apathtosomewhere

The sun was shining as we woke up on the final morning with our friends. We don’t really want to leave, but at the same time, excited for more adventures.

Our plan was to be gone by 9, but it was more 10 when we said goodbye. We were following a route that our friends suggested and initially followed the country A roads – it was on one of these, that we spotted our first proper hill in days. It was quite exciting! We were heading south towards Krakow which was more mountainous before crossing the Czech border. It was nice to see some rolling countryside.

We were travelling through villages when a couple of oncoming motorists flashed us – a sign that there must be police around. We had travelled a couple of miles more when a police officer suddenly stepped out from a driveway on the opposite side of the road and promptly stuck his hand up to stop the traffic. We were the first vehicle in a long line of cars and immediately our hearts sank – the thought of trying to communicate with a Polish copper with us having no Polish apart from “dog” and “thank you”. But almost immediately, with his other hand, he pointed to the car behind and signalled for him to pull over, walking down the middle of the road and letting us pass. We frantically checked our mirrors to make sure that we had done the right thing and were in the clear and then spent a few more minutes, waiting for sirens and blue flashing lights bearing down on us as we were hunted down. It took a quite a while for our heart rate to return to normal.

We skirted Katowice as the scenery became more hilly and headed to Ojcow National Park, the smallest one in Poland. We turned down a side road from the main carriageway along farmland and fields and wondered what all the excitement was about. But the road dropped and suddenly we were in a wooded valley driving through a tunnel of trees. With the dappled sunshine, it was magical. We found a car park with thoughts of a cuppa and a quick wander, but there were no spaces. So we carried on – it was heaving with tourists and every parking space was taken. It was like the Lake District on a Bank Holiday. So we just drove through, along valleys, meadows, villages and majestic granite cliffs, admiring how stunning it was – it was very beautiful and glad we got to see it. And then, as we pulled up a hill we were suddenly back to farmland with small industry units and warehouses. A little gem hidden away and over far too quick.

But now we can could serious looking mountains in the far distance.

We drove through Krakow, which was very beautiful with elegant buildings everywhere – we decided there and then to return next year on a city break – this city deserved a thorough investigation!

We got burped out of Krakow and headed south west towards Zywiec, hopefully our overnight stop. We hadn’t booked anything just in case we got distracted and didn’t travel very far. We followed the River Vistula out of Krakow and then veered off into the countryside again, through well to do villages and towns. After a while and after yet another left turn down a tiny little back road, we decided to stop for a cuppa and just double check our route. For some reason, Google Maps had decided that it was bored with the assigned route and gone completely off piste. Not that we minded as the countryside and these back roads were a delight and we decided to stick with them, though kept eye on Google in case it threw a total wobbly. And it was a lovely route: pretty villages with big houses nestling in the foothills – the scenery was definitely changing now. We followed the banks of a large lake and crossed some imposing bridges. This was more like it.

We passed some extraordinarily big churches in the smallest of communities – they were more like mini cathedrals and dwarfed everything around them. This is a Catholic country and you could see that the church was very much central to these communities. We also noticed that most of the housing was reasonably modern and rendered with just a few traditional houses remaining – usually in some form of disrepair. We came to realise that these older buildings were probably a nightmare to heat and keep warm – they were mainly constructed out of wood – and had been been gradually abandoned for more efficient housing.

We arrived in Zywiec in the late afternoon and really needed supplies. Tomorrow everything would be shut and a lump of cheese and a few crackers wouldn’t suffice. So I plunged into yet another Lidl (though I had seen a lot of Dino supermarkets and just fancied to shop in one – don’t ask me why). It’s quite stressful in a way – trying to find stuff, figuring out costs and spending time with Google Translate ascertaining what you’re actually buying. Finally with two bags of goodies, we made our escape as hubby had found a possible camping site for the night.

So imagine our dismay at rocking up at this campsite to find a fenced off field with five wigwam tents at the far end and a solitary motorhome. There was nobody about, the portacabin office was firmly shut and a notice board was so full of instructions that even Google gave up. Despite having splendid views high up on the hillside, it just wasn’t our cup of tea – initially we thought it had a solitary port-a-loo which really put us off, but it didn’t really improve as we turned around and spotted three further loos and a washing up area in a ramshackle wooden construction. With its fate sealed, we went off to find something a bit more upmarket.

We hadn’t done ourselves any favours coming here really. In the winter it’s a major ski resort luring thousands to come and break limbs on the ski slopes and adapts itself for the summer hordes. It’s constantly busy every month of the year. But despite this the mountains were truly stunning, really spectacular scenery – with houses scattered amongst the trees and small little villages. It was almost Alpine. After wheedling through the back roads looking for the next campsite, we ended up on a main stretch of road that followed the valley up into the hills. We entered a town that seemed to go on for miles and was heaving with people wandering along, perusing the inevitable gift shops selling souvenirs and other tat, icecream vendors and other tourist attractions. There were even replica Alpine wooden houses dotted around – it was like a Polish Aviemore but without the awful architecture and only slightly better than the Baltic coastal resorts.

We carried on driving, coming across another tourist resort town further along which seemed a bit calmer and a bit more upmarket though it still had a few garish retail outlets. Here we could see more of the skiing side of things with cables cars disappearing through the trees to the top of the mountains.

We turned up a tiny single road as instructed by the satnav (thought it was someone’s driveway at first) and after a couple of twists and turns, headed up a hill on an open road to our second attempt at camping for the night. It was a slight improvement on the first – it was quite small, surrounded by fencing and with another barrier. A noticeboard had both Polish and English which helped. It looked very full so we pressed the call button for some assistance which failed to summon anyone. Unsure what to do and despite the fabulous views, decided this wouldn’t work and set off again. We were getting tired by now and just wanted a beer.

We found a third site some 20 minutes up the road and crossed our fingers that we could stay. It was coming up to 7pm and God knows that we would do if we couldn’t get in. Wild camping was only allowed on National Parks apparently – perhaps we could get a hotel room or at least stay in their car park.

We drove to Wisla along a stunning highway with hairpins bends thrown in for good measure. These mountains were gorgeous. We came up to Kemping Jonidlo and pulled in to reception which was open – that was a good start. It looked very busy with the tops of numerous vans poking over the hedge. Armed with Google Translate Live on the phone, we entered the office and said hello to the woman sat at the desk and followed it up with a tentative “English?” Now in my world, if someone came to me and couldn’t speak my language, I would speak slowly and maybe chuck in some hand signals and do my best to help. I have found over the many years of visiting foreign countries, that they totally ignore your inadequacies and launch into lengthy monologues that last minutes and hit Mach 1 for speed. And today was no exception – she spoke at the speed of an out of control machine gun that even the phone couldn’t keep up. Somehow we got across that we were two people with a camper and a “pies”, my only competent Polish word (she was impressed), proffered some money and we were in. We could park whereever we wanted.

It was more like “you could park anywhere if you’re lucky enough to find a spot to squeeze into first”. It was practically full and very cosy. We slithered between two campers and suddenly appreciated the British regularity when camping. The pitch numbers, the decent space between units allowing you to acknowledge fellow campers , but not necessarily become life long friends or the need to go into detail with their medical records. There was no real personal space here at all.

We were too knackered to do anymore – it hadn’t been a particularly stressful day, but we just wanted a beer and relax. We fed the Pupster, finally cracked open a bottle and fed ourselves. Then I took Pupster for a walk down the back of the campsite where we found a river with a path alongside which was quite pretty. Pupster dipped her paws into the water by the ford and we admired the surrounding scenery.

We waddled back and chilled – with no real room outside, we set up the bed and as the night fell, we shut the door. The stubborn flies of this morning had disappeared but we didn’t want them replaced by any other winged or bitey insect. We were not far off from the Czech border so would be leaving Poland tomorrow. We had a lot of fun in this country and would be sad to say goodbye.

It had stopped raining, though everything was damp and soggy. The Van was full of flies – trouble not having a fly screen on your side door – so we opened the boot and wafted them out in that direction. It reduced the population quite considerably, though there were a few obstinate ones.

We had another slow morning and late breakfast. Tidying the Van, sorting out Pupster, sorting ourselves out – suddenly most of the morning has gone! After sorting the world out over breakfast with our friends and the day slowly brightening and warming up, we took the Pupster for a walk – about 30 minutes along very quiet country lanes to the river – where Pupster had a lovely time swimming after sticks and paddling in the shallows. Then we slowly walked back, setting off all the dogs that lived in the houses (not sure if this area is classed as a village – just lots of properties with huge plots strung out along a very long road). Most gates had “Awaga Pies” signs tied to their gates/fences (attention – dogs) so we imagined slavering Rottweilers straining at leashes, ready to rip any trespassers apart when in reality, it was mostly little chihuahua type dogs that came galloping up the paths, yapping madly, clearly suffering from Small Dog Syndrome. They took their duties seriously, their high pitched barks following us up the road, their fellow burglar alarm systems joining in the fray. Despite their diminutive size, we kept our distance – they didn’t look the petting types, more like ankle biters and snappers of fingers.

Late yesterday afternoon, the bee keeper who said we couldn’t visit, phoned and invited us to visit him after all – we organised to arrive around 6pm. After a quick bite to eat, the four of us and Pupster headed towards south east of Lodz, about an hour away. We turned up at a modest house with a big garden and met a lovely couple. They ushered us to a table with benches and began to talk about their bee keeping, which was great except it was in Polish. We turned on Google Translate Live which kind of worked, but we had to knit the information together as the translation was a bit mangled – but we got the gist of it. We got to taste two types of honey that their bees produced, some honey cake, a honey drink and some seeds, which was delicious. After a while, we donned bee keeping jackets and hoods then followed the chap across the lawn to a wooden shed. It seemed a bit excessive for a bee hive, but this particular one had a bit of a twist. Down the side, he pulled out a hefty drawer where racks full of bees were busy working. It was fascinating. He had no protection whatsoever as he pulled out racks and moved bees to show us the honeycomb. Afterwards he shut the drawer and took us to the front of the shed – we took off our protective clothing and followed his wife inside. It was set up like a sauna with slatted benches on both sides, under which were the drawers full of bees. With the bees buzzing, it sent vibrations up into the room and the concept was, that together with the smell of the honey and the buzzing sensation, the combination had unique healing powers and therapeutic benefits including relieving anxiety, pain and helping mental health. We sat there for a long time taking in the aroma of honey and could hear the bees, but very faintly – the wife explained that it had been a poor year for bees, the weather had not been kind so the bees had been unable to forage to their full potential and the population numbers were down. Also it was coming to the end of the peak season so we wouldn’t experience the full capabilities of the hive, but as we sat there, we could feel ourselves relaxing and becoming still. It was very powerful, nature at its best and we understood how amazing it would be.

The next problem in a beekeeper’s life were now the wasps that seemed to be everywhere and kept appearing in the shed – they couldn’t figure out how the insects were getting in, but she was an expert at catching them and chucking them outside. Wasps can be devastating to a bee community, so the couple had to be being very vigilant, checking the bees all the time. Parasites were another constant worry too – it was like a full time job, she explained, as they used no pesticides, no chemicals or artificial compounds – everything was organic and natural, which made their work even harder.

In the meantime, Pupster sat outside with the husband, calmly laying on his feet and driving their own dogs mad. It set off the neighbourhood dogs off too. We keep passing our poor hound to complete strangers and she doesn’t bat an eyelid.

Our friends decided to check the hive out further – they laid down on the benches inside the shed as they were very interested in this concept – we went outside and admired the garden. Somehow we began a conversation about the herbs and flowers – “mint, mint tea, sage and rudbeckia” some words just cross that international barrier. The wife had a better digital translator on her phone and we chatted more about bees, nature and educating children. It was lovely.

We bought 6 jars of honey between us and bade goodbye to this lovely couple who cared so much about bees. They barely made any money from this venture which depended so much on good years, weather and serious dedication. It was a labour of love more than a viable business, but with bees so important to this planet, we admired their unwavering passion for the little creatures.

We drove back to our friend’s house, discussing about what this amazing couple were trying to do, full of admiration for them. Mist was forming and lingering across the wheat fields in the fading light which was quite ethereal. It was nearly dark by the time we got back and we hung out by our van, shooing the pesky flies that had the gall to take up residence. After a well earned cuppa, we retired to bed. Tomorrow we would be leaving our friends and starting wheedle our way back home.

The day was threatening rain and a couple of heavy showers rattled through as we got up, sorted ourselves out and had breakfast. Our friends helped us plan our route home, pointing us to the hills and mountains further south that we had been missing on this trip as well as trying to organise a visit to a bee keeper. The weather this summer has not been kind to the bees this year with low honey production and bees themselves struggling, so we were told it wasn’t possible. Hey ho.

So our friends decided to take us to Lodz instead to show us a couple of places and to visit her parents. So we jumped into their car for the hour journey as the sky got blacker and blacker. As we entered the outskirts, the heavens opened and basically stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon with scattered and very brief respites.

We arrived at the parents house as the rain became particularly heavy and the Pupster refused to get out of the car. She got unceremoniously pushed out as we were getting soaked. Inside Pupster met the family cat which was interesting as she hadn’t met a feline close up and she was intrigued. She did very well, but later wanted to play which didn’t impress the cat – she upset the cat further by eating its dinner, twice.

The mum had got cakes and gone a bit overboard – three large plates for five of us, but they were delicious and thoroughly enjoyed. She had also very kindly offered to do some laundry for us as we had only travelled with a week’s worth of clothing, planning to use a campsite’s laundry services.

We finally left for Lodz city centre, leaving the Pupster with mum (apparently Pupster just fell asleep). We parked up near the centre and walked around the corner which was originally the main industrial heartland of the town and now was in the middle of a big regeneration project. The Industrial Museum had been built around the old blast furnaces with the remnants being an integral part of the modern building. We had a fun hour or so wandering around and playing with the interactive displays and being in awe of the size of the original furnaces. Later on the way back to the car, we spotted one of the cooling towers, surrounded by the modern museum building – it was really well done.

As the museum was closing we headed next door to the Planetarium and booked for the 18:15 film show. We entered a large dome and got comfy in reclining seats to watch the solar system displayed on the curved ceiling – the first part was in Polish so we just had to guess (basically there’s more water on Jupiter’s moons than we have on Earth, so we’re not the only planet to exclusively have oceans) and then through headphones, we listened to the possibility that micro organisms from other planets started life on Earth. It was very interesting.

Feeling hungry, we found an Italian restaurant down a side street that had been recommended by a family relative. It was small, cosy and a bit quirky. With a menu sporting several languages, we ordered a nice meal and even mum joined us after her yoga class. (The dad had arrived back home to look after Pupster and the pair were snuggling up to each other apparently).

We headed back to the family home to retrieve the Pupster, meet dad briefly and collect our washing before driving back in the dark with drizzling rain. We were all tired.

Back at base, our canopy had collapsed (must of been quite windy) so we quickly set it back up (the poles had just toppled over) and connected the electric using our new connector which had arrived. Our fridge would survive! After a quick cuppa, we all headed to bed and quickly nodded off.

We woke up to clear blue sunny skies, but with a keen wind. We took our time getting up and getting ready – this place was so tranquil and relaxing.

Yesterday we had the unique experience of being part of Poland’s national emergency test. (Alarm system exercise). We had been fore warned by text the previous day (how do they know we’re in Poland?) so wasn’t too alarmed when we heard a wailing siren (sounded like a WW2 air raid siren) around 8am, somewhere in the distance. But it was still unsettling in a way, listening to the drone of the siren waft across the city which seemed to carry on for an inordinate amount of time – the thought briefly flickers through your head whether it’s actually a test or something has happened to the world overnight. Eventually, the siren died slowly and with nobody else panicking and running around in circles, we carried on sorting out the van.

We went to the main farm buildings where you could wash up, get rid of rubbish and sort your onboard loo out and on the way back, the owner’s Golden Retriever decided to join us and followed us back. He was happy with the attention and Pupster was delighted to have a four legged friend to play with. She tried to goad him into a chase, but he just resolutely stood there watching this mad Labrador do zoomies around him. They hung out together as we sorted the Van out, the Retriever almost tempted to jump in and join our adventure, but finally sauntered off. After our customary check of locked cupboard doors and the gas turned off, we headed to our friend’s house.

It was only an hour and a half away, our shortest run since we started this trip, but we thought we might have to do a detour. We needed an electric lead connector for the Van (we have got one back home, but managed to forget to bring it with us – doh) to enable us to connect our English plug into European sockets. Our onboard leisure battery can usually cope with being off grid for a few days, but in recent weeks was showing signs of needing to be replaced. Last night, at the small holding we didn’t bother to hook up (we’ve been borrowing connectors at the previous campsites we’ve stayed in) so imagine our alarm to find a full battery showing red by the following morning!

So my job as we drove away was to locate a camping shop, but after a brief internet search, the three on offer were in deepest Lodz – we didn’t fancy fighting urban traffic looking for shops in a city we didn’t know. Our other option was to order one from Amazon and get it delivered to our friend’s house on next day delivery. As much as we dislike Amazon’s ethics and working practices, it was going to save the day and actually, isn’t it amazing that today, you can press a button on your phone and get whatever you want the following day from the comfort of your chair (or in our case, campervan) and not suffer the trauma of chasing items around town. We all seem to take this retail revolution for granted.

The sky was full of big fluffy clouds, like balls of cottonwool as we wended our way along the country lanes and picked up the motorway – the sun was glorious. The car temperature gauge read 21 degrees. Perfect.

We turned off after skirting southern Lodz and returned to the quiet A roads, through little communities, woodland and little fields. At one point, we came around a bend after going through some roadworks, to find, much to our alarm, two men in hi-vis jackets on either side of the road, with a tape measure draped across the tarmac. As we slowed downed, one of the chaps got up and sauntered causally to the middle of the road despite a black campervan bearing down on him, bent over and made a mark on the road – it seemed that they were marking out the new centre white line after some resurfacing work. No hard hats, no goggles, no cones, no traffic lights, no warning signs, no closing half the road off, no health and safety – just two men with a tape measure wandering down the road, denoting where the centre line should go. Fabulous. Back in England, that would have meant a full road closure for at least a month and a 20 mile detour…….

We found our friend’s house along a lane of houses, set back from the road. It’s the first time we’ve been here and it was fabulous. We set up the Van in their garden, caught up with each other, had lunch and then chilled. Pupster had a big space to run around in and investigate – she could also have some downtime from us too. She also spent quite a bit of time hunting flies that came into the van – there seemed quite a flying insects here and they all seemed to find our van fascinating and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave…….

In the early evening, our friends suggested a walk through a forest to some lakes where there would be a variety of birds to look at. We fancied stretching our legs and taking in some fresh air too. That sounded a perfect plan, so we jumped into their car and headed off. The forest had well defined paths through the tall gangling pine trees and we walked along with the Pupster leading the way. The trees were fascinating, shedding their dark bark halfway up their trunks, showing a tan colour up to their canopy. It was quite beautiful, these trees standing to attention in rows in majestic tricolours.

We walked for ages before we reached the lakes – the Pupster was quite alarmed to find a new human at the end of her lead as we took turns to walk her. It made us laugh with her hesitancy and puzzled looks. Our friends started to look for the viewing platforms so we could see the lakes better, but they weren’t so familiar with this part of the woodland and struggled to locate them. But it didn’t matter, it was really lovely – the tranquility, the quietness knowing we were probably the only people there. The sun was setting, dropping behind the distant woods and with the light fading, we decided to wander back.

We had walked quite a way so towards the end of the walk, it was quite dark. We were hoping to see fireflies, but we didn’t see any, though bats were flying between the trees. We saw no deer either – we asked about wolves and bears, but they were located further south in countryside beyond Krakow so we had no worries about mauled by an angry ball of fur. We drove back to base where The Pupster got excited about something in the tall grass and gave a good impression of a leaping gazelle.

We said good night to each other and settled down in the van. Another fabulous day on our big European adventure!

In our van, we sleep with a duvet with two “emergency” blankets tucked down the side to cover us in the middle of the night, when The Pupster who sleeps on the bed with us, decides to hog all the duvet and leaves human limbs exposed to the elements. This morning was no exception except The Pupster had surpassed herself by acquiring both emergency blankets and the duvet. And there she laid, flat on her back, paws up in the air, gently snoring and being a total unmovable sack of potatoes……

It had rained overnight and there were still passing showers. After a fabulous hot and powerful shower, we headed to the cafe for breakfast. The Poles and Europeans in general don’t really make a fuss of dogs and we haven’t really seen many dogs out and about, but practically every establishment we have visited has welcomed our dog in and offered water for her. And the cafe this morning was no exception.

It was a self service affair with a selection of cereals, cheeses, meats, toast, cakes, rolls and eggs with juices, tea and coffee. A little Polish girl wanted to stroke the Pupster and with mum speaking very good English, we struck up a lovely conversation which was wonderful. She even taught us how to pronounce Lodz which is “Woo-dg” – (of course it is). No wonder we had been getting blank looks from everyone when asked where we were heading and we pronounced it the way it was spelt. 🙈.

I had to smile later, standing behind a family of Germans trying to pay. They couldn’t speak fluent Polish, the server couldn’t speak German so both parties spoke English. Fabulous and it made me feel so much better for my pathetic linguistic attempts .

With no accommodation booked for tonight, a quick internet search found a tiny campsite in Chlebów, a little hamlet in the middle of nowhere – it sounded perfect. We made a phone call to the owner to see if we needed to book in. The owner told us he spoke a little English, but was better at German. So we had this bizarre conversation with me speaking the limited German that I remembered from my schooldays and not used since (zwei persons, ein hund und eine campervan) and hubby topping it up with a bit of English. Between us we ascertained that if we just rocked up, there would be space (hopefully).

We took the Van into Torun to the edge of the old town as we had a mission to buy gingerbread (which the town is famous for) from a particularly recommended shop. We parked in a manned car park which didn’t have any English on its two noticeboards of rules and regulations (Google Translate came to the rescue and I figured it was 8 Polish zlotys for an hour) and quickly made the transaction with a rather dour chap in a kiosk who made no further demands. We wandered up to the shop and within minutes had accomplished our mission. With two boxes, we headed across the way for a celebratory coffee – again another Pole with excellent English – and ordered gingerbread coffees. We thought the girl was asking what flavour gingerbread we fancied in our coffee or what flavoured biscuit to accompany said coffee, but the brief negotiations got mangled across the counter and we ended up with another box of gingerbread. The coffees, by the way, were sweet, but delicious.

The day was still overcast and moody, threatening rain all the time as we headed out of town towards Plock. We stopped briefly for fuel and on the edge of Plock, we stopped at a Lidl for a top up of provisions. I spent an inordinately amount of time in there that hubby nearly sent in a rescue party, but trying to figure out the different types of milk and hunting for non existent citronella candles ate up the time as well as an inordinately long queue for the one till that was open (I wasn’t brave enough to do the self service tills – I have enough trouble in England with “unexpected items in the bagging area”). By the time I had got out, a heavy rainstorm had passed through.

We were not in a rush, just gently cruising through the countryside with the weather improving and getting warmer. It was a mixture of woodlands and farmland, gently rolling one minute to being quite flat the next, all very pretty. We hadn’t seen a single mountain on this trip yet – as much as this countryside was lovely, we were starting to pine for a few major hills and valleys.

McDonalds seems to be very big in Poland – regularly bobbing up in towns and on major junctions. It’s one of very few global corporations that we’ve seen here and that’s fine by me.

The hubby had been sorting out directions for the next section of the journey towards our campsite in Chlebow, while I had been faffing around in Lidl, but didn’t really tell me of his plans until we were back on the road. As I was chief navigator and spotter of all speed cameras, pedestrians, oncoming cars and other driving impediments whilst hubby did the driving (we had agreed upon this beforehand and I’m apparently very good at this role). So it wasn’t helpful when I asked where we were going (in case the satnav threw a wobbly) and the reply I received was a mixture of “I don’t know” “I think it begins with L” or just say a made up destination that sounded like you’re bringing up a furball. At any angle, it was not at all useful.

(We had our first “oops we have gone wrong and need to turn around” moment in the town of Wloclawek when the satnav did have a wobbly and kept taking us round the block and refusing to go any further. We took the matter into our own hands and overrode the computer which caused it to have a meltdown telling us to go left, then right and probably muttering an expletive – we found a quiet side road to reset and luckily found ourselves heading in the right direction and after replumbing the satnav, normal service was resumed).

We were heading to Lowicz, following the satnav who now decided that we needed a bit of excitement in our lives (and possible payback for assuming control earlier) and took us down the most bumpiest, potholed, badly repaired, narrowest rural lanes it could possibly find. With hubby driving on the right side, he found it hard to judge how close he was to oncoming cars passing on my side – luckily we were able to drive onto the verge to pass safely. It was a fascinating environment – the earlier woodlands and lakes had given way to flat arable farming land with scattered communities along the way. These villages were a mixture of old traditional housing with fairly new modern ones, some of which were particularly opulent. We wondered who lived here as it was basically farming and it didn’t warrant such fancy housing, but looking at the map, we noticed that Warsaw and Lodz were in close proximity – perhaps these people liked the rural life and commuted into the cities or were retired or worked from home. It was a fascinating combination.

We stopped briefly in Lowicz’s town square wondering whether to go for a walk, have something to eat or go to our campsite and chill. We voted for the third option and finally came across our destination in the middle of nowhere at the end of a row of smallholdings. We turned down a track and found ourselves in an orchard area with little camping bays. We found our chap we spoke to this morning and after telling us about the facilities, told us to find a spot. Our first choice in one of the bays, didn’t quite float our boat and a quick investigation found us relocating to the very back where it opened up with a fabulous view across the cornfields with woodlands in the distance and big skies.

Just absolutely perfect and just the sort of campsite that we love.

We quickly set up as another dark broody cloud threatened to rain on us. We set up the table and had a picky tea, listening to the chickens and ducks clucking next door. The chap came round and charged us £15 for the night which was incredibly cheap. The Pupster had a huge field to burn up all that energy she had stored up on her charging mat – she had a marvellous zoomie moment, found apples to fling around and to chase her ball. She was a happy hound.

There were about another 5 campers down our end of the site, but we hardly saw them. It was so quiet, peaceful and relaxing with the sun setting behind a distant woodland. We couldn’t have found a more perfect place to stay.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to meet up with our friends who started all this a few weeks ago in Spain.

Well, there didn’t seem to be any thunderstorms last night or we slept through them which is entirely possible.

We have tea and biscuits in bed and then decided to have an early start. Handed the key back to our host and I got to practice my only bit of Polish “thank you”. Felt accomplished!

We decided to head to Orzechowo near Ustka further along the coast, but had to go inland to get there – there didn’t seem to be a coastal road to follow which was a shame. We turned off the main road and down into the woods where we found a hotel complex hidden amongst the trees – very discreet. We parked up in the car park and walked through the woods until we reached the sea. The Pupster literally pulled me onto the beach in her excitement. And wow, what a beautiful piece of coastline. The sea is eroding the coastline, eating into the woodland causing the trees to tumble into the surf – there are fallen tree trunks everywhere. But so natural – there were a few people walking along the sand, enjoying the peace and quiet, the stunning scenery and the waves crashing onto the beach. This was what we were looking for and not an icecream kiosk in sight!

It was lunchtime by the time we lured the Pupster out of her watery heaven, so we made a cuppa and had a small snack in the van. We agreed to have a motorway day to get to Torun and headed towards the junction and noted yet again how cycle paths were incorporated alongside major roads and people used them. We had seen them all across Europe and wished we had more of them in England – though saying that, it is very flat around here!

It was a long journey and not inspiring on the motorway, though the countryside was pleasant and became more rolling. We came across our first motorway toll and I had to deal with leaning out of the window and grabbing a ticket and then wondering what the procedure was for paying for it. At the Torun turn off, there were another toll booth which was thankfully manned and took card payments which was a relief. I practiced my Polish thank you on the staff member but she didn’t look impressed!

We entered the eastern outskirts of Torun to be met by Soviet style apartment blocks and wondered if we got the right place as it is supposed to be very pretty. For several miles, it was car showrooms and light industry and other businesses. Our campsite for the night was on the south side of the River Vistula in a suburb, with woodland on one side and a busy road on the other. It was actually quite nice with a hotel and a bar/cafe – breakfast was sorted for tomorrow – and decent washrooms.

We set the van up and put the awning up too as it was threatening to rain – which it did. Short and sharp. We decided to go into town for food and walked to the main road and over the iron bridge into town – about 20 minutes. Over to our right we could see the old town and within minutes, as we entered the town walls, was stunned by the beauty of it all.

It was busy with mingling tourists. There was a large square and a main thoroughfare with little side streets – ir was almost like a fairytale town. A mixture of architecture with a dominant church – it was beautiful. We bought a giant pretzel and pronounced the Polish word for sunflower so badly, that the young server broke into English in sympathy.

We had a wander around the streets and then back to the square for a place to eat where numerous restaurants had outdoor eating areas covered with adjoining parasols. We chose one particular popular restaurant and found a table – it was breezy and a bit cool, but there were heaters. We ordered food and drinks and The Pupster was in the middle of a dream, when the heavens opened! The rain ran down the canopies and in between the parasols, flooding tables including our own. We tried to relocate to another part of the outdoor area, but our lovely waiter stepped in. He dashed inside and secured us a table (which we didn’t expect as we had Pupster) which was a blessing in disguise as inside was so much nicer in decor and ambience.

We enjoyed a lovely meal and our waiter kept popping back to see if we were okay despite being one of the outdoor staff. He was a Torun native but was studying English in Portugal – he came back to work in Poland for the summer to save up in order to go back in September. We gave him a 20% tip as he had been absolutely brilliant looking after us, but when we converted it, it was only £10 and felt a bit miserly. Everything is so much cheaper here than the UK and makes you realise how expensive our country is.

We wandered back across the bridge as the light was going and decided to relax in bed. The main road beside the campsite had calmed down considerably though the adjacent railway line had trains rumbling along who blared their horns. It started to rain again and the rhythmic pattering on the van roof soon had us nodding……

Another cracking night’s sleep and woken at 7:30 with the fabulous news that England beat France 6-4 to get third place in the World Cup.

It’s overcast again, but not cold. We breakfast and manage to purchase 4 coffees instead of two. Hey ho. Then it starts to rain!!!!

We decided to head off and leave Lubben around 10am, following the A roads again. They are all very straight and wondered if there’s some Roman influence, but it’s a lovely route through woodlands. We are fascinated with the metal barriers protecting the trees on the roadside – sometimes just individual trees and the fabulous sign of a car hitting a tree and coming off worse!

The tunnel of trees give way to fields of sunflowers droopy under the heavy clouds, waiting for the sun to come out. Quite a few of the road side trees are clearly suffering with withered brown leaves – get the impression that it hasn’t rained for quite a while and the temperatures have been higher than normal. Sad to see.

We come up to Frankfurt (Oder), the last town in Germany before the border with Poland. There are hints of its communist past with apartment blocks dominating parts of the town, but it’s a nice city. We come up to the River Oder and cross into Poland as we cross the bridge. The remnants of the border control complex still stands, rusting and neglected, two police officers stood by their patrol car under the canopy as we passed. It’s so weird that we have travelled across four European countries and not once had to show our passports. As we’ve crossed into new countries, just a simple roadside blue sign with the EU stars signify this transition with the country’s name emblazoned across it and then you’re in a new country – it’s just like crossing county borders in England. It’s a weird concept, but an easy one!

We went through our first Polish town of Kostrzyn with a different currency (Poland didn’t sign up to the Euro) and a whole new language, but luckily similar road rules. Polish would fun to get the tongue round and within a few miles, just managed to learn “thank you”, thanks to Google Translate. This could be fun.

We followed the main road towards Stargard, wanting a break with coffee and a sandwich. This town seemed our best bet as there didn’t seem to be any lay-bys or picnic areas where we could munch our onboard supply of cheese. We found the cafe via Google Maps and after a quick U turn, we parked in a car park and waddled around. What Google failed to mention was it was a icecream parlour rather than a cafe, so we dejectedly went back to the Van and continued our journey north.

We were going to hit the coast, primarily to reward the Pupster for her perseverance with a beach. The route took us through lovely villages, pretty towns, woods and farmland, but remained resolutely flat. A few substantial hills would be good. Storks had made their nests high on poles which was fun to see. We pulled over briefly to raid the larder of a packet of biscuits to keep us going – it was Sunday and most places were shut so our options were limited.

Finally the coastal town of Mrzezyno loomed into view and we turned eastwards towards Dzwirzyno for a place to sleep – we hadn’t booked anything for tonight so had choices. We were on a long straight road with apartments and hotels in amongst the woodlands separating us from the sea which seemed quite nice, but then the further we went, it got busier with people and realised that it was heartland of all things touristy and garish. Amusement arcades, clothing shops, jewellery stalls, tourist gift shop tat, it had it all. The pavements were full of wandering tourists, young and old – it was like the worst of a British seaside town, but in woodland. This was not our scene and we carried on, hoping it would improve.

It was less frenetic the further we went, but we weren’t going to stay here. We pulled over to mull our options – we needed a campsite first – but with only biscuits as sustenance and driven for many hours, we weren’t in the mood for going round in circles. We did a quick google and found a potential place at Mielno some 18 miles further east. We would check that out and work from there.

Mielno was another busy tourist town, but seemed a bit more upmarket and less kiss me quick. We found Camping Mauritius down a quiet road and pulled in. It was very tiny and the guy who greeted us spoke hardly any English. We fumbled with Google Translate and then abandoned. Somehow we communicated our needs and somehow he obliged, though a woman appeared who spoke English and made things easier. We parked up, slightly cozily between a small caravan and large motorhome in a grassy car park opposite and made a cuppa.

We decided to eat at the Van and had a picnic of the cheese and other nibbles, very aware that the day hadn’t gone quite according to plan. The Pupster went off to say hello to our caravan neighbours (again neither of us spoke each other’s language but we got the message across). The Pupster could smell the sea air and was becoming impatient so we set off down the lane with other meandering tourists, to stretch our legs, popping out onto the main thoroughfare which was full of kebab shops, gift shops, arcades and anything else to amuse the passing visitor. Yuk! We quickly crossed the road down another side road and immediately, the atmosphere changed. It was less busy, much more pleasant and refined and at the bottom was the beach! We checked to see if any other dogs were there, but seeing none and unable to ascertain from the information boards, we walked down to the quieter end of the town, where we spotted hounds on the waters edge and went to join them. The Pupster went mad, not quite believing that she was here, doing zoomies as far as her extendable lead would allow. We walked along the surf, The Pupster running in and out of the waves. It was lovely to see her enjoying herself and so happy – she had spent so much time in the Van and she appreciates a very nice beach.

After a while, we retraced our steps as our phones pinged warnings of thunderstorms. We wandered back to the Van and decided to watch last night’s football match with a glass of beer. With the night drawing in, we started to shut the Van down, noticing some quite towering and threatening clouds to the west. Were these the storms heading our way. It could be an interesting night.

I ended up on the upstairs platform in the campervan as both hubby and hound crashed out and there was no space for me. It was okay really, but not going to make a habit of it.

We decided to hit the road early so skipped breakfast. We would find a cafe somewhere for an infusion of coffee and a breakfast bun. The day was overcast but warm as we headed down the back lanes from the campsite. After the monotony of yesterday’s epic motorway run, we decided we would do the nicer A roads and if necessary jump onto autobahns if we were running out of time. Another long drive of nearly 300 miles. Our lovely Dutch neighbours came over as they were leaving and shook our hands, wishing us safe journeys. Such a lovely couple.

We drove through woodland and reached a junction. To the right was a barrier and lots of signs – we soon realised that it was a military training area. We half expected a tank to appear out of the trees, but another car appeared and allayed any fears that we had accidentally trespassed onto army manoeuvres! The severe military signs melted away and the wooded area became woodland for walks and other outdoor facilities. It turned from Catterick to Clumber Park within half a mile!

The countryside turned into rolling farmland with huge woods interspersed. It reminded us of the Hambleton Hills, east of York with the red pantile roofs. It was very scenic and so much better than yesterday.

We came across an Aldi and I went inside for provisions. Bit flustered as a) we don’t shop in big supermarkets b) didn’t know where everything was and c) it was a lot of German products! Grabbed snacky tea items and some food and treats for Pupster and escaped. We wouldn’t starve now. We carried on – we still needed that breakfast and coffee, despite wolfing down one of those double packaged chocolate brioche bun things. Google found a potential place in Bad Gandersheim, just off the main road and we headed there and parked up. The first cafe looked nice, but flies buzzed in the chill counters, so we went across the road where there were tables and chairs on the pavement. The waiter approached me and spoke in German. I mangled his language, but we agreed between us that we required 2 coffees for starters. Hubby had gone inside and was negotiating two slices of creamy cake. We sat down outside and good job we were sitting – these slices, no they were more like slabs, were enormous, topped with cream and sauce. It was now 11:30 and we wouldn’t need feeding for the rest of the day!

We waddled back to the van and continued our journey east, through little villages and towns, past woodlands, hayfields and tree lined roads – it reminded us of the Canal Du Midi in France. Then it changed to huge industrial fields of wheat and corn stretching like a sun scorched plain.

By now the sun had come out and it warmed up considerably. The villages and towns were typically German, tidy and very pleasant. There were a few ancient buildings looking rather dishevelled and need of some TLC, but it was a lovely relaxing drive. What we did notice was that there was not a soul about – the shops seemed shut and if you saw one person, that warranted a comment. Where was everybody? It seemed that we were the only humans around – had there be an apocalyptic event that we weren’t aware of?

We decided to jump on the motorway at this point and headed east towards Berlin. It didn’t seem so busy and crazy like yesterday and no hold ups! We admired the huge amount of graffiti that adorned anything that didn’t move – mainly roadside fencing and bridges. Some of the artwork was daubed on the most inaccessible spots possible and we wondered how the artists achieved their mission.

We were soon coming into the town of Lubben where we pulled into another Lidl as I had forgotten to get wine and beer this morning before finding the Knaus camping ground and checked in at 5pm. We quickly set up between two trees which offered shade, just across the way from the main reception. We relaxed for a while and then headed off to town via the little bridge spanning the river and past the marina area which was delightful. Within 10 minutes we were in the centre deciding where to eat. We chose a lovely little restaurant by the Town Hall and opposite a square rather than the pizza place where live music was being played across the way. We initially sat inside, but it got quite warm and ended up on an outside table, which was perfect. We ordered tapas and drinks and enjoyed the evening warmth. An insistent wasp and his mate kept buzzing around which was slightly annoying, but it was lovely food and I practiced my German on the poor waitress – she kindly spoke English, thank goodness! Again ChatGPT and Google Translate helped with the menu – point the camera and the German melted into English. Fabulous!

The Pupster made friends on both tables on either side of us before lying down and enjoying the cool air. Later she played in the little fountain. We strolled back to the campsite where a singer was performing near the reception, so we sat in the van and listened to him entertaining the clientele of the Bistro. Mainly German songs, but very nice easy listening. As night fell, we realised that we could be in quite a noisy spot – a kiddie playground behind us and the main thoroughfare, but the kids went back to their respective tents/campers and the place settled down for the night.

Another fabulous day. Tomorrow we slip over the border to Poland and hopefully a beach for our very patient pup.

Slept like a log despite the Pupster hogging most of the bed. Woke up at 6:30, but laid in for another hour.

We got up to bright sunshine, showered and decided to walk back into town for breakfast. Found a different route to avoid the roadworks of last night, but still popped out by the river. So much easier.

We found a cafe overlooking the square, almost opposite to the restaurant we ate at last night and ordered breakfast and coffees. The square was full of parked cars with other vehicles circling the periphery including lots of bikes being ridden by everyone from young kids, teenagers, ladies in dresses, families and elderly people. It was fabulous to see so many people on bikes, joining the cars, vans and buses in the seemingly organised chaos of the town square traffic.

From our vantage point, we could also study the beautiful buildings and architecture, wondering how old it all was, considering it was one of the central battlefields of the World War One. After a bit of Googling, we discovered that Ieper was basically flattened during the First World War and then rebuilt within 10 years, exactly as it was before the hostilities. Everything was replicated including the intricate stone carvings, plaques, towers of the original medieval town. How amazing is that? It was stunning and anyone not knowing the history, would have thought it was just very well preserved. It wouldn’t happen today.

https://www.discoveringbelgium.com/the-reconstruction-of-ypres/

We waddled back to the campsite after finding yet another route through the woods, packed the van and hit the motorway towards Germany under the mistaken belief that it would be quicker ……….

We had 300 miles to cover through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, across a fairly flat landscape with corridors of industry with new modern buildings. Agriculture passed over to woodlands and back to fields as we skirted big cities, only to get caught up traffic queues around their ring roads – it must of added up to over an hour of lost time. The outside temperature hit 29 degrees.

The German autobahn proved interesting as we hurtled along at 70mph and felt that we were doing 40 as German motorists shot past us. We noted that with all the long delays we had encountered today, not one involved a collision which seemed amazing – it was just either roadworks or sheer volume of traffic.

After 6 hours of driving we were glad to find Campingplatz am Furlbach, get checked in and make a strong cup of Yorkshire tea. Think we were the only British vehicle there and with every sign written in German only, figured that Brits rarely visited. My appalling classroom German went completely AWOL so we either asked ChatGPT or used Google Translate to work out all the signs. I did manage a “Danke” and said good day instead of goodbye but felt accomplished. Thanks to Google, I also refreshed or learnt a few more basic words and phrases. It’s pretty shameful really, but thank goodness for technology!

Our plan today, as of yesterday too, was to stop at a supermarket before we arrived at the campsites and get some food in. Alas, we failed yet again to visit such a place and today relied on the few packets of crisps and biscuits we had on board. Tonight’s campsite did have a tiny shop and I came out feeling flushed having supplemented our meagre rations with two bottles of beer and a packet of plastic cheese.

We set up the van, met the couple next door from the Netherlands who were heading to Italy and settled down outside to eat the cheese. Afterward we walked the Pupster around the campsite and to have a nose. It was quite a big campsite with the pitches around the periphery having private enclosed areas which some had turned into proper little gardens. It seemed one of those places that catered for long term residents as well as tourers.

We returned to the reception area where on the large grassed area, there seemed a congregation of people listening to a speaker. They had food and drink laid on too. It was intriguing and we wanted to find out more, but my splattering of German wouldn’t stretch that far and we might be signed up for some organisation. We smiled and returned to our campervan, happy to listen to the person playing the accordion.

We sat outside until we felt a bit of rain which in turn, turned into an unexpected shower lasting a good 30 minutes. We retreated indoors and had to close the door as the rain was coming in (we couldn’t be bothered with our awning).

So we prepared for bed. The Pupster has been brilliant. She’s always been a great traveller, but at nearly 3 (hardly a pup I know) she just sleeps on her mat between us and barely moves. She’s now slept through 4 countries and Le Shuttle……..

Sorry there’s not many photos – motorway driving isn’t really conducive for such activity.

This sudden and totally spontaneous trip to Poland started off innocently enough in early June as we said goodbye to our Polish friends in Spain after staying with them for a week. Heading back to their homeland, they mentioned they needed to build a garage and an off the cuff remark of “we can come over and help” turned into a two week road trip to Lodz.

So on one warm Thursday morning in July we left home at 5am and headed to the M6, hoping to beat the morning rush hour around Manchester. The Pupster settled between the front seats and basically stayed there all day. Overall it was a good journey – M6, M1, M25 until we were approaching the Dartford Crossing and then we slithered to a halt and crawled glacially towards the bridge. It sounded by the radio traffic reports, that the whole area around the M25 was gridlocked and any thoughts of a sneaky detour were futile so we gritted our teeth and hung on in there.

It must of been a good 40 minutes before we were able to engage 3rd gear and we hurtled across the bridge to the M20, onwards to Folkestone and Le Shuttle. We were greeted by huge signs “Welcome to Le Shuttle” before stopping at a kiosk and being checked in by a member of staff who then declared that we needed to take Pupster to the Pet Reception and pointed vaguely in the distance.We didn’t really have a clue where to go and tentatively followed lanes lined with cones (hoping we were heading in the right direction) until we were ushered by staff to carry on and finally parked in a broad area of tarmac with several other campervans, motor homes and caravans.

We grabbed the Pupster and followed the signs to the Pet Reception, hoping the £100 plus piece of paper that acted as her passport was all present and correct. After a quick microchip scan, she was checked in and ready to hit France. We hit the Passenger Terminal for a well deserved coffee and headed back to the van to munch our previously purchased sarnies from one of our stops at the motorway services, enjoying the hot sun and fresh breeze. There was a large board announcing departures and when to go to border control so we kept an eye on that. Our 15:30 train had already been delayed by 40 minutes (like all the other trains that day) when Le Shuttle announced that they had “unexpectedly lost a number of their trains” (careless of them) which we found hilarious and quite mind boggling! The electronic announcement board inched closer to our number and we hoped to see “Go to Border Control” very soon. Sadly instead, we got “wait 23 minutes to be updated” and when that time was up, a further 15 minutes. This was getting rather frustrating. Then imagine our dismay, when our departure time was changed to 18:30! Despondent and desperate for the loo, we wandered back to the Passenger Terminal and finding it cool and air conditioned, decided to sit it out there. We hadn’t been there 10 minutes, when we were called to go to border control. Not quite believing it, we trotted back to the van, and meandered along with other vehicles around various roads until we hit another row of kiosks and our passports checked! Now this was more like it! Our next hurdle was the French customs about 100 yards beyond, but we were diverted to a shed on the side together with a Discovery and a Volvo. Oh no, hope this wasn’t going to be a full “empty the van” search, but all they did was waft a wand over our steering wheel and to check our gas was off (couldn’t check the actual bottle as they had parked the Discovery two inches off our back door) so we turned on the hob and burnt off the residue gas and that apparently satisfied them.

Finally we rejoined the queue for the French customs and then followed the signs for “Large Vehicles” as instructed. Another labyrinth of lanes, another kiosk and finally first in the queue in Lane 14 where a red traffic light halted us. We reckoned we had more than an hour to wait so we flung the doors open until we noticed the traffic light had turned green. Yikes! Back into the van, follow the coned lanes and we suddenly found ourselves on the platform for the Le Shuttle. We couldn’t quite believe it. After a short wait, we were ushered on, drove to the bottom of the carriage, parked, wound the windows down and breathed a sigh of relief. It was 5pm. Somehow we were late, but earlier than expected.

Le Shuttle is quite shabby really. Grubby and tired and losing trains unexpectedly, but it did its job and soon we were back in daylight in Calais. Easily escaped the terminal and began to follow the satnav to our campsite in Ypres. For some reason we had told the satnav not to take motorways, so we had a rather scenic route through some very agricultural landscapes with acres of harvested corn fields, sweetcorn and other crops interspersed with pretty villages – it was like driving through Suffolk – which was lovely, but a bit time consuming.

We arrived at the Urban Garden campsite in Ieper at 8:30pm and promptly made a cup of tea. A quick check out of the site – which was full of British vehicles – and we were soon recommended to walk to the town centre some 12 minutes walk away. We all needed to stretch our legs so we followed a woodland path that came to a road which in turn was cordoned off for roadworks. A British couple had sneaked across by slipping through the railings surrounding the works and we snucked across too. We walked along the river until we reached the magnificent Menin Gate, a memorial for over 54,000 men killed during World War One. It was quite thought provoking to look at the names and the sheer number of them. It sent a shiver down the spine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menin_Gate

We walked through the Gate and down the beautiful main thoroughfare before it opened up into a fabulous square, surrounded by the most amazing architecture. It was stunning. We found a lovely restaurant with a terrace and settled down for a celebratory drink and some food. Being slightly overwhelmed with our day, we failed to realise that it was 9:50pm and the menu stated that last food orders were 9:30pm. But the wonderful waiter checked with the kitchen and gave us the full menu. We chose a quick snack as it was so late and felt a tad guilty. The waiter struck up conversation with us through the Pupster and managed to end up talking about Ypres war history and his 20 year old grandfather fighting, getting captured twice and escaping twice, the second time with success and ending up in England. We even got a photo of the young man. It was fascinating.

We said our goodbyes and waddled back to Van in the dark and basically crashed.