Its odd to ride through a huge border control complex and it is totally empty. No one home ! Then remember the hours spent waiting at one just like it, literally hours. We are a wierd mob us humans.
So the day started with bright sunshine, then clouds then rain so I waited it out and left late in the day. The river Elbe has a ferry which can be summoned by a bell, which was a quant feature. It has no motor and swings from bank to bank on a long wire rope. Then I was away through lots of villages, all very quaint and all the same; flat wheat lands; lots of beautiful tree lined roads; and then it was Poland. The difference was marked. Less ornate, less tidy, less intensive, and back to some "eastern" roads. The ones with huge truck ruts in the seal !
Never the less I was into 365 k before I tired of the ride and found a Motel that could have been anywhere in the world. I hate these places, all the same, the menu the same, French soup, Greek salad, Italian pasta, New York steak, and on it goes. The Polish beer is pretty bad, very much like every other mass brewed beer in the world, barely drinkable.....however if I do have a comment it is, travel before it is too late and everywhere is exactly the same ! Its hard to tell the difference by Shell stations,( all the same) with a McDonalds next door....etc etc.... , and the people all look the same, jeans and plaid shirts, or low cut blouses and short skirts, not that there is much wrong with those..... however the landscape is still different and great. Its a pity the charachter of these places is being "internationalised" to the extent that local flavour is hard to find.
nzl04
So the day started with bright sunshine, then clouds then rain so I waited it out and left late in the day. The river Elbe has a ferry which can be summoned by a bell, which was a quant feature. It has no motor and swings from bank to bank on a long wire rope. Then I was away through lots of villages, all very quaint and all the same; flat wheat lands; lots of beautiful tree lined roads; and then it was Poland. The difference was marked. Less ornate, less tidy, less intensive, and back to some "eastern" roads. The ones with huge truck ruts in the seal !
Never the less I was into 365 k before I tired of the ride and found a Motel that could have been anywhere in the world. I hate these places, all the same, the menu the same, French soup, Greek salad, Italian pasta, New York steak, and on it goes. The Polish beer is pretty bad, very much like every other mass brewed beer in the world, barely drinkable.....however if I do have a comment it is, travel before it is too late and everywhere is exactly the same ! Its hard to tell the difference by Shell stations,( all the same) with a McDonalds next door....etc etc.... , and the people all look the same, jeans and plaid shirts, or low cut blouses and short skirts, not that there is much wrong with those..... however the landscape is still different and great. Its a pity the charachter of these places is being "internationalised" to the extent that local flavour is hard to find.
nzl04
