Poland

Greetings from the land of confusing signs, Poland. When I first got to Poland after riding across Germany, I spotted a welcome sign. There was no place to park there, so I parked at a gas station down the road, walked back, darted across a stream of traffic, and took a "selfie".  Can you read the sign? I can't either, but it certainly sounds impressive.

I like the traffic signs in Poland. Look at this one of the little traffic crossing girl at a school zone. Cute.

If this cow sign was in the United States it would be shot full of holes. I have yet to see a cow on the highway.

I've not seen any deer either, but I am glad to know they are around. There has been a lot of opportunities for them to jump out onto the highway if they wanted to, because I have been going through a lot of forests. There does not seem to be nearly as many people in Poland as in the rest of Europe I've traveled in. They claim to have some wildlife left in Western Europe, but there are so many people there that wildlife doesn't stand much of a chance (except maybe in the bars at night -- that's a joke if you can't tell)

I have been seeing rabbits and squirrels and magpies and other things, including this great big bird and his (or her) enormous nest. Can you tell what kind of a bird it is?

It's a stork. Raise your hand if you knew that. And look where it chose to build its nest.

At first I couldn't figure out how a bird could build a nest that big on the top of a skinny light pole, but later I saw that people put big platforms on the poles to encourage the bird to build there. Apparently they bring good luck (or maybe babies -- which could be considered good luck too).  These birds are all over the place. I've been seeing oodles of them (look out people -- a baby boom is headed your way)

Maybe the reason it does not seem so crowded in Poland is because there is such a high unemployment rate that a lot of the people have to ride bikes everywhere. I guess that is why there are bike paths running alongside all the roads.

Where there are no forests, there are huge farms instead. The one on the right is full of wheat. I'm not positive, but I am pretty sure the one on the left is asparagus. But notice something strange? No fences. I have almost never seen one here.

Can't be looking around at storks and asparagus. Gotta keep my eyes on the road. Otherwise, look what can happen.

I am going to have to ask somebody what wypadki and Koniec mean. I can't find them on the internet. They are on a lot of signs.

Speaking of signs, I was ready to find this one after a long day of riding.

I had hoped to stay at a hotel or hostel tonight, but it is Saturday and I am in Warsaw, so everything is booked up.  I like this campsite though.  It is very clean, the showers are nice and hot, and everyone is very friendly.

I have directions for the tram into town tomorrow, so I am look to a good day of exploring the city.It is after 11:30 now, so I had better toddle off to bed.

More later,
Roning forward