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Discover Poland

June 2021
Life is slowly getting back to "normal" and countries start to open their borders again. So for us, it's time to pack our bikes and go cycling :) During our 3 weeks leave, we are going to explore the beauties of our neighbouring country Poland. Read more
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  • Discover Poland
    Day 11

    Tri-border area

    June 14, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Strong winds from the North today - and we had to cycle North. First along the Ukrainian border, then along the border to Belarus. At least, it's flat here and some parts of the Green Velo lead through the forest where the trees protect you from the wind. In the late afternoon, the wind calmed down, so we pushed it to 155km. Exhausted, we found a "vintage style" accommodation, cooked dinner and enjoyed a beer on the porch of the farmhouse.Read more

  • Discover Poland
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    Day 12

    Gravel road adventures

    June 15, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Another day, another ride along the Eastern boarder of Poland. We continue to follow the Green Velo and it had some surprises for us. First, we passed some really charming villages with lots of storchs nests. It also seem to be a local holiday region as we saw some cute wooden holiday homes. There's also a lot of signs advertising for kayaking or paintball.
    Then we had to cross a river again. The ferry sign indicated a modern ferry. At the first crossing point, there was no ferry at all, so we had to turn around and cycle to the next one some 15km down the river. Here, we did find a ferry, but it was more the old kind of boat/raft where the guys even had to do some manual work in order to move it across the river.
    On the other side, the cycling route was still very pretty. We passed lots of old wooden farms and colourful churches - all away from any major traffic. However, we had to paddle hard to enjoy these beauties. A huge part of the trail was on washboard or sand, sometimes on cobble stones. None of this is easy to cycle nor fast...
    After about 125km, we reached a lake, went for a swim amd pitched our tent in the nearby forest to call it a day.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
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    Day 13

    Białowieski national park

    June 16, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Another great day on the Green Velo. It was sunny and the head winds were not too strong 😉 Our route led through Białowieski National Park on the border to Belarus. It's a huge forest with lots of wildlife. We were lucky enough to see a Bison next to the road. They are actually bred in the area.
    In the afternoon, we stopped at a big lake hoping for a nice swim. But unfortunately, the water was too dirty, so we just had burger, fries and a beer instead. Some 30km later, we found another lake where we could finally swim and cool our legs. Afterwards, we just cycled another 30km before pitching the tent. We had some trouble finding a good camp spot today as many suitable looking places were fenced or too close to houses or farms. So in the end, we set camp in a forest where we had to hurry up to avoid too many mosquito bites.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
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    Day 14

    The summer is back

    June 17, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We woke up from the birds' singing as well as some nearby woodworks, so we hit the road early. After 13km, we passed Suprasil, a cute village. Unfortunately, cafés etc. were still closed, otherwise we would have stopped for a coffee. Next, we had to cycle through Bialystok which is quite big. Once again, we realized that biking in cities is definitely no fun!
    The routing of the Green Velo kept being interesting. After Bialystok, the bike path was built right next to a highway. We were wondering why they could not find a nicer option here through the forest. On the other hand, part of the route also led across concrete slabs. They are about as bad as cobble stones. Luckily, this part didn't go for too long.
    In the afternoon (it was now above 30°C), we had an icecream stop in the beautiful village of Tykocin. It's a bit touristy, but has some nice buildings and is surrounded by water, wetlands and forest.
    Some 20km later, we decided to stay at an "Agroturystyka" for the night to have a prooer shower again and do laundry.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
    11
    Day 15

    Venedig des Nordens

    June 18, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    In the morning, another highlight was waiting for us: Biebranzki National Park. It's a huge area of wetlands and forests, a dream for any bird watcher. Supposedly, you can even see elks here, we only saw many elk signs... However, we were lucky to see a huge stag with his impressive horns which ran away too quickly for a photo.
    After the national park, we rode on gravel next to river Biebrza which was nice, but quite exhausting and dusty as well.
    When we arrived in Augustów, we were positively surprised by the city. There's so much water around, canals and lakes, really cool. We read somewhere that the city is also called the "Venice of the North" which kind of makes sense. First, we had a couple of Radler and some lunch at one of the canals, then we went swimming in the lake and afterwards, we had a beer in one of the many bars along the waterfront.
    At night, we could pitch our tent on Jan's property. It's right at the lake a few kilometers outside of the city center and a little paradise itself.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
    Day 16

    Melting like ice

    June 19, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We didn't sleep as good as we hoped to in our little paradise. A party boat went around the lake all night and I guess everyone living around the lake could unvoluntarily listen to the music.
    Just before 4am, we woke up to watch the sunrise over the lake out of our tent - what a luxury! As we were still very tired, we slept for another 1,5 hours before hitting the road. The trail was beautiful again, leading through Augustów Forest and Wigerski National Park. We passed countless lakes and rode along a river which was obviously very popular for kayaking. However, this nice nature came to a price: we had to ride on washboard, soft sand and gravel most of the time which was exhausting, especially in this heat of close to 38°C.
    How to cope? First, we stopped for ice cream, then for a swim at a popular lake and finally arrived at a super remote campground where we had a whole lake to ourselves.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
    Day 17

    A short visit to Russia and Lituania

    June 20, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    As usual, we had an early start at 5:30am to beat the heat. Our first destination of the day was the border stone between Russia, Lituania and Poland. The whole area is kind of hilly compared to most of the other parts we've been riding. We constantly had to go up and down again, so we totally deserved our breakfast once at the stop.
    The rest of the day was really exhausting. The hills didn't stop, it was brutally hot and we had long stretches on bad gravel and sandy roads without any protection from the sun.
    Shortly after our lunch break in Godlap, we left the Green Velo and turned Southwards as we wanted to explore more of the Masurian Lake District. Thus, we could finally escape the heat and swim again in one of the countless lakes the afternoon. After the cooldown, we continued to our warmshowers host Stanislaw who lives on a farm near Gizycko with his wife. He has done many biketours himself, so we could share lots of stories. He is also a beekeeper. On the pictures below you can see him moving the bees to a different location where there's better flowers.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
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    Day 18

    Kayaking on river Krutynia

    June 21, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We got up before 5am again, watched Stanislaw moving his bees while sipping a coffee and hit the road to Gizycko where we had breakfast at the lake. Then our "special" day started. We wanted to cycle to Krutyn to go kayaking. It was only about 65km, but about half of it on sand, gravel or even cobble stone. It was still a lot better than yesterday, as most of it was in the forest. And all of a sudden, we got prove that there's elks here in Poland. We saw one slowly moving in the field, so we could watch and even take a photo :)
    The route itself was diverse and scenic, we passed many lakes again, saw nice campspots and sailing boats, especially in Mikolajki.
    In Krutyn, we changed our bikes to a kayak. It was really nice to paddle on the water in this heat. And also to use some other muscles. The river itself was cool as it's left in its natural state with many trees, reed, water lilies etc. We also saw duck and swan families floating around.
    After our kayaking adventure, we didn't feel like riding anymore, stayed at a campground in the village and went to a restaurant for dinner.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
    Day 19

    Butt killer roads

    June 22, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Time to go North and find the Green Velo again. We navigated ourselves via some remote roads and forest trails, passed many lakes again and found lots of funny wood carvings in the villages. The route was continuously rolling and it was brutally hot again.
    In Lidzbark Warminski, we found the Green Velo signs again which we want to follow to Elblag. We had our lunch break with icecream, Radler and (probably) a final swim in a fresh water lake on this trip. Then we continued on the Velo and really wondered who the hell has planned this route. First, we had to cycle on some very bad and lose gravel, so we moved super slowly. Afterwards, we came to an endless "paved" road, one of the worst we have ever seen. It felt more like riding on cobble stones.
    In Gorowo Ilaweckie, we wanted to check into a hotel as there'll be a thunderstorm during the night. However, there weren't any suitable options in town. The nearest accommodation was 5km South where we came from - so we cycled back on that "butt-killing" road. Unfortunately, they had no room available and due to a lack of other options, we camped in their garden. Luckily, we still managed to cook dinner and pitch the tent. Now we are lying in the tent hoping it will survive the storm and protect us from the heavy rain.    Read more

  • Discover Poland
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    Day 20

    The Baltic Sea is calling

    June 23, 2021 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The tent did a good job, so we stayed dry and could start early as usual. Due to the storm, the air had cooled down and we could cycle in nice low 20 degrees. The landscape was similar as yesterday, some hills, everything green, no more proper lakes though only a few "puddles".
    Although the wind wasn't in our favour, we moved quickly, as we were eager to reach the Baltic Sea. When we arrived in Stara Pasleka very close to the Russian border, we celebrated with a Radler. Then we headed South along the sea via a few villages. At some point, the bikeroute led away from the sea again and we passed some nice forest and hill scenery again.
    However, we decided not to stay at one of the quiet agroturystykas in the hills this time, but aim for a budget hotel at the coast. Thus, we could stop at a couple of beaches on the way and enjoy the sea view.    Read more

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