe we will be able to swap info if we can understand each other. Vicki is tallying receipts, seems you can take the accountant out of Australia but…. Haha.  Will sleep easier tonite with our new neighbours flying shotgun.

Thursday 1 October

No strange happenings overnight but we need to get up earlyish so we can get to the bus to take us to Kiry and a day of hiking.  The buses here are all private and they are mostly mini buses.  You can take them wherever you need to go but you need to be careful because you never know exactly where they are going to take you in the town.  Looking out of the van the cars around us have thick frost on them and it is really cold outside, but a beautiful clear sky.  I check the temperature on the internet and it says it is -1 and it is 8 o’clock, so I figure it was probably -2 or -3 overnight.  No wonder it got cold out of bed in the van.  The Hungarian couple who parked up beside us came and said goodbye and I was quite humbled by Robert who gave us his phone number and that of his daughters in Budapest and said his was an open home and we were very welcome at any time.  And they have a festival in his home town in a few weeks that he said we should come for.  How lovely.  We say it often about the lovely people we have met on our journey.  I said to Scot I reckoned it was because I told him to go out and say hello and find out who our neighbours were when they pulled up, which a lot of people don’t do, but I like to know where they are from and chat to them about their country.

It costs 10zloty to get to Kiry – about $4 for the two of us.  Before we left, I had asked a tourist office lady if the track was easy to follow (thinking of NZ or Aust wilderness hikes) and she said yes.  I then wondered whether I should tell someone we are out hiking so if anything happens and we don’t return they will send out someone to look for us.  I had thought of the guy at the car park where the van is, but in the end I don’t do anything about it.  And I thought I was being reasonable.  However when we get off the mini bus in Kiry, it is a major stop for those hiking and there are souvenir places all around and as we look down the path we are going on down the valley between the Tatras we see a couple of hundred people already heading down on the path.  Also the path is not the track I had envisioned, it is a stony road wide enough for a good sized vehicle – so much for my theory on getting lost and the wilderness!  There are horse and carts waiting to take those who feel that the 12-14km hike is too far for them to walk.

We head off passing a couple of large school student groups which we are pleased to leave behind so we may get a little bit of peace and quiet and the sound of the wilderness as we walk the track.  The road takes us along the side of a river and it is very peaceful with only the odd couple of hikers passing us or us them from either direction.  As we look up, the rocky faces of the outer Tatras loom out of the trees and they are a sight to behold.  It is very cool though even though the sky is cloudless, it would be about 4 degrees in the shade.  There is frost on the grass and the puddles are frozen along the side of the road.  There are many different paths you can take along this route, but we have decided on the easier one that will take about 2 hours each way.  Some of the paths take you up along the rocky ridges where you can look down along the valley which would be a beautiful sight but we will save that for another day perhaps.

I am disappointed (but my knee is probably grateful) that the path isn’t more rugged and not so civilised but that’s ok.  It is probably the best day we have spent in Europe getting back to nature and we love it.  It would be nice to do more of this when we get to Austria and Switzerland.  We reach the half way point and it seems like it was a short walk.  We had a few horse and carts trot past us.  The second part has a bit of up hill and we are getting a little higher into the hills.  We both joke about having a nice coffee at the end of the track but when we arrive there, there are already 30 odd people there and in the middle of nowhere there is a large café and a hostel kind of place.  So a coffee it is – even if it is a primitive old fashioned one.  I don’t know if I would like the job of any of the workers having to walk in and out each day but I guess it would keep you fit –unless they have a motorbike.

Next to arrive are the big groups of students and the little peace there was, is completely gone.  The path heads away from this spot onto another 4hour hike and although we aren’t doing that one we walk a little way to see if we can see further into the valley.  This track gets a little back to a wilderness style of track as I doubt many continue on this path.

We head back to Kiry, trying to stay away from the large groups so we can again capture that peaceful nature sound and stop occasionally along the river side.  We stop for a seat at the halfway mark and eat our bread rolls Scot made that morning.  As we sit there he sees some people partway up a rocky ridge quite high up.  Looks like a bit of a harrowing pathway.

When we get back to Kiry we look for the bus we need to take.  There are several there with Zakopane signs on and a couple that drive past.  We have no idea which one to take so we just get on one of them.  We know it is going somewhere near where we want to go, but we don’t know just exactly where.  It drives via a different route we got there on and we start to wonder if it going where we want to go – and no its not.  It is going to the other end of the town which is a 20 minute walk that we hadn’t intended to do.  It’s not all bad as we now get to walk past the shop with the bread rolls and can buy some more and we walk past the better of the mulled wine cafes and stop for 2 drinks each.  It was difficult to get up and leave as we were tired, but we have to find a camp for the night which we know is on the outskirts of town – or find a porta toilet to empty ours into and go back to the carpark.  We had seen a sign in the town for a campsite closer in but when we investigated there was nothing there.  I wish they would remove signs when they were no longer relevant.  In Poland you are totally and completely bombarded with advertising billboards.  They are just incredible and I am wondering whether they just get left up even when they are no longer applicable.  We head out of town to the campsite we know is still open.  It is about 4kms out and we were going to have tea in town but it will be too far now.  We arrive at the camp and after we had paid a Dutch couple pull up.  Its always funny when this happens and we get chatting and the owners of the camp are standing by patiently waiting for them to check in so they can get on with their business.  It was very worthwhile talking to this couple though as it often is, since they are also driving into Slovakia tomorrow and on to Austria.  We have asked them which way they are going as it is by the mountains and I think one way is good and the other not so good.  They stop by in the morning before leaving and tell us the best way to go which is great.  Now I am not so afraid of getting the bad mountainous road.  We eat out as a treat at a nearby restaurant and have pizza and Greek salad.  They don’t have wine which I am peeved about so I have to have a beer.  After I am nearly falling asleep so it is a very early night for us – all that fresh air has tuckered both of us out.  Tomorrow off to Slovakia our 15th country.

 

KRAKOW and AUSCHWITZ

With the rain coming down we leave the camp but checked the toilet/water dump from last nite to check for floaters but all ok. It is a 2-3 hour trip so not too far and careful in the rain. We found the camp quite easily which is new and sort of part of the Hotel complex. It was still raining so quickly set up after checking and watching a wedding reception going in for their celebrations. We are pretty much the only ones here. I have checked out the bar so am going to see if polish tv has the rugby on as unfortunately the van reception is nil. I made a green Thai curry but got a bit heavy handed so quite hot which Vicki can’t handle so now I am cooking extra veges and adding coconut milk to ‘cool’ it down. Now we have enough for 3 nites. I walk over to see if the game is on at 6pm but only volleyball but have a beer anyway. Then back to the van for tea and a beer. Then at 9pm back to the bar and see if the other game is on but no luck but what the heck better have another quality Polish beer and had a nice chat to the young bar lady. She is studying Theology so quite fascinating trying to find out what job comes at the end of study. Vicki is still sick so a quiet nite for her.

Next morning the weather was sunny and reasonably warm so started walking the 3ks into Krakow but a little bit down the road we went back and got the bikes as it is much quicker but until you start walking it is hard to judge if biking is feasible. Oh for bikeways like Belgium & Holland where bike is king. However the bike lane here quite quickly went down to the Danube for a picturesque ride into the city. We locked up the bikes, again not bike friendly, very little racks. We wandered the streets but priority was an ATM and a place to get a sim card as our first Polish one only lasted 5 days and it ran out while we were in Czech rep. We had to go to the new shopping plaza which is so out of place in the old town. We got what we wanted and did some exploring of this old town which is similar to the others but has a green park surrounding the whole city which is quite unique. Around 2.30 we sussed out a bar that had the rugby on(you can see a pattern here of my priorities) and though the Wallaby game was on it was the next game we were going to watch. Trouble was it was live streamed so not a great picture. We walked around a bit more and sat in the square in the sun and I had a Polish sausage & beer and Vicki had a hot mulled wine. We started to chat to a Polish lady(her grandmother survived the war as even though she was on the list to go to the camps the grandfather, being a cobbler, persuaded the person to take her off the list in exchange for making shoes for them as of course they were in very short supply. Such a fine line between life & death) and asked her a few questions about what we should see and she recommended Zakopane which is south nestled under the Tatra Mountains and is meant to be very stunning with lots of walks and sightseeing. We were not sure whether to take the van or bus or train for a day trip so had to do some research. We said our goodbyes and made our way back to the bar but did stop on the way to see some very clever young men busking a great break dance and singing routine which was entertaining. We got to the bar but they had moved the game to the back room tv where a bunch of Scots and one pom were watching. The picture was really poor so everybody decided to do to the English Football pub down the road for the second half. We were invited along so went into this amazing underground cellar like catacombs with about 6 rooms for different viewing. We ended up watching the first half again as they couldn’t find the 2nd half live on the telly then found out there was no 2nd half for that channel. What a balls up but we had a great time chatting to the guys. They were over on a bucks nite as one of the guys was marrying a German. The poor pommy was getting hell from the Scots for losing to Wales so of course we were digging in that the Aussies will beat them as well and they will be out of the cup. We could have stayed longer but they were going for pizza and Vicki has a long memory regarding the last time I started drinking with Brits in Riga so prudent that we left.  It was getting a bit dark so went home and had an early nite as we had to be up early the next morning to be collected to go to Auschwitz & Birkenau for our tour. Not sure what to expect tomorrow but sort of looking forward to it but how can you ‘look forward’ to something as horrible as this.

We were collected on time, 20 of us in a minibus for the 1/1/2 hour trip to first Auschwitz then a short drive to Birkenau. We had only just got underway when the guy (about 35-40) next to Vicki (they were in the back row) said to the chap next to me one row ahead that he was going to be sick and pass him a bag! The guy next to me who happened to be his dad sort of ignored him so he asked again then took some food and fruit out of a plastic back and proceeded to vomit into the bag, Great way to start the day, needless to say dad was not impressed. I ended up getting the bus driver to stop and the guy ended up sitting with the driver up the front. He blamed it on being bounced around in the back but I get the feeling it was alcohol related from the nite before as dad was not impressed.

We parked at Auschwitz amongst other vans and buses and met our guide. It is all pretty rushed as there are lots of groups all having to follow each other in sequence so they can’t stuff around. Well Murphy’s law stepped in and they wouldn’t let Vicki’s bag through.  They do advise you that you can only take a small bag 30x20x10 in but we determined that Vicki’s handbag was no larger than that.  The lady on the metal detector (yes they put you through one, although we have absolutely no idea why) took a dislike to Vicki and she had to take her bag back out to the bus driver and get him to lock it back up in the van.  Not a good thing as it had our passports and important documents in.  They did let my bag in which was actually the same size or slightly bigger – go figure.  The tour group hardly waited for Vicki to come back before they had taken off.  We all got headphones and a receiver box to hear our guide.  He had a hilarious way of talking – a bit like the guy off Believe it or not where he would almost whisper his final word in each sentence.  Auschwitz is a sombre and hard to describe place but it was a bit like walking around an old prison with the razor wire and brick buildings. Everything is pretty much unchanged but you only get to see through a few places and not a lot of time as the other groups are behind you all the time. There were rooms with items collected from Jews by the Nazis as they were delivered to the camp. They were told to bring all they could as they were going to be rehoused in other places. Unfortunately the showers were gas chambers and so all their belongings were warehoused and sent to be reused. For example their hair was all shaved off before they were murdered and made into textiles and goods for the war effort. However in one room there was enclosed two ton of hair that hadn’t been used (out of 8 ton still there) just huge mounds of hair. There were also rooms with thousands of children’s shoes and another with thousands of adults shoes. There were Combs and brushes, shoe polish and even suitcases with names still on them. Words can’t describe the feeling looking at them but have a look at the attached pics. There was one area in the basement where 4 people would be put in  a 1 x 1m cell with no windows where they had to crawl in through a little hatch and live for weeks or until they died as a punishment.  Just unbelievable.  And yet these activities took an amazing lot of clever planning and money raising. We saw where they shot people and also where they hung them up by  their arms that were tied behind their backs till their shoulders dislocated. There was a reconstructed crematorium that still had the original equipment plus the gas chamber where they dropped the pellets through the roof and could take hours to die. The problem was they couldn’t burn them quick enough. The area was declared a monument in 1947 and has been open to visitors since.

Whereas the enclosed area of Auschwitz is small, Birkenau is around 200 hectares and though a lot of the long huts are gone the remains of a number of the brick buildings are standing but unfortunately they are sinking into the ground due to the high water table but these are being restored. The government own the area but admission is free (but you pay to go on a guided tour) but upkeep is by funding methods. The remains of the two huge crematoriums are still there after the Nazis tried to remove the evidence by burning and blowing them up but they ran out of time. It still amazes me how the Nazis were so dumb to think they could get rid of the evidence. It would have been hard enough to physically remove things but they were fastidious documenters and wrote everything down. However some were clever enough to remove themselves to other countries before the collapse or just after but many were tried and executed.

As you enter the site you can follow the railway line where all the jews and other prisoners were bought in then unloaded and with the whim of one nazi it was to the left if you were old, infirm, disabled, pregnant, a child or unfit to work which meant a walk straight to the gas chambers or to the right if you were fit to work. The hut living quarters were primitive to say the least and I would hate to know what it was like in the winter. This part of the tour wasn’t as depressing as Auschwitz but probably due to the openness and size of Birkenau it is hard to gauge how it must have been. I can see why this has become a pilgrimage for so many to witness the greatest extermination in the known world history. Supposedly it is to make sure it never happens again but what I see in the world today I don’t have much hope.  The guide said that Auschwitz was the better camp and it was considered a punishment if you were to be sent to Birkenau.  When you see the difference between the two you can understand why.  The bunk rooms in Auschwitz were inside brick buildings and the Birkenau bunk rooms were unlined timber with cobbled floors and rooves.  Nothing would have been air tight and I can’t begin to imagine what it would have been like in winter.  They housed many hundreds of people in each building that should reasonably only hold maybe a hundred at the most.  The soldiers looking after the prisoners also had to live in the same conditions the prisoners did at Birkenau.

We got back to camp around midday, had a small nap-Vicki still had a migraine that she just can’t seem to shake- & rolls that we had made in the morning but didn’t  have, somehow didn’t feel like eating, and biked into town to have a look around the main feature here the large castle and church that is surrounded by high walls. It is a great view over the Danube over to the new city so after a look around we sat and had a drink and fruit tart at one of the restaurants and enjoyed the vista. Prices are very good here so you feel you are getting value for money. We wandered back into the old town to see if we had missed anything but not really so had a mulled wine in the square, somehow managed to get a free beer yeehaa, then biked back to camp. Altogether quite a busy two days and a bit emotional at times. We will look back at Krakow as a quite a nice place but I think the feeling is that it was too close to us being in Prague and that has spoilt the experience a bit as Prague was awesome on many levels. Plus, for me, I have always thought of Krakow in a negative sort of light because of the camps and war history but really I would say it is well worth the visit especially as we didn’t go to Warsaw.

We have decided not to stay a third day as we thought and we are going to drive south  to Zakopane a popular holiday, winter sport and hiking destination. We hope to do a small excursion up the valley and get a hike in but we will be a bit limited to distance as we hear it can be challenging but still want to experience the wild mountain scenery. It is on the way to Slovakia which is on the other side of the Tatra Mountains, which like the Czech Rep, seems to be a friendly & peaceful country that punches above it’s weight and also has beautiful scenery and is small enough to experience a lot in a short time. We are aware of the weather starting to cool and still have Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to see before heading to the slightly warmer climes of Greece hopefully seeing a bit of Italy and Croatia on the way.

CESKY KRUMLOV, CZECH REPUBLIC

Wednesday 23rd September

We head down though all the lovely little towns towards Cesky Krumlov which we had heard was a great place to see.  The Czech Republic is a really lovely country scenery wise.  We love driving off the highways here as the roads aren’t too bad and the towns are great to drive through. This proved the case when we spotted a large castle in the hills and when I saw the sign for it plus a motorcycle museum we quickly turned off as often we hesitate and miss out. After forking out 150K to park- rogueing buggers- we walked up the hill to the castle, no mean feat for Vicki as the cup of concrete hadn’t worked much but she is one to soldier on. It was a grey day rain holding off but we decided not to pay up to $40aud to look inside so walked around it instead. We came upon an enclosure in the moat where a rare black bear resides. It was really a horrible place and filthy with a water pond that was nearly empty and green. No trees or grass. The pictures near it showed what it was like probably ages ago but nothing like it now. The bear was in his little hideaway and we heard a comment from a guide that she hadn’t seen it move out for weeks. It is so cruel and we were both really sickened. Other tourists were going on how ‘cute’ it all was and we were saying it was disgusting and the castle should be ashamed of themselves. Not sure what they thought of that. Anyway we took photos and am seriously considering sending them to WWF or similar.

I couldn’t wait to leave so headed down to the bike museum. After thinking it was closed we went around to the hotel entrance and a young girl let us in so I had a look around the bikes on my own. This is one of the best Jawa (they are Czech built) collections around and had some really neat bikes including speedway solos and legends of the sport including NZ’s own Barry Briggs & Ivan Mauger. As I had read Barry Briggs Autobiograpy when we had to fly back to NZ in June I found it very interesting.  We were chatting to the girl about travelling etc when the owner arrived and of course he wanted to show me around and we chatted about speedway and bikes & NZ & Aussie racing which was a treat. In hindsight I wish I had asked him more questions and learnt more even with his limited English. And we didn’t get charged so bonus there. We had a coffee before taking off to Cesky Krumlov. But I didn’t buy a bikeT shirt he had for sale as they were in red which is not really a colour I wear. Bugger.

We were a little late arriving in town here since we had left Prague a bit late and it is quite a distance to drive, along with the stop.  There were a couple of places we could park up which we checked out.  Both looked quite dreadful and rundown derelict places so we decided we weren’t staying there.  We went out of town a bit to a campsite called Camping Paradijs – and we though yeah right sure it is.  It was 6km out of town and on a little river in the middle of nowhere really.  When we pulled in, they had the most beautiful gardens and what a lovely place it was.  They were entitled to call it what they did.

We chatted to the owner who understood a little English and with a few handsignals we parked in a secluded garden area on our own. The owners are very friendly which makes a nice change from some as you get the impression that they don’t want to help. Again we got great tv reception and we watched NZ play Namibia. Also there is a great retro channel playing music videos. So a few beers and a turkey meal in bed watching tv –heaven after reading a thousand books.

The camp is in a valley surrounded by forests with a river running through and it is indeed paradise. There are heaps of apple trees, raspberry vines and colourful flower beds. We reluctantly drove into the town next morning all packed up in case we do not decide to go back to Camp Paradijse (6 kms to far for us to bike on very busy & hilly roads) and start to explore this quaint and obviously busy tourist stopover. After our obligatory stop at practically the first café we see for a coffee and apple strudel (which reminded us of Holland) we explored another fantastic old town with architecture we just can’t get enough of so old and sometimes derelict but functional and full of charm. Vicki bought a bright orange T shirt and I am still on the lookout for a bike or beer one.

We had to go back to put more $$ in the parking for the van and sometimes you do not know how much to put in as it is a foreign language so better to side on less to start. We quickly made a sandwich on the run then headed back to town this time heading to the castle. We meandered our way through the enclosed walls dodging bloody tourists ( we never cease to be amazed how the guides just stop in the middle of the main thoroughfare to deliver their spiel and stuff everybody else) Again we saw an enclosure with two bears this time that seemed a hell of a lot better off than the lone one from the day before but still very sad and listless but at least these ones had fresh water and a bit of green. I would love to put the powers that be in their place for a week and see what they thought! The view from up here was brilliant and I have some great views to kick-start my art career. I had a quick ale costing a $ and then walked back down. I was keen on visiting the Eggenburg brewery but couldn’t find the map to it so walked around the river (which is a little like a small scale Brisy) only to find it closed for renovation. Duhh!  I wanted a refreshing ale but since we had done extra miles for nothing best to be prudent and not. Then we were running out of time and we still hadn’t seen the last bit of the old town but due to the extended walk etc  etc had to get back the van. Vicki was feeling pretty low by now so we headed back to camp early doing a shop on the way. I felt a bit bad as there was a bit of crossed wires but it allowed us to get our washing done and relax down by the river so peace was restored. As we reflected we toasted some canoeists floating down the river and thought how lucky are we. The camp lady washed and dried our washing for us which was lovely and the owners sister Maria who looks after the garden let Vicki pick a large bowl of fresh raspberries and didn’t want anything for them. Along with a handful of gooseberries and fallen apples we felt very privileged and it definitely lived up to the title of Camp Paradisje.

As we left at 10.30 which is quite good for us (read Scot) we decided to push on and make a good fist of getting close to Krakow as we had booked in for a day tour of Auschwitz. Our first stop was a small picturesque village called Telc which after parking found the obligatory market square where, even though we wanted coffee but ended up with soup where my Goulash was ok but Vicki’s chicken soup was ordinary. It was a shame as we walked around the square there were some quaint cafes. Just goes to show when will we learn not to go to the first one you see.

On the road again and a long drive today but finally ended up (7pm) at a very clean and quiet camp and we think they didn’t charge correct but we weren’t complaining. The drive was a mix of highways and country roads. It is funny but no matter how much you plan, and the tablet is a crucial navigating device, just when you need direction the most , yes that road is closed off and quickly please find an alternative route before the truck runs us off the road. But again the countryside is so unique and we love not being on the motorway. Luckily the roads are in great order and we cruise through small villages and wonder at the life they lead and what they do. Much too soon we are back on the main road  but as it is getting dark , beats cruising, and it is dark as Vicki miraculously finds our stop. The lady speaks English at the camp but not enough to find out where to empty the toilet, so I go and ask and she says ‘I think it is here’. It is dark and raining and we really have to empty it if we want to use it so I empty it into the sink where I figure it is(no signs anywhere) and wonder why it is not going anywhere except on my feet.  Then I see the hole in the ground and have a Homer moment. Shit I have emptied it in the fresh water fill up. So I quickly go back to the van and get a paper coffee cup and empty out the sink hoping the toilet paper has dissolved enough. Thank god no one crapped in it and I had to dig out a turd. However next morning all looked ok. Lesson 101 leave this stuff till daylight and thank god men do it and stuff it up.

 

PANERIAI AND ONTO POLAND

Monday 14 September

We pack up the van and switch the fridge to battery, of which there is little power left, but we hope there is enough to keep the food cool until we get to a campsite to power up again.

We head out of Vilnius city.  A lovely place and was absolutely worth visiting.

We head south to a little village called Paneriai which is where the Nazi’s did most of their killing of the Lithuanian jews plus some Russians and others they wanted to exterminate numbers around the 100,000 but no one really knows exactly how many people died.  This village is only about 10kms out of the city centre and when you stop here you can understand why they used this place.  It is on the train line, far enough from the city, but in the middle of a large wooded area.  We had to park at the train station and walk about 1km to the memorial. There are about 5 pits that they used to kill the people and a pit for burning the bodies when eventually they decided they needed to hide the evidence.

We hadn’t realised but the museum here was closed on a Monday, but that was ok as we could walk around the pits without any other tourists there, it was just us and that made it very real.  It had that same eerie feeling where you felt like you had to look behind you just in case you were the next one to go into the pit.  Sounds weird, but although I want to see these places as they represent what happened and the history that I am interested in learning about, I feel I want to run away from this place when we arrive.  In a forest like this you would normally hear birds or other noises, but this place was silent.  There were no birds or other animals and there was no beauty.  Fear, horror, terror is what I feel here.

As we head south out of Lithuania, I think of all the little things we observed in the Baltic countries that were different.  Cows are not enclosed in paddocks they are chained to spikes in the ground like we do to dogs at picnics, quite funny really.  Lithuanians are particularly keen gardeners and you see their little gardens often in a community area away from the houses and then you see them on the side of the roads selling their produce to make a few bucks.  Cats rule here, they are everywhere and dogs would be scared.  The Baltic cities are all amazing and well worth the trip to see them.  Lithuania would be my favourite for countryside.  Farming is huge in Lithuania and people try to keep their yards looking nice even if their houses are quite run down on the outside.  We think the freedom that people feel here since the occupation finished is very palpable and shows in all that they do.  In the whole of the Baltic countries we didn’t experience road rage in a huge way nor that many problematic drivers as we had been lead to believe.  We would come back here in a heartbeat.

We drive south over the border into Poland and see similar little plots of peoples gardens they are tending to and it looks like a neat country similar to Lithuania.  We know we aren’t going to be able to get too far so we stop in a town called Augustow which is on a lake.  We pull into the marina and talk to the guy.  We didn’t have any Polish zlotys and we had not known what the exchange rate was so the guy wanted to charge us 60zlotys but he said he would take 25euro.  What we didn’t know was the exchange rate between the two currencies meant he charged us double euro which we paid as we didn’t have anything else….bastard taking advantage like that.

Anyway as per normal we were the only ones at the marina staying and they had to give us our own key to the handicapped toilet and shower.  Although they told us they had wifi it wouldn’t work for us – so what’s new.

In the morning before we took off I had made the decision that we needed to go into the town and find the information centre and buy a sim for Poland so that at least we could find places to stay – freebies preferably and of course some zlotys.  So we biked into the town and what a lovely town it was – the small kind that I really like as they are more personal.  We found an ATM, got money and then found a T-Mobile.  5 zloty it cost for a sim for the tablet for 1GB – $2aud, so cheap.  We had a bit of a look around and then had a coffee at a lovely café recommended by the information place staff.  We biked back to the marina and packed up the van and headed out of town.  Driving out confirmed what a lovely place it was – the kind you just want to spend a bit more time having a look around but unfortunately we don’t have the time.  Whilst we had been parked in the marina we had looked at the front tyres and they didn’t seem to be wearing well and one front tyre was ridged and worn badly so we determined that once we got to Gdansk we would find a tyre place and replace both front tyres.  In Belgium they reckoned we would get another 10-15,000 miles out of them and we had already done 8,000 miles – 13,000 kms so it was worth getting them done.

We hit the road – we had about 390kms of highway to drive before we got to Gdansk so it would be a long drive.  We arrived in a little settlement out of Gdansk called Stegna which is right on the beach but also surrounded by forest.  The forest goes right up to the beach dunes.  The campground was lovely and the owner couldn’t have been more helpful to us.  We stayed two nights and we did our washing and went to the beach and Scot had a swim – of course (in the Baltic sea).  The beach, unlike Scandinavia was very clean and there were lots of birds and shells showing an abundance of sea life.  There were a few people around on the beach sun bathing but no one was swimming as the sea was a bit cold.  We had a coffee and then biked into the little town of Stegna which was very small.  We got some fresh berries and vowed to come back and get some of the farm veges on our way out.  We got the lady of the camp to phone the tyre place 45 minutes drive away to see if they could fit us in the following day on our way out which was fine by them.  There were a lot of stray cats at this camp which seemed to get their food from the campers who felt sorry for them.  They were quite skittish and didn’t want patting but were happy to receive any scraps we had.  Washing finished, bed remade, ironing done (yes I bought a travel iron and I iron my pillow slips and hankies)  we had tea and an early night.

We got up quite early and had a walk along the beach which was so nice.  This is our last seaside walk for a while as we will be inland for a while.  We headed off for the tyre place just outside of Gdansk.  When we got out of the van when we pulled up our tyres were pointing outward and I saw the inside of one side and metal threads were all sticking out of the inside of the tyre.  I nearly died of fright.  Here we were travelling at highway speed for 390kms two days ago and had that tyre blown we would not have survived.  My god we have some amazing angel looking over us.  The other tyre was just as dreadful.  They guy in the tyre place was a bit shocked I think, but they had worn where we couldn’t see them and we had done the right thing by making a decision to replace them when we thought they weren’t that bad.  Anyway we sat for about 3 hours whilst they put new tyres on, did an alignment and we also got them to change the oil and filter since it was nearly at 10,000 miles.

It was late when we got back on the road so we didn’t make it very far and stopped for the night at Znin.  We went to a campground – empty as usual – but it was such a half star place.  The kitchen was out of the 60’s and the showers and toilets were unbelievable, but you deal with what they have and it’s only one night.  The surrounds were old and quite run down as well.

The next day we decided we would drive over to Germany and find a camper store and see if they had a van hinge to replace our broken one.  I had found a store that looked quite good, so we headed over west to Frandfurt an der Oder.  It took most of the day as the roads are quite slow.  Poland is a very pretty country with lovely treed countryside and cute villages.  A little run down in a lot of places but still a lovely country.  We found out that the road rules in Poland aren’t followed too well.  On roads with a single lane each way and a small side area for pulling over vehicles are expected to drive in the pull over lane so others can pass when cars are coming towards them.  And if the car passing can’t fit in their own lane the vehicle coming towards them has to pull right over in their side lane so all 3 vehicles can fit side by side.  We watched as huge trucks would overtake someone not caring if cars were coming the other way or not.  Hilarious for us watching, but not so when all of a sudden you are confronted with a truck coming toward you and you are expected to pull over as far as you can out of their way, but that is how they drive and you either play the game or lose!  On the highways heading out of Poland there were heaps of young girls in skimpy gear standing on the side of the road either near truck stops or in areas that trucks could pull over.  We called them the truck roots on the truck routes.  There were heaps of them and I guess because there are literally thousands of trucks that pass each day they are bound to make enough money to live on.  You can tell that Europe moves most of it’s products by truck rather than train as there are just so many of them.

We arrived at the German camper shop in the late afternoon and asked about hinges.  The guy really wasn’t’ interested in helping us, it was late Friday afternoon and he really couldn’t be bothered with us which was a pity as we had travelled a long way, but they had nothing at all.  We left feeling very disappointed.

We then had to find somewhere for the night so we travelled down a bit further south in Germany.

We needed to stop at a supermarket and as we drove through this small town I commented to Scot that it looked very ethnic, quite unlike Germany. We saw a supermarket beside a McDonalds so we pulled into the car park and had a look around us.  We realised that in the small wooded area beside this shopping centre there was a group of maybe 40 refugees living there.  They were sitting and walking all through the car park and were looking very ominous.  In amongst the pristine countryside of Germany these refugees had accumulated the most disgusting pile of rubbish strewn everywhere in the wood (There were rubbish bins not being used).  I was horrified.  Here these people are wanting to be given a new life in a new country and they treat it with such disrespect and contempt.  A lot of the guys had phones, were smoking and drinking and obviously were having McDonalds.  If they are so hard done by then how come they can afford these things I ask.  For me they deserve everything they get if this is how they are going to treat Europe for trying to help them.  I would march along with all the others that have around Europe in protest about them coming into Europe.  I think they should send them back, the bunch of complete ungrateful assholes!!   28 European states are looking at housing 120,000 refugees yet this is only 20 days worth of immigrants.  Funny enough, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and one other don’t want to help because they have no muslim population.  They can only see problems.  Several of the countries have already put in border controls and Hungary has built a fence.  It is not good and as we get nearer the problem areas we aren’t sure what we will be confronted with.  There has been rioting etc, so is definitely a concern for us.

We drove straight out of this carpark after locking our doors and drove onto a camp ground.  They were closed for the night and the gate was closed so we camped outside in the car park for the night for free.

Saturday 19 September

We were up the next morning and headed out early before anyone in the camp ground woke up.  They couldn’t do anything about us anyway as we had arrived late and it wasn’t our fault we had to stay outside for the night.  We were undecided where we should go next and initially decided we would drive towards Krakow.  We got on this road that took us into Poland but the surface was so dreadful we thought it would shake the van to pieces.  There was no other road to travel on and we went probably 60kms on this horrendous road – see pictures below.  We stopped about midday at McDonalds McCafe for a coffee and at that point we decided we wouldn’t go to Krakow – we would go into Czech Republic first and then go back up into Poland after doing this country.  Poland is so big we can’t do all of it.  So we headed slightly back the way we came and down into the Czech Republic.

It is a lot hillier in this country and for the first time we headed up and down windy hills.  It is very pretty countryside here.  We had to buy a vignette on the way in.  This is a sticker for your windscreen which pays for the road tax/tolls for the period of time you are in the country.  We bought one for 10 days.  The police are very active here in checking for them and if you get caught without one the fines can be quite severe.

We decided to camp at the marina on a little island in the middle of the river near Prague city or Praha as the Czechs call it.  We arrived at the camp about 4pm.