Toni
So, our last night in Wroclaw was relatively uneventful! We were both so tired that we thought we ought to have an early (ish) night!! We went back to a cool bar on the main square for a couple of drinks and we tried out some more Polish as the staff there didn't speak much English. Jon was having difficulties remembering the phrase for "large glass of red wine please" (Red was apparently the problem - pronounced 'sher-von-yeh'!) I told him to think of 'That old French actor who was in 'Gigi'' I was sure he was going to ask for ' A Maurice Chevalier please!'
This morning we packed up reasonably quickly (we're getting better and quicker at this!) and after breakfast we headed for the road. It seemed a bit of a slog today - we knew that we had to get a push on so that we could get to our next destination, Krakow, in time to enjoy a bit of the afternoon. We booked an apartment yesterday here for two nights and it's right in the centre of the main city square. The GPS navigated us straight to the address with no hesitation at all. In fact it took us longer to find it!! The 'Zumo' said we were at the location - it took us at least 10 minutes to realise that it was right!! (The apartment building wasn't signposted with the name we were looking for!!)
Jon
A day of mile munching... some would say that that's what the Pan European does best but anyone who's ridden one knows different. From the twists of Scotland's A82 to the autobahns of Germany, up the mountains of the Krkonossky park and back down again into Poland - fully loaded and with a Pillion. Even at almost half a ton of weight (mainly my fat belly, computer and camera equipment!) the bike is remarkable. Only the pot-holed back roads and cobble-stoned streets of Poland have challenged it, possibly to the extent that a trail-style bike (such as the BMW GS1200 Adventure, on my birthday list) may be better. I almost regret buying it when I did since it is only my second bike and I'm sure most people experience many different bikes before they find -the one-. But it continues do to well and I'm sure it will happily take us to Slovakia and home again.
Before Toni started writing her part of the post we were discussing what we'd been up to yesterday in Wroclaw. We suddenly found ourselves unable to remember where we'd been (within Wroclaw), and then when one of us mentioned the botanical gardens it seems like a distant memory, not one only a day old. Initially this worried me - I was wondering if we're doing too much to take in properly and experience. But then later we were talking to my parents who walked the coast-to-coast a couple of years ago and they said the same thing. So perhaps the blog will be more than just of passing interest to other people who read it - perhaps this is what Toni and I will use to cement the memories of the trip. But the main thought the occurred to me was that, unlike a conventional package holiday, we are seeing and doing a lot more than we normally do, and that we're not used to this degree of variation. For myself, the last few years have consisted of a lot of Monday to Friday trips up and down the motorway, with the occasional flurry of great software (my job). Most of my best memories of the last few years do not occur within the confines of the 9-5 grind, and that's a pity. However, I think you (or I at least) need to do a trip like this to find out -how- to do a trip like this. Already my memories of Monschau and the Nurburgring are faded and perhaps it would be better to travel a little less and stop a little more. It will be interesting to see how I look back on the trip after I get back... perhaps I'll rely on the blog to inform me!
We had a brief, but great, photo day today. As soon as we arrived in Krakow we picked up a vibe that Prague and Wroclaw only really hinted at. The street by the apartment was full of people and trams and cars (and one cool motorbike!). Only two or three minutes walk from the apartment we found ourselves in the main square - totally fabulous. Hopefully there'll be more useful information to write about Krakow tomorrow, and also Auschwitz. For the moment here's some of the piccies from today... take it easy...
Jon & Toni.
10/05/2007
Small update - the Canon 5D (a full-frame digital SLR) and 17-40 L-series lens are now on my wish list! We tentatively went to find some food last night, having both had minor food poisoning from some badly cooked fish the night before (in Wroclaw). On the way through the main square we saw groups of firemen lining up in the square. Wondering whether they were really paranoid about the likely hood of a hire spontaneously starting, or about to be shot for insubordination, I decided to ask someone if they knew what was going on. In my broken Polish I asked the guy next to me he if spoke English. It turned out he was from Liverpool - about as English as a Northerner like me :-) And he had a Canon 5D - one of the best pro / semi-pro digital SLRs, plus an L-series pro lens. After resisting the temptation to set Toni on him while I nicked his camera and lens we had a natter about photography - he was a semi-pro in Liverpool. His shots from Auschwitz were inspiring - one in particular, of the railway lines leading to the Birkennau camp, was beautiful and slightly chilling. He said that his entire trip had really been dedicated to getting that one shot. Job done.
We're off the Jewish quarter today, then Auschwitz this afternoon. Slightly oddly we (or the guy we were talking to last night) mentioned that it would be better if the weather wasn't too nice for the Auschwitz trip. It would probably be a bit disconcerting to be in such a place of misery on a beautiful day - I think this makes sense, but perhaps I'm a worried that I won't be affected by the place. Should I be...? Probably - the suffering of the many at the hands of the few is a centuries-old affliction and shouldn't be forgotten.
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