It was too nice a day to leave our river camp, so we stayed another night. It was 26 degrees today, so we ventured into the river for a swim, and it was so nice. It was flowing quite fast, but only knee deep, so we sat down and just let the water flow over us. It was a nice way to cool down.

All the other weekend campers left today, so we were all alone. Nobody to light a fire and invite us to join. 

Nothing else happened. I suppose we should move on tomorrow.

We stayed another day at our riverside camp. We got some laundry done and basically spent the day chilling out. The weather was perfect, sunny and about 21 degrees. A few people swam in the river, but it wasn’t hot enough for me. Maybe tomorrow. Apparently there is a bear near here that was seen about 3km away. I keep forgetting they have bears in Europe. 

We played chess. Mike keeps trying to figure out my strategy but I don’t have one. He said I must do because I keep winning, but I honestly don’t.

Our neighbours invited us over to join their bonfire again. They were cooking sausages on sticks over the flames, and this seemed a fun way to have dinner. It’s weird, not understanding a single word of Polish. With French or German, you at least catch fragments. Enough to pretend you’re following along. But Polish? Nie! Not a chance! I need some of those smart glasses that automatically translate in real time. Maybe for the next trip.

That was about it for the day.

It was time to leave to lovely old town of Zamosc, but first we had to visit the church. We’d been past it many times, but always decided to visit it later, but never did.

It was pretty much like any other church except for one difference. Squeaky floors. Although they only seemed to squeak with my trainers. It was terrible. A couple of people were in there trying to pray, and my shoes were squeaking all over the place. I tried walking on tippie-toes but this just made it worse. By this stage I was quite a way in and decided to retreat. But for some reason the squeaking got louder. I was stifling giggles as I made my way to the exit, and burst into laughter when I got outside.  I felt like a naughty kid, not an almost (I’m not saying it) year old.

Then we drove. It was a two hour drive to the town I was navigating to, but you guessed it. Ten hours later and we are still not there. We thought we had poisoned Bertie today. It was a real panic for a while. At the service station there were two diesel pumps, a black one and a blue one. We asked two different people and they both said to use the blue pump. This was against Mike’s better judgement because he said black is standard all over the world.

Anyway, after googling and getting no information, we decided to fill up with the blue. Then I started having doubts. Then I texted Kasia and asked if she knew what the difference was. She said the blue one had AdBlue added to it. Shit! Our van doesn’t use AdBlue.

So I googled it. What happens when you put AdBlue in a normal van. And the answer wasn’t what we wanted to hear. It said it will cause serious damage to the engine. So we navigated to a diesel mechanic about 10 kms away. I tried to explain the problem using Google translate. He said they would have to drain the tank, and clean all the jets. It wasn’t going to be cheap, or quick.

But I think something was lost in translation. We went on to explain there was a choice of two diesel pumps. One was black and one was blue. Turns out the blue is just a better quality of diesel, not AdBlue. So panic over and crisis averted.

After that, our stress levels were high and we didn’t have much energy for doing anything, so we stopped at a lake for an afternoon nap.

We are fairly close to Ukraine here and saw the road signs going to Lviv. We could cross in if we wanted as no visa is required, but there might be a queue getting back out. Plus, I’m not sure our travel insurance would cover us going to a country that’s at war.

We eventually found a nice spot to stop for the night overlooking a river. As it’s Friday night, there are a few locals camping here, all with caravans.

There was a fire pit next door to us with some seating around it. Our neighbours got a fire going and invited us to join. The girl spoke good English and told us how during WW2 the Russians annexed this part of Poland and controlled the other side of the San river from where we are camping. But Poland got it back after WW2. So we’re camping on a bit of history that we didn’t even know about.

It’s such a nice spot here, we might just stay another night.

Today was a lazy, lazy day. As our cafetiere was broken, we went into town for coffee. The temperature has dropped dramatically. It’s gone from being hot in the 30s to a high of 16 today. So we found a cosy and warm cafe for a coffee.

Then we went to the tourist office to upload tomorrow’s video (free wifi). Then we hiked into the retail park to look for a new cafetiere. Thankfully we found one, and will be able to have a nice coffee in the morning.

For some reason we are both feeling exhausted, so we spent the afternoon napping and hanging out in the van listening to the rain tinkling on the roof. We’ve decided to stay another night in Zamosc old town. It’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so we’ll head to a national park not far from here.

Today we visited the Majdanek concentration camp. I didn’t really want to go, but Mike did, and since it was free, I figured why not. It’s one of the best-preserved camps, as the retreating Nazis didn’t have time to destroy the evidence before the Soviet Red Army arrived.

The sleeping quarters are still standing, and thousands of the prisoners’ shoes are on display, over 56,000 pairs. There was also a room filled with photos and short stories of some of the victims, many of whom survived. It was a disturbing place to walk through. To be honest, I kind of wished I’d stayed in the van.

After that, we drove to the UNESCO-listed town of Zamość. We parked right next to the old town (for free!) and wandered around. It’s a picturesque place, full of colourful buildings. The main square is large and open, lined with restaurants, and in the centre stands the town hall, with its tall clock tower and wide staircase. Rain started to fall, so we headed back to the van for an afternoon nap.

In the evening, we ventured out again and had dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking the square. Mike had the duck, and I had the pork and both were delicious.

And… we now have a big problem. I’d left the cafetière on the counter, and as we went around a corner, it slid off and shattered. So now we’re officially out of coffee until we can find a replacement!

I don’t know how we do it, but we managed to make a 2.5 hour journey take 7 hours. This is how the day went.

We left camp at 8am, hoping to get to Lublin at a reasonable hour to avoid the traffic. It was a 2 and a half hour journey and  I have no idea where the time went.

The drivers here are terrible so I keep telling Mike to slow down, so maybe that’s it. We almost had two head-on collisions today. I’d told Mike just seconds before to slow down, when two cars came hurtling around the corner on the wrong side of the road. If he hadn’t slowed down, it would have been a sure collision.

Trucks also are terrifying too. The roads are narrow and bumpy, and seeing them come full throttle at you, bouncing all over the roads is really putting my nerves on edge. And I’m not normally a nervous passenger!

So we slowed it right down for the rest of day, and this could be where the time went. We also stopped at a supermarket, and got some Polish goodies to try. Nothing exciting, just chips and coleslaw.

Then we found a nice spot by a lake to rest in the shade and have an afternoon nap. But when I woke up, we’d been invaded!

Hundreds of tiny black bugs were crawling all over the walls. I have no idea what they were, but there were so many of them. We dashed out of the van, I gave it a good spray, and we got the heck out of there. They were everywhere, clinging to the outside of the van too. Really creepy little things.

The next time we stopped, I looked to see if they were still there, but there were hundreds, if not thousands of dead ones all over the couch. Mike tipped them outside, and I hope thats the last we see of them.

We took the back roads in Lublin, and managed to avoid all the traffic until about the last 500 meters. There were long queues, but thankfully not in the direction we were going. It was really hot and I didn’t want to get stuck in traffic. We arrived at the parking place, and I felt quite proud of my navigation and stress free drive into a big city. It was $12 to park for 24 hours, and we thought this was really cheap for a city right on the edge of the old town, considering we can also sleep here.

We parked overlooking the old town, and went for a wander. The first thing that grabbed me, was the lack of people. Unlike other European old towns which are normally heaving, there was hardly anyone here.

I was immediately impressed. The narrow cobbled streets wind between old buildings in faded pastels, some with cracked plaster and worn shutters that give it a rustic vibe.  The old town feels quieter and less polished than many other European old towns and that’s part of its charm. We found the tourist office and she said. “You must go to the castle, it’s free today. They close at 6pm, but they allow entries before 5.”

I looked at my watch. It was 4.45. So off we raced off to look at the castle. We’re not ones to turn down free!

From the outside, it looked like those castles you draw as a kid. Clean lines, tall white walls, neat little towers. Inside, it also had a museum.

The exhibits took us on a journey from the Stone Age through medieval times and right into the 20th century. There were ancient tools, religious icons, wartime memorabilia, and paintings.

The highlight though was the stunning Holy Trinity Chapel, tucked inside the castle walls. It’s walls and roof were covered in murals (they call them frescoes), from the 15th century and reminded me of the Sistine chapel. It was amazing! There were a few art galleries to wander through as well.

After the castle, we went in search of Polish food. Kasia had given me a list of dishes to try. We found a Polish restaurant and ordered a couple of them. I noticed everyone else there was speaking Polish, which made it feel like we’d stumbled on a spot locals actually come to. I didn’t hear the usual American or English accents you often hear in tourist towns. Maybe Lublin hasn’t been discovered by tourists yet and we’re only here because Kasia recommended it.

Mike ordered spinach dumplings, which were basically like gnocchi. I went for dumplings filled with a cottage cheese-type filling, and when the plate arrived piled high with a sour cream dip, it looked more like a sharing platter than a main course. Thankfully, Mike was happy to help me finish it. We’ve decided Polish food isn’t really our thing, unless we find something like what we had at that bar yesterday. That was delicious!

While we sat at the restaurant, I noticed a couple of people popping their heads out of the apartment windows across the street, just watching the world go by. Something about the scene struck me. The crumbling shutters, the fading paint.  It all felt cinematic and I imagined this as the setting for a story or a foreign film, the kind where not much happens, but everything feels important. There was inspiration everywhere, just waiting to be written.  Who are these people behind the windows? What’s it like inside their apartments? Do they share a bathroom with strangers down the hall? And who’s the mysterious newcomer in number 3?

After dinner we wandered out of the old town walls, and into the main town. Even this was really nice with it’s painted buildings and wide streets. It was busier now, with people going about their evenings, and it definitely felt like the place where locals came to meet, chat, and unwind after the day.

There was a glittery Lublin sign all lit up, and fancy dancing fountains. There was also another portal here. We waved to people in Vilnius, where we stood just a week or so ago! I started doing shapes with my hands to see if they were seeing us in real time. Most people ignored me so I figured they might not be looking at us. But then, one guy decided to follow along. Next thing, we’re doing the Macarena with people in Vilnius! It was so hilarious, and I wished I had’ve filmed it.

Then Vilnius disappeared to be replaced with Dublin. People there were a little more reserved and stuck to just waving. Then it cut to Philadelphia, and there was nobody there at all! That was weird. It reminded me of the members stand during the Mexican wave.

It was just a short walk back to our carpark where we collapsed in bed, exhausted. 

Apart from the screeching critter last night, we had a nice nights sleep in the Polish forest. We were up fairly early to beat the heat. First stop, the Biebrza national park. We drove around all over the place trying to find the office, but eventually got there.

We did a couple of walks there, but they were pretty boring through forests. We were hoping to see a moose or a wolf, but saw nothing, not even a bird. But, we figured we were getting exercise, so it wasn’t a total waste. While we were out walking , I got a text message on my phone saying they would be implementing border control into Poland from Lithuania and Germany from today. No idea why, but glad we came in yesterday.

There was also a short walk along a boardwalk out over the wetlands, and there was a camera crew out there photographing stuff, but we didn’t see anything. Like I’ve said before, we’re useless tourists.

We stopped at a neat little town called Tykocin. On the way in, we checked out the castle from the outside,  a red brick structure with a round tower, perched beside the river. It had a restaurant inside, but the museum was closed.

Then we headed into the town itself, which had a charming main square. A baroque church stood at one end, its pale yellow and white facade and twin towers giving the place an olde worldy vibe. I wanted to look inside but Mike said I couldn’t because I had a sleeveless top on. Not sure when he became an expert on such things. I peeked inside anyway, and it was very fancy, but similar to other churches we’d seen.

Around the square, a few food trucks and souvenir stalls were set up, clearly geared for visitors. It seemed like we were redeeming ourselves by stumbling on a tourist town. Except there were no tourists here, just us!

There was a street bar with bored-looking staff, but it smelled amazing. We checked out the menu, had no idea what anything was, and just went with the first item: Kartacze. When it arrived, it looked… interesting. A white mound topped with bacon and a gherkin on the side. I sliced into it and found meat inside.

Turned out it was meat wrapped in a potato dumpling, and it was absolutely delicious. The gherkin, marinated in salt, was also really tasty. It was the first food stall we’ve actually come across on this trip. We’ve been pretty hopeless at finding local cuisine, so it was nice for a change.

We then walked along a cobblestoned path that followed the river. It was picturesque, with old buildings, trees, and some benches along the way. There were information placards scattered along the path, though the content was a bit depressing. They described how the Jewish community was rounded up during WWII and taken away. We also passed the synagogue, but it was closed for the day.

By the time we’d finished sightseeing, the other tourists were arriving. Maybe we just time things right.

The rest of the day was spent driving, and trying to keep off the busy main roads. Drivers here are insane. They drive soo fast, and overtake dangerously and I don’t feel very safe on the roads here. The side roads seem better and take us through farmland and little villages, and occasional rutted dirt roads. We got onto a very badly corrugated road today and had to turn around and backtrack, it was that bad!

We eventually found the camping spot I was heading for. It’s a free spot by a river and there were already four other campervans there, so we found a spot in the shade and joined them. We were both so shattered, possibly from the heat, that we just collapsed for an afternoon nap. And it would have been very peaceful if it wasn’t for our neighbours yapping dogs. They were mongrels and didn’t like anyone. I tried to be friendly to them, but they preferred to yap at me than make friends. But we were too tired to care.

It’s actually a really nice spot. There’s a sandy beach and a river you can swim in. We were so hot, we jumped right in. A safety rope was strung across to stop you going too far, and the water only came up to our waists, but it was still great to cool off, even if the water was pretty brown.

I think tomorrow we are heading to the city of Lublin that Kasia recommended. Hope it’s not too busy.

Well, Poland was a bit of a shock to the system, but more about that shortly.

We had a peaceful start to Sunday morning in Lithuania. It was very quiet in our camp spot, and we spent the morning drinking coffee and working on videos. But the peace didn’t last long.

We went for a walk around the lake and this is where things got a bit noisy. In the space of 15 minutes we saw not one, but two snakes! The first one was a wee green thing that scurried off the path when I saw it. The second one was much bigger and I almost tread on it! Both times I screamed really loudly, shattering the peace.

And then it was time for the inevitable. Leaving Lithuania. We have both loved it here so much, it is a shame to leave. It’s been such a peaceful country, and very little tourists, and people in general. Even the cities were relaxing. But we only have 90 days in Europe and the days are ticking over quickly. So off we went, and drove in Poland.

Immediately things were different.  The calm of Lithuania vanished the moment we crossed the border.

Suddenly, the road was buzzing with traffic, lakes were crammed with swimmers and sunbathers, and small towns were packed with people and market stalls. It felt like we’d landed on another planet.

As well as that, it was hot! Without air-conditioning and the sun streaming in the front window, we were sweltering! We turned off the main road, suddenly desperate for shade. After weeks of steering clear of forests, now the heat had us seeking refuge beneath their trees. Ironic how quickly things can change.

I didn’t hold out much hope of finding somewhere that wasn’t crowded, but we found a  place in the forest beside a lake. There were a few locals here, but not heaving, so we pulled up under the trees, opened the doors, turned on the fan, and collapsed. It was far too hot to keep driving, so we decided to stay the night.

Just as I was drifting into sleep, a strange squeaking noise cut through the silence outside. Half-asleep, I dismissed it as some unfamiliar creature rustling in the forest. But then it came again. Closer. Right next to the van.

It turned into a long, grating screech that sliced through the night. I bolted upright and peered out the window. Nothing. Just blackness. Whatever it was, I must’ve startled it. Still, I slammed the roof vent shut, just in case it tried to join us in bed. 

The plan for tomorrow is to get up early and do things before it gets too hot.

Today we were up bright and early, ready to go explore Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city. The reason for getting up early? To avoid the traffic and the crowds, though it was a Saturday.

We arrived in the city just after 8am, and parked in the castle car park. There was a farmers market so we browsed around, but didn’t see anything we fancied. 12 euros for strawberries??? I don’t think so!

After that we wandered around the old town in search of coffee and breakfast. We found a quirky cafe, and ordered two servings of bacon, two eggs, and espressos. It came to only 12 euros, which seemed much better value than the strawberries. The bacon and eggs came sizzling in a skillet, and some ciabatta bread on the side. It was really delicious, and I suspect it was cooked in butter.

The church here is on the pilgrim trail, and while it looked ordinary on the outside, inside I was blown away. I’m hopeless at description, so lets just say it was fancy.

After going to church it was 10am, and the tour groups were creeping out of the woodwork, so that was our cue to leave. We drove on to the Meteliai lakes which a local had suggested to us. We found a nice spot overlooking the lake, had some lunch, then fell asleep. I know, I’m always mentioning us sleeping in the daytime in our blogs, and you probably think that’s what we do all day. But it’s an integral part of the journey!

After our daytime sleep, it was time to look for somewhere for night-time sleep. We drove into a freshly cut paddock, looking for a spot. But as soon as we stopped, we were swamped with flies, so we aborted quickly. We checked out a rest stop overlooking a lake, but it didn’t have the vibe. So we continued on until we found another spot, also overlooking a lake, but with a better vibe. It was very quiet for a Saturday night (no local hoons).

Tomorrow, we go to Poland!

I don’t know where the day goes, but it just seems to disappear. We left our spot early-ish this morning. I can’t be sure of the exact time but I think it was before 10am. We drove for a couple of hours and stopped at a watchtower which overlooked Russia. It was lunchtime so we had a sandwich.

It was such a calm feeling, sitting there overlooking Russia, that it felt kinda ironic. No cars, no people, no bombs dropping, just the occasional chirp of birds breaking the silence. There was something oddly peaceful about it.

I saw there was a castle on the route, so I figured we’d stop and have a look.  Panemunė Castle was built in the early 1600s, and was once a residence for nobility, complete with secret tunnels and a dungeon. It was pretty cool to look through. At the entrance were mannequins dressed in period costumes, and original art work on the walls. There was also a kitchen, complete with pizza oven, and a ballroom, where we had a little dance.

I climbed the staircase of the tower, while Mike stayed below, as he didn’t trust himself to walk up in jandals. From the tower’s height, it was easy to imagine lookouts once stationed here, watching for incoming threats or simply surveying the estate below.

Then it was time to find somewhere to camp for the night. We found a nice spot down, you guessed it, a rutted dirt road, and overlooking a river. It was the perfect spot. I’m always a little concerned camping somewhere on a Friday night. Not for safety, but if you are near a town, the local youths tend to hang out in spots like this. But it was nice and peaceful until 9pm when a car pulled up. “I knew it was too perfect,” I said to Mike. A car load of people got out and headed down to the river. I have no idea what they were doing down there, but they were quiet, and left after about an hour.

So a nice, quiet nights sleep.