OMG, I'm in Poland!



The back door into Poland.

Superhighway this wasn't!

After a short run across the mountains I reached Nowy Targ.  Here I exchanged for Zloty... just in case Euro's were not accepted along my route.

My overnight, just across the border into Slovakia, was now in it's third day and just as many countries.







Got to stop here...

Thinking this may be a longer trip than planned (so what else is new?!) 

I consulted my GPS (map) and could see that Oswiecim otherwise known by it's German name, Auschwitz was very nearby.

Simple 2 lane country roads led me to Rabka, Wadowice and then via a short run of divided highway I was lucky enough to find an English speaking pair at a gas stop.



Outdoor cafe.

 As so often happens with Karma, between these two and a passerby fueling up, they had road maps laid out and a route to the (in)famous city plotted out.  I was only hours away!

This was a good thing as the weather was clouding over and rain threatened.  Having only planned a short ride, I was woefully unprepared for bad weather.


Hotel Olecki

 Many roundabouts later, I finally saw the sign leading me to the city and the Hotel Olecki, directly across the entrance gates to the Nazi extermination camp.

Once settled for the following two nights in a very pleasant but expensive room, I had a look see at the entrance to the Museum, which was about to close for the day.


Auschwitz!

 Next morning, before 8 am after a small continental breakfast, I wandered over, camera in hand, to the entrance.  There, a bus load of Israeli military, men and women both, had just arrived.

Guided tours began at 10 am but I set off on my own and glad of it too, as it turned out.

I was free? to wander about by myself and spend as much or as little time as I wanted.



"Work will set you Free"

 A small portion of the vast camp remains today, free to tourists, as a very grim reminder of what that early part of the 20th century was like in Europe.

It is very hard not to feel incredible emotional turmoil walking the silent streets.

The numerous gallows, the displays, the ominous presence of millions of souls...



Harsh reality for millions.

 This was a most powerful experience!

Amidst the vision of brutality and horrible death by starvation overwork or simply execution or torture, I was extremely affected.

Enough that I felt compelled to write about it in a story that CB printed the following year.

Israeli military.

As in every typical crowd of humans there were the few that mocked what they saw, laughed and jeered.  I just turned my back to these misguided, emotionless individuals that had no place in hallowed ground like this.

I spent the entire day, simply sitting, staring, reading the numerous plaques and sign that give a visitor a sense of what it must have been like.

When I returned to my little home for the night... I was utterly exhausted.  Yes of course I had walked what seemed like miles and many hours had passed since I stepped through the gates that morning, but somehow this was more of an emotional exhaustion.  A drain on my soul, as if my senses had been beat up by a baseball bat or club.

I fell into bed and slept until the following morning without so much as a bite to eat.







Running on fumes...



In the morning I wandered across the street to the mini mall, found myself a small cafe and had a coffee and some breakfast.

There were several groups of people about, I seemed to be the only individual seated in the open mall.

What a contrast I thought as I ate my minimalist breaky... people laughing and joking around, children running the tiled floors as they do everywhere in the world. 

I wrote a few words in my road journal, looked at my map, spent a few zloty sending emails from the internet office on yet another odd foreign keyboard and retired to my room to pack my little gear.

Self explanatory.

The Givi trunk popped on it's locking rack, oil checked, tire pressures ditto, the last thing to do was attach the magnetic tank bag, fold the map into it's pouch and once started up on the center stand, I waved goodbye to the staff and wheeled out into traffic.

As so often happens in my travels, I could have turned right and headed back into the Czech republic.



Well I didn't.





I turned the bars left instead, rode to the end of the road coming across a T.  To the left was the location of Birkenow, now little left, and to the right... well was another road to explore.

I pulled my jacket zipper tighter, the same with my sleeves, and headed North west.



Once I'd reached the border between Poland and Germany... I stopped for a pic of my first of many Autobahns.  Rode through the gate and was headed towards Dresden.

The day was blustery with strong winds buffeting my helmet and pushing me from side to side. 

After a gas stop, and a Snickers bar, I pondered the sign.  Dresden was straight ahead only a short distance... but just below the magic word caught my attention.

Berlin, that historic and famous city capital of the Germany from my history books, was but 263km turn away...

No sooner than I'd wheeled off the ramp and onto the Autobahn heading to Berlin, I nearly collided with the rear end of a line of vehicles that had come to a complete standstill on the highway.  Caught shoulder checking for approaching traffic from the south, it was a very close call! 

Only a very quick counter steer into the right lane saved my ass.  Once the traffic sorted itself out, I found that I simply was not travelling at a high enough velocity.  I'd heard stories of course, about high speed drivers in Germany, but this was my first real taste... it left me shaking my head and speechless.  Although the posted maximum is 130kph, cars here were travelling at near double those speeds.  I was content, shivering in the coolness of the day, running through rain showers one after the other, to ride at a more relaxed 120.

Appropriate to stay at the Hotel Berlin!