DAY 19.
Start point. Old Town Vilnius, Lithuania.
Finish point. Kemping Ned Pilica, Warka, Poland.
Distance. 360 Miles.
Total. 3930 Miles.
I was expecting that these two days were going to be a bit of a mile crunching exercise, so that I get time to do a few of the sights down in the south of Poland and near the German / Austrian border, but on leaving Vilnius the scenery took a turn for the better but the roads were still extremely busy, especially with trucks, and the situation didn’t change as I crossed the border into Poland, if anything it just got busier.
I pulled over for a tea break and studied the map, If I turned of the south bound highway at SulwalkiI I could head west towards an area full of lakes and woods, it might make the journey a bit more interesting with not a huge difference in distance.
With the thought of the crazy lorry drivers being left behind I started to relax a bit and enjoy the drive, it was basically all equivalent to our B-class roads and the view would change on a regular basis from woods to lakes to small villages and towns, nice but not exceptional.
I didn’t bother stopping to get photo’s as its a pretty much of a muchness, and needed to get the miles in, but I will say I was rather surprised how much I was starting to like Poland, I had been warned that it was just a huge highway and to get through there as quick as possible, I disagree, with a bit more time I’m sure theres lots of places that would be worth visiting, and not just the cities as is the case in the Balkan’s.
There was one place that on hindsight I should have stopped at but as very few of the Poles I’ve met speak English I passed up on it. That place is Gizycko which is sat between Lake Mamry and Lake Niegocin and looks like a really popular holiday destination for the Poles themselves.
Soon after that it was a turn southwards towards Warsaw where it was time to find a campsite, easier said than done here as they are few and far between, it’s probably to do with the fact the hotels and even motels are a popular choice and very cheap compared to the UK. South of Warsaw is an industrial town called Warka, it has the one campsite and it was deserted, at the closed reception there was a phone number to call, not much chance of that happening, I cant even say hello in Polish, so as I was turning the van around a young lady walked across from the empty looking bar and asked if I needed help, thank you lord, of course I could stay, £5 for the night with electric hook-up, park where you want, everything is open so help yourself. So I got myself parked up, sorted the van out, sat outside until the mozzies got too much then it was shower and bed, by this time it was nearly 11pm so off to the land of nod.
All on my lonesome, nobody to complain when I’ve got the air con running.
And so onto DAY 20.
Start point. Kemping Ned Pilica, Warka, Poland.
Finish point. “At the Lake” Camping, Goje, Poland.
Distance. 230 Miles.
Total. 4160 Miles.
I think the Europeans have a thing about strimming the grass at silly ‘o’ clock in the morning as today was the third day I’ve woken to the sounds of keen gardeners taking advantage of the cooler mornings. I cant say I blame them, theres no way I would want to work out in that heat all day.
Today was to be a another day of trying to avoid the main highways and to some degree it was a success as I headed down the B-roads towards Krakow I was lucky enough that the road I took ran parallelish to the main highway albeit 30 miles apart.
With getting so much mileage under my belt yesterday it was a bit easier today but knowing it was Friday and that my journey for the day would be ending near a big city I wanted to get down there and find somewhere to camp for the weekend. On arriving near my destination and looking for campsites on google I knew I had done the right thing, there are only a few near Krakow and fewer still near my final destination so I stopped to top up supplies at a Lidl’s, and how cheap is that, really impressed, weekend BBQ food and beer for the equivalent of £20, bargain.
My office for the night as I write this Blog.
On entering the chosen campsite it was surprisingly busy, apparently theres a big party on tonight, and as I write this they certainly plan on enjoying the cheap beer and the huge BBQ that is set up outside reception, I’ve parked far enough away that I can enjoy the music at a reasonable volume. I don’t doubt that I’ll sleep OK as the bar closes about midnight (ish).
Tomorrow is a day of sightseeing albeit on a somber note, and hopefully I’ll get the camera out again and get some pics up.
So just a couple of pics taken on the road.
Chow folks.
Delscampertour 