Pra-aaargh!

It's been 5 days since my last confession ... I mean, blog, so please excuse my tardiness, although in my defense the weather has not provided much incentive to do anything and therefore write about it.
As a penance, I shall say 10 Hail Mary's, wear my pants outside my jeans in a Superman stylie, sing 'Waterloo' by ABBA for a day while introducing myself as Bjorn.

Moving on, I title this blog, Pra-aaargh!, not because Prague is a bad place but because it is still raining and raining hard today, but let me go back to Poland where I last blogged.

When I read about Krakow or Cracow, it is described as a cultural, musical city, full of art and history which is probably best reflected in the city's main square and surrounding pedestrianised streets and alley-ways. Like many Central European cities I have visited, it has its share of architecturally pleasing buildings and church's and also being a University town, has a vibrant cafe and bar scene. I spent an overcast day strolling around and people watching from a couple of the many coffee shops. I liked the warm atmosphere of the friendly people, the stylish shops and the alley-way stalls selling hand-made gifts and goodies of all sorts.

Although it is not advisable to drive in Krakow as parking is a major issue, I took the bike as parking is not an issue, so while I was obviously looking a little lost, a fellow biker pulled up alongside and asked if I need help. "Yes", I replied, so he immediately parked up and offered his help. I basically wanted to know where I could park, "Anywhere", he said, so we talked a little about the city and what to see, he re-iterated that I should not leave anything at all on the bike, then off he disappeared into the maze of traffic.
I really enjoyed Krakow, it has a pleasant feel and is very clean given the number of tourists although I didn't notice any street cleaners. The main square, about 5 or 6 times the size of Covent Garden in London, also has it's street entertainers, including this walking pint of beer that did make me giggle.
I was most impressed by three accordionists who had me mesmerized for some time as they squeezed out many classics including Czardas, that incredibly fast Russian piece that is most often heard on a violin. I have tried to load one of the video's I took of the trio but I'm not sure how well it will download and play, but try it anyway.

I returned to campsite just as a light shower starts and glad that I had opted for a cabin rather than pitching the tent. Not being constantly damp and sleeping in a dry bed is really worth the extra 15 Euros per day that the cabin cost.

The next day (Wednesday) continued dull and overcast and an invite for coffee and cakes with Graham and Cathy who I had met the day before was keenly accepted. Graham and Cathy are 3 months into a one year tour around Europe in their monster of a caravan or 'Fifth Wheel' for you travelling aficionados out there. Their mini-juggernaut home is amazing and once docked expands to create an enormous (in relative camping terms) living area, with a proper fixed-bed bedroom and bathroom; complete kitchen, hot running water and underfloor heating.
Having decided to stay another day in the hope that the weather will improve before my ride to the Czech Republic, we make a collective call to enjoy the rest of the day with a long lunch. Cathy organises a local restaurant and off we trott to what is basically an outdoor eatery but we choose the cover of a marquee and boy, was that the right decision as an hour later the heavens open up and deliver a savage downpour. The rain did little to dampen our fun lunch which started with a near rendition of 'Old MacDonald Has A Farm' as our charming, non-English speaking waitress was struggling to translate parts of the menu for us. So having had a successful 'moo-ing' event in Romania, I followed it up with a nasal, pig sounding, double-grunt that had our waitress reduced to fits of laughter and a giggle, every time she returned to our table, however, I did establish that I was about to order the pork dish! It was a great lunch that continued in Graham and Cathy's beast on wheels; I enjoyed their company and was slightly envious that their journey was still outward bound while mine was heading towards home.

While in Krakow, I did think about visiting Auschwitz which was less than 45 minutes away but much thought about the subject left me emotionally cold; we have all seen the horrific images and footage of these dreadful atrocities and the thought of actually visiting a place where masses of people were murdered was not something I wanted to do and Graham and Cathy's account of their visit to the camp (without going into detail) confirmed why I didn't want to go.

On a happier note, check-out Thurs-day, started with home-made pancakes, a la Graham & Cathy, who team-worked a delightful breakfast which we enjoyed in the sunshine. Yes! in the sunshine.
Bike loaded, followed by fond farewells and I was on my way to Prague which was a surprising near 600 kilometres away; for some reason I thought it was a lot closer. A non-motorway, uneventful, journey that was mostly pleasant, save the odd heavy rain shower, had me in the hotel I had booked in Prague (Praha) by 6.30pm after seven and a half hours of riding. (Broke the total journey 10,000 kilometres mark today)
Although very tired, I decide on a quick bite before bed or at least that was the intention until I met Stephen, a Financial Director of a large UK company, in the restaurant. We were having such a jolly time and decided on a nightcap in the hotel bar which left us both totally gazebo-ed well into the early hours of the morning. Consequently and probably also due to the full day of riding, I ended up sleeping, uninterrupted, until 5pm yesterday! Well over 12 hours of comatosed slumber; I've never done that before (the sleeping 'til 5 thing) but I did feel recovered, however I had lost a full day, a day that I wanted to see Prague, so I have extended my stay one more day.

I'm off now to do some sight seeing and need to start thinking about where I'm headed for tomorrow too.

Oh, it's pissing down with rain, by the way ...aaaargh!