Niewiszce, Opole, Jelcz May 24-26

By Eric

Oswiecim sits at the southeastern edge of a huge industrial sprawl centered around the city of Katowice. We spent most of the day trying to avoid the busy highways and stay alive. At least the weather was wonderfully sunny and warm.

We didn't have much Polish food, but the Poles are big on pizza, and so are we. Not far out of Birkenau (we had spent the whole morning there before starting the ride), we found a great outdoor pizza restaurant. We snarfed down two pizzas, beers and grapefruit juice, all for just 47 zloty, or a little over US$10.

In our efforts to avoid the sprawl of Katowice, we spent most of our days lost on back roads. But we didn't really mind being lost that much. At one point, our map directed us down a dead end. A farmer looked at us strangely as we passed, and then laughed at us when we had to backtrack. We asked him the way to the next town, and he pointed us down a single track mud lane through the woods. But it was less than a kilometer, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

We ended up going 110km before camping in Niewisze, a little lakeside resort. We had a hard time communicating that we had our own tent. They thought we were asking to use a tent, and started to send us away. I figured, no way are we leaving. It was pretty late and we were exhausted. Finally, an English speaking guy came out and told us we could camp there, no problem. There was just one shower in the women's room for the whole camp, ditto for the men's side. Luckily we didn't have to wait too long.

The next day, after a hearty breakfast of bananas, donuts and cokes, we headed off to Opole. This is where Joan figured out that she has allergies after all. Some people don't have any until they had 30. Joan got them big time that day. We don't know what kind of trees they were, but they're all over Eastern Europe. They give off this large, cottony fuzz. Our friend Lukasz later told us they are poplar trees. Look out.

JOAN: Whenever that fuzz was blowing in the wind, I sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. Loudly. People kilometers ahead on the road knew we were coming before they could see us. Then my eyes started tearing up so badly that I could barely see. I kept thinking it was just temporary, but it ended up lasting two weeks.

Opole is a great university town. We weren't expecting much, but the marketplace was just gorgeous, with lots of freshly repainted baroque looking storefronts, and sidewalk cafes just crammed with customers. Once we saw it, we really wanted to stay there. But the hotels were really expensive. We finally got one for $40 or so and spent the evening exploring restaurants and beer bars.

The next morning, the tree fuzz was blowing again. It was so bad Eric forced us to stop at a pharmacy. Luckily the people inside were game to work with us and figure out what we wanted. I mimed sneezing and showed my bloodshot eyes. Maybe they thought I had a hangover and a bad cold. I don't know. I asked for Allerest, the only allergy relief medicine I ever heard of. Instead, they whipped out some Calcium? tablets as big as silver dollars, all wrapped in aluminum. I figured that couldn't hurt. Then they gave me some nose drops. They were about to send me away when I asked what doses I should take. Luckily they spoke a little German (I speak almost none). Several minutes later, my nose stopped running, and I could see again.

But 15km down the road, we realized we'd made a bad mistake. Eric wanted to take a photo with the little automatic camera he keeps in his handlebar bag (he can whip it out for rolling shots, where he doesn't have to stop). It was gone. He had to ride 15km back to the pharmacy to get it. It was a total bummer. While I was waiting, a woman came out from the long, rural driveway where I lay. She wanted to know if there had been a "cata-stroph" (the way the Germans say it). I said No, and so she went back inside her house.

We had hoped to make it to Wroclaw that night, but with Eric's extra 30k, we decided to settle just outside, at Jelcz. The next morning, we made it into town no problem.
 

Next: Poland Chapter 5 - Piotr and Lukasz of Wroclaw

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