A Ride Through Poland

Day 5 - Ruciana-Nida to Wizna
105km

 Well I was going to ride to Białystok today, but after looking at the map I realised that another 60km with no definite digs organised wouldn't have been much fun. And after today's ride, I'm glad that I stopped when I did.

 The road was no longer flat, but the rolling hills were not the worst of it today. After pouring rain and howling winds all night, the rains ceased this morning for enough time for me to pack up my wet tent and head into town for breaky. After that, I think I was only on the road for thirty minutes before the skies opened up again. Moreover, the skies were almost black; that condition cleared, but it was rolling squalls, thunder and lightning all day. I actually hid under some bushes three times today to escape the very close lightning strikes. And guess what? Yes, headwinds all day, well ok, head/cross winds for half the day and the full Monty for the rest! Needless to say, I was glad to read in my Lonely Planet book of a hostel here in the small village of Wizna. Biebrzanski National Park is nearby, so fortunately accommodations are available in this rural area. I asked at the local store with regards to a local hostel or other accommodation and they directed me here to the "Carski Trakt" instead; I'm glad that I asked at the shop, because I passed a bar with rooms first and probably would have settled there and missed something really good. This place is part of the growing "Agrotourist" network in Poland, which are like bed & breakfast accommodations, but offer a few more amenities.

 When I arrived, I knocked on the door and the very nice lady owner showed me where to park my bike, showed me my super clean room - with bathroom - and then before I could even take the bags off my bike, not to mention the smell off my body, she had my late lunch on the table for me. Lunch in Poland is like dinner at home - a large pot of self-serve soup, followed by fish, potatoes etc. and two pieces of Polish cheesecake (sernik) - that I haven't had since my mum made it eons ago - all washed down by a pot of tea!! Marvellous! What a find after a tough day in the saddle. Well, ya gotta get lucky some times eh?

 Even with the crappy weather though, I had some enjoyable riding. I thought that I was in rural Poland for part of yesterday, but today proved to be much more so. After heading east on 58 to Szczuczyn (yeah, you try and say it!), I elected to go south on some smaller roads to try and escape some of the traffic. Good choice, no shoulders, but much more scenic and considerably less traffic. The road surfaces were nothing to scream about - I even had a section of cobblestones to ride; that was fun! - but the small hamlets that I rode through were not even dots on my map. I will say that the Michelin map that I am using seems very accurate, but I still have to keep a good eye out for place name signs and directional arrows. The only problem here seems to be the lack of restaurants - no second breaky opportunities - I have to rummage in my food bag for whatever I can find to keep me going. But almost every village has at least one grocery store - sometimes there will be two, three or four, all in block! They mostly sell the same stuff, but I guess that the locals have a certain allegiance to one shop or the other. For the most part they are not like our stores where you help yourself, here you stand in line and the lady behind the counter does the shelf picking. If she decides to chat with someone, you wait - patiently! I remember most stores were like this at one time, but have evolved to the mini-markets that we have today. It'll happen here too I'm sure, in fact, there are the odd few around now in the larger towns - Warsawa of course seems to be far ahead of the rural communities.

 I must mention that everywhere I've stayed has been super clean, sometimes very dated, but nevertheless clean. Even the washrooms at the campground were not the usual grimy examples that I have experienced in Canada.

Tip of the day... When using Public washrooms in Poland, make sure that you have your toilet paper with you before you sit down.

 

Adam K. & (Oh no you don't) Basil.

 

 

Day 6 - Wizna to Białystok
70km

 Not a big mileage day or a tough ride - I had a tailwind and fair weather, so I took it easy and took in some sights along the way while meandering on some back roads that passed through fields of wheat and corn - could almost be the Canadian Prairies... Peaceful! That was until I got chased by a pit bull type dog! I yelled like I usually do and that did nothing - I could almost feel his hot breath on my legs, so I yelled "Get Lost" but in Polish - amazing, that worked! By this time I had to join the main road, number 8, anyway and was warned by my hosts last night that it would be busy - it was, but surprisingly it had a decent shoulder all the way into the city.

 On the way, I passed by the southern tip of Biebrzanski National Park and we saw lots more Storks - Basil was all excited though, the place is supposed to house Poland's largest Beaver (Bobr) population - nary a one to be seen though, the little fellow's disappointed after practicing his Polish for that chance encounter!

 Talk about Polish, I thought that I knew "some," but frankly "some" translates to "very little!" What was I doing at those Polish School classes that my parents sent me to? Obviously sleeping, because I really have to concentrate and ask people to speak S-L-O-W-L-Y! Then I watch and listen to the jumble of words coming out of their mouths, pick out some words that I think I know and then say something stupid in return - well, I get some grins anyway. Each day gets better though.

 I must mention last night - I had my best and longest sleep of the trip - it must have been the comfortable surroundings. Money was never mentioned last night and I had no idea of the cost of my night's room. So I was dreading asking this morning what the damage was, as I figured that for such modern facilities and all that food, it would be expensive. This morning after breakfast I paid my bill - C$25.00, which was for a private room with bathroom and three meals - I felt as if I was cheating them! What value!

 So far, I've found food, meals and accommodation to be very cheap here in Poland. I went to my first "Bar Mleczny" (Milk Bar) today and paid the princely sum of C$3.00 for a very generously portioned hot meal with coffee. The milk bars were created by the State to provide cheap meals to those who needed them. After the fall of Communism, many are still holding on as private enterprises and serving good food at bargain prices - nothing fancy and no booze, but very tasty stuff. All you have to do is decipher the menu on the wall which consists of about 60+ items! Also, roadside stands are plentiful and great places for a inexpensive snack stop.

 Elsewhere, other stuff... Half a litre of beer: C$0.90 - good stuff too. Camping a couple of nights ago: C$3.00. In fact, apart from Warsaw - expected - most lodging is very reasonable. Tonight I'm in a hostel type place run by the Orthodox church community - once again very clean; private room with bathroom, even got TV - want a good laugh... Fawlty Towers with Polish voices dubbed over - hilarious!

 Apart from some interesting churches and a museum, Białystok's, after being mostly destroyed in WWII, post-war reconstruction was with lotsa concrete/block and very little thought for the previous history of the city. Some buildings were rebuilt as original - from what I saw, few and far between though. I was going to stay two days here, but I think that I'll mosey along in the morning to Bialowieski National Park for a camp night.

 Worst thing about Poland - graffiti literally everywhere. I keep checking the bike and bags to make sure that someone hasn't scrawled something there when my head was turned.

 Tip of the day... most shops close early on Saturdays - read your Lonely Planet book, Dummy!

Adam K. & Basil the (Bobr) Beaver.

 

Day 7 - Białystokto Białowieża
105km

 I forgot to mention yesterday that the main street of Białystok was cobblestones. Quite the boneshaker with a loaded bike, luckily when I left this morning there wasn't too much distance before I hit asphalt again - although there are pot holes everywhere to contend with anyway. Sunday morning riding to Bialowieski National Park on 19 was very quiet, the back roads exceptionally so, and the lack of shoulders didn't really matter. As I rode through villages and towns on 685, many people were attending mass at either the Catholic or Orthodox churches that I passed - better they be praying than being maniacal on the roads when I'm on them! This area is one of the most eastern parts of Poland, with the population being a mix of Poles and Byelorussians. I'm camped at Grudki, which is a hamlet about 2km from the village of Białowieża, only about 1km from the border to Belarus. There is a prevalence of Orthodox religion and accompanying churches in this region - some of buildings are very unique and spectacular.

 The National Park here is a big draw for tourists - mostly Poles themselves - as the park has the nation's great bison reserve. Zubr is Polish for bison and also a brand of beer that I've "tasted;" I wondered about the significance of naming a beer after a bison - now I know! Also, the famous "Zubrowka" vodka has herb grass in the bottle from this region, giving it a slightly green tinge - and very smooth taste!

 Crosswinds today, but as I'm going to head south and west, I feel that headwinds are on the menu for a few days. Westerlies are prevalent here, so I'll just have to grin and bear it - the weather is usually better in southern Poland though, so let's hope that "usually" holds true. Today wasn't bad - no rain - and apparently tomorrow is supposed to be sunny all day - we'll see.

 I camped tonight - I don't know why? This touristy area is full of guest houses, pensions and hotels. But I guess that I just want to justify hauling all my camping crap around - I could have snagged a nice room for about C$15.00 - although camping was only C$3.00! Truthfully though, I do like camping and was dying to see if Polish mozzie bites are as bad as all the others that I have suffered - you betchya they are! The showers here may as well be out in the open, just a few slats for walls, so the mozzies have a feast while you soap yourself up - I won't mention where the most tender bite was, but it sure is embarrassing to keep scratching there!

 The fellow that runs the campground, says that I'm the first Canadian he's had here - quite an honour, I guess! An English couple just set up camp close by and I'm sharing my meagre picnic table with a Czech couple. The English ones have some bratty kids, so I'm ignoring them - one of them tried to pull Basil's tail - not on!

 By the way, bicycles are part of everyday life wherever I go. Here in Białowieża, most of the hotels and guest houses rent bikes and many tourists bring their own. I see quite a variety everywhere I go, from the old single speed clunkers from way back, to modern mountain type bikes, but most of all there are a myriad of older folding bikes with the smaller 20" wheels - they are everywhere with all types of riders. Not many touring cyclists though, I spoke to three young fellows a few days ago and passed another fellow going the other way yesterday. I'm still pleased with the fact that although the drivers are fast, they seem to be aware of - and used to - bicycles on the road and nearly always pull over wide to pass - I still keep a close eye on them in the mirror though!

 Factotum... Petrol is C$1.50 per litre, so I guess prices aren't that bad in Canada yet.

 Tip of the day... No bread on Sundays - bakeries are closed - buy your supply on Saturdays!

 

Adam K. & (Wot! No bread with our soup?) Basil.

 

Day 8 - Białowieża Siemiatycze
102km

 102km was enough today into the expected headwind. For the most part, I rode on 685 and 693 today and arrived in Siemiatycze at about 95km, but farted around trying to find digs etc. I got a nice room in a pension with restaurant next door - it was the first place I found, but as usual, I had to check out other options - there weren't any! Nice town though, built around three small lakes. There are at least three fabulous looking churches in the town too - unexpected for a small town. Lots of rebuilding going on here with some worthwhile results.

I was going to try for Biala Podlaska today, but the winds cut my chances of another 60km. I'm still going to try for Chelm tomorrow, as I want a rest day there - but it will be long ride I feel. Today was also very hot, with sun for most of the day - a three ice-cream day and a few cold ones tonight!

 Not much to report on today's ride other than I had to backtrack to Hajnowka from the campground at Białowieża - it's the only road in and out for about 20km. I hate riding over the same route when I'm touring, but I took a side trip to one area to see the bison - go figure, the herd were in a different area this morning, so all saw was the padded down grass and bison shit!

 Otherwise, lots more pot holes and wheat fields - the roads are definitely getting hillier though, so with a headwind it was a long haul in some places.

I see lots of cattle in and around the farms too - but I have yet to see a sheep! Nada, nix, nothing, no trace - what's with that? Poles don't eat lamb or mutton?

 Interesting time at picnic table last night - my young Czech friends dined with me - she spoke Czech and a little Polish, he spoke Czech and a little English and me with my Yorkshire/Canadian English and broken Polish made for some remarkable conversation - fun night though!

 I mentioned that small grocery/deli stores are everywhere that I travel, well they all sell beer and liquor - read, vodka. As I pass these stores early in the morning, it's upsetting to see the menfolk having their breakfast beer in and around these stores and everywhere else close by (bus shelters etc.) - I guess that it must be the lack of work or boredom that makes them want to drink so much. It's also not uncommon to see people walking around with cans of beer in public - I see this everywhere and not just in the larger towns. Perhaps it is a lack of work and the end of the protective Communist state, I don't know, but I continue to see numerous drunks on a daily basis - thank God they're not driving!

 

Adam K. & (Oh good, no mozzies tonight!) Basil.