Poland postcard and notes

Poland started off hilly. Here I'd got a bit lost and given myself an extra bonus hill! After Krakow the terrain flattened off, and now north of Warsaw the vegetation has a definite feel of north Europe. Writing this from the town of Lomza, which is at the same latitude as Skegness.

Poland certainly does a good church. Just as Turkey and parts of Bulgaria do a good mosque. The people who work in organised religion are typically compassionate and well intentioned, but these resources going into genuine education would surely do more to advance a better world.

New chain and pedals from the pit-stop team at VarioBike. Thanks guys :)

Impressive city Krakow, and tourists flock here to the centre but not beyond. Follow the cycle paths that run parallel to the tramways, past the blocks typical of Eastern European cities, and soon it is back to countryside and a different world entirely...

Without a GPS track to follow you wouldn't know where to go... I've not seen any other cycle tourers for weeks. I'd suggest that a priority for the EuroVelo project would be making it possible for people to actually find the routes in a form that is easy to load into a smartphone and then follow... The routes are 95% great, so it just seems a shame that more people don't make use of them.

The woodland roads and tracks are very beautiful and peaceful.

The sand traps can be a bit difficult to get through...

Sadly, wherever people drive, there is roadside junk. The problem here is not plastic so much as people. Changing plastic is probably easier than changing people, though we need to do both. I cannot think of good arguments not to impose a levy on the multinationals who package their products in slow-degrading plastic, that then ends up at roadsides / finds its way into rivers and the sea... It's screwed up to just accept that their profits come at the expense of the natural world.

Think these are house martins.

I stayed an extra day here at Nieporet. Partly because there was a McDonalds nearby where I could easily get some work done, and partly because it felt a bit like being by the sea, which I do miss a little.

Dangerous parking spot.

Tomek and family. I met these guys when asking for permission to camp in the field opposite their house. As I was pitching Tomek came out with a big plate of food. The following day I hadn't got far before finding this green woodpecker with bad leg. Good luck Woody you are now in good hands!

I will also say that I have experienced a lot of kindness in Poland. Help is often not needed but the offer is welcome nonetheless - and a coffee is rarely declined.