I drifted off to sleep again, to be woken by a difference in the sounds I was hearing....the radio was playing a Polish radio station, and as I looked out I realised road signs were now in Polish! I'd entered the country without really realising.
Then, naturally enough for this journey, I heard the driver groan, and then I saw them, the border Police were flagging us down for what was obviously a spot check (two other Eurolines buses whizzed past us). Two officers boarded the bus, took away our passports, and we waited....then they were handed over to the driver to return them, and we were off again.
The radio played on, interesting to realise that in Germany the majority of music played was German, Polish radio seems to have a thing about English and american stuff, only around one track in ten was in Polish! Another difference, I'd been told I would know when I arrived in Poland because the roads were so bad....my informant was totally correct...we were bounced around like on the rural Irish roads. It's quite wierd looking at an articulated truck passing the window and looking for all the world as if it's mounted on a mobile bouncy castle! And then the Border Police flagged us down AGAIN......like I said, I don't really understand Polish but I think the tone of voice in "Piss off, your colleagues down the road have already done us, stop some other buggers" is fairly international, and it worked, so they let us go on.
Our first stop in Poland is at a run down Motel / Cafe / Bar. Sitting outside is an old bloke with a big moustache and a big bucket of mushrooms/ fungi he's selling. He wouldn't let me take a photo of him or his crop, but I managed to get one of two that were sitting seperatly in a box. It soon becomes clear, as we drive along, that mushrooming is a major activity, people are gathered near the entrances to woodland all along ther road tarding in mushrooms of all shapes and sizes (hope I get to eat some!)
I realise another difference as we drive along. In Germany (even in the more run down former soviet zone) there are wind farms everywhere, and solar panels on a large number of roofs. here in Poland there appear to be neither. And I've seen no recycling bins either. And now I'm pissed off because in spite of having made sure I had food to last me the journey I realise I'm going to have to bin most of what I had for today, the temperature on the first bus was so high, everything's gone off overnight.
Katowice is the first town we come to, a run down post industrial wasteland with little to reccomend it visually on passing through. Grey concrete, dust, and plastic. Mind you, the outskirts of Krakow don't reccomend themselves either. They are one vast mess of building projects, roads, buildings, tramways....and so much dust it's like driving in the Sahara!
The hostel is in an old 19th century tenement building in the old Jewish quarter of the city, which on first viewing is a strange mix of grandeur and decline. It still feels like it's not fully emerged from the communist era and reminds me of the GDR before the wall came down. Supper tonight is Pierogi (little steamed dumplings filled with cabbage and mushrooms) and Barscz (clear beetroot soup) but it's all so highly salted I find it hard to finish. However, the portions are large, and this cost me less than £4.00!
So, on Friday I wake up thinking it's Saturday, I'm all confused after all the travelling. It's pissing it down, and the forecast isn't optimistic. I set off on the tram to find the Orbis travel offices to sort out my train reservations. The first address I have is definitely NOT an Orbis office, and when I reach the second address I find it's closed down. This stalwart of Eastern European travel apparantly closed it's doors to the public this last January, so all the guide books are now wrong! I find my way across town to the station, and can't find anyone who will admit to speaking English. I finally establish I don't need a reservation on the train for Zakopane tomorrow and decide to deal with other reservations later!
Lunch in the Market Squasre, the cerntre of Krakow's old town, and full of "traditional" craft stalls, some of which are really interesting, and some are crap! Still it's interesting to see that in this tourist trap prices are still very low. And then I take a closer look at restaurants, and realise that all their prices, even the most expensive I see are under 40 zloty...that's less than £10 for the most expensive meals! My lunch is less than half that though, and veggie...but again so highly salted I'm in danger of becoming nauseous. This is going to be a problem if I don't learn "no salt" very fast!
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