Europe-biker
 

Report 24

THE HEARTLAND OF EUROPE: week 20: from July 12 till July 20


Hello,
The Great Masurian Lakes District - a paradise for water sports enthusiasts – is my first encounter with Poland.
A fierce wind, this time to my advantage, adds about 150 to 200 km a day to my mileage indicator, in other words, a lot of cycling is done these days. No need to grumble though: throwing my weight on the pedals in the middle of nature, free as a bird, is my idea of a summer job this year.

Vast grassland and wide lakes alternate in the Polish province of Pomeren.
The little town of Torun at the picturesque banks of the Vistula river is the birthplace of one of the most famous Poles: Nicolaus Copernicus. Thanks to him we know that the earth orbits around the sun.

The lowland is dotted with many country estates, spread out over the different villages. This region is called "Wielkopolska", the cradle of the Polish nation with Gniezno and Poznan as most important cities.
The inhabitants of Poznan are renowned for their brimming enthusiasm and their sense of duty. The sunny terraces on the old Market Place are filled with many tourists admiring the typical souvenirs they managed to snap up from the local artists. Proud as a peacock are the inhabitants of their renaissance town hall, a real ‘pièce de résistance’. The tourist focal point is the bell tower where every day at noon, two metal goats appear and but their horns together 12 times.

For most of the tourists devoutly religious Poland doesn’t evoke images of Spanish costas. To a weather-beaten Viking like me though, due to my countless wanderings throughout Northern-Europe, Poland brings a Mediterranean feeling. The continuous sunshine and the sun-tanned Polish machos- yes, they do exist - strengthen my impression! There are even reckless drivers, so what could look more Italian?
If you don’t believe me there’s always the popularity of the Pope whose photograph is prominently displayed in public places. And to finish the picture one can always dream away on the southern tunes of Radio Vatican.

I savour this heartland of Europe with its slants and woods - awash with ancient trees - its lakes and extensive cornfields. Cycling through the low mountains of Silezia I reach the province capital of Wroclaw. Like Poznan Wroclaw was put to ashes but the many restorations have produced an enchanting town centre.
Via the beautiful valley of Klodzko I continue my journey in the direction of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. These last 11 days I have cycled about 1500 km often in more than 30 degrees so I deserve a much-needed break.
A splendid idea is a visit to the Czech capital Prague.

Splendid weather adds to the magical atmosphere in this city, famous for its 100 towers.
I cross the Karlsbridge, which is the most important bridge of Prague. Embellished with countless statues, the bridge has spanned the Moldau River for centuries.
It’s impossible to summarise Prague in a few lines if you consider that complete books have been written about the town. But I just want to jot down for you the funniest legend I have heard about the bridge. It goes way back into its history and here’s how the story goes.
Centuries ago it was decided that the small wooden bridge a bit further downstream needed to be replaced by a more solid version. The town’s chief engineers got together for a brainstorm and decided that in order to make the bridge strong as an ox they needed to add a powerful ingredient to the mortar. The proud architects’ mind was made up; honey liquor and eggs would do the trick! Delivering all the eggs was too big a task for the chickens in Prague, therefor the Bohemian and Moravian towns had to chip in as well.
But this mad "egg"story gave rise to misunderstandings.
Some cities thought that the inhabitants of Prague were starving and send them cheese as well! And the cleverest idea came from a small town that didn’t want the eggs to break on transport! They had all the eggs ………… cooked.
Enjoy your meal!


 

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