Day 6, western Poland

After a long ride yesterday, we finally found a campsite and pitched our tents in the dark – just before the light drizzle started. Luckily we had a small roofed our area to prepare our food. The campsite itself was nothing special, but OK and for free since the was no reception.

Mocca in the mornings is a must – good to finish off a hearty breakfast. Makes for happy faces 😁

The better part of the day was offroad – thank you – sand, forrest, lakes – perfect!

We decided to stay over near Malbork/Marienburg, need to do some washing after 6 days and since sunshine is rare, we need a dryer – thus making us decide on a B&B.

I love the specific beauty idols/ideals in foreign countries – here they definately like their puffy silicon lips 😂

Found a nice B&B on booking.com, sitting on the veranda drinking beers while our steaks (Kaufland 2km) are going in the pan 👍🏻

We are about 310km from Latvia (as the crow flies!) – so 2-3 more days.

Day 5 Western Poland

Good nights rest at the campsite – recommended – but late start. Guys, we eat too much 😬😁

We did some nice riding today – but til too late, only found a campsite after dark. No reception to be seen, we pitched tent anyway.

Riding was good – asphalt and cobblestone first 2 hours, then cool forrest tracks. Passed through a vast area with massive storm danage, lots of trees simply snapped off.

Generally less forrest and more agriculture – but that changed during the afternoon – forrest, deep sands etc. 👍🏻😁

Found a campsite near the track – a bit late, pitched tent in the dark. All a bit tired – but let’s get the kitchen going – and the cold beers 👍🏻

Day 4, Poland

Hm, very slow and late start- party of young polish kids 20m across, our campsite proprietor could be bothered, so we got little sleep 😬

But breakie was exellent …

Enroute we paid a visit to an old Soviet Nuclear Rocket Station – surreal.

This is the launch bunker …

… and 2 more bunkers used for storing the rockets – all hidden in some non descript forrest close to an even more non descript village. The whole site was surrounded by trenches and machine gun posts.

On a happier note, we can asure you that taking this route theough Poland will not leave you hungry – fruit everywhere.

Some sections were rather dusty and fast …

We are not on a diet – neither is Poland 😂👍🏻

WW2 is everywhere – bizzare railway bridge, blown up.

Some shortcuts from the TET turn out to be not so short 😉

Our camp for the night – friendly lady running it – lets hope for a more quiet night today! Anyway – swim, Kaiserschmarn and fire, what more can we ask for 👍🏻

Our current location – check coordinates if you are in the area – also in relation to the complete polish track.

Day 3 Poland TET

Slow start again – but 1.5h earlier than yesterday 😁. Andi went for a swim, then we had some nice Mocca (as usual) with our breakfast.

A lot of tertiary asphalt and cobblestone roads again, small villages – nice!

As marked on the TET trail, we went to see some bunkers – German WW2, no further info. But creepy, as these things always are – many around Berlin of course.

We used the oportunity to make some tea and ate the sweat stuff we got at the bakery just before.

We then encountered some deep sand stuff – fun and ‘Rainer’ did well. No slower than most single bikes.

We took a small detour from the TET, turned out a bit more fun, but hard work 👍🏻😁

Finally we found yet another perfect campsite – respect Poland, far better than your German counterparts – in …. check the map, cant spell that 😉

Day 2

Ostromecko Campsite

The first day on the western part of the polish TET went smoothly – no real Offroad though, but nice tertiary asphalt roads and a lot of cobble stone towards the end.

We took it slow, late start – somehow we managed to sleep til 10 this morning – and no rush getting onto the trail.

It was lovely seeing this part of rural Poland, small villages, forrests and lakes.

Entering Poland

Day 1

After a slow morning and yet another good breakie at ‘Mona Lisa’ near the flat, things became a little more hectic – packing all the gear into the Enduristan bags and finally stowe them on ‘Rainer’. Turned out, that we needed an extra big bag for the camping gear – big tent, warm sleeping bags etc. This really takes a lot of space for 2 people 😵

Anyway, we finally managed to get moving, taking small roads from Berlin to Güstebieser Lose – the ferry over the Oder river – into Poland. This is where we met Andi, who had arrived from somewhere further East.

We did not drive far into Poland, but rather decided to stop for a snack (Schnitzel and Burger) before looking for a place to camp – which we found on the other side of the lake at Moryn. Amazing place, by the lake and perfect for pitching the tent before going for a swim.

When the lady running the place found out, that we did not bring food, she insisted on giving us this … 😲

which will make for a nice meal 👍🏻

The thick sausages were Kaszanka – in german Grützwurst/Blutwurst. Roast on the fire wrapped in tin foil.

Find this amazing spot near the beginning of the Polish TET, close to the german border – but remember, wash in the lake and bring your own drinking water – here:

Choosing a Tent

The choice was between a Eureka LoneTree 4 and the Robens Green Cone. Both for 4 people (they say) so actually for 2 with luggage if you are on a motorbike.

The Robens is bigger to pack, but overall feels more solid. Due to ventilation and the possibility to close all mosquito netting (nor so with the Eureka (top half of inner tent made from net only), the Robens is also more of a 4 season tent.

The biggest asset of the Robens is the centre pole, which sits OUTSIDE the inner tent, creating a really spacious bedroom 😉 Also, the Robens has the slightly larger ‘frontroom’ (Apside).

The only drawback of the Robens is the slightly larger packing size – about the same length as the Eureka, but somewhat more in diameter. Also a kg or so heavier.

More luxary when when not travelling alone and the better (feeling/looking) materials made us pick the Robens. When Travelling alone, I still have my smaller tent anyway.

We tested (well, pitched) both tents in Treptower Park – good for comparing them next to each other.

2018 TET – The Beginning

Only 3 more days before we will start on our TET adventure. ‘We’ meaning my friend Andi and my son Matteo – the former on his DR 650 and the latter as my ‘grease monkey’ in the sidecar 😉

We will start with the polish section No.2 of the TET, beginning near Schwedt/Oder  and exiting for Lithuania near Sejny.

We plan on continuing up through the Baltic states and either back to Germany via boat – or, we might hop over to see a little of Scandinavia as well. But that would be pushing it a little too far maybe – we have just under 3 weeks and since most of the traveling will take place on dirt roads and tracks, the going should be fairly slow.

The possible route will most likely be: