It is holiday weekend in Poland, as in other predominantly Catholic countries. In the Suwalki Gap, Europe’s most dangerous corridor between Lithuania and Poland, we camp in the national park on Lake Wigri, one of the clearest and most idyllic Polish lakes. We find a small spot between the tents, caravans and campers of the numerous families with children. It is midsummer and the large garden campsite has been transformed into a play, sports and sunbathing area.
There are boats to hire, sun loungers and covered seating areas. We secured one of them to cook and eat right by the lake. When it starts to shower in the evening, already dark, about ten people come running up and ask if they can stay with us. The spell is broken. The reserved Poles come out of their campfire, join us at the table and the lively Polish-German evening picks up speed. There is local schnapps, grilled vegetables, pickled cucumbers and later sausages on a skewer. We have actually just eaten a large portion of pasta. But now we cannot say ‘no’. Shanties are played and Martin, Lukas, Artur and co. are really grooving. We do not speak Polish, the new mates speak a little English. The magic water loosens the tongue. It is fun. We learn a lot about the people from Warsaw and Bialostok. Shortly after midnight, we leave the revelers alone by the still blazing fire.
The next morning, we continue on to Suwalki and then take the Flixbus to Warsaw. The families have one more day before their short but intense vacation is over. A nice tradition.
Once we arrive in Warsaw, we cycle twenty kilometers through the night to the small Wok campsite. It is Saturday night, so we get a taste of the nightlife. Lars and Heike, our friends from Hamburg, arrive the next morning. Together we set off on a bike tour of the city.
Poland’s Kathy Niewiadoma wins the Tour de France with a four-second lead over last year’s winner Demi Vollering.
Two days of mugginess already. We set off at around ten o’clock. Sixty kilometers later, there is lightning and thunder to our right and left. The four-lane highway next to us. A traffic circle. We turn off and are out in the open. The lightning is close. The thunder crashes. There is only one three-star hotel in the middle of nowhere – Gorzno. It is a brand new wedding hotel. After a moment’s hesitation, we walk through the rain towards the entrance. A black car is waiting in front of the hotel. The driver gives us a sign that we can go in and then he makes a phone call to reception. ‘Water or coffee? Toilet straight ahead’. Just for fun, we check the room rate on booking.com. The reviews are great, the breakfast buffet is included and the price fits our budget. We are probably the only guests.
Our next stop is the ‘Feel Free Farm’ https://www.feelfreefarm.com/ in the foothills of the Carpathians near Laczna. Iris has been running the horse farm together with her parents Geert and Ingrid for five years. Very friendly and uncomplicated, and for us a bit like home.
Together with a Dutch couple and a Belgian cook, we have an intense experience here. After two nights in the tent, we move into the guest house for one night. In the evening, Udo Lindenberg’s ‘Stark wie Zwei’ is playing. We enjoy the pure hospitality: Feel FREE. If the house in Brittany was near the sea, we would have spontaneously booked it for the winter.
83 kilometers further on is our next destination. We have booked a room halfway to Krakow. As this is a report of surprises, we do not want to withhold the tour and the destination from you. Since we left Iris and her horse farm, we have met more than two handfuls of people who have approached us in cafés, at traffic lights and elsewhere. It is as if we are in another country. We stop off in Kielce. Never heard of it, but the people there are full of life.
Our destination today is Belk, in the middle of nowhere. It takes us a while to find the address. The owner let us waiting. He is so busy. The house is empty. Everything is there, lots of rooms, volleyball court, horse meadow, stray cats, but otherwise no life, no passion. Iris, what a contrast to your Feel Free Farm! We take it in our stride, use the huge house with several rooms, kitchen, sitting areas, good Wi-Fi and write the report of the week.