Another day,another border...........Poland

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Thursday August 20th
Another day,another border............Poland
The heat wave continues and it is predicted to be over 30C today so we are pleased that the drive today as we head further east shouldn’t take too long.Our destination is just across the border in Poland although we do have to drive across a fair amount of the Chzech Republic to get there.Google Maps have given us several options avoiding toll roads of course and we have selected the shortest in both distance and time not really knowing what there might be to see on the way.
First call though is at Kaufland supermarket.I had threatened to remove all the luggage from RR and load her up with beer .At the prices for beer in this country it is a wonder that we haven’t seen more drunks.Perhaps making alcohol cheap is the way to combat drunkenness!!
Anyway we have kept the luggage and just brought a dozen 500ml bottles as that was all we could carry in the couple of plastic bags we have.There were no small carry baskets available and trying to work out how much to pay to release a trolley from the stand was too complicated.We must say that we enjoy the 500ml bottles as it gives you a good size and satisfying drink when its time for a cold beer.We are not sure whether we will adjust satisfactorily to the 350ml bottles on sale in NZ.
We have attempted to buy what we had hoped would be just plain mineral water on 3 occasions but each time it has worked out to be soda water and it appears that is just about all there is for sale in bottled water.When we want water that is all we want,not something that has been fiddled around with and especially in countries where we prefer not to trust what comes out of the tap no matter what the hotel compendium says.
Next stop in the service station to fill up with cheap diesel.This commodity is also considerably cheaper than in western Europe when the exchange rate is used and must be something to do either with taxation or a government subsidy perhaps.
As we waited behind another car completing its fill we noticed that there was a teenage girl washing the windscreen and thought what a great idea and is it a free service by the garage.When our turn came to fill up the girl had sat back down with a mate and we noticed they were talking to each other and taking side looks at us.We decided it wasn’t a service from the garage owner but that they were there to earn some pocket money and that because RR has French number plates and a little F country symbol they probably didn’t speak French and didn’t approach us.So Gretchen had to do it herself!!!!
Our plan to clear Prague was to drive what equated to a ring road although there wasn’t one particular road number that did the job,rather several that joined into each other which would make the job for us a little more difficult if we took a wrong turn.
And so it happened!!
We made the #605 out of Beroun OK and onto the ‘ring’ road system but lost it after 20 minutes or so and ended up in what looked like a newly developed suburb of Prague with new office and shop buildings.The sun was still ahead of us as it wasn’t yet midday and we needed to head east so we picked a road that took us back onto the highway and soon found ,from highway direction signs,that we were in the area we thought we were all along.All this after 45 minutes of trying different routes and turning back to where we started as the road didn’t end up anywhere we wanted.
Soon we were clear of Prague and we reflected that if we strike a situation again where a major city is in our path and there is no obvious ring road then we shall drive in another direction to avoid the city altogether even if it means more miles and a bit of time.
We seemed to be progressing well passing through towns that were on the instructions from Google until we stopped for lunch in Nymburk.Gretchen went off to see if there was a toilet and I studied the map again.We had spent all our Czech money buying diesel and didn’t have even one coin for her to take in case there was a cost to pee.She came back satisfied having persuaded the woman attendant that she didn’t have any money but needed to go.Now would that happen to men if a male was in charge of our side of the loo??!!!
I revealed to Gretchen that we had come along a road that although would get us to the Polish border we would be further north than we needed to be.She was very understanding of my map reading and suggested we drive back to the point where we had turned off the right road and get back on track.I agreed!!
We were back on track in no time at Podebrady and from here it was the same road all the way to the border.
Just before the border it was time to stop for a rest and a drink.
As we pulled off,overlooking a lake in the distance,we noticed what appeared to be a police van stopped a few metres ahead with shadowy figures sitting inside and a person sitting in the drivers seat with their feet out of the door.
We had our drink and admired the scenery and didn’t pay any further attention to the van until we drove off having to pull out on to the road beside them.It was then as we went by at slow speed that we noticed how heavily armed with what looked like AK47’s and with flak jackets on they were.What or who they were waiting for on the road to the border we will never know but we are glad they didn’t see any action while we were stopped for our quiet rest and a drink!!
The border crossing was another uneventful part of the day.Here though the buildings from the day when passports were checked etc are still there and in use probably to check on trucks which were lined up.
While driving up to the border we noticed how the scenery was changing with hills that had been in the distance 20 minutes before now being upon us.Travel across the Czech Republic had been through cropping land and the only animal we had seen was a small deer in a field where the hay had been cut.Murray was very disappointed not to meet any Czech cuzzies but there simply hadn’t been any!!
It was just a short drive from the border to our overnight stay in a hotel that had only been open a year at Polanica-Zdroj,a small town in the mountains with lots of trees.Our room is large and very well appointed and we thought what a shame we are just having one night here.The proprietor we think had been waiting to see what we were like as he broke into very good English and told us he had visited Australia but hadn’t quite made it to NZ but one day would like to.
We wonder sometimes what the people we meet at the reception desks think about us and how the heck we have got ourselves to some of the small and more remote places that probably few Kiwis ever get to.
After a day that had turned out to be a couple of hours longer in the car than we intended it was time for a cold beer and after a short walk around the town and through some very pleasant gardens we sat down in a cafe for a long cold one and some people watching.The town is obviously a favourite for Polish holidaymakers as there were plenty about including children with their parents still on school holidays.
While drinking our beers we looked over the menu for dinner but decided that because it was all in Polish we might try our luck for an English menu at one of the many other cafes in sight.
However after a further stroll we went back to the one we had the beer at and thought we would just have to try and make out what each dish was and go for it.The waitress didn’t speak English but we did some sign language to check if what we thought was chicken was in fact chicken.Yes it was!!
What she didn’t get across or what we didn’t understand was that that although it was chicken it wasn’t meat,rather chicken livers!!!Gretchen reckons it wasn’t too bad and washed down with another beer she didn’t mind too much although she now knows what is Polish for chicken livers!!!I was safe and secure with my choice which turned out to be chicken schnitzel with cheese and pineapple.
The days are mow noticeably getting shorter and of course we have travelled further east towards the next time zone although we won’t actually pass into it on this adventure.Its funny how the fading of light and a long day makes you sleepy.

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Photos

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Polancia-Zdroj

Comments

[Rin]

Foreign menus
So you fell prey to the trick of foreign menus! :-) My downfall was a nice seaside cafe in Croatia where I ordered "lemon-fried fish" and was really looking forward to a nice big fillet of fish turning up...only to receive a plate full of crispy fried whole sprats...eyes, scales and all! The cafe cat ate very well that day!