Day Nine - Świnoujście to Rogowo

This post is going to start with the ferry ride from Ystad, Sweden to Świnoujście, Poland. The weather was turning extremely windy in Ystad as I waited for the ferry. Eventually I rode over to the port and checked in, and immediately tagged myself in with a pack of Polish motorcyclists - different two-wheeled vehicles with a similar treatment in this situation.

I ended up being the first on the boat, riding in the hull and all the way back!

I got the bags off the bike, and the bike locked and strapped in place next to some semi trucks.

The ferry was scheduled to take off at 10:45pm, and I was on the boat around 9pm. This gave me time to get up to the room I booked and check it out! It was much nicer than I thought! Plenty of space to sort my stuff out, and a decent sized bed.

I was surprised to discover there was also a bathroom in the room. Very nice.

Next it was time to check out the cabin area. I found a bar upstairs and grabbed a Żtwice beer. I found a seat by the window to check out the sea, and also noticed the painting on the wall. It really says something when you are on a ship and there is a painting of a ship burning. Eyebrows were raised.

The last time I was in Poland was 2008, and I haven’t spoken in a meaningful way since then. Everyone on the ship was in Polish, so I was jumping right in. It was reassuring to experience that people understood me, and I mostly understood them. It actually felt a bit surreal to be speaking my second language, in a culture I haven’t experienced in more than 15 years. The language was there, but everything else was less familiar than I thought it would be. My life has gone in a different direction and I have changed a lot. It will be interesting spending 8 days here.

I grabbed some dinner and promptly went to bed, and before I knew it my alarm went off and we were nearly to Świnoujście. I grabbed my stuff, went to the deck, and was the first one off the ship. Traveling by bicycle has its privileges. I wiggled right through all the cars and got to the front, between two semi trucks.

And boom, I was in Poland, on my bike, finding my way out of the port. My immediate observation was the air quality. There was a smell of diesel engines and car exhaust I remembered from when I lived here. It was crowded at the port so it made sense. I loaded up my route and started riding.

There was construction everywhere. The roads were a mess. Drivers were going fast, and the way through it all was bewildering. I had to ride on a 4 lane highway, then double back on an exit, crossing all lanes of traffic. It was a bit of a nightmare. This was a whole different place compared to Sweden, and that’s the point of a trip like this. You see and experience a lot of different stuff. Regardless, I’m like any human. I walked into a gas station, ordered czarna kawa (black coffee), sat down, and was overcome with emotion. I just wanted to be in Sweden with Allison again. It’s going to take a bit of time to normalize as I push forward. This is really hard.

I got myself together and started riding. Soon I was on a quiet road and climbing Biała Góra (White Mountain).

There were a bunch of old buildings at the top that were in disrepair.

As I was riding along I read a sign about protecting frog habitat. It was really cool. They put these short barriers along the road in sections so the frogs could not leap into the road and get hit by cars in the national park.

It was still very early in the morning as I started riding at 6:30am, so I needed śniadania (breakfast). I found a place in Miedzywode, and had a basic plate of eggs, cheese and some veggies.

A guy took aim at my bike, just staring at me and the bike without saying anything. It was awkward as hell, so I finally just asked him in Polish if he had any questions. We ended up talking for 20 minutes about gravel riding, my bike, and some trips we have been on. He told me he didn’t speak English and really appreciated that an American could speak his language. It was a very nice moment of connection. He was stoked on the Teravail Rampart tires.

Carrying on, the road construction was pretty thick. Safety is going to be paramount on these roads.

The Poles are really terrified about woodticks. Further down the road I found this sign about kleszcze, in bright yellow. It’s an ample warning, as I have already found some on me and I haven’t really been in the woods much.

The surface conditions of the roads on this 50 mile stretch was the most varied on the entire trip. Things are in a state of change in Poland, with many old roads being used as bike lanes, and the quality varying quite a lot. There were massive concrete blocks from an old military road.

There were common bricks used to build roads after World War Two, and presumably before that too.

This particular brick road traversed the boundary of an active military base. It was curious to see active military operations happening in this region. The fence on the right was the boundary.

There were bike paths with trees in the middle of them!

Some of the forested sections were really beautiful.

There was another windmill, but I wasn’t able to go inside this one.

Eventually I was right on the seaside, pushing through sand and looking at the beautiful Baltic!

Coming into town before finding the campground.

The campground is really nice and quiet, just outside of town. There are only a few people here, and I got all set up and cozied in for my first night in the camp set up. All is working out quite well.

It was a big day, full of mixed emotions and experiences. It’s just the beginning of the next chapter of this trip. There are still about 1200 miles in front of me. Time for bed, and rest.