Great day! The weather was great, I was in short sleeves and even short legs (some of the day). Very autumnal, which in the Carpathians is beautiful! A lot of coloured foliage and golden light. The day started great as well. I spent some time looking at and climbing up Orava castle, which is Nesferatu‘s … Read more
Beautiful sunrise this morning, and it actually stayed dry all day. It was not as warm, as predicted, though, I needed my long-fingered gloves. And then the wind was in my face most of the time, quite blustery, made climbing (almost 700m) and descending very difficult. Especially, as some of the car drivers here seem … Read more
I am learning a lot about geography this trip. I thought I was cycling up into the Tatra, turns out I am now in the Beskid mountains, part of the Carpathians… Anyway, high enough up to be a skiing region. My hotel for the night is its own little ski resort, I look out over … Read more
As the weather forecast was rain all day, I decided to spend at least some of that underground in the salt mine of Wieliczka – very impressive! Then I set off in the downpour, and had over 500m to climb in the short stretch I cycled – I can tell I am getting closer to … Read more
After four days of not cycling, but intense sightseeing and political exchange with the Polish colleagues of the counties of Krakow and Wieliczka, it felt strange getting on the bike again. Here a few impressions from the visit. The salt mine of Wieliczka came so highly recommended, that I decided I had to have a … Read more
Not far to go today, as I decided to spend a couple of days looking around Krakow before the delegation arrives and meetings begin. It was very foggy this morning, so I delayed my leaving a bit. I did not want to be cycling along a national road (7) with all those lorries maybe not … Read more
Another day of cycling around part of the county of Krakowski, this time I followed the route of the Dlubnia Valley. Slight misnomer in my opinion, only the last few km were in the valley, before that there were quite a few hills – a total of over 600m climbed again. It almost feels like … Read more
Finding accommodation seems to be difficult in the Northern part of county Krakowski, and this is where I want to explore more of the bike routes from that book. So I headed for a hotel with attached stables for horses. Of course the route was hilly again, especially towards the end: the drive up to … Read more
Did a round trip from the hotel today, so could leave three of the four panniers behind, only took repair stuff, rain gear and emergency rations. I was amazed on the one hand what a difference it made, and on the other hand, how I have gotten used to travelling with a fully laden bike. … Read more
The day started nice and easy with cycling along the Weichsel, which I could have taken all the way to Krakow – but then I would have been there far too early. The woman in the tourist information gave me a book (!) with bike tours around Krakau, including the county that I am particularly … Read more