Trip Route Link
I was a little hesitant upon hitting the road again. Building up my momentum to get going in a morning after a rest day has been a constant challenge. Farting around the campsite or the hotel room for hours, listening to my podcasts on my iPhone until the last minute (Tom Scharpling and Howard Stern, thank you very much) and just generally dilly-dallying until I simply can't put it off any longer.
This was the same exact route I had done 5 days previously, and the road into Gdansk wasn't very fun for a bicycle tourist. But, the day had a surprise in store, in the form of a kind-hearted German fellow who I met on the ferry which crosses one of the tributaries of the Wisla. Here's my new buddy:
We struck up a conversation and it turns out that he's at the tail end of the Baltic Sea Route, a classic, epic European bicycle tour that takes you through all of Scandinavia, St. Petersberg, all of the Baltic states, Kaliningrad, Poland and ultimately, back to Germany. Holy smokes, it makes me look like a piker.
I had the good fortune to be invited to stay with my new friend in an apartment in Gdansk that was going to be renting along with two of his friends. We cycled together into the city and killed some time sipping sparkling water at a cafe while waiting for the apartment to get ready. We shopped together and then I cooked dinner while he went to go pick up his friends from the airport. By the time they got back, I was feeling rather domestic.
Quite frankly, I was thrilled for the company. Things have been getting a bit lonely, especially now that the End of the Expedition is getting close. That night I sacked out in a corner of the kitchen, thinking that it had been far too long since I used my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. As usual on this trip, the days exertions (combined with a pair of earplugs) made me sleep like a rock. Here's where my sleeping nook was, after I moved the table a bit.
I was a little hesitant upon hitting the road again. Building up my momentum to get going in a morning after a rest day has been a constant challenge. Farting around the campsite or the hotel room for hours, listening to my podcasts on my iPhone until the last minute (Tom Scharpling and Howard Stern, thank you very much) and just generally dilly-dallying until I simply can't put it off any longer.
This was the same exact route I had done 5 days previously, and the road into Gdansk wasn't very fun for a bicycle tourist. But, the day had a surprise in store, in the form of a kind-hearted German fellow who I met on the ferry which crosses one of the tributaries of the Wisla. Here's my new buddy:
We struck up a conversation and it turns out that he's at the tail end of the Baltic Sea Route, a classic, epic European bicycle tour that takes you through all of Scandinavia, St. Petersberg, all of the Baltic states, Kaliningrad, Poland and ultimately, back to Germany. Holy smokes, it makes me look like a piker.
I had the good fortune to be invited to stay with my new friend in an apartment in Gdansk that was going to be renting along with two of his friends. We cycled together into the city and killed some time sipping sparkling water at a cafe while waiting for the apartment to get ready. We shopped together and then I cooked dinner while he went to go pick up his friends from the airport. By the time they got back, I was feeling rather domestic.
Quite frankly, I was thrilled for the company. Things have been getting a bit lonely, especially now that the End of the Expedition is getting close. That night I sacked out in a corner of the kitchen, thinking that it had been far too long since I used my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. As usual on this trip, the days exertions (combined with a pair of earplugs) made me sleep like a rock. Here's where my sleeping nook was, after I moved the table a bit.
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