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10 Sep 2016
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We rode north to the tiny town of Grabarka and only knew to come here after Rafal told us about the hilltop covered with crosses.
“The Holy Mount of Grabarka is considered to be the holiest location in Poland for Orthodox Christians. It is the site of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and is home to the women's monastery of Ss. Marta and Maria. Worship of this place and tradition of bringing crosses was born in the 18th century. The famous miracle was recorded in 1710 during the cholera epidemics. Decimated by disease, inhabitants of Podlasie region fled the towns and villages for fear of their lives. At that time an old man experienced a revelation that the only way for salvation was to go to the Mountain of Grabarka with a cross. He went there with some other villagers, brought a cross, bathed his face and drank water from the spring spurting at the foot of the hill and prayed. A miracle happened: all those who followed him were cured and saved. To express their gratitude, the people built a wooden chapel on the top of the hill. It was later extended into the Transfiguration Orthodox Church. Pilgrims have been bringing votive crosses to the hill ever since.”
 Poland-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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10 Sep 2016
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We had planned to go to the Baltic coast of Poland to the town of Hel. They have kite surfing here, but the forecast there is ok today, but rain for the following few days. So we will ride the planned route west from Bobrowa and recheck the forecast, but we will likely give up this plan and head south where the weather is suppose to be more pleasant. We rode north to the city of Agustow which is the gate way to the Lakeland area of Poland for 321 km.
 Poland-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We did bit of a loop thru here past lush farms and dozens of lakes. It is motorcycle touring heaven.
 Ukiel CC-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Ukiel CC-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Ukiel CC by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We stopped at a place with a very full parking lot for lunch and had to try out a few local favourites.
 Ukiel CC-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Ukiel CC-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Ukiel CC-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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10 Sep 2016
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We continued west and to our destination of a nice camping spot on Ukiel lake near Olsztyn. We had a nice row out on the lake to enjoy the sunset and an absolutely quiet night.
 Ukiel CC-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Ukiel CC-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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11 Sep 2016
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11 Sep 2016
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We arrived to the city and were staying just off the market square. This is always a challenge if you stay in the “old town” in any European city as there is often a maze of small streets, one ways, and pedestrian zones which can try the patience of even a saint. The GPS actually makes it worse as it directs you to places you can not go and then reroutes you on some long round about path. Finally we just drove a short way on a pedestrian road to get to the back of the building we were in to access the parking lot.
The main market square if the second largest innEurope after Krakow. The buildings have been rebuild in the old style, but some of the original are still here.
 Poland-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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11 Sep 2016
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This is the memorial to the victims of the Katyn massacre.
 Poland-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
“The Katyn massacre was a series of mass executions of Polish nationals carried out by the NKVD on Stalin’s orders in April and May 1940. Though the killings took place at several different locations, the massacre is named after the Katyn Forest, where some of the mass graves were first discovered.”
This is a very nice city that was almost completely destroyed at the end of the war.
 Poland-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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11 Sep 2016
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We did a bit of a walking tour of the city and on elf the fun things to do is try to find some of the 350 brass Gnomes that are hidden around the city.
“One of Wrocław’s most popular, memorable and iconic attractions is not a cathedral, not a castle or monument, but a legion of little people: Gnomes. In Wrocław’s city centre these merry munchkins are simply ubiquitous - dotting doorways, alleyways and street corners; constantly underfoot but only seen by the observant. You may well overlook the first few that cross your path, but inevitably – and often literally - you will stumble upon these popular local residents. Keep your eyes peeled and you’re bound to notice the little fellas engaged in a variety of activities about town – from guarding public space to passed-out drunk.
Although it sounds like little more than a tourist gimmick, gnomes have long held a place in Polish folklore, and their current iconic incarnation as symbols of Wrocław actually has a direct correlation to the political climate of the 1980s. Under communism gnomes became the absurdist calling card of the 'Orange Alternative' movement – an underground protest movement that used absurdity and nonsense to stage peaceful, yet subversive protests.”
 Poland-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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11 Sep 2016
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Arriving to the city we ended up in the very long tunnel system, which made finding our exit a bit of a problem. So now we are stuck in the tunnel (GPS now non functional) and there is a lot of traffic and we are supposed to meet some friends here tonight for drinks and dinner and it is now already 530. Well we finally managed to get out of the tunnel, get turned around, fight the bumper to bumper traffic, get back in the tunnel and get the correct exit at 2.3 km and not called at all what it is on the GPS. We arrived to the hotel, which is one of the few in the city with free parking (most charge 25-30 Euros) and it was 70% off! It is located about 500 m from the Prague castle and you then can walk thru the castle grounds to access the “lower city”, the bridges, and the old town.
We are meeting Tadd and Gaila from Motostays. We have a number of friends in common, we have both been at each others homes, but we have never met. It is Gaila’s birthday today so we did a bit of celebrating.
 Czeck Republic by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Poland-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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11 Sep 2016
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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