So we caught the ferry at 16.30 hrs, arrived in Calais some 35 minutes later and headed north east through France, Belgium and into Holland where we were to be hosted by Zwerver or Bill to his friends. Bill is a native of Tilburg, a city some 80 miles east of Amsterdam. We arrived at 22.00 hrs and were greeted by a warm smile, pizza and a huge quantity of chilled bottle beer. Zwerver being an experienced overlander and a frequent visitor to Norway was able to provide us with some good sight seeing tips, not to mention maps.
20 MAY 2002 HOLLAND GERMANY
In the morning after some last minute photos we set off for Berlin. The journey from Tilburg to Berlin is by GPS just less than 400 miles, but we managed over 550 and arrived at our hotel completely knackered about 11pm. Anxious that all our belongs would be safe we asked for directions to the hotel garage, as advertised by their own internet site, only to be informed it was indeed a mistake and that they did not have a garage! They suggested we could leave the bikes in the street and they would keep an eye on the bikes for us. Not happy at their suggestion, we found another hotel which was right next door to the American embassy and both premises shared the same garage. This meant that the security of the bikes would not be an issue as the hotel was surrounded by armed German police. We went to bed after a few beers, happy in the knowledge our bikes would never again be more secure.
21 MAY 2002 -- BERLIN (Lat 52.30N Longitude 00.15 W), GERMANY & WARSAW (052.15N 021.00E), POLAND
The following morning, after a large continental breakfast, we headed for check point Charlie the famous ICON from the Cold war days where we took more
pictures
and sampled the atmosphere and thought about how it must have been just a few
years ago. Our next stop was Warsaw, the capital city of Poland and birth place
of Richard's father and, after a rather chaotic exit from Berlin, due to the
lack of road signs and one way systems we headed east towards our destination. I
am lucky to say that both Monika and I have now ridden across most of Europe and
without doubt I would have to say that Poland has the worst roads we have ever
seen. The main roads from Berlin to Warsaw are littered with potholes and
make-do-and-mend tarmac patches. All of this only adds to the adventure for
travellers of intrepid disposition. Long stretches of road are worn away, almost
18 inches deep, from the constant pounding of articulated lorries, or perhaps
even tanks from the cold war?. Having said that, we may have to give Poland 6/10
for their roads as I am confident that, during our global journey that lies
ahead, there will be many occasions when we will wish we were riding the
splendid roads of Poland once again!We stayed in Warsaw for two days and enjoyed the rest and beautiful old city. Although called the old city it is not strictly true as the old city of Warsaw was completely demolished during the war. But if you look at it today you would be none the wiser as it looks traditional 18 centaury with its dated architecture and pastel colour schemes, reminding me of Prague or our own English city of York. Our plan after departing Warsaw was to head for Berlin where I was to pick up my newly repaired laptop which got damaged during our visit to Dublin, but I was feeling the need to travel North to the home of 'Solidarity', the polish shipping town of "Gdansk" a place symbolic of the recent fight for freedom of speech and final overthrow of communist rule.
23 MAY 2002 CZAPLINEK, POLAND (Latitude 53.35 N Longitude 016.16 E)
Conscious of Richard's long ride back to England we agree to ride into central Poland where there are many large, beautiful lakes with campsites and so we decided on Czaplinek just 2 hours drive from the German Border. We decided we would take a more scenic route by staying completely off the main roads, hoping we would see some of traditional Poland. And what a good idea it was. It was a beautiful ride and for long stretches through incredible forests, which really added to
the occasion and for many a mile the smell of the strawberry fields
hung in the air. With the rising temperature we finally gave in to temptation
and offered to buy some strawberries from the many sellers who littered the
highways only to find that the minimum purchases was 3 kilos. Now we all like
strawberries, but not enough to purchase that many so after nicking a hand full
each we set off again on our journey. The nearer we got to our destination the
more we noticed strange happenings, such like the road increasing from 10 meters
wide to an incredible 50 meters wide, while continuing straight as an arrow for
at least 2 miles stretches and at each end would be a little petrol station with
car parks bigger than Wembly stadium. Also there were barriers and rail tracks
which seemed to be going nowhere until you looked carefully and could see
heavily disguised hanger doors which blended in nicely with the green
background. These were all the remnants of the cold war and the route to our
destination, just 12 kilometres west of Borne Sulinowon, was full of them. Until
only a few years ago, Borne Sulinowon did not exist on any of the Polish maps
because this was the location of the old Soviet Head quarters for Command and
Control. Borne Sulinowon was, in fact, a secret military city, heavily protected
and fortified. This is where the Russian strike command would remain on high
alert for the duration of the cold war until their eventual withdrawal in 1989.
We arrived at Czaplinek only to be greeted by Russian mig fighters which have been placed on concrete blocks to the left and right of the main entrance to the town and followed the road until the huge lake appeared on a right hand side. The camp site was well sign-posted and the smell of bbq confirmed the camping season was well under way in the heart of Poland. We erected the tents and quickly headed for the centre of the town. This was to be our last night with Richard we were intent on giving him a good send off. As luck would have it we found a pub which was bristling with activity. We were later to find out that it was the local Pig farmers night out and the whole work force, mainly European, was in attendance. We set about having a great night which included traditional Polish food and lager. The social gathering took on a party atmosphere when we were joined by yet another European group of plane spotters, so how could we fail to have a fabulous night out in the festive company of plane spotters, pig farmers and Monika, Richard and myself?
24 MAY 2002 CZAPLINEK TO GDANSK POLAND ( Gadansk -- Latitude 54.22 N Longitude 018.18 E)
We rose early and made ready but felt a little uneasy that we where not riding with Richard to Hamburg, as originally promised, but he was cool about it by repeatedly saying " Look; this is your dream and your trip, so go and live it" and so at 11 am we departed from the centre of town with Richard riding east and
Monika
and I heading North into the worst weather of the trip so far -- destination
Gdansk.