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'99 Poland - Sinai (Egypt) - Poland Trip
Poland, part 1
Czech Republic/Austria (Jacek) and Germany/Switzerland
(Greg) (transit)
Italy
Greg: Saturday—Tuesday, June 19—July 6, 99: Poland
G.:
I left for Poland on June 19, 99, Saturday. In London I changed planes. There I
met an intoxicated Pole with whom I chatted and who offered me a drink of
whiskey. It was my first time flying with PLL LOT (Polish Airlines) and first time at the Okecie Airport in Warsaw, small but very pleasant station.
I haven’t done any backpacking for a very long time so I decided to try it again. Next two weeks I spent traveling by train and visiting my friends and family.
Since my family lives all over southern Poland I had a chance to take many trains and buses. The public transport was very reliable and extremely cheap. It was also pretty easy to meet people on trains and even make friends (well, it was easy for me, I speak Polish).
Anybody I met worth
mentioning? Yes. A Polish biker with whom I corresponded by email. He did some
serious traveling, too. (Visit his site: go to Links and click Travel to Kenya
or Travel to Tunisia).
I also met a Polish/Australian fellow on the train to Torun (he was reading a Lonely Planet book so I interrupted him and …).
When we arrived in Torun I
invited him downtown for a beer. We chose the famous leaning tower of Torun as
our place of conversation.
Jacek: Thursday,
July 1, 99—Tuesday, July 6, 99
J.:
No more getting early to go to work! Vacation time!!!
I
arrived in Poland on Friday. The flight was boring, so won't talk
about it. My brother’s friend, Krzychu Bromka, picked me up at the airport and
drove to Torun, my hometown. He, as most of Polish drivers nowadays, didn’t
bother respecting speed limit: 200 km/h in 90 km/h zone. My parents and my
brother welcomed me warmly.
Greg's and my
bikes were supposed to come on Friday, July 2. They didn’t. When travelling,
always be prepared to be late... In
the meantime I enjoyed my family and my old friends from high school. Czesc, chlopaki
i dziewczyny z IVB. Pozdrawiam - Jacek.
Wednesday,
July 7, 99
J.: I changed my image. Cut my long hair!
Finally
something was going on. Three days late, the bikes arrived on Tuesday. Greg
showed up on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s
events were quite interesting. First of all, we experienced post-communist
bureaucracy. We waited 3,5 hours to see a Polish customs official. After a
2-minute conversation, he granted us permission to use our motorbikes as tourist
vehicles (he was a biker, too). At the end of our visit there, another official suggested that it
would be nice if we brought something to drink for the office. Well, let me tell
you. He didn't mean mineral water. In order to avoid any upcoming problems we
did as he hinted. I asked: "How many 'drinks'?" "Well... there
are two motorcycles..." By the way, (and this has nothing to do with the
incident I just described), a ½ liter bottle of vodka costs about US$ 5. Not
bad, eh?
We got to the warehouse to unpack and put our vehicles together.
There weren't any
problems except that we had to pay extra for storage (1 day) even though the
bikes were late. According to what we were told in Toronto (from where we
shipped the bikes), this charge was supposed to be around 5-10 bucks. It was 50
each! The company with whom we shipped the bikes (EuroCan Cargo Services)
advertises itself as the most trustful and honest. I have a different conception
of honesty.
G.:
Here I have to thank Jacek’s father for driving us everywhere and Jacek’s
mom for delicious meals and sawing my sleeping bag.
J.:
Yes, thanks, mom and dad. Nevertheless, we had our bikes, and would be leaving my beloved hometown soon:
Thursday or Friday.
Thursday, July 8 ’99:
J.: Torun
J.:
Greg left on Thursday in order to visit his aunt in Wroclaw and then his sister
in Switzerland. We were supposed to meet in Chioggia, Italy, on Monday. I
decided to leave on Friday morning in order to visit my brother in Italy (on
vacation).
G.: Torun-Wroclaw.
G.: It was a long and wet ride (Torun-Wroclaw). Only 350 kms but it
took me 6 hours to make it. It rained all the time, many cars, slow trucks.
Passing was the only way to go. Police attempted to stop me on two occasions
(speeding) but I decided it was too dangerous to stop. It was a difficult and
exhausting ride.
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Czech Republic/Austria and
Germany/Switzerland
Friday,
July 9, 99
G.
in Wroclaw.
A
day of final preparations, checking every part on my GPZ and making sure it all
works.
J.:
Torun—Bobrava
I set off on Friday around noon, rode through Poland and stopped in a motel in Bobrava, Czech Republic, for the night. The clerk in the reception suggested that I should keep my motorbike inside the room to avoid theft. I’m sure my bike appreciated this gesture.
The disco was cheap, beer too. Czech girls beautiful and fun, as
always.
Saturday,
July 10, 99
G.:
Wroclaw-Au by Zurich.
The
longest ride of my life and also the best time I ever made. I rode 1150 km in 11
hours maintaining a cruising speed at 140-160 km/h. I crossed 4 borders, gassed
up 3 times, ate 2 times, met some German bikers and truly enjoyed the ride.
Beautiful mountains, great weather (15-20 C, dry), fantastic highways (Germany).
I arrived in the evening and was very happy to see my sister. She had some more
guests who stepped by on their way from Italy to Poland. So on Sunday we all had
a wonderful time eating, drinking (Italian wine), talking and walking by the
Zurig lake.
J.:
Bobrava—Venice
The
drive was interesting and picturesque. Unfortunately, it was raining all day so
I wasn’t able to admire all the views.
Sunday-Monday,
July 11-12, 99
J.:
Venice, Padova
I
stayed with my brother and his family in Chioggia near Venice for two days.
Czesc Wojtek, Iwona, Maciek i Jedrek! On
Sunday we paid a short visit to Padova.
On Monday I went to see Venice by myself. Beautiful place!
Greg
joined me in the late evening on Monday. He was coming from Switzerland.
G.:
Au- Chioggia by Venice
One
of the most picturesque rides. The Swiss Alps are simply breathtaking. The rigid
and towering yet very inviting mountains always overwhelm me (naturally it was
not my first time). Riding through a tunnel may sound like fun and it is if the
tunnel is short. St. Gotthard was 18 kms long and after a while it was hard to
breathe. When I left the tunnel I was very pleased with the sudden change of
temperature. It was definitely over 25C (at least 10 degrees more than before
the tunnel). Now I felt my vacation truly started. It is surely more fun riding
in warm weather.
A
quick ride through Northern Italy and that evening I joined Jacek and his
brother in Chioggia.
Tuesday,
July 13, 99
G.:
From now on we rode together. I had to slow down a bit to ride with Jacek
modestly at approximately 130/h. It’s OK, at this speed my GPZ was taking only
4.5L/100kms, major savings considering the European gas prices, 1$US per litre.
J.:
Come on, I got a dual-purpose! And there is no reason to hurry. I prefer to save
time by getting a bit early and by spending less time preparing breakfast and in
the john ;-)
The weather now began to look more Mediterranean. No more rain! We took the expensive Italian highway. It paid off because we got to Brindisi around 9:30 p.m. and were able to board the 10:00 p.m. ferry for Igoumenitza, Greece.
While still on
the highway, I lost the toll ticket. Somehow I got away paying the same amount
as Greg (US$ 30), not the expected fine which would have been around $US 100. On
the ferry there was plenty of room and certainly a cabin was not necessary. We
found a cozy place in the lounge: soft benches and a table—truly a perfect
place to crash. The trip took about 10 hours.
To continue the story, click Greece or go back to Poland - Sinai - Poland trip.