Lithuania, Poland

Day 15: Sunday (8/24/2025). A quiet room. No miles to travel. No reason to rush out of our comfy bed. A full hotel breakfast awaiting our arrival. A city waiting to be explored. Books to read. Blogs to write. Breaking bread, sharing stories, laughter, and serious moments with our new friend Andre. Time to reflect on our forty years together. Time to be grateful that we have the health and means to dream about future adventures. LUXURY! It was a very good day in Kaunas.    

Day 16: Monday (8/25/2025). It was meant to be an ambitious day. We found a campground fifty-two miles south of Kaunas. Well within our range, especially after a rest day. As we were packing our bikes, however, it started to rain. Then it poured, drizzled – paused – then misted, sprinkled, deluged. Well, you get the picture.

Generally, we find the idea of riding in rain worse than the reality. When you’re in it, with the right gear, you can be mostly comfortable. But after several hours of non-stop moisture, we stopped to evaluate. We certainly could have done without the cold walls of water sent up by passing vehicles. Weather radar showed storm cells moving through the area all day. We were chilled sitting inside a grocery store, plotting our next moves. The vote was unanimous. Sod it! Let’s be done for the day.

A few miles later we rolled into the resort town of Birstonas. We were welcomed to Vila Liepe by the friendly, albeit non-English speaking, proprietor. Showered and warm, we actually enjoyed listening to waves of rain play their  thunderous melody over our heads. From the comfort of our beds, we could imagine cycling long distances and arriving in Poland tomorrow. We shall see.

Day 17: Tuesday (8/26/2025). For most of us, most of the time, weather is a minor concern, sheltered as we are in our homes and cars. On bikes, we feel naked, exposed, and at the mercy of the elements. A tailwind gives us wings of an angel. Wind on the nose slows us to a soul-sucking, thigh burning crawl. Blue skies lift our spirits, and rain has us questioning our life choices.

Yesterday’s non-stop rain gave way today to sullen skies that dampened our spirits, and random squalls that dampened everything else. Still, the countryside was pleasant enough, and we had a goal. Late afternoon saw us crossing into Polska. Success!

Day 18: Wednesday (8/27/2025). Ah, Polska! Land of silky smooth roads (mostly),  beautiful lakes, forests, and fields. A constant refrain is “I feel like we’re in Wisconsin!” Small wonder that close to 10% of Wisconsin’s population claims Polish ancestry. Early settlers must have felt right at home.

After two soggy days, sunny skies and friendly people brightened our mood considerably. Even Komoot’s insistence that we take dirt tracks through the forest didn’t bring us down. We ended the day watching the sun set, beer in hand, in the pleasant company of other touring cyclists. We met the Muller’s from Germany in our campground near Augustow.  As always, it was enjoyable hearing their adventures and sharing stories.

When mosquitoes chased us into the tent, we did some math. Total distance yet to travel divided by number of days left equals – oh crap! – more miles than we want to ride every day! We pondered. We Googled. We discussed. In the end, we devised a plan to have a bus deliver us to Krakow after a stop off day in Warsaw to see the sights. We will miss a large swath of “Wisconsin-esque” countryside. But the trade-off is a more realistic pace for the remainder of our ride.

Day 19: Thursday (8/28/2025). Augustow lived up to its billing as a “touristy” town. Entrepreneurs offer endless opportunities for visitors to have fun. Much of it is centered around the chain of lakes surrounding the town. With summer winding down and kids heading back to school soon, people were out in force enjoying the warmth. We enjoyed it as well prior to our bus ride south.

After a few moments of panic trying to find our bus, we were whisked off to Warsaw. The busy-ness of Warsaw was a bit jarring at first. It seems like we’ve seen more cows than cars since arriving in Poland. (I exaggerate). Now we have to contend with cars, trucks, buses, trams, hordes of pedestrians, bikes, electric scooters, road construction, and signs that remain stubbornly unprounounceable.

It all reminded me of a quote by author Bill Bryson, “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are five years old again. You can’t read anything. You have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work. You can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” 

Very quickly, though, we settled into this new urban rhythm. We found our home for the night. We joined locals in their evening stroll along a pedestrian walkway. We enjoyed three P’s…piwo (beer), pierogi, and people watching.

Day 20: Friday (8/29/2025). Imagine walking around any city in America as a first-time visitor. You might walk past or poke into some tourist shops, if you happen to be in the right part of town. You might see some interesting buildings, parks, or historical plaques. Without local knowledge, you would leave that town really knowing very little about the people or the place. How different it would be if a local showed you around.

Today, Taisa told us about her city. How her grandparents fought in the tragic Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis late in the war. How, in many parts of the city, 80-90% of the buildings were reduced to rubble by German bombing. How her father was “volun-told” by the Soviets to spend summer break from school clearing that rubble from the city. How no money from the U.S. Marshall plan went to help Poland, because, definitely through no fault of their own, they were under Russian control. Mixed in with all the history, she shared stories of modern life in Warsaw and Poland in general. 

We are huge fans of “free” walking tours. The cost is whatever participants choose to give the guides. I am sure Taisa was well compensated for two and a half fascinating hours.

After the tour, Sharon and I parted ways for solo exploration. Later, we found our way back to the pedestrian mall for slightly different P’s … Pączki, piwo, and more people watching. Well done Warsaw!

Day 21: Saturday (8/30/2025). FOMO is a real thing for me on bike rides. Saying “yes” to one route, de facto means saying “no” every other possibility. I want to know what is down the roads “not taken”. So taking a bus almost always triggers a severe FOMO reaction – but not today.

There were some lovely stretches between Warsaw and Krakow, but enough scenes like the picture above to feel good about our decision.

We felt even better about our choice when we left the bus and rode downtown. Krakof (as the locals pronounce it) felt comfortably worn and welcoming. The buildings (not the people) escaped the devastation visited upon other Polish cites. Here, as elsewhere, Jewish people suffered terribly at the hands of Nazi murderers.

Once again we are reminded of what happens when a country’s leadership makes it “OK” to hate ‘other’ people. Removal of basic human rights. Inhumane treatment. Concentration camps. Hatred of whole classes of ‘others’ leads to the same place, not just eighty years ago and not just far away. (e.g. Alligator Alcatraz) Shame! 

Being flexible with our “no plan” plan has served us well in our travels. Occasionally, it jumps up and bites us in the butt! “We’re in Krakow,” we said. “We should visit Auschwitz and Birkenau,” we said. Good idea! We even arranged transport to make it a day trip from Krakow. Who knew that the Auschwitz Memorial site limits the number of visitors? Who knew that tickets are spoken for weeks and months in advance. Not Sharon and Dave!! That’s who. Oh well. As Forrest Gump would say, “That’s one less thing!”

We arrived in time to take a walking tour of Old Town. Apparently, taking a stroll around Old Town Krakow on a balmy Saturday afternoon sounded like a good idea to thousands and thousands of other people as well. Understandable. It is beautiful, and as always, filled with amazing twists and turns of history, political intrigue, a fire breathing dragon, even Mongol hordes.

Thus ends another week on the road. These past three weeks and 600 miles have been challenging, entertaining, and enlightening. They have also given us a very different experience than previous trips. It’s hard to pinpoint any one reason. Circumstances. Decisions. Regardless, we are both feeling more like a part of the “Touristing Hordes” than the “adventurers” we fancy ourselves to be. We are learning much, but connecting little. Hard to say what the next week(s) will bring. Whatever comes, you can read it here next week. Same Bat time, same Bat channel. (I’m dating myself). Until next week. STC!