The ferry journey over form Karlskrona was a bit more eventful than expected. The last time I was on a ferry I got the time difference mixed up. This combined with a few beers resulted in only 4 hours sleep and a day of cycling when I arrived!
This time I came prepared. Get in, quick meal, beer, write journal and off to bed. However, I was woken to loads banging coming from the adjacent room. Not what you’re thinking! Someone was locked out. A rather drunk Pole who had been at the nightclub on the boat and consumed the entire alcohol collection. He could not wake his roommate, but evidently, he could the boat! The ear plugs did not work.
Arriving into Gdynia there was an odd mix of Soviet style buildings clashing with the buildings from Poland’s past. I was only cycling through on my way to Gdansk to visit my friend Kamila. Kamila and I met whilst working in Aarhus. If you’ve never lived and worked abroad you should. You will develop lifelong friendships which will take you all over the World.
After a quick shower and a bite to eat we head out for a tour around Gdansk on bike. It was nice to visit the old town (very touristy) but much of the original city was destroyed by the Nazis in WWII. We continued around the city stopping every so often for the view or just a rest and chance to chill. The rests also gave us a chance to catch up with everything that has been happening since the last time we saw each other, almost three years ago.
The evening brings an even more relaxed pace. A bite to eat and chance to watch a movie, something I have not done since leaving the UK. We watched CODA on Amazon Prime; the movie is a proper tear jerker and I seriously recommend the movie to anyone.
As with almost all of my stops, I need to do the laundry, it feels like it never stops. I would like to carry more clothes but I have no space!
Gdansk to Prague – The point of change
My next stage was to head to Stuttgart to visit another friend but via Prague and Nuremberg. The first stage to Prague would involve 749km over 7 days; this equates to 107km per day, easily doable for the legs. The reality was somewhat different. I spent the first two days pretty much on the bike and didn’t really see much. After two days riding I reach the town of Bydgoszcz and realise the beauty of the city and come to the conclusion if I keep this pace up I will not see anything of Poland.
I decided to stay the night in a cheap hostel and change my plans. With only limited days before I need to be in Stuttgart (otherwise I would miss my friends) I decide to take a train to Wrocław and spend a couple of nights there with the opportunity to see the city. This was a good idea. I did miss the cycling between cities but what is the point of touring if all I do is ride.
Wrocław
The slogan of Wrocław is ‘meeting place’ and according to our guide this is a city where people from all over Poland happen to meet. Many relationships are formed in this city. The city has also decided to install trip hazards to keep you on your toes and entertain the children! These are the 900 plus mini bronze dwarves which cover the city. Each dwarf tells a unique story about the street, bridge or area.
The dwarves come from the time when the city was resisting the Soviet regime. Someone would paint a slogan of resistance on a wall and this would inevitably be painted over by the authorities. Afterwards the resistance would paint an orange dwarf on the space. A continuous symbol of resistance that the authorities did not seem to pick up on.
The city is large at over 1.4ML (with over 800k students) but does not feel that large; however the number of tourists makes it somewhat difficult to get around. The evening took on a different view with a perfect view of the city from one of the many bridges with the sunset behind.
You are never far from the news…
Grabbing a quick drink in the evening I meet an ex-American soldier fighting for the Ukrainians, he’s mainly operating stingers to shoot down Russian attack helicopters. His unit was made up of people from several nationalities including a UK ex-army paramedic. He was visiting the city to collect supplies sent by friends round the World.
He was discussing some of the operations they had completed including fighting occasionally behind enemy lines. This also included showing me a video of an encounter, a naturally highly stressed situation, which came across in the video.
As the night wares on we discuss many topics, gun laws in the US (he’s in favour of them), socialism, football hooliganism and we also discuss another encounter. This time after his unit had captured some Russian soldiers. With the commanding officer hog-tied (arms behind back) and shouting abuse at the foreign soldiers he strikes the officer. He wonders if this is ok, I say it is not but I wonder if there is more to the story. However, no time to find out.
The next day I head off towards Krakow, a few hours by train and only 60 Zloty (11 GBP). Where did we go wrong in the UK with our trains!?