Poland

I'm sorted for going there and had just done the plan for coming back. Once again, thanks Wapping. From Gdansk to Szczecin following the route (a shortcut added 'cause I don't want to go to Slupsk) it is a near enough 280 mile day. I must say that the accommodation in Poland is cheap and all get good reviews. We will see if it lives up to it. Apart from hotels you can book a whole apartment, 1 bed or studio, for near enough the same price as a room. All within walking distance to the city centre. I'm looking forward to see Poznan, it was left largely untouched in WW2 meaning the architecture was preserved, unlike Gdansk which was reduced to rubble and what you see today was rebuild.
 
I'll update the thread with some recommendations regarding routes and roads. It is a county of contrasts, interesting and relatively cheap to holiday.

Thanks again Wapping for the maps. It is spot on. Haven't ridden it all but so far so good.

It is sent from my phone. So fucking what?
 
Just been robbed in bielsko biala.jacket taken from tent while I slept.all money gone.Be careful out there....
 
Routes to ride in Poland. My experience. In the above posts Wapping has posted photos from a book that served as a very good guide. Here are a few Google map links to roads that I enjoyed. Please note that not all the roads I have linked are billiard table smooth tarmac. There is some very scenic areas which makes the experience and lack of perfect tarmac worth while. After all you are on a GS right?

West of Gdansk to North Baltic coast: https://goo.gl/maps/nnS4xMyy7Yw (it might be worth your while to turn off to one of the coastal towns for a bit of R&R)

Oborniki to Brusy taking you past Klomino: https://goo.gl/maps/UqSckq7bwkT2 (from the south 1st exit to Klomino is a sandy road, 2nd one is hard gravel but where is the pleasure in taking the easy way in or out)

Gdansk to Bydgoszcz through the lakes: https://goo.gl/maps/NCgd8dAZ6tG2

Mragowo to Gizycko: https://goo.gl/maps/ye25t2zTVv82 (basically any road in this area is good and scenic)

Ketrzyn to Gdansk: https://goo.gl/maps/a5okkiZWKUN2 (just follow the 513)
 
Just got back from a loop around Poland (Gdansk - Bialystok - Zamosc - Zakopane - Wroclaw). The roads were generally OK but I wouldn't say fantastic for riding. I was on my own so mainly did non-motorway main routes with excursions along interesting looking roads when I got bored. Most main roads were just normal 2 way with decent tarmac and some dual carridgways along the way. Occasional found some very rough concrete roads in East Poland. I went mainly to discover Polish history, there are some interesting roads but not the mountain passes you find in southern Europe (at least I didn’t find them). Zakopane is in the mountains as it is a winter and summer outdoor sports area but they are doing a lot of roadworks and even on a bike delays are horrendous. It took an hour to do the last 10 miles into town and even longer to get out.

Gdansk is a great city and Zamosc has a great city square. About 75 miles outside Bialystok is a place called Treblinka where over 800,000 people were murdered by the Germans in WW2, mainly in gas chambers that could hold 5,000 people at a time. There is nothing left of the extermination camp but there is a small museum and memorials in the surrounding forest. It is very different from Auschwitz but I found it just as moving. Loved Wroclaw as a city as well. In the middle Torun is also worth a visit.

Overall I find Poland has great and interesting cities but the roads are not inspiring like the alps – just my opinion and the routes I took - I didn’t want to get stuck on a track on my own or have to try and pick the thing up fully loaded.

Hope this helps.
 
Good to see bods going somewhere totally different to the usual jaunts into Europe. Whilst I didn’t make it into Poland (we ran along its border with Germany) I enjoyed our jaunt two years ago along the German Baltic coast and then south down to Berlin. It’s different, the roads are different, the scenery is different, which is what makes going somwhere different fun.

PS Glad to hear that the routes lifted from the book worked out OK, tanneman. There is not much published on Poland vis-à-vis motorcycle touring. Even the German ‘Touring’ magazines (who seem to go everywhere) pretty much miss it out. I tripped over the book by chance, so thought it was worth ordering a copy.
 
True, I didn't find too much before I went. Next year hoping to head up through Kaliningrad and up into Estonia, I love that part of the world. It might be flat but that doesn't mean it's not interesting. I prefer it to the usual busy places everybody goes to in southern Europe.
 
I'm looking at doing Lithuania, Belarus and then heading into eastern Ukraine next year. To skip most of the Western Europe travel time I'll be taking a ferry from Kiel to Klaipeda.
 
Yes I just flew back from there last night. Amazing people living through a difficult time.
 
If going to Ukraine, check out my short blog on Facebook. We went in though the Polish side to Lviv, then on to Kiev.
That road is just about the only motorway in the country, once you get off the motorway, the roads (and drivers!) are mental, but just adds to the experience!
Loved our trip there, the natives are friendly, with English widely spoken in the cities we visited, outwith, forget it, but it’s fun ordering from a Russian menu when the waitress speaks no English!😂
If you need any info, let me know.
Otherwise, have a browse at this:

https://m.facebook.com/Dont-come-back-442665196213797/

Cheers
Dave
 
Just checked your blog out Dave. Looks like you had a great time
 
I have read your blog Dave. It just wets the appetite for more of that. It gets a bit sanitised riding in western Europe.
 
I'm looking at doing Lithuania, Belarus and then heading into eastern Ukraine next year. To skip most of the Western Europe travel time I'll be taking a ferry from Kiel to Klaipeda.

Went the other way on the ferry a couple of years ago, it got cancelled the first night due to rough seas and then took ages to get loaded in the pouring rain the next night. Turns out it was more of a truckers ferry with bugger all on board. Suggest you eat beforehand then it is fine as a night ferry is just a mobile bed really, never understand people who remove everything off the bike for an overnight ferry when all you need is a toothbrush.
 
Once I was in the north of Poland, then I was in the cities of Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot. These are cities on the coast of the Gulf of Gdansk in the Baltic Sea.
Gdansk is the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the most visited city in Tricity. For half a day, I walked around the entire center and visited several museums.
People go to the main Polish resort of Sopot for the beach and entertainment. For 1.5 hours in Sopot, we managed to have lunch, walk along the main promenade, go out to the sea and look into the Grand Palace hotel.
Sopot has a hippodrome, a casino, a water park, but the most important thing is the 4.5 km long Sopot beach.
Gdynia is the youngest city in the Tricity region. Tourists immediately go to the port of Gdynia, where the main objects of observation are concentrated. For 1 hour we walked along the Southern Pier, took photographs of the ships, and reached the city beach.
 


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