Welcome to Poland.

We have arrived in Poland.  After some long days on the road we pretty much missed out Germany, which is a bit of a shame really but due to time restraints we had to take the hit.  We will return to Germany one day, don't worry.

Our current location is Jelenia Gora in the bottom left hand corner of Poland.  We were welcomed into Poland by a nice Policeman who very kindly gave me a speeding ticket.  We were doing 75kph in a 50kph (up a hill may I add). We had an on the spot fine of 100zl which is roughly £20.  Much better than a £60 fine and 3 points but we could have done without it to be honest.  Never mind, these things happen.

Already camping is so much better here.  In Holland and Germany we have been paying between 12 - 16 euros and usually have to pay for hot water and use of the internet (which has been rubbish.)  First campsite in Poland is around £10 a night with use of the kitchen and TV room, free hot water, and awesome internet connection.  It is next to quite a noisy main road and I am a bit on edge at times but a bit of noise is not the end of the world. We'll happily take it in exchange for a nice cheap site.  Vick is loving Poland already, she is currently drinking her way through 2 litres of beer which cost us around £2.50. She would like me to add here that she's not an alcoholic, she just likes beer, and her last one was in Tongeren a few weeks back.

We ventured into Jelenia Gora today not really knowing what to expect.  In the town square there was a big event going on about recycling.  There was a lot of noise coming from the PA which i'm sure the wedding party around the corner were not too happy about.  Apart from the usual shops and cafes it was like most other towns, they all have a certain charm. We did manage to find some random tower though.  No explanation as to what it was but it was free so I took advantage and went for a look.  Was worth the climb even though I did think I was going to die.

We are moving onto Katowice tomorrow which gives us time to then take it easy as Krakow isn't too far from there.  We plan to visit Auschwitz on Wednesday and then we will meet up with Adrian and Ellie who have been out on the road for 17 months and are slowly moving the opposite way to us.  It will be nice to see them and hear about their travels on the road.  They also have a blog - it's definitely worth checking out - Wherever the road goes