Missing is Daisy – their shitzu dog

Mateusz & Martha set breakfast early, Mateusz & the two older boys were off to football training at 9am. Martha & I continued chatting & watching Michael work on his jigsaws & educational colouring book on Poland’s regions/cities, it’s history & animals. Martha commented – Poland is a great country & it’s important her children learn this.

I set off for Bnielsko-Białan around 10am, a much shorter but hillier & hotter journey. It was a privilege to stay with these guys – Before leaving, Martha thanked me for visiting, which was quite humbling since it was they who had shared their lovely home with me!

Today’s 40ml ride was hilly & hot & not too eventful. Except, 10mls out, I stopped at Sklep Rowerowy Rowermaniak Bike Place to sort out my dynamo. 20 mins later it appears to be fixed & insisted on no charge!

Tomorrow I get my first taste of the Carpathian Mountains with lots of climbing. I’m fearing the main challenge will be the weather. It’s forecast to be a sunny 32C + headwind!

The Szara Willa hotel was excellent & breakfast was the best yet. I like that Poland hotel breakfasts are often cooked & include drinkable coffee.

Today I had a Warm Showers host waiting for me in Rybnik, 70 miles away but the ride was a little harder than expected. The last 20 miles were hilly & the wind, forecast to be northwesterly, did not behave.

At 18:30, my host, Mateusz, was out waiting to welcome me & introduce me to his wife, Martha, their youngest son, Michael 5 – there was also a mass of other kids being kids. A fantastic chicken dinner was laid out ready, followed by cheese cake, Oksana’s style – & all washed down with mint tea, water, milk & zero beer. I think I’m fully rehydrated now!

Martha’s English is better than she credits herself & she was able to convey their love for Rybnik. The area’s heritage is coal mining & it remains a major, respected industry. It was after dark before Martha & I jumped into her car (1st ride since leaving home) to explore the mining museum.

A very full day indeed!

At 08:30 I was packed, had carefully led my bike down to the ground floor & posted the key. I’ll say it for the last time, I really do like Wroclaw – maybe one day I’ll come back.

Today I was lucky – 20C, a reasonable tail wind, only mild rain & rested legs. With the flat terrain, there were enough ingredients for a good ride. As such, by 14:30 I had reached my destination.

Views along the ride –

The ride to get here wasn’t too spectacular but a few pictures are included to log the journey & highlight a few things of interest.

Opole is yet another lovely but small city. As with Wroclaw, it sits on the Oder River, but without tributaries it lacks its charm. My GPS had led me to the older town square containing perfectly presented traditional buildings.

Later I discovered that this city has much more to offer – old & new – again no time to explore properly as it deserves.

Last night, chatting to Kacper, I learnt a little about his city. Over the centuries, Wroclow has changed countries many time. In the 20th C, until the end of WWII, it was part of Germany & was the last place to surrender to the Allies (2 wks after Berlin). He recommended I get hold of a book ‘A Portrait of a Central European City’ by Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse. Something I’ll follow up on back home.

Today was predominantly a rest day. I’d enjoyed my ride-sleep-repeat routine but was now getting tired, and taking one day out in this place was perfect. My first morning stop was at Café Nero, off Nożownicza Street, a 30-minute walk from Kacper’s apartment. It was a great place to chill and had lovely cakes.

Ordering my 2nd coffee I met Marina Ostrowski & spent a delightful hour talking about my ride & her interesting life. Born in Brazil of Polish ancestry, after completing her education, 3yrs ago, with her parent’s blessing, she left to find her Polish roots & Wroclaw was her chosen place. Her brother is here also, & gets away without speaking any Polish.

One thing that surprised me is that you can survive here speaking only English. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, English has been taught in all schools.

In the afternoon I did a little exploring & culture. And here’s some of what I saw & learnt:

My time in the National History Museum.

Here an exhibition included Miracle-Workers. They described them as ‘the world created by human hands, which was first conceived in the human mind and imagination, and then “miraculously” materialised into these artefacts.’ I thought this to be a very thoughtful description.

After WWII, the Soviet Union absorbed Poland’s eastern borderlands; Poland acquired Lower Silesia. The 800,000 German population was moved to East Germany, replaced by Poles from the east!!! Wrocław quickly became a cultural centre, with scholars, artists, universities, libraries, museums, etc. So you may argue that, but for the war, I’m in Germany & still have the whole of Poland to ride!!!

In the evening, I made my way back to the apartment, shared a zero beer with Kacper, said our goodbyes, and he was off to the movies. For me, it was bed.

My thanks to Kacper for sharing his flat & some of knowledge on this great city & to Marina for our nice long chat in Café Nero.

Today’s ride was 40mls, & much the same as yesterday. I enjoyed the company of Christine & Mike for part of the way which is great – it’s like we were riding through this countryside together. Then, on hanging up, I was eerily alone.

Today I had a mission. The sandy trails travelled had shortened my chain’s life – I needed a new one. I caught mechanic, Alex, at Love Sport BIKE Serwis, 5miles NW of the city, just before closing. He did the deed & the new one should last the rest of my trip.

My approach to Wroclaw was through smart housing estates, well serviced roads, cycleways & shiny trams. It was telling me I was in for a different Poland & a nice surprise.

This cosmopolitan city is buzzing & a feast for the eyes. Impressive period buildings & broad roads that cater for all traffic types. The River Oder, & its 4 tributaries plus canal, create a labyrinth of waterways that weave through its centre. I think you should come & explore for yourself – me travelling through, as I need to, will not do it justice.

One of the standout streets for me was Nożownicza- a wide promenade of shops, cafes/restaurants & resting park areas – surpassing Las Ramblas, in scale. Also, tomorrow morning I have the choice between the Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks & Cafe Nero – it just keeps getting better!

Tonight, I’m lucky to be the guest of Kacper Frackowski, a Warm Showers host, like myself. He’s ok for me to stay two nights, so tomorrow, no bike – just walk & explore!

The Castle’s breakfast offerings were the best yet & I definitely made the most of it.

Today’s ride was rolling hills, tiny villages, two cities & lots of bumpy lanes of which Britain would be jealous. It was a perfect ride in ideal weather.

No major events so thought I’d leave it to my pictures to give a flavour of my day.

Packed & away for 9:00 spent the first hour following my Garmin along the quiet backroads. I came to cross a bridge, just beyond Kamienica nad Nysą Łużycką village and, on the far side, I saw a man loitering. Continuing over, I took a few pics & started to continue on when I noticed his uniform. Bloody hell, I’m out Germany & into Poland! He was border patrol & demanded my ID & asked lots of questions – bit of a surprise. However, with the formalities over, he kindly obliged to record my crossing & passed him my phone. I’ve been to Poland many times before, but getting here under my own steam is special.

My day continued cycling through small villages & occasional towns. All appearing to be struggling, some more than others. The internet isn’t great either & , a lot of the time, my Lebara signal was hopeless.

Today’s ride was 66mls, mostly in rain & so was very happy to find my castle accommodation. Don’t be fooled by the outward appearance – inside it’s tired but the ambiance & staff were excellent. I settled in, found a comfy corner to write my blog & call home.