Goodman's Journey

"Camping Europe in a VW Van and now The Americas" in our Motor Home
- By Joel and Louise Goodman

The U-Boat's of Germany

30 August ’04, Monday. What do you know about the German U-boat’s? I knew that they were submarines and a constant scare to the Allied war ships of WWII, but that was about it for me. Today we visited a German U-boat. We had an opportunity to go into it and explore all the nook and crannies. Touch the torpedo’s and all the controls, and even the periscope. It was a deadly weapon. Not only to the “Allies” but to the German crewmen as well. We attended the memorial to those lost in battles and accidents from WWI and WWII. A staggering number lost….dad’s, brother’s, uncles, husbands….30 thousand men in all, dead. Their names, birth dates, and date lost, are now located on brass tablets at the memorial. We saw were each boat was to have sunk…..it is pretty sobering. Yesterday I missed the pictures, today I got them. On a lighter side, we did go grocery shopping and spent our budget. It really is a reality check, when you get back from the more “inexpensive countries” like Hungry, Poland, and the others we visited after those. After our grocery shopping, we went to the U-boat and then headed back to the campground. I hate to admit it, but we got lost. I think we made at least 3, but it was must likely more, U-Turns before we found our road to the campground. It is dangerous for us to be out here with out some serious maps to help us find our way home. Tomorrow…..moving south to Lubec Germany

August 31, 2004 09:17 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Germany 2

Keil, Germany...What a Beautiful Beach Community

29 August ’04, Sunday. Sometimes someone just has to come up and hit me over the head….AGAIN, I left the van thinking that I probably wont have a reason to take the camera with me…..WRONG !!! I Promise I Will Not Leave My Camera Behind Again !!! I made up for one of the two mistakes, but the other was a once in my life time occurrence (unless I wait around for another week that is..). Imagine if you will…. Young boy’s and girl’s competing against each other, evenly in this sporting event. At the conclusion of the challenge, they all head back to the home base at one time…say 30-40 kid’s from 7 – 15 years of age. All are excited and moving about with a lot of energy and excitement. All have a parent or two, and group of friends waiting and ready to help with the final chore’s. The problem is everyone can’t fit into the small area that everyone has to get out from….it’s a “wait until your turn comes up” and who can wait when you’ve got some stories to tell all… Summer is ending, the weather couldn’t be better, and you’ve just had the day of your young life. All the fantastic colors abound, making the event even more exciting. A couple of the classes that they compete in are “Shark”, “Starfish” and “Sea Gull”….I’m talking boating, more precisely sailing in a small dingy and, they are having a great time. As they approached the sloped boat launch area they are met with everyone ready to load their “yacht” aboard a small trailer. Once the dingy is loaded, it is pulled by hand up the hill and laid aside to rest until the next outing. It was a photographer’s paradise and I without my camera (and who say’s I’m a “Photographer” anyway?) One of the other “Photo Opts” missed, was the beach and the beach crowd. This is a great summer destination especially if you are looking for a wonderful beach. White sand, warm water for this far North, great little beach cabana’s, an incredible boardwalk with dozen’s of marvelous boutique restaurant and coffee houses. We stopped at one for lunch (I’ll bet this is no surprise to anyone) and had a great salad. Tomorrow….I promise to do better

August 31, 2004 08:53 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Germany 2

From Lithuania to Germany by ferry

28 August ’04, Saturday. The drum of the huge diesel engines on the ferry were all it took for us to drop right off to sleep…. Unfortunately, neither one of us got a good nights sleep. Hard bed, “totally dark” stateroom, a lot of noise from the wake hitting the ship and shaking all the bulkheads, loose nuts and bolts, and somewhat worried about how “Bumble Bee” was doing down in the far parking lot in the hole of the ship. As morning approached (and how were we to know, with this room of ours so pitch dark ?) we began to hear the ship stirring. Time to roll out and hit the shower. I must tell you, the shower was so small that there was no way you could turn around or pick up your soap if you were to have dropped it. As it was, we did get our showers and make it down to breakfast. The rest of the day was spend going from the top deck (outside) and then back to the lounge to watch a little of the Olympics on TV. That leads me to ask…what the hell happened to the USA Basketball Team ?….Argentina???? Well, we were to arrive in Kiel, Germany at 5pm local time and we were right on time. Our arrival into the bay was wonderful. We had a sunny, cool, and a little windy day to come into port. The water was full of sailboat’s enjoying one regatta or another and the beach was crowed with sailboards with para-sails to pull them along at high speed. Each para-sail was a different color and together they were beautiful. As our ship carried us through the channel and into the bay of Kiel, Louise and I noticed a campground right on the water. Making a mental note of were it was, we made a point of finding it. Success…. Tonight we are right on the bank of the bay and looking forward to seeing the ferry we arrived on carry on across the water with it’s new passengers. This passage is one very busy passage for the large ships. It has been quite a wonderful sight since we arrived. One after another has passed in front of us, including some of the largest cruise ships. We also arrived this evening with a bad electrical cord that attaches us to the main electrical outlet here at the campground. Without it we don’t have electric for all of our needs….refrigerator, lights, and MY COMPUTER…. Our new, and I do mean new neighbors Egon & Rosi, and Dieter & Tanja (we had only been here for 10-15 minutes) jumped right in, cut one of their cords, supplied this new cut off end to me AND, attached it for me, AND made sure that we had all that we needed before getting back to his dinner. What can you say…Great People !!! Thank You !!!
Tomorrow…. Do some research

August 31, 2004 08:35 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Germany 2

"Bumble Bee" still isn't feeling so good....

27 August ’04, Friday. Today was another day for the road. We got our usual 11am start out of the campgrounds and hit the road. Our destination was to be Klaipeda with a stop in Pajauga. As I’ve mentioned in earlier journals, “Bumble Bee” has been acting up a little. We have pretty much given the blame to water in the gas tank, but we can’t seem to alleviate the problem at all. We have tried just about everything but taking the gas tank off and scrubbing it clean. Well, today just about brought us to that…. It wasn’t a fun day after the first 2 plus hours on the road. Prior to that, she ran beautifully. Unfortunately, something like this can work different things with your minds….today as an example, we were getting closer to the Latvia / Lithuania border, when we came upon a large truck right in the middle of the road….blinkers going and a large arrow pointing to the right side as we approached it. Louise mentioned that this really was a different border crossing. She started digging out the passports and the papers for the van….well, a different border crossing it wasn’t….it was a painting machine that the truck had on the back and they were painting the lines on the road. Now this may sound really nut-cake, but you would have to understand the circumstances. The van’s acting up, we have been in three very different countries, the road repair crews do their work completely different than we are used too, and we did make that very different crossing on that single lane dirt road….hell, anything sounds like it could be a possibility to us. We did have a good laugh over it. As it was, we needed that laugh as things with “Bumble Bee” seemed to get even worse. On top of that, we couldn’t find a campground in Lithuania…. This is the 2nd time we couldn’t find a campground in this country and it’s only our 2nd time here. Now I must admit, we did find a couple, but I wouldn’t have stayed in them for love nor money. As we were running out of daylight, we made a decision….grab the ferry if we can, and get to Germany as soon as we can. I don’t know if you can hear the sound of the huge engines of this “ferry”, but they sound good to me…. Tonight Louise and I are spending the night in a stateroom and sleeping in a strange bed. We’re going to miss our own bed, but this is one of those sacrifices that has to be made. We left the dock at 9pm tonight and will arrive in Keil, Germany at 6pm tomorrow night, so…., Tomorrow….Keil

August 31, 2004 08:31 AM
By Joel and Louise

Riga's Old City

26 August ’04, Thursday. This morning we decided rain or shine, we were going to walk across the big suspension bridge and enjoy Riga’s Old City as much as time would allow. Our walk into town was about 30 minutes and it did rain a heavy mist all the way. You might say that were are used to this weather, coming from the Seattle area, but you never get used to getting even a little wet. As it was, we really enjoyed the old architecture of Riva. As most of the countries close to Germany, the Old German influence is evident. Riga also boast’s a lot of very modern buildings and other structures. One of these, was an semi-underground parking lot…the only thing showing was a long grass mound that had vent windows on top. We also saw The Latvian Riflemen Monument, that depicts the Soviet occupation so vividly. You can almost hear the Red Army marching through the streets. The changes for Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania are happening very fast, and in the next ten years or so, you will not recognize them as they are today. Good or bad, they are moving forward into the westernized world. In the major cities, it is not inexpensive. Yes, there are “bargains”, but you will have to dig for them. Food in the restaurants is still rather a good value, but it surprises us as to how the local people can afford the clothing and other items you look at when you go to town shopping. Around Riga, there are a large number of lakes that are tied together with a river system. All of this is now being sub-divided and new homes are everywhere. Some are large primary homes and still others are for vacation homes. They would all make us a very happy person to own one. The rest of the country is primarily green hills dominated by tall birch and pine trees, dairy pastures and quiet little town and villages. Well, fortunately for us, the rain gave up completely, and we were able to enjoy the sites with the warmth of the sun for the rest of the day. Tomorrow….moving south

August 31, 2004 07:33 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Latvia

Goodbye to Parnu, Hello to Riga

25 August, ’04, Wednesday. Parnu was, Riga is…. That is, we have moved on down south and are now in Riga, Latvia. Our trip started out cloudy and ended up here in Riga, raining. That’s ok, it gives up a chance to see a movie…here in the van, that is. We saw “Hanging Up”. I liked it, although it was just a little bit sad. “Bumble Bee” ran beautifully just about all the way down here, but just before Riga, she began acting up again. We will have to find out just what this problem is. I think that it is a little water in the gas tank, and as it approaches the filter, it starves the engine for gas, looses power and acts like it wants to go, but won’t. Beyond that, our trip was non-eventful. We followed the coast highway, which ran beside the Baltic Sea. In Estonia, we didn’t see the water at all. After we crossed the border into Latvia, we saw the sandy beach and the Baltic as flat as flat can be. It seemed that there wasn’t any surf, as the sand and the water from the sea met as one. The sand beaches are off white in color, and as I’ve mentioned before, very fine sand. We hope to have a chance to visit Parnu a little bit, but a lot depends on the weather and how long we can afford to stay here. Parnu is a large city, of about 7-900,000 people. The “Old City” does look very interesting, so I hope that we get the chance to really enjoy it. We had lunch just after arriving, at TGI Fridays. It reminded me of something that I’ve been going to write about. Napkins, Servita, or any other name that you may put to it….Since we arrived in Poland, and all the way up to Tallinn, Estonia, the napkins have been but a 2 ½” sq piece of paper, kind of the same texture of wrapping paper. All one solid color and with half moon cuttings around the edges. That is what is on the table in small quantities. We also receive the eating utensils wrapped in “one” additional napkin….that is one napkin for the 2 of us. We’ve heard about the difference of toilet paper, but this is more of a difference to what we are used too. Speaking of the toilet paper, when it is supplied, it is a little bit rough, but we have always had our own if we really thought we needed it. Today, we went into a grocery market to pick up some items that we needed. Two those items were bottled water and the other….beer. Guess which one is twice as much as the other…..Water. No wonder I’ve got a refrigerator filled with the stuff made from barley….just kidding. Tomorrow….Parnu

August 31, 2004 07:29 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Latvia

Goodbye to Tallinn and Hello to Parnu

23 August '04. Monday. The past few days in Tallinn has really gone by fast. First Tallinn has a wonderful "Old Town" that any visitor would really enjoy, and we sure did ourselves. Second, we found a department store in the central district, that offered free internet service if you have your own computer....and we did. I was able to catch up with a lot of unfinished business. Estonia is to us, a country that was in name only. Yes, we have all heard of the "country" of Estonia, but that was about all that we really knew. Now, we have found a country that has some very warm and friendly people, a tough long history, and now, just celebrated their 35th year of Independence. Estonia sits just 80km off of the coast of Finland and for that reason their language has a lot of simular sounds and meanings. Tallinn's medieval "Old Town" has been protected now under the Unesco World Heritage List, and it is really no wonder....it is beautiful. The Old City Wall that encloses the Old City of Tallinn is mostly intact, complete with 9 watch towers. The castle of Tallinn is pretty much lost, but the surounding city and the remaining walls make up for the loss. The castle was set up in 1219 by the Danes, but was soon lost to German raiders. Title to Tallinn has gone back and forth to many countries and land lords over the centuries. Well, all good things have to end, so goodbye to Tallinn and headed South. We are currently in Parnu about 140 from Tallinn. The weather is really starting to change and right now we are sitting in a very cool (cold) van. We took a walk into town and then out to the beach. The sand is white and very fine. The water comes up a very slight grade, which makes it very shallow for a long way out. Today with the wind blowing at gale force and it wasn't a very fun place to be. Tomorrow....not too sure yet

August 23, 2004 11:58 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Estonia

44 Years Of Wedded Bliss....

20 August ’04, Friday. 44 years ago I married my high school sweetheart…..
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY,
I Love You
Making this journey with you, is by far better than our 1st Honeymoon and at that time too, you were my navigator as well by navigating us from Seattle to Pensacola. You have had a tougher time on this trip and a driver that isn’t so understanding when he goes right instead of left or misses his turn 15 miles back…..isn’t life great. I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity to travel the world with you for anything.

We checked out of the campground (and I use that word campground loosely), and headed out to find a new home. Louise had done her homework in finding a new place, so it wasn’t too long and we were checked in and on the bus to Tallinn to see the sites.
Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and is located just about at the furthest northern tip of the country. We are on the same latitude as Sitka, Alaska. Just about 80km away from Finland by ferry across the Baltic Sea. It has had a stormy history that dates back before 900. The first writings of the castle here were in 1200. Estonia has been under one siege after another from the earliest days. They received (or took back) their independence from Russia on August 20th of 1991. That was one of the reasons we were so intent to get here to Tallinn, so that we could celebrate their anniversary with ours. We spent the first afternoon just exploring and enjoying the “Old City” and the surrounding walls. We also enjoyed a wonderful desert (it took the place of our dinner) at a medieval style restaurant and decided right then that we would return for a real dinner soon. With this being “Our Day” we headed back to “Bumble Bee” to un-cork a bottle of the bubbly.
Tomorrow…..more of Tallinn

August 21, 2004 07:38 AM
By Joel
Location: Estonia

Heading To Estonia

19 August ’04, Thursday. I don’t want to say “Page Two”, so I’ll just say it’s Estonia’s time…. First off, I also wanted to bring you up to date on the weather….just when you don’t expect it, the sun comes out…..just when you don’t want it….IT RAIN’S and I mean rain. Thunder and Lightning type….Blowing side way’s type….. It just so happened that on our trip through Lithonia and into Latvia, it was just that for our first night….. Now on with the Estonia border crossing…. (now remember, we had an early start….) When we pulled up that 30’ to the crossing arm, a young man (not so good looking, and his suit looked baggy…) came out to meet us. We gave him the big smile and “Hello” and passed on our Passports. He then wanted the papers to “Bumble Bee” as well. This is only the 2nd time we have been asked for those papers, but we had them close at hand….no problem….Well, I don’t know what he was doing in that office of his, but he was there forever with us sitting out front. WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE THERE (and most likely the only one’s there for the whole day !!!)…. Well, there was 1 truck that stopped and went, and 4 young boys on bicycles that stopped and were let through. Finally another young man came out with all the papers in hand and smiled, walked toward the gate and lifted it with a wave…. Across…. 20’ feet a round the corner and onto DIRT ????…stopping, I wanted to see that map….it show’s a “paved” road…what the hell is this DIRT???? Well, it can’t last forever can it? It did for another 25-30km and I must say my attitude was in the toilet !!!! Finally, after ¾ of the morning on lousy roads we were back on blacktop. The rest of the afternoons ride up to Tallinn still had a few minor glitches, like all of a sudden, “Bumble Bee” started missing, lost power, and a couple of back-fires. I hope the problem is “water in the gas”, but I’m still working on this…. Arriving in Tallinn our first, and most important, goal is finding a campsite. Let’s get back to the map….the map’s we buy have listed on them the camping locations…..Wrong….this one show’s them listed, but were the hell are they….we drove to hell and back and couldn’t find ONE !!! Now we didn’t get into Tallinn as early as we had originally planned, but we definitely weren’t late. As it was, with a lot of traveling here and there, we finally found “The Worst” campsite we have ever seen, but we had to call it home….at least for that one night. Tomorrow….A NEW CAMPSITE or Bust !!!

August 21, 2004 02:06 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Estonia

Part 2 of

August 21, 2004 02:02 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Estonia

Change Of Direction....Again on A Typical Polish Highway

16, 17 August ’04. Upon pulling away from Gurdiziadz, our plan was to head North by Northwest heading for our second time to the Baltic. Well, we got about 50km away and I noticed that we were not running as we should. The van didn’t have the power and it was missing on the pull pretty bad. As we pulled into a small village to get gas, I asked if there was a place we could get our oil changed and have someone look at the motor for us. He directed us across the road to a mechanic, so I took the van and looked for advise there. He thought it might be as simple as sparkplugs so I had him change the oil and the sparkplugs. Well, as things would have it, he didn’t carry the plugs that we needed so we made an appointment for the next morning. Another small inconvenience came up then as there wasn’t a campground any closer than 30km. With no choice available, we drove up the road and stayed the night at a campground in Czluchow. This happened to be on a lake and we found a spot right on the shore for the night. One of the problems there, was that the bathroom was about 350 yards away and closed from 9pm to 7am each night. Well, we didn’t check this out very good, because we were not aware of the closing. Lucky for us the girl that closes the place was running late and we were there for our stop at just after 10. We wouldn’t have made morning…. The next morning (17th) we headed back for our appointment and had the plugs changed. Prior to leaving, we met two of our neighbors who both happened to be from Holland. One of the families had just gotten back from a trip to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. As it was, Louise and I had been talking about this trip, but had really put it aside until this morning. We made the decision that if we don’t do it now, we most likely never will get the chance again. Soooo, we back tracked about 80km and are now heading East across Poland and will cross into Lithuania tomorrow afternoon and head on through to Estonia. We would like to be in Estonia on the 20th of August as it is their Restoration of Independence Day. We think that could be quite interesting and fun. We have been traveling through the “Heart Land” of Poland today. The fields of wheat and barley are all being cut and off to market. The road systems are being worked on just about everywhere you go. As of April of this year they are a member of the European Union. One of the requirements of being accepted into the Union, was that the infrastructure be fixed and broadened to handle more traffic throughout Poland and the other countries new to the EU. The road signs at each end of the construction project shows the EU logo and lists all the countries that are participating in the costs of this new construction work. Some of the EU countries are not too happy with having to financially support this kind, or in many cases, any kind of project outside of their own country.
Tomorrow….continuing East and then a turn North

August 18, 2004 03:12 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Day's Of Rest

14-15 August ’04. Saturday and Sunday….They are set a side for rest, am I correct? Well that is just about what we did for the last two days. Just sit back a little longer in the mornings, went grocery shopping one afternoon and washed clothes the other. Other than that, we were “beach bums”. We are just outside of Gradziadz in a campground that is on a very nice lake. Unfortunately, Gradziadz doesn’t have a lot to offer it’s self, but it is made up for it here. Our campsite is very much like camping in the woods in Eastern Washington. It has a lot of tall Pine trees and a sandy type of soil. One of the differences, is it also has a lot of White Birch to go with the Pine trees. We are at a resort with a hotel, a large separate reception area that has a small restaurant and bar. The outside dining area is very large and half covered and the other half has large umbrella’s. This all overlooks the large sand beach and out over the lake. I would guess the lake is about 3 times larger than Green Lake. It is all open to the public except the campground, and it is a secured area for us. We can’t believe that they don’t have some type of admission fee for the use of this beach and all the facilities, but they don’t…. There are very few campers here as well. Last night was probably the most we have seen…about 15 campsites in total. Tonight, about 8. No lines for the showers!!!!(not that I’ve had a problem with lines at any of the sites). Saturday Louise and I were in town and we saw a wedding just leaving the church. Well, about an hour later, the whole crew came down the road and headed to the hotel next door. They had a great party with a band that lasted from 4pm to 4am. It was a goodie to say the least…. We did get some sleep, but when it broke up at 4 we heard them leave….safely I hope!!! Well, clothes washed and some beach time in, I think we will head back toward the Baltic Sea again.
Tomorrow….the Baltic Sea (in a different location for sure !!! )

August 18, 2004 03:06 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Gradziadz What ???? I Found an Internet Cafe!!!

August 16, 2004 03:17 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

This is a Line for the FERRY !!!!

13 August ’04, FRIDAY!!!! Today we left Elblag and it had just started to give us a little light rain. We were heading for the Baltic Sea and a ride along one of the long “spit’s”. The one we chose to ride out was the one that stops right at the Russian border. Well, that’s getting a little ahead of this day. Everything was going smoothly after my fiasco with a gas station, but I wont get into that. On our way up to the coast, about a 50 Km ride (30 Miles), we saw a very large bi-plane warming up for take-off. You know about the size of the bi-planes that are used in the fields for spraying the crops, well, take and multiply that size of plane by 4 or 5 times. It was HUGE !!! Design was about the same, but after that….Wow. Well, as we pulled in to the first village at the beginning of the spit, we came into our 1st really heavy tourist area….people and vehicles were everywhere. We tried not to take too long in getting through and onto the destination of the end of the spit. A short distance out of the first village, we ran into more rain and the roads went to….yes they did !!! So we spent the next 45 km traveling about 15 to 20 miles an hour at max. When we finally did reach Plaski, the road came to a very unusual stop….right in someone’s driveway….beyond that was the Russian border. So time came to turn around and find someplace to park and see for the first time the Baltic. The whole time we traveled this narrow spit and there wasn’t one time we could see the Sea because of the heavy tree’s and high sand dunes. There were parking area’s, complete with attendants off and on all along the coast, but no sea view for those driving. The Sea was just over those sand dunes and trees…. We did find a spot to park (Free), and a trail to take us to the Baltic Sea for the first time. I will remind you, it was raining and the trail had deep and very fine sand that stuck (and is still sticking) to everything. Oh yes, it was up a long sand dune to finally see the beach. We walked over, stuck our feet into the Sea, and walked back…. We’ll stop at a campground somewhere else and enjoy the sea…. The ride back was just a painful as the first, but our destination was the larger city of Gdansk and with all the crowds at the beach and the rain and everything it has to be a lot better. On the ride to Gdansk, we ran into a traffic jam that seemed to last forever before anyone would move. After waiting in this line for about 20-30 minutes, and having lunch in the van, we finally got closer to the problem…..IT WAS A FERRY LINE-UP WE WERE IN IT!!!! Well, we said something that I can’t remember, but we made a u-turn and went looking for another way to Gdansk. As it turned out, and to make this journal much shorter by leaving out the rest of the catastrophe, we fought HEAVY CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC every turn we made, the rain got worse, we couldn’t find a campsite, and we were getting hungry !!!! We drove completely away from the area as fast? as we could and finally about 8 last night we arrived in Gradziadz. About 120km due South of our first destination. So much for FRIDAY the 13th Tomorrow…..REST !!!

August 16, 2004 03:11 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Elblag's Scenic Waterways

12 August ’04, Thursday. First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU… Dannie !!!
This morning we were out of bed and heading for the shower by 6am…yes, I know, but this is a true story. We had a boat schedule that we had to conform to and it wasn’t easy for me. Our boat was to take us from Elblag and take us down a man made canal. This is one of the most scenic waterways in Europe and was built between 1848 and 1876. It’s main purpose at that time was to transfer logs from the rich timber forests to the Baltic Sea. It’s total length is 82km but our cruise only took us about 30km which lasted about 5 hours. It wasn’t a fast boat by any means, but it was a once in a life time experience. The water levels of the whole canal rise 99.5 meters in height and must be resolved by a boat being “carried” across dry land by a unique rail and sling system. The direction we traveled took us literally up river, so each of our 4 “crossings” were out of the water and up and over the hill side and then slip into the next portion of the canal. It was really an experience and a marvel that it is still in such great operating condition even today. The longest dry land section we covered was about 550 meters long…..all up hill. The boat was about 45-50’ in length and there were about 40-45 passengers on it. We were one of three boats that left the dock, but there were other cruise companies working this canal as well. It was a good day for a cruise, as the weather was rising into the low 90’s by the time we finished. Arriving back to the campground I wanted to get to the internet café and do some catch-up. Unfortunately, my server was so slow that I couldn’t get anything done. A note about Elblag; it was heavily damaged during WWII. It seems that re-construction has been really slow here. The do have about 6 or 7 houses that date back to 1598 and have not been reconstructed at all. Other than the canal, it isn’t one of the bright spots from our trip. Tomorrow…..Baltic Sea here we come

August 16, 2004 03:06 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

A Lesson In Polish Driving !!!!

11 August ’04, Wednesday. We had cereal and coffee for breakfast this morning and then off to Poland’s highway’s (and I use the word “Highway’s” loosely…). We have been doing pretty good lately on finding our way out of town compared to a month or two ago. Our trip is still heading North. After examining the map prior to leaving we decided to make our first stop about noon and it would be in Malbork, Poland. Malbork is famous for it’s Teutonic Castle and the 13th Century St. John The Baptist’s Church. I saw a picture of the castle awhile back and it looked quite exciting. The roads today were in most part really good. I’m glad they were so good because I was put to the test with on-coming passing and passing from my side as well. Just about all the roads are two lane, one for each direction and have a shoulder of about 6’ on each side. I’m guessing the rules are, “if the center line and the line at the shoulder are solid then there is to be no passing. Now if the lines are interrupted, the car or truck being passed must or should move onto the shoulder of the road while the car passes”. All this sounds good until you have a car passing you and there is a car passing at the same time on the opposite on-coming lane as well. Then you can toss in the person or people that are biking or have stopped on the shoulder in their car (sometimes so little they are impossible to see) the same instant that both on-coming and going lanes are being used passing. Believe it or not, it seems to work pretty well. The first few times you’ve got 4 cars or cars and trucks side by side on a two lane road is a “white knuckle” trip. After awhile you do get a little more relaxed about it and you’ve just got to keep your wits about it. Well anyway, we did make it to Malbork and we were very impressed with the castle and St. John’s Church. The castle is HUGE and is the largest brick castle in the world and was built by the Teutonic Knights in the 14th Century to protect the timber industry. I was able to take some wonderful pictures of the castle and the church before leaving. On one of the pictures, you can even see were a cannon ball hit the tower during one of the battles.
We walked the grounds and buildings for at least 3 hours and then had lunch prior to heading off to our final stop for the day…..Elblag.

August 16, 2004 02:57 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Torun and The Teutonic Castle

10 August ’04, Tuesday. A “Road Day” and I use the word “Road” with a good deal of sugar to make it sound good. I’ve mentioned it before since our arrival in Poland, but the roads are the pit’s (or should I say one big chuck hole) !!!! We did have a pretty decent road for the first hour, but after that time we and “Bumble Bee”, shook, rattled, and rolled until we thought we just couldn’t take it any longer. Our destination for the day was almost due north to Toruñ. What should have been a 3 hour trip took us 5 which included a gas and lunch stop. The day was absolutely beautiful for traveling, and it also gave the wheat farmers of the area a chance to harvest the grains or in some cases, bale and stack the hay. Toruñ is set on the banks of the Vistula River. After checking into the campgrounds, setting up the van, having a small beer at the camp “Bar”, we headed off walking across the bridge and into the “Old Town” part of Toruñ. Louise and I had already made a pact, “we would only stay here for the night and a little of tomorrow” then back on the road to Gdañsk and the Baltic Sea. Let me tell you, when we saw the town from the bridge and as we walked into it, we realized just how easy it would be to toss our “pact” into the river and stay here for a long time…..Toruñ is stunning and looks like it could be a lot of fun. The old city walls follow the river before making the sweep back to make a large enclosure. The architecture of the wonderful buildings, both residential and commercial, the striking cathedral and the churches, and of course, the ruins of the Teutonic Castle from 1233, the birth place of Nicolaus Copernicus (what more can I say than that?)….It really is hard to tell you just how beautiful we found this town of Toruñ. As a member of the “Hanseatic League” it prospered in the 14th and 15th centuries. Some of the churches go back even before then, back to 1100. We even saw the “Leaning Tower”, one of the many city gate’s, but in this case, the foundation slipped and the gate is leaning quite a bit….it’s still is used as a luncheon/bar. Why not, if it fall’s down, the patron’s most likely wont even know it. Ok, now for a little homework; Who is Nicolaus Copernicus? And, what is he known for ? Tomorrow….”On The Road Again”

August 16, 2004 02:53 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Czestochowska Home of The Black Madonna

9 August ‘04, Monday,
Czestochowska, home of the icon of the Black Madonna. We booked a tour of the Jasna Gora for 9:00 this morning. Our tour guide was Ivanna a young Polish woman. We started with some history. The Jasna Gora is a complex of sacred and residential buildings surrounded by fortified walls and a park, on top of a 293 meter-high limestone hill. Jasna Gora means luminous hills, named so by the Pauline Monks who moved here from Hungary. The Order of St. Paul the first hermit was established in the 12th century. St Paul of Thebes the first hermit, was chosen as their Patriarch. They came to Czestochowska in 1382, where they were given a hill with a small church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In it they placed the precious painting of the Black Madonna. According to tradition the image of the Black Madonna was painted by St Luke the Evangelist on a table, where the Holy Family gathered in prayer and to eat. Six centuries later Prince Ladislaus brought it to Czestochowska. In 1430 some Hussites stole the painting along with other precious valuables. They took their swords and slashed the face of the Black Madonna. When she started to bleed they threw down the painting breaking it into three pieces. Through out history the Sacred Icon has been revered and millions of pilgrims come each year to worship at this Basilica. The Icon is in the Holy Chapel of the Virgin Mary.

August 16, 2004 02:42 AM
By Louise
Location: Poland

Part Two...

Part Two:
We started our tour in the 600th Anniversary Museum where you find Historical exhibits. There were seven century old books, musical instruments, paintings, votive offerings from John Paul the 2nd and many historic items. One of these is the Nobel peace prize of Lech Walesa. We then went to the Knights hall, which is one of the oldest parts of the Jasna Gora. Then on to the Chapel of the Holy Virgin where the Black Madonna painting is, there was a mass in progress and many pilgrims on their knees circling the altar in prayer. It was very moving. The walls at the back of the chapel were lined with crutches from people who have been healed here. They have to remain well for 5 years before it is accepted as a miracle, with cancer patients they have to wait 10 years. It is overwhelming to say the least. Next the Basilica, built in the 17th century because the chapel was too small to accommodate all the pilgrims who come each year. Then on to the treasury, where they house votive offerings (things given by visitors). One of the things was a rosary made of bread from a prisoner from Auschwitz. Also a ring given by John F. Kennedy, when he visited before he was president. After our tour we walked around the fortified walls where they have beautiful bronze stations of the cross. We could hear singing and shouting and when we looked out towards the town we saw hundreds of pilgrims arriving from Krakow. They carried banners and different colored balloons. They were singing and praying, an incredible sight. It is impossible to put all the sights sounds and feelings into this journal! Tomorrow, another day of travel.

August 16, 2004 02:40 AM
By Louise
Location: Poland

Wieliczka Salt Mine

8 August ’04, Saturday. If you’ve seen one salt mine, you’ve seen them all…. Not true !
The Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the biggest and dates back to the 13th century. It is the world’s only mine operating uninterrupted since the middle ages. Louise and I were just a part of the 800,000 visitors that come every year, but we definitely didn’t feel lost in a crowd. We started off with a staircase of 389 steps going down and around for ever and finally reach the “Level 1” of the mine. There are over 300km of chambers and shafts in the mine, but only 3.5km were open to the public. As it was, it took 3 hours for our tour and it was almost non-stop. We went down a total of 400 feet or to the 3rd level out of 7.
The “tunnels” were really quite wide at approximate 6’ wide and 6’2” high. The staircases were mostly wooden, but in most cases the floors and passages were “salt”. The salt in this mine is black salt…if you were to purchase any from the store it would be a darker gray in color. There are a number of “salt” carvings throughout the mine, with the largest being the Chapel of St. Kinga. It features many fabulous salt sculptures and 4 huge salt chandeliers. This chapel is so large that it could and does have a number of large weddings and other celebrations throughout the year. Mass is held in the chapel every Sunday as well. The chapel really is larger than most we have been in. This was only one of many chambers on the tour. When the tour was over, we were given the opportunity to shop and/or eat in the stores and restaurant on the 3rd level, or go to the exit and ride to the top in an elevator. As we approached the elevator in a group of 8, we started to wonder just what the heck we were about to do…. This elevator was soooo small. We were packed tight together from top to bottom, and side to side. It was TOTAL DARKNESS all the way up. We bounced and banged, in a stuffy little crate until we hit the street level and then a gust of wind rushed in to refresh us…..WOW. What more could you say (I could have used a few additional word’s, but held it for later)? For Louise and I, we could hardly get to the exit door fast enough, but as we did, we were met with a violent rain and thunder storm. It didn’t really didn’t faze us as we went through that door, out into the rain, looking for a hide-out or better yet a drink. Now I didn’t mention the bus that got us to the mine….it was one of those mini-buses. Normally that isn’t too bad, but under the circumstances that we had just gone through and, as we got on to the mini-bus to return, our bus turned out to be totally packed. You couldn’t breath (although we did get seats)…. you had people that were standing (I don’t know how or why) and, they were constantly bumping or dropping an elbow onto your head. Now this is a most enjoyable ride.
Tomorrow….. Travel time north to Czestochowa

August 16, 2004 02:24 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Fabryka Oskara Schindlera

6 August, ’04, Friday. First, I want to bring you up to date from yesterday (Thursday). It seems like we have been doing our laundry chores for the last week, and Thursday was no different. Getting a load in, up to dry, folded, and put away, we headed into town for a “later night” adventure. We didn’t get in to town until closer to 4 and hopes of staying way past dark. As we arrived we first noticed flag banners across all the streets. One of the flags was red and white which is the Polish flag, and the other was blue and white, which turned out to be the flag of Krakow. They had set up a large stage on the plaza, and everyone was being entertained by singers and folk dancers. It was what appeared to be a political rally. There was a contingency of military people there in the crowd and even some that spoke with a lot of enthusiasm and occasionally got the crowd teary eyed.
We didn’t get back to camp until after 11pm and we had a big day Friday to look forward too.
Our tour started just after we hung-out our laundry to dry. Hope it doesn’t rain…. The bus was over 20 minutes late this morning because of a HUGE pilgrimage to Czestochowa. I couldn’t possibly give you an idea of the count of people in this pilgrimage, but it went on for miles on miles. It was well organized and with the distance (71 miles) that they had to walk, it will take at least few days to get there. Getting back to our bus, all the traffic in Krakow was slowed to a slight crawl all morning long so that explained why we all stood waiting so long. It was quite a site. Czestochowa is the site of Black Madonna, which we plan on visiting soon. Our time was to be spent sightseeing the Jewish district of Kazimierz today. We were going to follow a walking tour that is available by book. Kazimierz was the historical center of Krakow’s Jewish religious and social life. We were able to see homes, businesses, synagogues, and prayer houses that dated back as far as mid 1500’s. We saw the buildings that were taken by the Nazi’s….we saw the enameled dish factory of Fabryka Oskara Schindlera (Oscar Schindler of Schindler’s List). We must remember, Oscar Schindler personally saved the lives of 700 men and 300 women from places like Auschwitz by keeping them all “employed” and indispensable.
Time and the clouds came up on us real fast so we decided to head back. As we stepped off the bus we both felt the first drops of rain and made for the van to remove the clothes from the line….just in time !!!! Tomorrow….Salzbergwerk ( The Salt Mine ) in Wieliczka

August 12, 2004 10:05 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

In "Their" Foot Steps

3 August ’04, Tuesday. Imagine walking the same “Royal Way” (streets) as the Royalty in Krakow have since 1018 ….Climbing to the defensive position on the wall of the bastion, “Barbakan” ....crossing the moat (now void of water) at the “Florian Gate, that was built in the first half of the 14th century ….sitting in a pew at the same St. Andrew’s Church from the 12th century…. These are but a few of the amazing things we were able to do in the last two days. We shopped the stalls of the Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) that dates back to the 13th century. This hall was originally used to sell cloth. Now it sells just about anything that a good “tourist” would be willing to spend their money on. We visited and thoroughly enjoyed the Czartoryski Museum with their collections from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine and Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan, to Roman, Egyptian, Italian, German, and Flemish paintings and memorabilia.
In this museum you have every item within easy examination range. You really could reach out and touch….but please don’t !!! We walked the streets of the restored mansions dating back 500-600 years each. We’ve had breakfast and a couple of lunches under the umbrella’s on the largest medieval square in Europe. It was laid out in 1257. The square is always crowed with tourists, students, and pigeons. Let me tell you, they have pigeons !!! We have also had the pleasure of visiting many churches here in Krakow. Every daylight hour a bugler sounds a very simple melody based on just 5 notes from the high tower of St. Mary’s Church. The melody abruptly halts in the middle of the last phrase. It seems that the bugler was sounding an alarm when an arrow pierced his throat and the alarm melody abruptly halted….tradition…. We were out before breakfast this morning and didn’t get back until 6 this evening….we have been caught in the rain and sometimes a downpour the last 2 days out….we will be getting out later…. Tomorrow….

August 05, 2004 07:09 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Krakow, Poland .....

1 August ’04, Sunday. Sitting outside in our “Easy Chairs” and having a small glass of wine tonight, I started chuckling. Louise looked over with that, “what the heck is up with you?” kind of look. “Can you believe, you are sitting here, reading your book, and having a glass of wine, on a beautiful summer day in front of your “New” home in ..Krakow, Poland ???? We do have to pinch ourselves once in awhile just to make sure we are still alive. We had a very uneventful ride to our new campground this morning. I had a great navigator working beside me and she didn’t hesitate in getting the job done right. We like our site a lot, and look forward to staying in Krakow for 3 to 4 days at least. From everything that we have heard and read, we are in for a wonderful experience here. From the campers coming into the grounds and setting up their pitch, we are not going to be the only “travelers” in town. So far this is the most crowded campground that we have been in. It could be because they don’t charge for the wash machines and we are definitely taking advantage of that….
Tomorrow…. Yep, you guessed it, Krakow

August 05, 2004 07:07 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

Auschwitz....Birkenau

31 July ’04 Saturday. Auschwitz….. Birkenau….. The mention of these two locations for most of us sends shivers up our spine and ask the question “Why”. For the survivors of either of these camps…..we can’t imagine their thoughts, their memories, their wounds. Who are the survivors? The Jew’s, and the non Jewish, yes, but many others as well. We think of the survivors as those with the “id number” tattooed on their body, but as time has gone on, there are many who survived the holocaust that we most likely haven’t thought about. The wounds of Jews are associated with the memory of an attempt to completely annihilate their nation. Poles suffered as a consequence of the increasing violence on the part of their enemies. Germans suffer under the burden of guilt connected with their history. For Louise and I and the others that were there Saturday, and I’m sure every day prior and after, have left with many different feelings inside us. I can only speak for myself and I felt angry, pity, lucky, mad, sick, confused, and many other feelings that will stay with me forever. It wasn’t that I wasn’t aware of what happened in Auschwitz prior to Saturday, but this was my first visit “to” Auschwitz. There IS a difference and I am a different person, I am a better person, for taking the opportunity to visit, to see, to touch, and to smell….Auschwitz - Birkenau. For those who might look for a lot of pictures, I could only take a few….there were other opportunities but I couldn’t or maybe better put, I wouldn’t.

August 05, 2004 07:03 AM
By Joel and Louise
Location: Poland

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