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Alla inlägg under juni 2018

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 19 juni 2018 22:17

This morning we got up early as usual and the plan was to make it to Vienna by the evening but first Mom wanted to visit the Punkva caves that are located a little bit north of a city named Brno. Mom has now named Brno the city with the worst roads ever. Driving through the city was a horror.

   

What kind of supermarket is this ?


 

we were driving around on narrow winding roads forever and when Mom spotted the green I that's the logo for tourist information she quickly pulled over, parked and ran across the street but it was closed. A big guy in a black Tshirt was quickly approaching which gave her a moment of unrest but lit up when she saw it was a police officer and thought we'll get help now. He was pissed, we had parked illegally and he shouted back to his partner to come with the police car.

He spoke no English, just shouted "passeporte" ok ok , and Mom handed it to him. He wrote 200 kr on a piece of paper as he kept talking loud and angry. His partner was looking at our Linnea, guess trying to figure out what we were doing there. Mom had the 200kr bill ($9)and the police tried to grab it as Mom pulled it away and shouted "receipt" back to him. He was trying to make an extra buck ............ha not with Mom He had to give in and write the ticket and I think he was cursing as we drove off. No help from them, he must have been one of those Gestapo in his previous life.

  


after circling around on these small roads Mom was ready to give up finding the caves but decided one more try, and hallelujaaa we found it. Unfortunately, this meant I was left guarding Lucy since I wasn't allowed to come along.

Again Mom had communication issues with the lady at the reception. She claimed she spoke English, but it wasn't a kind Mom could understand. Finally managed to get tickets for the boat ride and the gondola getting down the mountain. Scary steep Mom said. The caves were magnificent well worth the hassle.

         


Unfortunately, this entire tour was not translated which was a shame because the guide in the boat apparently told many funny stories since everyone was laughing so much. 

Not until the tour was over a young man who was a guide came up to Mom apologizing he wasn't aware there was an English speaking person in the group, or he would have explained everything. his English was excellent. Mom said she didn't know she had the option, and let him know what she thought of the lady at the reception. He called her the Bword.

   


Leaving the caves it was already 4pm and we had to go back the winding steep roads Lucy sure got a good workout. Not easy to find a place to pass a slower moving vehicle like this one.

 


we passed through many small villages and almost every one had some kind of church or big magnificent buildings.

We wished they Czechs would pay as much attention to their roads


 


we are now pretty close to Vienna but since Lucy is a diesel we cannot drive into the center of this city so we stopped to make plans on how to proceed. Mom decided to make it a night and that's ok with me.


 



this picture is stolen from their website....................good night





Av EvaLena Hallgren - 18 juni 2018 22:26

I really think Mom has lost count on what day it is because last night we stayed in Kutna Hora and now we're on our way to see some caves....oh well who cares

Getting up early as usual and leaving Prague Linnea took us straight through town, lucky for Mom it was Sunday or maybe Saturday?so the traffic wasn’t bad and we got through it without any incidents. Linnea is great in cities, it’s all the crazy detours around roadwork she can’t handle very well

     

 

this is a shanty town in Prague suburb, looks a little cool to live there but water does not look inviting

 


I’m convinced all people both here and in Poland owns an eighteen wheeler as a second car because there are millions of them on the road.

 


This time we were heading southeast to a town called Kutna Hora only about an hour drive from Prague A small town that began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistern monastery. By 1260, German miners began to mine for silver in the mountain region, which they named Kuttenberg, and which was part of the monastery. The territory greatly advanced due to the silver mines which gained importance during the economic boom of the 13th century.


The earliest traces of silver have been found dating back to the 10th century, when Bohemia already had been in the crossroads of long-distance trade for many centuries. Silver dinars have been discovered belonging to the period between 982–995 in the settlement.


From the 13th to 16th centuries, the city competed with Prague economically, culturally, and politically.Since 1995.

 

after circling the town a few times on very narrow and steep cobblestone street we finally found a campsite and parked even though there was no one there. In a few minutes another car with a caravan showed up, and to our big surprise, they were Swedish. We had a great evening together.

We took an evening bike ride and it was gorgeous with many chapels statues and churches.

   

   


Saint Barbara's Church is Roman Catholic in the style of a Cathedral and It is one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. St.Barbara is the patron saints of miners (among others), which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines.


Construction began in 1388,but because work on the church was interrupted several times, it was not completed until 1905. Work on the building was interrupted for more than 60 years during the Hussite wars and the work resumed in 1481.


The original design was for a much larger church, perhaps twice the size of the present building, how that could be even possible we thought Construction, however, depended on the prosperity of the town's silver mines, which became much less productive. So, in 1588, the three-peaked roof had been completed,and a provisional wall was constructed. A little later it was occupied by Jesuits who gradually changed the structure into a baroque style, though parts still remain in Gothic style.

     


We met a family from Prague who’s adorable children fell in love with me, and impressively they both tried speaking English they were taught at school.

 


The entire city's street is cobblestones and the hills are steep. I thought my few remaining teeth were going to fall out rattling around in the basket as Mom tried to bike these streets. Sure gave Mom a great workout, and it was all worth it since the sights are amazing.

   

 



we did not stop for anything to eat here

 

 

 


Not sure what this artist will cal his work?  putting a squeese on the world? squeese my ball? 

 

In the morning we drove to the famous bone church that was located at the other end of town, and this time I was left to guard Lucy. Figures when there's something I would be interested in I'm left behind............huh

 

 


The well-known story of the Bone Church (to be more correct or ‘Kostnice’ in Czech) is that, in the 13th century, Jindřich, the abbot of Sedlec monastery, returned from a visit to Palestine with a pocketful of soil and sprinkled it on the cemetery surrounding the Chapel of All Saints.

 

The green awning was put up for workers that were digging all around to repair the foundation and doing that they found even more bones.

 

 


This direct association with the holy land led to the graveyard becoming a sought after burial site among the aristocracy of Central Europe. At the time of the thirty years’ war in the 17th century, the number of burials outgrew the space available, the older remains began to be exhumed and stored in the chapel, and it’s estimated that the chapel now contains the bones of up to 40,000 people.

       


It really is a weird and somewhat eerie concept. Mom found the idea very bizarre yet once inside looking around she admitted it was very fascinating. I just hope that nobody now gets an idea to copy this in the 21st Century!

The Monks entrusted with the care of the chapel were the first to begin piling the bones into geometric shapes.

 Above the center hangs the chandelier that is often touted as the highlight of the bone church because it contains at least one of each bone in the human body

   

It wasn't easy to get any decent pictures since you weren't allowed to use flash ..........

  This is the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family, and there's a segment depicting a raven picking the eye from an invading soldier........pretty sick if you ask me,

 

 

 

Here was yet another Cathedral on UNESCO  list.


The Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and St John the Baptist is a convent church of the former oldest Cistercian monastery in Bohemia this church makes up a comprehensive complex of the oldest part of Kutná Hora. The cathedral was built in 1290 – 1320 and combines northern French Gothic cathedral architecture with German elements

 

         



The cathedral was left in ruins following the Hussite invasion in the 15th century, yet it was so monumental that in 1681 it was awarded the title of  – the most splendid basilica.


 As part of the cathedral, he incorporated cantilever construction elements – a vault known as the “Bohemian flat vault“ and a cantilever staircase, which are unique in the world. The cathedral began to serve as a Roman Catholic parish church after the abolition of the Sedlec monastery by Joseph II and the establishment of a tobacco factory in its former buildings. Mom walked up a staircase under the roof where she could look down 

 

 

not sure if there's real people in these coffins............

   


this guy has been around for a while, looks pretty hungry to me.

 


lots of bloody old paintings in here, none of this is MOm's cup of tea, but still fascinating of course.


 

 

Not sure where we are now, but I know we are going to some caves Mom read about. Once again the entire road was dug up and we are sent on a detour around to nowhere...............after looking closely on a map, asking questions pointing waving and smiling we finally found out we're only 40 km from where we wanted to be, so Mom decided to park and sleep and continue tomorrow...............

 

Good Night All.


 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Av EvaLena Hallgren - 17 juni 2018 07:17

Yesterday when we got back from the city we were both totally exhausted, Mom can't understand why I should be since I was riding in the carriage the entire time? Well, let me tell you even if I feel rather safe in my spot it's impossible to take naps like I'm used to because there's so much stuff to look at and constantly people are coming to take pictures of me and make comments about a spoiled dog............me spoiled?? This city is crowded with billions of tourists everywhere. It's an amazing city. 

Again we took a taxi into the main square 100 check krona is $4.50 and everything is inexpensive. The beer cost less than water and taste very good.

Today there was a big party to raise money for MS that the motorcycle club had arranged. It was police, fire, and EMT Mcclub. The music was loud, and for a moment it felt like we were back in the USA again.

   

 

This police dog only had eyes for his master, no matter how much I tried barking, he didn't care...............who does he think he is?  "A very well trained police dog," Mom said..............Oh, and that's a big deal huh? 

Sure is Mom said, so ok then



 


these ladies got the Harley logo painted on their heads, and they agreed on having their picture taken only if we also agreed to have OUR picture taken and pay 125kr, which we did since it was for a good cause.


   


this car seemed to be a real novelty here, and a lot of Ford mustangs was parked in a row, but we had seen them many times before so .............big deal.

 


we continued away from the music which I thought was way too loud, and Mom agrees with me on that. This poor lady was asleep and we felt so bad for her so Mom bent down to put money in her hand, and the lady sat up and said a prayer for us. well, at least that's what we think she did since she spoke Czech we had no clue.......

 


Gorgeous buildings everywhere and even if Mom figured out the names of the buildings she has already forgotten so...............

oh well, it's buildings.


           


oh no, Mom did not buy one of these even if the sales lady said she could detach the star. Mom responded with she'll have no need for it in Florida, and that was that

 


Many street performers everywhere and they all wanted money if you wanted to take pictures. Mom cheated on most and zoomed in from a distance. What could they do about it? 


   


This was a booth where you buy a brick and paint it and the money goes to the disabled children A good cause so Mom painted our calling card. We should have donated brushes because the ones they had were of little use. The young lady in this booth spoke very good English and could answer Moms curiosity about Czech culture. She also gave a name of a restaurant off the tourist path where we can order a more authentic meal. 

   


it was hot and did I say crowded? so we found this guy who'll drive us up to the castle ..............it was a great ride and a lot of fun, but if I may suggest a catalytic converter on the cars the air would be a lot better. The exhaust fumes and million of smokers do not help the air quality here. 

       

 


So lucky we came just in time for the changing of the guards


 


I think every country have their version of this ............



 

The wiev over the city from here was pretty cool

 



Driving back on cobblestone streets we met the motorcycles on their equivalent to our toyrun.............it was great said Mom.


 


so the driver who's name Mom already forgot ............well so did I, too many vowels..........nice guy spoke English well and once again Mom got answers to many questions she had about life here now after the communist era.

 


He dropped us off at a restaurant he said was authentic and had good food. Not many tourists here he said, but 2 guys from North Dakota showed up and when MO masked them how they found this place, they said they were lost ..........and thirsty. Mom ate had a couple of beers and chatted for a while. Forgot the name of this dish, but it was delicious and way too much so half the portion would have been more than enough.

 


In Prague they have an astronomical clock that's very famous and heading there we found out it's under repair so we didn't get to see it............disappointed Mom got her feet cleaned by fish ..................meanwhile I got a well-needed nap in my carriage away from busy street life. Mom is sitting in a window waving at people as fish are eating away........wow what's next?


   


this bear must be hotter than hot in the costume, and he did look sad we thought.

 


many beggars everywhere and we're not sure if this guy was praying or crying, he sounded like he was crying

 


pretty girls one of them getting married tomorrow


 

on our walk, we continued to Charles bridge which is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV and finished at the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between the castle and the city's old town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.

The bridge is 621 metres (2,037 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide, it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three towers, two of them on the lesser quarter side and one on the old town side. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

Repairs are scheduled to start in late 2019, they should take around 20 years.

Apparently, this was THE place everyone visited so crowded and many street vendors and artists selling their stuff. 

As nutty as Mom is she decided to hold the snakes, and for a little while no one crowded her.

 

   


     


these are a special kind of Dove, very pretty and the owner was a little worried when one flew and sat down with me. Mom reassured him I would not do it harm..............


 


mom was worried get poop in her hair, but they were trained not to ? who knew that's even possible?

 


this gut said he was asking for a donation to enter Tour de France with his bike? Highly unlikely Mom thought, but never the less this is excellent woodwork.

 


so we crossed the bridge dodging more vendors and found a cab to take us back to Lucy.


   

 



Back at Lucy and we were both ready for bed. what an amazing eventful day we had...................

 


we'll be leaving Prague later today, not sure what direction yet, but I do know MOm scratched the plan to go to Croatia since it's a heatwave in the forecast and she remembers the torture from last years visit to Italy in 104 temperatures. I'm glad she came to her senses, and maybe we need some mountain time now?





 







Av EvaLena Hallgren - 16 juni 2018 06:58

Early rise as usual and watching the sunrise over the river Vltava.............nope, that's not a misspelling.

 

 

 Remeber yesterday when Mom said, "we're driving straight to Prague on highways"? well, she tried to change that when she saw this flea market it was like ooooohh we must stop here,  but I put my paw down and ............she gave in

 

 

Driving in Poland has some challenges, especially since it's impossible to read the signs. This sign warns you that it's something scary ahead? but what?  time will tell I suppose...........we saw nothing scary?

 

 

 

Like I said trying to figure out which town to match up with the English version of this...............I'm telling you, being a copilot is not an easy task, so forget about it, just wing it Mom says. ok, you wing it, meanwhile, I'll take a nap

 

 

This sign I'm pretty sure is telling us we're leaving Poland and entering the Czech Republic. The road immediately got wider and smoother.

 

 



 


The language didn't change much though. No idea what this says, but maybe it's a prison because a man behind those bars in the window kept shouting at us while we had stopped so I could relieve myself.

 

 

 

We got new money again, and 100 of these are $4.50 so from the gas pumps in Poland reading 5.50 to now 130 a litre it seems very expensive.

Mom thought all of Europe were using Euros, but apparently not. In most countries, you can use both, but we think the exchange rate is better with their own currency, and it feels rich having thousands in your wallet says, Mom. I pointed out all the warning signs about pickpockets..........so that's your job to watch out for them she says.......ok good.

 

 

 


at another one of my weewee stops we met a stray dog, he didn't want to say hello, and Mom was happy about that but gave him an entire package of bacon she didn't intend to eat anyway............he wolfed that down in 2 seconds and came and asked for more. Before saying goodbye I shared some of my pellets too.

   

 

I know for sure that sign means NO stopping, what are you doing Mom. She had seen something she absolutely had to take a picture of ......

 

after about a five hour drive we finally arrived in Prague and the big city traffic.

 

 

 

we arrived at a campsite about 4pm and the meanest most vicious cat I ever met lived there, she had no interest in making friends.

 

 

the camp is right on the river so we have a great view of the tourist boats passing by, maybe that's worth doing tomorrow? I ask. A swan couple with babies swam by............this place is really pretty.

 

 

 

 


At the reception there were gorgeous roses that have a great scent Mom says.............ha that's nothing you should smell this light pole I say, much more interesting and is telling a story, does your rose do that

 

 

 

Mom left her calling card at the little waterfall.

 

   

OK, so it's almost 8 AM and today we will go into the city and explore all the sights............I will tell you all about it tonight if Mom isn't too tired from pushing me in my carriage.

 

see you later

 

 

 

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 14 juni 2018 21:45

At the moment we’re in a town called Wroclaw and if we had taken the high way we would have been here in 3 hours tops, but as usual Mom’s doing her thing and off into the boondocks we went. Who knew it was so difficult to get around in Poland. The roads are full of patches on patches and patches. Good thing there’s no breakables in Lucy, but she may be in need of new shocks after this trip.

To get out of Poznan Mom programmed Linnea and off went. It started ok we got out of the city and onto a highway which we were supposed to be on. Linnea says “get off next exit and stay to the left” nope to the left there’s a round sign red edge and middle white, and that means NO GO! Oh, she must be mistaken she didn’t say that. It didn’t take long and Linnea made Mom turn Lucy again and again. After driving a figure eight twice, Mom thought maybe that sign doesn’t mean the same in Poland?

And she turned left!!! it was a nice wide smooth road no markings and no traffic. Mom started to get suspicious after a while because we were alone. Maybe this isn’t right she wonders? Oh what tipped you off birdbrain? The fact this place is as wide as a Boeing 757 or the fact there’s no one here or those huge green trucks and machines that are parked at the end and we are ALONE.

Mom made a quick U-ie turned off Linnea and again drove on a hunch. As long as Lucy is pointing south we’ll be ok she said.

We drove through a lot of farmland and gorgeous forests. In almost every village ladies was sitting by the road selling their vegetables, berries and homemade stuff. Mom stopped and bought cherries and honey

 from this lady that hugged me and kissed me and loved me so much, I think Mom was getting worried she wasn’t getting me back,

 

   

 

When she went food shopping today she learned a new phrase in Polish. UWAGA SLISKY………...and it translates “watch out, floor is slippery as fuck” LuckyMom made her quickstep shuffle and got her balance back…..could have gone bad. I don’t think they are very used to tourists around here since no signs are translated.

 

I think someone wrote the name of this flower in Latin on the wall, how thoughtful

 


In one village we passed through I noticed the roof of the church had a checker pattern, maybe so God shouldn’t get too bored during all the ceremonies? Who would he play with though?

 

     


We spotted this gorgeous Stork nest and had to pull over and walk back,(she left me in Lucy) to get a better look and noticed it was Momstork with 2 babies……….cool


 


The houses in the country are mostly grey cement and often a lot of patches on them, but the Polish people are excellent gardeners flowers everywhere.

 

Here’s another pope statue and he’s been shitted on, NO respect!


 


Tonight's supper was pirogies filled with cabbage and mushrooms, they were delicious with lingonberries but I have a feeling that’s not how the Polish people eat them.

 

 

 


Now Linnea is going to get her update, it is supposed to take three hours so now we’ll see if the solar panel can deliver. If Linnea still screwes up ………..remember what happened to Alice? YES that's a threat.  

 

 

goodnight all

 

 

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 13 juni 2018 21:16

When we woke up this morning it looked like it would start raining any minute, so we waited around thinking it’ll get better before we start riding the bike into the city centre. The weather didn’t change so Mom got the brilliant idea of taking the train with me in my carriage, and I was up for that.

Either we had a language issue again or Mom didn’t understand directions how we get to the station, so we, (read she) walked and walked asked for directions twice got different answers, so we walked back and called a cab.

The cab driver spoke perfect English and was born in the city so Mom asked him to drive us around and show us the sights. He did and asked for less than $10.00, so why bother with the train Mom thought, and I concur.

 

   


Poznań is among the oldest and largest cities in Poland The city population is about 550,000,


and the centre of trade sports, education, technology and tourism. It is an important academic site, with about 130,000 students and has the third largest Polish university. 


Poznań has often topped rankings as a city with a very high quality of education and a very high standard of living. It also ranks highly in safety


The cabdriver first took us to the archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in which is


one of the oldest churches in Poland and the oldest Polish cathedral, dating from the 10th century. 

 

 


There was a statue of the Pope too but Mom forgot to look at which one since she was more interested in the gorgeous flowers planted all around him.

 

 

   




The Imperial castle It was constructed under the German rule in 1910. We saw the Opera and many more very impressive buildings. 


     

 


Finally, we were dropped off by the market in the old town, and I caused quite a stir riding in my wagon. I suppose people have never seen a ShihTzu with his own ride before so many wanted to come and say hello thinking I must be very famous. What a great colourful place, we enjoyed every minute to the max. Mom bought cherries

 

   

 

Birds don't care about color..

 

 

2 bean bags placed outside a store for waiting husbands

 

  

 

We continued our walk to the Old Market Square. The Renaissance town hall, old houses, charming side streets, numerous museums, monuments, cafes and people walking about - all of them create the unique atmosphere of the place. and there was a flea market. Mom bought a colourful trivet.

     


At lunch, Mom asked for something typical Polish and was served BIGOS with 2 slices of bread. It was delicious. 

 

 

   

 


People here are very friendly and almost all younger people speak English. Mom spotted this lady in gorgeous purple hair and had to strike up a conversation, She saw me and fell heads over heels in love. I don’t think she ever wanted to put me down and I felt quite comfortable in her arms. She was from England so there were no communication issues. I thought they never stop, and why didn’t Mom introduce the Swedish custom of “fika” if they had so much to chat about?

 

     

 

Like I said, I was a HIT as always

 

 

 


The pigeons were almost tame walking and flying very close and I’m pretty sure they would have landed right in my carriage if I had something to offer them.

     

 

There were so many things going on everywhere, just sitting around people watching was fun.

This guy is blowing giant bubbles and of course, expecting money for the entertainment.

 

    

 

several fountains in every corner of the square..

       

 


the Lesser Basilica of St. Stanislaus, had a sign of No dogs allowed but since I’m special we walked in to take a quick look, I’m pretty sure God didn’t mind and it was totally empty.

 

 

 

 



The most impressive structure on the Main Square is the Town Hall at its centre. First erected in the early 14th century, it truly flowered in mid-1500s when Italian architect Giovanni Quadro of Lugano added the Renaissance loggia, attic, and classical tower, earning the structure acclaim as “the most beautiful Renaissance town hall north of the Alps”. Unfortunately, a catalogue of historic disasters - including a 1675 fire, 1725 hurricane, and WWII bomb damage - have resulted in the sad reality that today little of the original structure actually remains, though it has been faithfully rebuilt to retain its status as the city's showpiece.


Every day at noon two mechanical billy goats emerge from a door above the clock at precisely noon and proceed to butt heads twelve times. Simultaneously, a trumpeter plays the town’s traditional bugle call from a balcony. The bugle call dates back to the 15th century, and the goats have been ramming heads since 1551. Replaced and restored over the years, the present pair has been at it since 1954. Of course, there’s a half-baked legend to go along with them: when the clock was completed in 1511, the governor of the Poznań province was invited for the unveiling. The hapless cook preparing the celebratory feast burnt the venison, so he went out and managed to steal a pair of goats to serve instead. Alas, the goats escaped and traipsed up to the top of City Hall, where they began butting heads, amusing the collected crowd and the governor himself, who decreed they be added to the clock. We missed that event but instead met two talking goats.

   

 


see what you can create form a couple of pallets.

 

 

 

young brothers playing the accordion for money, the youngest 6 years old

 

 

 


There was so much to look at and such an interesting place, 

 

 

 


in the middle of all these sausages, something was burning? It was coffee stuffed inside bread which gave off smoke to keep bugs away


 


       

 

Mom and this man had some kind of talking with the hand's conversation, I think he tried to tell how he got a bump on his head.

All Mom could do was smile and wish him good luck

 

 



Finally, I think it was time to return to the campsite where Lucy was waiting for us. The moment we were ready to get into the cab this sweet old lady showed up to love me. She spoke Polish, German and English and told Mom she was 92 years old. It was pretty close that Mom was going to let the driver go because she wanted to know more about this sweet lady. I was glad she didn’t because I’m bushed and wanted to go home. Mom said we sure missed out on many interesting stories…………….oh well, next time I’m bushed.

 

 

 

we got home safely although we got a ride from a taxi driver that'll put the Manhattan cab driver in the dust. It was rush hour, cars everywhere and cable cars, and bike cyclist and people ............did I tell you I'm bushed?...............

 

 

Good Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 13 juni 2018 08:12

We didn't leave the camp until noon despite Mom getting up before 5 am, she said she had so much to do...…haha.

We took a long early walk on the dock looking at all beautiful sailboats. Mom admired this wooden ship the most. 

     

 

This is a good way to live on a boat without getting seasick says Mom, but what about the afraid of hight issue?

 

 


The owner of this camp sure loves gardening, it was like walking in a botanical garden and many trees had labels with names and origins, so we ended up making more than one walk around it all. As we were leaving we saw 2 ladies on their knees planting more flowers, and we didn’t think they could make it any prettier.

 

   

 

we saw a big RV which Mom thought was an American because of the signs, but they only spoke German, anyway he had really cool hubcaps.

   

 


We have a new window box with a talking road map, Last years Alice has retired and now we have a lady named Linnea who tells Mom when it’s time to turn. Linnea is talking a lot more than Alice ever was, so Mom is getting a little irritated when Linnea tells her to slow down for a sharp curve or warns of a narrow road and tells her to mind her business. I bet she’ll apologize to her when she gets lost though.


We told Linnea we wanted to go to Poznan, which shouldn’t take more than2.5hours driving on a highway. As usual that bored Mom to sleep, so she went against Linnea and took off an exit and kind of winged it, and that immediately perked her interest. ..............………..whooopie, my old Mom is back to normal


We drove through small villages and a lot of farmland and forests. The road was pretty bumpy at times but so much more interesting according to Mom. We drove through miles of pine forests, Very tall trees that were planted in exact straight rows Some trees younger and also planted perfectly in line so they looked like a Korean army.


The supermarket has a ladybug as a logo so that’s easy to find, and as you all know that is Moms favourite kind of shopping. She finds it so exciting looking at all the different delicacies not having a clue what she’s buying, and the language is impossible to understand. Polish people do not speak English, German or Swedish, at least not in small villages. So far Mom has only learned to say Thank You………...Dziekuje?? it is pronounced jen-koo-yea………

 

 

 


An excellent woodcarver must be living in this town which was called Kwilcz,

Seems like every word and place in Polish includes the letters Z and C, often more than once which makes it impossible to pronounce 

 

 

 

When we finally arrived in Poznan Mom drove around the city many times trying to find a legal place to park for the night. The Polish language is impossible to understand but the picture of a tow truck picking up your car is international, so in the end, we drove to a campsite and paid14 Euro for a night.I’m glad we did it’s a gorgeous place with a security guard and the lady in the reception spoke great English.

 

For a while, Mom thought of staying here for the night but after a walk around she spotted the towtruck sign again.

This girl was jogging with her dogs lead strapped around her waist..............not a great idea because as soon as he saw me he wanted to stop and say hello, and pulled her down on the ground. Good thing she didn't get hurt and at first, the dog looked ashamed and sincerely apologised to her with lots of loving kisses.

 

   

 

 

Supper was new potatoes (with a dab of Hellman's)from Sweden and herring from Poland……………...Looked gross to me so I didn’t give that a second look, but Mom seemed to enjoy it……..

 

 

 


Pretty soon we'll be biking into Poznan, it's only 4 km so I'm sure Mom could handle that, hopefully, she will not get lost this time, like she usually does in bigger cities.

 

later alligator

 

 

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 11 juni 2018 11:16

After a very dramatic weekend are we now in Poland and it looks like Mom will survive the ordeal.

Saturday night Mom got violently ill, vomiting and………….well you know. She was sweating and shaking freezing at the same time, and when her hands and arms started to tingle I got really worried. The ambulance guys showed up and checked her heart with a machine and put a cuff on her arm to check the pressure, which was through the roof. Not knowing what that means I was afraid she’ll blow up? I was so scared I forgot to beg for treats like I always do when we have visitors.

As it turned out Mom is ok and the guys suspected a food poison. They said they’ll take her to the hospital but what about me? Mom stayed and after a day she felt a little better. We are both very grateful we hadn’t left Sweden and got help so quickly.  

On Sunday morning she felt a little better so we continued driving south, following the coastline which is beautiful. We made a few stops to enjoy the sights and Mom trying her shaky legs.

   

 

We arrived in Ystad which is the city the ferry departs to Poland and we had no plan to get on it until Mom feels 100%. We parked and watched other ferries leave but when Mom checked the tickets she noticed a great deal on the price so there was no question about it, Mom figured she can rest on the ship

 


The ship still wasn’t full and there were mostly men in their gigantic trucks, We had a little room to ourselves so after a shower, we both went to sleep and woke up in Poland.

 

 

The ferry was pretty nice they even had a litterbox for me............some people seemed to think it was their ashtray, so it was also full of cigarette butts. Seems like every single truckdriver smokes a lot, cough and smoke, cough and smoke it even sounded like some of them were going to get sick all over themselves.

   

We arrived in Swinoujscie (try pronouncing that) around 8 pm and was looking for a place to park for the night, and we found it in a small town called Wolin. Probably the only name in Poland that doesn't include a few Zs and Cs............It was raining which we decided to send north since the Swedes really needed it.

Me sleeping on the floor under the table so I can keep a close watch on Mom

 

 

We awoke to the sunrise and went for a walk in an almost deserted town.

 

   

 

we met 2 fishermen sitting by the river, I don't think they caught anything because neither one of them were smiling when I tried to strike up a conversation.....

      

As we walked under the bridge we heard a scary sound, like it came from deep down somewhere. It turned out to be pigeons doing their thing, and the echo from the metal beams made it sound spooky.

 

 

 

This stone marker commemorates the death of Danish King Harald Bluetooth on what may have been the site of the legendary Viking fortress, Jomsborg, located in a park near the Dziwna Channel of the Oder River, year 986, which, according to legend, was the result of a fight just outside the gates of the fort

 

   


Harald Bluetooth, who may have gotten his nickname from a bad tooth, he was also known as Gormsson, because his father’s name was Gorm



   

I have no clue what this thing is, but it looks mean and dangerous

 

 

We continued south and since Mom couldn't log on to the internet she tried stopping at a McDonald (free internet all over the world) but didn't get help there either. For some reason, her own modem didn't want to connect? and there is free roaming within the EU countries. 

We ended up taking into a campsite that had WiFi so that problem is solved now through tech support and hopefully it'll last for the rest of the trip.

This town is called Szczecin ........a tongue twister for sure. 

 

The roads here aren't very nice from what we have seen so far, it's like driving in Queens NY bumpy patches everywhere. That doesn't stop the Polish people though, they drive like they are on AutoBahn in Germany. 

We are taking it very easy and leaving the road as often as necessary.

 

now it's time for an afternoon nap for both of us. Mom is almost back to herself so tomorrow we'll be up for new adventures 

 

bye for now  

 

 

 

 

 


Skapa flashcards