Steve's 2011 invasion of Poland

Over the next couple of days, i'll add the details of my trip to Poland from 21-Apr-2011 to 4-May-2011 on my F800GS

My trip photo's are available on Flickr - more will be appearing shortly.

Some stats:
Miles: 3092
Avg MPG: 61
Hours riding: 65

divelandy said:

Over the next couple of days, i'll add the details of my trip to Poland from 21-Apr-2011 to 4-May-2011 on my F800GS

My trip photo's are available on Flickr - more will be appearing shortly.

Some stats:
Miles: 3092
Avg MPG: 61
Hours riding: 65

Click to expand...

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Good Photo's.

21-Apr-2011 Oxford to Frankfurt

From Oxford, i took the motorway to the tunnel in Folkstone. Arrived an hour before my train, so was put on an earlier train. This was the first time i've not been asked to show any documents before boarding. Met up with another biker to compare notes. Previously i've had to wait until all the cars are loaded before getting on, but this time, they let 4 cars in, and then we followed on. This considerably reduced the number of cars i overtook in the first few miles riding in France.

After getting into Belgium, i was feeling tired after my 5:00 start, so pulled into a service station and slept in the parking space next to my bike. Managed an hours nap - result.

I kept up the relentless pace of 130kmh all the way to Frankfurt. The first petrol station i filled up caught me out - i needed to pre-pay and had no idea how much it was going to cost at €1.65/l, so went with €20 and got 12l - €25 next time! The next tank of fuel got me to 30km outside Frankfurt, no pre-payment required. My Garmin Zumo 660 took me within 20m of my freind, Alex's door - pretty good i thought.

Despite sending SMS', i'd been texting an old Mobile number , so Alex was a little surprised to see me, especially as he had a viral infection. I'd only planned for 10-20C temperature - it was 27, so i needed some cooler footwear. We went into town to find some sandles. Even though i had thin socks on, the female assistant insisted that i should wear some foot tights (similar to this, but came to below the ankle ). I resisted! We went to a local bar for dinner where i had a beef roulade with gerkins - quite nice despite initial expectations

Thanks for posting the piccys, Excellent

22-Apr-11: The road to Colditz

Leaving Frankfurt, i came across my first challenge - traffic was moving very slowly and i was told by my friend that filtering was frowned upon. After seeing a couple of German bikes go past on the hard shoulder, i decided that filtering was acceptable...

This was going to be my first visit to a concentration camp - Buchenwald.

The main gate has the saying: Jedem das Seine - a German translation of the latin: "Suum cuique" - can be interpreted as “To Each his Own” or as “Everyone gets what he deserves”.
The camp was the final location to many nationalities who were persecuted, forced to work, tortured, experimented on, gassed and killed. Many of the soviet POW's were shot in the neck by a gunman hiding in a little room behind this height gauge.

The dead were taken by cart to the crematorium, where they were sent down a chute into the basement. Other unfortunate prisoners were tortured in the basement before being sent up to the crematorium.

The site contains a number of memorials to the groups of murdered inmates. The following are Sinti (Roma) and Jewish memorials.

The Jewish memorial has the following text: "So that the generation to come might know, the children yet to be borne, that they too may rise and declare to their children." (Psalm 78:6.)

From there, i headed to Colditz, where i'd booked into the hostel. The hostel was very nice, and after signing a disclaimer, i was able to park my bike in the outer courtyard, next to the entrance of the hostel.

23-Apr-11: The bumpy road to Legnica

Breakfast at the hostel was interesting - including a crusty slice with aubergine, pickled onion and sun dried tomato - tasty, but something i'd expect for dinner. After an 'average' tour of Colditz Castle (not worth the wait IMO), i left at midday for the Polish boarder and Stalag Luft III. The roads were steadily getting worse as i neared the boarder. Stopped at a petrol station for fuel and lunch, and while eating my sarnie, another biker fuelled up and came over. I wish i'd taken a photo as he rode over without a helmet and 8" of sausage sticking out of his mouth! The roads in Poland were ok, until i got to the dual carriage ways (road #18). The slip roads from the 100kmh roads were cobbled and the road itself was like the roller was corrogated - with 20km of bucking bronco


The side-road to the GPS position of Stalag Luft III had a number of lanes; a wide muddy undulating lane for what i would think are tanks, a part cobbled lane and a muddy car track. Was my first bit of off road on this trip - fun. Got to a 5 way cross roads, but failed to find Stalag Luft III - though did end up in a military shooting range. My notes said it was not easy to find, so i cut my loss and decided to head for the hostel at Zlotoryia. Arriving at Zlotoryia, i found the nice looking hostel which was shut and went to look for a hotel. Decided that the locals were looking at me as fresh blood , so decided to head for the nearest major town - Legnica.

Easter Saturday saturday is not a great night to be in Poland, looking for food/bar. Most of the restaurants close early as the families get back together for Easter Sunday .

Thanks for the great picts,food for thought for myself as im leaving for Poland on 30th july for a 2 and a half week trip

24-Apr-11: The twists and turns of the south...

I failed to get in to the "Church of Peace" in Jawor - it was a Sunday and being used for non-tourist activities...!
Next stop was Rogoznica and the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. It was before 9 and the car park was empty, so i parked up and started to take some photo's. A guy appeared and shut the barrier, which was a little alarming, but he also pointed to a gap which he mimed that i could ride around. Result - the time and peace to walk around the camp on my own!. The guy gesticulated for me to follow him on my bike to the guards casino (seems a really perverse thing to have at a concentration camp) and park up.


As well as the bases in the camp, there were some reconstructed huts, kitchens, pool/, kitchen, baths, parade ground, crematorium, watch towers, memorials and a hanging frame

There were signs scattered around the sight, some with quite graphic photo's of people hanged, being flogged and generally starving. Behind the camp were the remains of new blocks, intended for prisoners from Auschwitz. it was interesting to see a number of the buildings with signs detailing their former use for Siemens and Blaupunct workshops.

As i was leaving, my peace and tranquility was broken by a coach and a number of cars poring their content into the site.

Next, i failed to find the Riese underground complex, however was compensated by the fantastic roads and beautiful a run down to Kadowa-Zdroj. I went to find Kaplica Czaszek - an Ossuary with bones used to decorate the chappel. Alas, it was 2:05 and it shut at 2pm (damn you Lonely planet guide!). I decided to head for Klodzko for accomodation and was mugged in the town square by the local 8-14 year olds asking about the bike. The GPS route out took me along a back road with what felt like a 1:2 hill - whatever it was, it was damn steep! As i got over the top, i stalled - would have fallen off if this happened earlier. Again, i'm reminded how much more capable the bike is that i am...
With no accommodation found, i headed to Nysa. Just off th square i found a small hotel with secure gated parking.
Some nice buildings, including the cathedral which was really tall and narrow

25=Apr-2011: Flirting with the Czech boarder

Awoke before breakfast so went for a walk around the town. Polish towns and cities put up a good challene to Italy for the ratio of houses to churches. My next stop was a town of 2 countries - Ciestzyn. I set the sat-nav to shortest route which would take me through some parts of Czech. Lots of people walking along the road, heading to and from church. The first time i knew i'd gone into Czech was when the checkpoint told me i was about to go back into Poland.

No cobbled roads today, but they still left a lot to be desired with large rut's left by the lorries and poor surfacing. The final stretch of road along the polish boarder was quite industrial with pipework following the road and railway. The Polish town of Cieszyn was a little disapointing, compared to my expection of cafe's along the river and a beautiful stone bridge across. Alas, former checkpoint buildings and 'normal' shopping streets flanked the bridge.
.

Went to a shop to get lunch and got strange looks when i had to undress to add my waterproof and thermal layers into my jacket and trousers. Nice and toasty warm i headed for Hotel Galicja (sorry for annoying music ) in Oświęcim.

26-Apr-2011: 5 years scar a town for a lifetime (pt I)

Up, fed and off to the concentration camps by 7:40 to beat the crowds. Went to Auschwitz-Birkenau first to get some empty outside photos and then off to the first Auschwitz camp. I'd been thinking how i was going to react to the camps, knowing a bit of the history and the atrocities inflicted on them.


I found Auschwitz fascinating - to read the stories of the inmates and the terrible things that happened to them. There are many buildings, each one telling a different story, from the life of the inmates, interrogation and torture, 'medical' experimentation and suffering. The exibits which caused me to spend the most time reflecting were the rooms of clothes, suitcases and shoes - including baby clothes.

There is a display of before and after photo's of women. Arriving at the camp weighing 63kg and even after 6 month of care post liberation only weighing 23kg.

I rode back to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Wandering around the camp, i didn't get the same feeling as Auschwitz. There are some of the old brick buildings standing, lot's of bases for the wooden hut's, with only the fireplace and chimney stack standing.

The main focus is around the remains of the 2 inmate 'processing' plants - the gas chambers

The condemed enter in the left hand side and undress in preparation for the 'shower'. At the center rear, they are gassed with Zyclon-B. They are moved to the crematorium on the right. After they were cremated, their ashes were scattered around the back of the sites in a number of pits.


Walking around the rest of the site, including the processing plant for new inmates, there were some stories of how the inmates were terrorised and humiliated by the guards. Apart from the processing building, i found the site sterile and not very moving.

What a great series of reports - uncanny - cos me and a fellow BMer (RT, so he won't be enjoying the potholes as my GSA giraffe-like gracefully lopes over the mess!!) are doing almost exactly the same route in a few weeks time. Journey plan is Liverpool to Brussels, Brussels to Colditz, Colditz to Stalag Luft III, then to Auschwitz and home again. We've only got 9 days, so concerned we're biting off more than can (comfortably!) be done? We may skip the auschwitz part of the journey, but feel that it IS something that everyone should do once in their lives........

Do you have any satnav coords for the various waypoints/castles/camps? That would help immeasurably (or, in fact, measurably).........

Any help/hints on dos and don'ts also appreciated.

Many thanks

Freddie

Thanks Freddie, glad your enjoying the story.

All these places are worth a visit, you need experience it for yourself...
I'll post the GPS coordinates once i've finished writing up my notes.

26-Apr-11: 5 years scar a town for a lifetime (pt II)

Leaving Auschwitz-Berkenau, i returned to Hotel Galicja to collect my things and head the 70km to Krakow. The route took me to a ferry crossing, that was unfortunately closed. The ferry and the gate-house on the other side of the river both looked like they were undergoing maintenance. As Piotr, a friend studying in Oxford was not going to be available until after 6, i went to the Polish Aviation Museum. The museum building is quite modern, detailing the changes in Polish aviation during the last century. The lady in the box office looked after my helmet & jacket to allow me to walk around the site unencumbered. It was very interesting to see maps of Europe and Russia, in Russian with each countries defensive capabilities and the map delineated by colour to show 'east' and 'west'.

The outside exhibits looks like a parking lot of WSK-Lim2's in many configurations. It looked like the POlish airforce had landed, parked up and walked away. Unlike the UK, where the aircraft are maintained in a visible asthetic way, these were left to the elements and were getting 'tatty'. I was surprised to see a Mikoyan MiG-29UB (training model) with it's aerodynamic curved shape.


The strange looking WSK-Mielec M-15, the only jet-powered agricultural aeroplane. A US Curtis Hawk II - in 1936 Olympic design, the only surviving export model flown in the 1936 Berlin Olympics - supposedly acquired for peaceful purposes for the Olympics, but scrutinized by the Nazi's as an 'ideal fighter'.


As well as aircraft, there were helicopters and anti-aircraft systems, such as this S-125 anti-aircraft rocket system and MIL MI-4A transport helicopter.
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Met up with Piotr, his sister and parents at their house. For dinner, we had a soup style meal with potato's. In the evening, we went out and met up with some of Piotr's school friends for a drink or 2. Afterwards, we went to a club and tried some vodka-based cocktails - yummy. Afterwards, on the walk home, they took me a shop who served the Polish equivalent of a kebab a zapiekanka.

thanks for sharing your trip with us.

27-Apr-11: Fed the dragon of Krakow

After the excessed of the previous night, it was a slow start...

Getting the bus into Krakow, we went to Wawel, the royal castle/palace and walked around the perimeter. Between the castle and the river, there is a statue of a dragon, the Dragon of Krakow.

We went for a tour around the palace and the cathederal. The palace had been used by the Austrian-Hungary empire as a barracks and hospital. Between 1880 and 1936, the castle was restored from a barracks and hospital to a palace. As part of this, murels on the ceiling which were not able to be restored, were painted in a van Gogh style post impressionist style. Visiting the very impressive cathedral, we went into Sigismund tower - the bell tower, which is not disabled accessible!

The main bell, weighing 12 tonnes is only rang at special occasions and is quite a size!

Going into the crypt, it was interesting to see the differences in style of the sarcophagus' - starting with large marble edifices in the 12 to 14th century, then decorated tin caskets, plain wooden caskets and finally more ornately carved wooden caskets. Along with the coffins of the kings and queens were a significant quantity of child/baby sizes coffins.

Walking into the town, we looked at a couple of churches. Reputedly the oldest church in Krakow has a fantastic ship pulpit.


I wandered around the town on my own in the afternoon, enjoying the coffee bars and ice cream.

28-Apr-2011: A visit to the underworld and the road to salvation

After thanking Piotr and his mother for their generous hospitality, i headed off to Wieliczka and the salt mine.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine has been producing salt for >700 years, though now it's only extracted from the mine's water, rather than mined. ~200 years ago, a canny person decided to charge tourists for visits into the mines.
Going into the mine, you decend 60 levels of wooden stairs to the upper level of the mine. The salt does not exist in scemes, but pockets, so the design of of the mine is very hap-hazard as they searched for more pockets of rock-salt.
A majority of the impressive carvings are from the 20th century, but the timbers used to sure up the mine are from much earlier - preserved by the salt and protected by flame-resistant paint.


The lift to the surface was interesting - each compartment contained 8 people, and the carriage contained 4 compartments, one stacked on top of the other.

I had the choice of turning left to the Tatra mountains in the south or right to Malbork in the north. I chose the latter option, to start my journey home. This meant 600km and it was already 13:30. It was going to be a long afternoon in the saddle.

Up to now, the roads i'd come across had been pretty good - with occasionally bad sections. Today was a different story

• Towns with 50kmh limits were generally driven through at 70-80kmh
• Cars would overtake at 1/2 an opportunity...
• You had to keep a good eye on the other side of the road. If a car on the other side of the road wanted to overtake you didn't have any choice but to move over and give way
• Though the speed limit on a single carriageway was 90kmh, you need to travel at 115kmh to keep up with the flow of traffic.
• Roads were in varying states; deep rutting (4-8") where the lorry tyres created grooves with their tyres which made overtaking interesting; in some sections the tarmack had come away to expose the gravel or rough foundation layers, leaving 6-8" holes in the road, varying from 1' to 10' in diameter.
• Cobbles - enough said! The uneven cobbles tested my suspension to the full.
• Tramlines - on previous journeys to other european capitals, this was an issue. As it was dry on my journey, i didn't experience any issues crossing them.

After 8 hours and 620km, i arrived in Malbork and found the Hotel Grot, with secure underground parking. Disappointingly, i couldn't find any bar's in the near by streets, so retired to the hotel for an early night.

Really interesting report. Thanks.

29-Apr-2011: The phoenix is still rising...

From the hotel i walked to Malbork Castle, passing a McDonalds, which looks really out of place (IMO). The complex is vast, butting against the river Nogat.


I got an audio guide on an iPod, which has a personal record braking 50 numbered stations with audio information. I found all but one, which was inaccessible due to restoration work.

The story of the castle is told in 3 phases:

1. Romantic: up to 1880, with the following incumbents: Knights, Royals, Prussians
2. Scientific from 1880 to 1945, occupied by the Prussians and Germans
3. Modern: from 1945, owned by modern Poland

During the Scientific phase, from the 1880's, the Prussians identified that the castle needed significant restoration. This resulted in a full survey and detailed documentation to help with the restoration process. The following picture shows the castle after restoration.


At the end of the second world war, the allies bombed the castle which was being occupied by the Nazi's.


The outside of the castle has been restored (see earlier pictures), but the inside of the cathedral has not been restored - the concrete slab roof is pretty crude! I find the remains of the Christ from the crucifix quite poignant

30-Apr-11: The road to Hel

A spirited ride up to Gdansk, hoping i'm not under a false allusion that the front facing cameras only work on the same side of the carriage way as the traffic. Carrying on north, and the opposite side of the bay, I arrived in Hel and went to the harbor for some photo's.

Right next to the harbor, there were lot's of vehicles, containing divers getting ready (from local dive center, such as CEGŁA). The temp was a chilly 6.5C, so was not keen to join without my own kit. I got a couple of snaps done and was encouraged by the port security to move on. I found another entrance to the sea-front, by the bar's, via a sand/gravel road and pulled over for a drink.

From Hel, i wanted to follow the north coast back (generally) towards the German boarder. On the top of some telegraph poles were stalk nests - i got used to these after seeing 4 or 5 of them. Passing through the towns, there were lot's of cross', decorated assume to celebrate the Beautification of Pope Jean Pail II.

The toilet facilities by the bar i visited were being repainted, so headed for a petrol station, which was bound to have them - doh, employees only! Along the road, there was no where convenient and secluded to pull over so carried on for another 50km. Paid 1zl to get in to the facilities attached to a petrol station, to find when i got into the restaurant i could get in for free. The chef was cannie, and without a common restaurant between us got me the most expensive item on the menu - schnitzel + chips + salad for 24zl, ~£6.

Now i'd been releaved and fed, i took the next section at a more sedate pace, which was lucky, as i came across 2 sets of police speed traps. I made it to Miedzyzdroje, a sea side resort. Kind of poetic, this is my senset of Poland.

While walking along the sea-front, i came across a concert by Ania Wyszkoni - not my bag...