When In Slovakia

It's been a while since I've posted anything here about anything at all but today feels like the right time to do it.

So, when it comes to the production of wine, the outcome has been pretty decent. I'm not suggesting for one second that this wine is pure or would be considered by wine connoisseurs to be anything worthy or fame or recognition, but for us it's a really pleasing result to what was a hell of a lot of hard work.

The white wine is generally not transparent. Only one demijohn contains clear liquid and the other two are cloudy for some reason. Perhaps it's because we didn't 'rack' them. This was a new word for me but basically it means siphoning from one container to another while trying to avoid getting tipsy in the process. Sucking from the pipe is necessary to get the liquid moving and sometimes it takes a few attempts and a few mouthfuls of wine as well.

One of the wines that we took was a bit smelly. It had a smelly egg smell but tasted fine. Supposedly it happens when there isn't enough aeration or it can be from having too much sulphur in the wine.

The red came out pretty well and is the most satisfactory one as it involved more work and there's something very majestic about seeing this juice of the gods flowing from bottle to glass.

The general feedback we've had has been pretty good which has also been very pleasing as we are certainly not objective at all.

The experience has been a very good one and while the grape vines are still asleep, I'm looking forward to the time when they burst into life and so will begin
another season of battling with the natural elements in order to give them the chance to produce this special fruit.

Cycling in Morava

I didn't know anything about the region of Morava (Moravia in English) but was pleasantly surprised by the great number of castles and interesting small towns that are there. I was also impressed by the biking infrastructure that exists there, not only the bike paths but the restaurants and camp sites built next to the bike routes.

Starting from Skalica in Slovakia, we rode as far as Petrov. We were very unprepared without a map or a plan at all. Skalica is a very nice town but unfortunately we never got to try the famous pastry "Trdelnik" as we arrived a bit too late.
We rode until we reached the Bat'a Canal which was built by the famous shoemaker Tomáš Bat'a, hence the name. It connects some of the towns in this region and was built when water transport was the most effective form.  For about one euro we camped in Petrov and managed to get a map of the region.

 The next day we set out on a trail alongside the canal and passed through some attractive towns such as Strážnice and Veseli nad Moravou. The curiously named Stare Mesto was quite disappointing in comparison with the other towns. In Uherský Ostroh we just had a quick stop to have an embarrassing picture taken of ourselves which you can see below.

We managed to find a place to camp at Spytihnév for free. It was ideal as there was a pit stop for cyclists with a restaurant and a bar. There were also paid toilets and shower facilities which was heaven after such a hot and sweaty day. The worst thing for me was using sun cream on my freckled Irish skin to prevent sunburn. Either I use it and don't get burned but have to feel all that slime on my skin or I fry. I chose the former option.

In Napajedla there is quite a nice castle worth visiting. We had a tour guide in Czech with Yulia translating for me. It was a bit short but there were some interesting things to see. Kroměříž is a city I could definitely return to. Architecturally there is a lot to see. Unfortunately we didn't have too much time. We had Yulia's bike stand replaced in a bike shop. The guys there also pumped up my wheels and fixed my speedometer for no extra charge. After that I ate fried cheese once more. In a total of six days of traveling I ate fried cheese 4 days and the other two days we cooked our own food using our small gas stove. The vegetarian options are pretty limited so I'd recommend cooking your own food if you are of the veggie only kind.

 We'd heard a lot about Zliň, the home of Tomáš Bat'a's famous shoe company but we were very disappointed when we finally made it there. It took us such a long time to reach it as the bike route was much longer than the road for cars and meant we had to do a loop before we reached the city. We didn't find anything interesting there, except for an industrial city so we took a train back to Otrokovice and spend another night at the free campsite in Spytihnév.

The next day we had to go back all along the route we had just travelled upon in order to get to the south of Morava. Hodonin was our aim and we reached the outskirts of it in the evening. It was another hot day and the chance to cool down in the evening was very welcome. We stayed in a very interesting campsite which was all for ourselves and contained fruit trees and wigwams. The nearby bar was interesting with their own brewed beer. Polotmavý or half-dark beer is amazing in Czech.

Onwards to Lednice via Hodonin and Břeclav. Lednice is quite a touristy spot but it's easy to see why. The impressive castle and massive garden surrounding it is well worth visiting and we could easily have spent a day there. Instead we only had the evening as it took us some time to reach the city and the campsite. This was previously owned by the Liechtenstein family who were forced out of the region in World War II and then set up their own country which exists today. In the evening we were treated to a folk festival with musicians not only from Czech but also from Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Mikulov is only ten kilometres or so from Lednice and boasts equally impressive history and architecture. As this is a rich wine producing region, there is even a museum in the castle dedicated to this. The wine barrel in the picture to the right dates from 1643 and has a capacity of 101,400 litres.

After Mikulov we went to Valtice but the road there was horribly busy and not for biking at all. I don't know if we took a wrong turn but I was just so happy to get off the main road. This castle is equally impressive even though it is not as clean or as well restored as a lot of other castles in the region. We spent the last night enjoying a good bottle of red wine in the campsite before crashing in the tent.

One more thing we saw on the way home was this castle in the picture below - Januv Hrad. It was not open so we just took a walk around it before heading back to Břeclav and the train back to Bratislava via Kutý. 6 days was just about enough time to see a lot in this region. We were very lucky with sunny weather every day and no accidents on the bikes. There's lots of culture and interesting sites to visit and by bike I always feel you get to see a bit more.

 

Danauradweg - Passau to Vienna

I was thinking about dividing this up into different sections but decided to condense four days into one post.

Day One

Early, early start. We (Yulia and I) had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to catch the train from Bratislava to Passau. Actually we had to catch four trains. We nearly missed the first one due to bad time management and our natural tendency to not give ourselves enough time. Every other connection went smoothly and we were in Passau, Germany.

The city is really nice with lots to admire in the hilly old city. The first thing we did was send postcard and I bought a pair of shoes, not biking ones and then it was time to bike. We were pretty tired after traveling for about six hours but we had a schedule to keep to to make it to Vienna on Sunday. The route started off pretty smoothly and having the Danube to our right was reassuring that we were on track. The route is well-signposted so there was no great fear of getting lost. Fortunately it also wasn't so hot at the beginning although that changed later on. There were quite a few other cyclists on the route but it was not overcrowded on this section. 

Only once did we have to cross the river, by ferry which was relaxing but quite short. Despite taking many breaks we were pretty exhausted in the evening and in need of cooling down. I got into the river quicker than expected in order to save the watermelon which had fallen off the bike into the Danube. Below you can see my joy at saving this precious, hydrating fruit. At night we camped next to a cornfield next to which was an ominous looking house. Yulia was convinced it was safe and that the house was abandoned but I wasn't so sure. For dinner we cooked cous cous, zuchini, beans, onions and peppers on our gas stove. Sleeping was tough as I felt so paranoid and once again every little sound at night increased the level of fear in my body. 

Day Two

The next morning I was happy to get moving before being caught by the owner of the land. We rode a bit before having breakfast at a wonderful lake area where there were free toilets and even a shower. These are precious facilities when you are camping wild. Our journey was pretty smooth and soon we were in Linz. It was hot even in the morning so a swim was necessary just outside the city. It was so refreshing as this was by far the hottest day. After falling asleep in a park in the city, we had a small beer and salad and moved on. Linz is a city of shops and parallel to it is the old part of the city which is much calmer and more attractive. 

In the evening we suddenly started getting attacked by horse flies. Yulia was especially tasty for them. It was time to find a place to stay. As you can see in the picture below, we found an idyllic spot to pitch our tent. It was a fantastic sheltered area next to the Danube but at nine o'clock the mosquitoes appeared and began their biting frenzy. The only safety was inside the tent.

Day Three

The mosquitoes were still around in the morning so we had to get out of the area quickly to avoid adding to our itchy bites. As it was cool we decided to get as many kilometres on our speedometer before the heat began to rise. We made it as far as the impressive town of Ybbs where they have a bike museum which we unfortunately didn't have time for. After breakfast we took the path to Melk and overtook a massive group of Italians before being overtaken in turn when we stopped for water. Melk has a massive Benedictine Abbey that has to be explored even though we had to climb a hill to do so. 

 After Melk we continued onwards and passed through many vineyards, and other orchards in the region of Wachau. We were just in time for apricots which were being sold or were still hanging on the trees. What was really nice was the small stall with apricots, apricot jam and nectar which was on sale with a little jar for honest people to put money into. As we are honest and we love apricots we bought a bag of them and some nectar.

In the evening we got pretty tired and this time we decided to camp on an official campsite in Krems. It was a wise move as there was a massive storm soon after we had pitched our tent. The wind raged and threatened to blow our tent away but thankfully it held firm and remained dry during the night. It was so nice to have a hot shower and enjoy the privileges of civilisation.

Day Four

Fresh from a reasonably good rest and wash, we set out on the last part of the trail. Sometimes the last section can be the toughest and in some ways this was true. It didn't help that I spotted a broken spoke on my back wheel and was scared that my wheel wouldn't be able to hold the weight of two panniers and a tent on it. 

Once again the route was perfectly picturesque with quaint Austrian towns and villages on the route. In Tulln we stopped for a rest and to look around the flea market in the centre of the city. Records tempted me but carrying them on the bike dissuaded me from buying anything. 

After a rest by the river we rode and rode. It seemed to take us an eternity to get to the end of our route. I was just waiting to see a sign 'Wien' but it never happened. We reached the city rather quietly without any fireworks or cheers and then had to navigate to the Hauptbanhof in order to take the train back to Bratislava. We cheated a little by taking a metro to the station but figured we'd earned a little bit of comfort. On the journey back all the aches and pains and bites seemed to accumulate but they couldn't match the feeling of satisfaction that we had completed what we had set out to do. The speedometer registered 389km, much more than the 320km we had anticipated. 

Farm Update - Dealing With Pests

Digging in the soil can reveal some strange beings that you can't imagine living there. One such thing is a beetle grub. Not only does this pest eat at the roots of vegetables but it is also a pretty rancid looking thing in its larvae stage and not something I would like to see a lot of. It is known as the Cockchafer or May Bug (Melolontha melolontha) and has a four-year life cycle. It has only one month as an adult beetle. 

At the weekend, we found two of them, a couple apparently, one which was in the process of egesting whatever it had eaten. As you can see they are quite big and fat, juicy targets for birds and they explode when pressure is put on them by the sole of someone's shoe. This is exactly what happened to one of the ones we found but the other one got away. 

This was just part of the fun I had this weekend, the other involved weeding large areas of land to save the poor strawberries that were being strangled by these unwelcome invaders. If all goes well, our efforts will be rewarded soon and we can enjoy the tastier fruits of nature.

A Novel in One Month

November 1st. Today is the first day of Nanowrimo, an online writing project I have signed up to do for the second time. It means that every day of this month I have to write in order to reach the target of 50,000 words. It's a massive amount to write and I feel daunted by it to say the least but my plan is to take it one day at a time.

On the website they advise you to tell everyone you know that you are taking part in this which is why I am writing here. I want to exclaim loud and clear that in one month's time I will have a collection of 50,000 words. The logic behind this is that the more people you tell, the greater the feeling of failure if you don't complete the word count. The last time around I told students, friends and felt like walking up to strangers to tell them,  'Yes, I am taking part in Nanowrimo and I will write a novel / a large collection of words in one month.'

Right now, I have no idea if these words will form something coherent and interesting or not. That is the beauty of the project. Participants are encouraged to simply write and write without editing. This comes later. Now it's all about writing and filling blank pages with words.

Who Needs a Map?

The stereotype regarding men not using maps is unfortunately true for me. I don't like maps and prefer to get lost and then find my way again (not only in a spiritual sense).

Yesterday is a perfect example. I had a lesson on a street I'd never been to before which was the first warning. Before leaving home I did check the address online and made a mental note of a street beginning with the letter 's' that I had to cross before taking a right at a street name ending with 'eho'.

To my mind I was well-prepared so out I went.

Of course you can imagine what happened. I found one street beginning with the 's' I was looking for but it didn't lead me to the street name ending in 'eho'.

I don't have a smart phone and of course I hadn't taken my map with me. Time was ticking and the last thing I needed was to be late for the first lesson with this student. Thankfully people are quite helpful in Bratislava but unfortunately the street I was looking for didn't seem to be popular. After asking many people, including one who even checked on her smart phone while nervously looking up in anticipation of her bus (mental note -  don't ask people for directions at bus stops), I decided to walk in the direction I instinctively guessed it was.

The problem now is that I may not learn my lesson because I found the street without a map and was even early for the lesson. All the stress soon faded once I spotted the street name which matched to the one on the student's business card. All the anxiety was forgotten replaced by manly pride.

Biking in Poland from Kraków to Toruń (Summary of experiences from last year's adventure)

On 25th of September last year I finally set out to do something I had been scheming to do all summer while I was cooped up working at a summer school, go biking from Kraków to … Well, the initial aim was to follow the Amber Trail (Bursztynowe Szlak) all the way to Gdańsk but this proved difficult from the outset due to the lack of physical maps available and the shortage of information online. There was a website which promised much at first glance but failed to deliver. When I wrote an email to the contact address asking if there was a map available or more information, I didn’t receive a reply. With the aid of a road map of Poland, I traced out my own version of the route by circling each place of significance on it with the hope that everything would be clearer once I was actually there. I was hoping that there would be signs on the route as there was information on the website that this was the case. Another worry was that I also wasn’t sure if my borrowed bicycle was suitable for such a long trip. It had previously been ridden from Berlin to Kraków by its real owner so this reassured me a little.

Off The Beaten Track

In the past I have visited some Polish cities as well as countryside areas but this trip gave me the chance to really feel the country and in particular explore remote villages that are inaccessible for someone like me who can’t drive a car. What I found interesting is that it was hard to not be around any signs of civilization. Polish villages are usually quite spread out with houses not so close together. It is often hard to see the division between villages as there is often no clear border between them. This is unlike in Ireland where you can travel for a long time without seeing any sign of human activity. Many villages were not very prosperous in appearance with rather grey buildings lining narrow roads. This was not true all the time and some villages were quite well maintained but in general there was not much to make me want to stay in these places. Dogs regularly barked as I passed by with a heavy load, some threatened to add a bite to their bark. There were lots of chickens spread out on both sides of the road or frequently wandering around in drainage ditches. In some villages, there were no roads only dirt tracks but this wasn’t the case very often with some roads perfect for riding on. Seeing cabbage, onions and other food growing in the fields was interesting and gave me one reason to feel tempted to stay and work on the land. The most amazing memory I have of the trip was the route to Kazimerz Dolny through apple paradise with trees heavily laden with apples wherever I went. Further on I took a bike path up a steep hill and saw raspberries and other fruit being harvested in one of the most picturesque places I have seen. There was a strong temptation in me to stay there and ask for a job in return for a place to sleep for the night but I stuck to my cycling plan.

 Locals seemed surprised to see me passing through despite the fact that many lampposts had bike route signs on them but I never felt a sense of danger. One man joined me on a part of my trip. He was full of questions about me and told me he had lived in the U.S. for some time. He was keen to talk but cycled dangerously close to passing cars at times. Despite his age, he was faster than me and eventually continued on his own to the next town. The only places I saw signs for the Amber Trail was when I was leaving Nowa Huta in Kraków and in Bałtów, a resort by the Vistula River which was well set up for tourists with a dinosaur theme park one of its main attractions. The help of local people was invaluable. Without their directions, I would have wasted a lot of time going the wrong way. Another thing I must mention is the fact that as I was on my own, I often had to leave my bike unattended while I was shopping for food. Removing the panniers and carrying them and the tent with me was too much so this risk was necessary but not once did I have any problems or have anything stolen.

On The Beaten Track

Arriving into big cities such as Warsaw, Płock and Toruń were highlights especially the former as this really created a sense of achievement. The atmosphere was very different and much more commercial and business-like than in the countryside. Cafes and restaurants were crowded and there was a great sense of wealth and affluence in the capital. There were also a lot of tourists in the city taking photographs and leisurely strolling around especially in Nowy Świat, a busy location not far from the Old Town. It was strange seeing so many people in one place having been in the countryside for long periods. Płock and Toruń were similar with the latter being a place which seemed to be only for tourists. This was easy to understand given the wonderful architecture in the city.

Safety and Accommodation

Safety was an issue on larger roads as it is no place for cyclists. The lanes can be very narrow with the sides of the roads leading into a ditch or loose stones which can’t be cycled upon. I did take some of the main roads at times because they are obviously more direct with less chances of getting lost. This did mean taking more risks with one of the most dangerous parts of the trip, the section of the 757 road to Opatów that I rode on. The wind generated from passing trucks in the other lane nearly knocked me off my bike on multiple occasions. On the other hand, the busy 10 road from Lipno to Toruń was surprisingly comfortable. There was space enough for a cyclist and the road was in very good condition making it one of the easiest parts of the route. On the first night I asked two locals in a small village if I could pitch my tent somewhere and was refused and forced to camp wild.  Finding accommodation was difficult but locals were very helpful when I asked and directed me to places that weren’t well advertised.

To Sum Up

Toruń was the final stop due to the fact that I was planning to meet my parents on a certain date. I mainly travelled on a flat part of the country but passing by villages, towns and cities was a wonderful experience. Seeing food growing on the land was also something that I didn’t take for granted as fresh food is something I value greatly in Poland. I just wish that the route had been better mapped out as it was not so easy to find my way around especially when I was in some rural areas. It’s a shame there are not more campsites around as this would have made things a lot easier. Perhaps there are more campsites than I think but again they are not well signposted. Next on the Amber Trail for me is the route from Kraków to Budapest. At least I have a map for this part of the Amber Trail but I’m thinking about buying a new bike first.

This was written last year and since then I have indeed bought a new bike. More to come on this year's adventure soon.

An Expensive Something To Laugh About

I am questioning the logic of writing this post but there are times when I can't take myself seriously and am glad that I have a good enough sense of humour to laugh at my own expense.

So ... here it goes. I arrived home from England last Monday. Leaving at 2 in the morning to get a flight at 8:30 was not a pleasant journey. By the time I got back to the intense heat in Krakow, all I was fit for, was sleep.

With a flight due the next night, I decided to catch up with some friends in the evening, which was probably not the greatest idea since I was till suffering from a cold, but still it was nice to catch up.

The next day was a day of preparation for my flight to Georgia - a non-event of a day as these days tend to be. It was a case of patiently waiting until it was time to leave. I got out to the airport with plenty of time to spare and contemplated on how best to pass the four hours until the flight was due. Reading, eating, coffee, reading, juice and more reading seemed to work.

I had a look up at the information board just out of curiosity and that's when everything went wrong. I examined it extremely carefully but my flight was not there. I checked the ticket and the date and everything seemed fine - 30th of July but then I realised why it was not on the electronic board, the date was correct but the plane had already left at 00:50 earlier that morning.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I have waited at an airport one day earlier to welcome my cousin, I have confused 6 am with 6 pm while getting a ferry from Dublin to Wales, I once bought 5 train tickets for our group of 4 and I have also booked flights to the wrong airport.

So what did I do? I contemplated getting another flight to anywhere but then decided to retreat back to Krakow. I took a bus to the train station in Katowice and thought again about going somewhere different. The shame of returning to Krakow seemed too great. Wrocław, Warsaw - these were two cities that came to mind but then I decided that it was best to return to the city I had started from and regroup.

All the buses had gone and the queue was enormous. I'm guessing they were in line to get tickets for  a festival as they looked like the type with range of quirky styles from punk to a hippy look that seemed out of place in the modern train station in Katowice. When I finally reached the top of the queue, I bought a ticket for the next train to Krakow, which was due in over 5 hours. Patience was needed once more. I amused myself by reading again and going to an Internet cafe to book another flight for later in the week. There was one option to fly from Warsaw to Georgia the next day but I chose the later one from Krakow, which was half the price.

Patience was the quality, which was once again put to the test on the train journey home. I slept for most of it thankfully.

So I am still going to Georgia but will have to be patient once more. As for these mistakes that prove to be very costly, I feel a bit resigned to the fact that I will make them again but at least they give me a reason to write.

Writing From Experience Or Not?

It seems I haven't written in a long, long time and that is true. The last entry was in November last year. Since writing about the cycling tripI went on, I haven't had any travel adventures besides a trip home for the Christmas period. The lack of travel has brought a question to mind - is it necessary to experience in order to write and in my case, does traveling aid creativity?

A few years ago I took part in a Literature course in Dublin. There was a fantastic professor who had a wonderful knowledge of the subject and the ability to portray this in a very interesting manner. One of the books we looked at was Black List Section H by Francis Stuart, an Irish writer who went to Germany during World War II. He went there to experience the horrific events that were taking place at that time and to write about this. He even took up a post working for the Nazi regime. The professor proceeded to talk about the influence the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had on Francis Stuart. He explained that the philosopher used the Greek characters, Apollo and Dionysius to show the different ways of gaining inspiration. Apollo is the restrained one and represents creativity emanating from imagination alone whereas, Dionysius is excessive and reckless representing creativity from experience. 

The reaction from my classmates was very crtitical and they the majority stated that this was completely immoral. While I totally agree, I still find it interesting to read about what this Irish writer did in order to gain the experience to then write about it. There are some people with very imaginative minds who can conjure up stories and songs effortlessly but others need something to happen in order to write about it. 

I don't plan to go on any trips to dangerous war-torn countries but perhaps a trip of some sort would give me something to write about. 

The Final Day - Day Eight 1/9/12 From Kraków to Toruń

The hostel was very peaceful when I woke up. My luck had run out regarding the weather. It was the first time it had been really bad but I knew I couldn't stay in Płock as I was running out of time and was eager to get to Toruń, the city of gingerbread and Copernicus. Once again I ate a large meal.  This time it was eggs and beans for breakfast. The rain was not heavy but drizzly and steady. It was a chance to try out my striking red smock. It was not pleasant at all - the weather I mean but I had to keep going.
       I took the 559 road to Lipno. What made cycling hard was the fact that there were grooves in sides of the road where water had lodged. This was slippery and a lot of concentration was needed to not fall off my bike.Wearing the smock also meant that I was very hot underneath it and was wet as a result of this and the rain.
        I was not sure if this was the last day of cycling or not. I still had time before my parents were due to arrive and I knew I could always meet them a bit later in Gdańsk and complete the route I had set out to do. On the other hand, I was tired and the gears on the bike were not behaving themselves. My plan was to get to Toruń and then make a decision.
      The hardest part of the first 50km was from about 9km from Lipno. The rain had eased off by then but the road was in very poor condition making it impossible to build up some speed. I felt my bike was taking a real hammering on the uneven surface and was afraid of something breaking off or of a wheel coming loose. .

Lipno was not very impressive. There were lots of shops and a nice park where I ate some lunch but not much else to see or do. This was the halfway mark of a journey of around 100km. I was tired but determined to get to Toruń. The next stage of the trip was all on done on a busy road - number 10. Despite my previous fears that this would be dangerous to cycle on, it turned out to be the opposite. The road was nice and smooth and there was a hard shoulder where I could ride with enough space separating me from the  other cars. I rode really hard and soon 48km had been reduced to 24km. This inspired me to dig into my energy supplies and keep pushing hard to reach Toruń. The last part took longer than expected as I passed from the 10 to the 80. Every sign I saw, I expected to signal the end but there was still a long way to go. I was tempted to stop and have a break or buy some chocolate but I felt that I was close so I didn't. The way into Toruń was on a really busy road which was definitely not for cyclists. It was very wide but fortunately, I only had to use this road for a short time before I was in the suburbs of Toruń. I felt very satisfied with myself. I had made it on a day which had been quite a challenge.
       My first impressions of the Old Town were striking. The Old Town was full of tourists and it was easy to see why. The architecture was beautiful with a lot to capture my attention. Accommodation first and then time to walk around. I tried one hostel but it was full. At another one, they were also full but they had a second hostel which thankfully had a free bed. I was really tired but satifsied and felt that another two days of cycling was not something I wanted to do. I had made it to Toruń, not to Gdańsk but I was content with that.
       Once I showered, washed and then changed my clothes, I set out to explore the city. It was very pleasant to wander around the cobble-stoned streets searching for and finding interesting things.
Knowing that I didn't have to rush myself was also a pleasant feeling. I didn't have to think about cycling the next day. I was done.

       The trip had been a very fulfilling experience. I had seen a lot of Poland I wouldn't have had the chance to see otherwise. There had been ups and downs as I had anticipated with particular bike problems that I couldn't have planned for. The most memorable part had definitely been the route to Kazimierz. This had really embedded itself into my memory. I thought back to some of the people I'd met - the drunk pervert in Staszów, the cyclist on the way to Żabno and the kind woman in Kazimierz who had helped me get my bike fixed, my friend's mother and aunt who had looked after me in Czerwonka. I was happy to be finished despite having a slight urge to go all the way to Gdańsk by bike. I had ignored most Amber Trail route which I had mapped out because it was too long and it would have been easy to get lost in the forests that the route went through. I had made my own route which sometimes involved taking main roads because they were more direct despite being more unpleasant. My bicycle had caused me some problems with two punctures, chain difficulties and one repair job on the back wheel. My knee felt much better and I felt stronger with the exception of the circulation problems in my little fingers on both hands. I suppose this was from gripping the handlebars tightly for long periods of time. I had learned a lot and knew what I needed to change for the next trip. A new bike would be good, a smaller tent and gloves. Also a speedometer would have been very useful. I don't know when the next trip will be but perhaps I will go south along the Amber Trail from Kraków to Budapest. That's the idea but not until Spring or Summer. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Day Seven - 31/8/12 From Kraków to Toruń

The great amount of cycling I did the day before made for stiff muscles on day 7. I ate two bars of chocolate before two o'clock which says something about the condition I was in and the desire to gain energy from somewhere. The road leading out of Leszno was a mess but instead of taking the diversion, I decided to be stubborn and go through the roadworks as I was afraid of getting lost. They went on for longer than I thought and made for slow progress with strange looks coming at me from the construction workers.
            Once I got past that, I managed to gather some momentum and speed. The route was pleasant enough and all was going well but then I felt that funny sensation in the back wheel and realised I had another puncture. The wheel was not completely flat but was definitely soft. I stopped at a shop and asked the lady working there for a bucket of water to help me find the problem. She was very friendly and duly obliged. Fixing the tube again was surprisingly not so difficult but put the fear into me that this was going to happen again in the future. So many problems with the bike and all this after having it serviced before setting off. I had been worried a little about getting punctures and had thought about replacing the tyres but it was too late now. I was just hoping I could get to Toruń without any more mishaps. 
           My aim for the day was not so clear. It was a case of just trying to see how far I could go. 
More roadworks in a town called Chodaków and more dust and noise. I had to backtrack a little here after taking a wrong turn and then it took me some time to find the bridge to Żuków. I think the mayhem of the roadworks was the cause of missing the correct turn left. 
Once I got across the River Bzura, I took the 577 all the way to the bigger main road called 60. One of the funniest place names I saw on the way was a town called Gąbin. According to the Oxford online dictionary a gombeen man is a person who is:

'involved in the lending of money at unreasonably high rates'

but in Ireland this word is used to describe someone who is basically an idiot.

      My strangest encounter in a rural area full of fields of cabbage and onions was with an old man on a bike who was wearing a hat. When I asked him for directions he looked at me with his mouth slightly open displaying his full selection of teeth which amounted to about five in total but he remained mute. I asked again but nothing changed in his blank expression so not knowing what to do, I thanked him and moved on. I rode fast and eventually made it to Płock but crossing Solidarity Bridge (Most Solidarności) was terrifying. I had to get off the busy road and lift my bike over the metal barrier and onto the footpath. It was far too dangerous for a cyclist to ride among the vehicles big and small that were roaring past.
       Fortunately in Płock I found a hostel without much difficulty. It was a bit expensive but very clean and well-equipped especially the kitchen. I took advantage of this by making a massive meal of pasta with fried onions, tomatoes and beans. It was a meal for two or three people but I devoured it on my own.
      Płock has some nice architecture and its lofted position over the River Vistula is attractive but there was not so much to see and do there. In the square in the Old Town there was a concert stage set up with some bands playing but the drizzly weather was unpleasant. I wandered around a little contemplating what to do but the gangs of males prowling the streets encouraged me to return to the hostel. Despite being a four-bed dorm, I had it all to myself. I fell asleep watching Polish TV, woke up not knowing where I was and then struggled to the bathroom in a haze to clean my teeth before hitting the hay for real.