Day 13: Karlskrona (Sweden) to Solvesborg (Sweden)

On May 26, 2025May 26, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings2 Comments

We slept well on the ferry. It was a very smooth crossing and we docked around 8.30am at the Port of Karlskrona which is about 11 km away on the next peninsula.

Love this sign. I hope I get to see one, but not running across the road in front of my bike!

Getting out of the port was a bit messy as my map took us to construction spots with roads blocked, but we figured it out and were soon on our way.

It was cool, about 10c with strongish winds.

Our first stop was Nattraby, to meet Jennie, a cyclist I met through Zwift. Jennie lives locally and proudly supports her Galaxy club, and rides a purple bike (Galaxy colours) that she built up herself. Clever lady.

We followed a path by the Nattrabyan River, popular with tourists on boats from Karlskrona.

Nice boat houses dot the river.

The safety buoys and ladders appear at regular intervals.

Nice forests and nature reserves.

Pretty churches, we visited one to fill up our bidons.

Not sure what this is, but I liked it.

This is a former school building now owned by a famous ceramicist. It was closed when we went past.

In Ronneby the Mandeltarten is a very popular cafe with picturesque gardens and views to Brunnsparken.

Jennie purchased some items for us including their famous Mandeltarta cake. Seriously the most amazing tasting cake ever. It’s made with almonds, and the outer base is like a chewy meringue almond flavour with creamy custard filling.

After cake and coffee we headed into the park to find the troll.

The trolls! Looking down upon us.

This is where we bid farewell to Jennie. She came out in what turned out to be Sweden’s Mothers Day to meet us, ride with us, and chat.

She insisted on buying the local treats. ❣️❣️

We have so very much enjoyed our time with Jennie, all made possible through Zwift, where we both cycle train and ride events.

As will be seen in the next few weeks, Zwift has opened up the world for connections with like minded people.

Thankyou Jennie ❣️

As we said farewell we all put on our rain jackets as there were just a few spots of rain.

We continued riding through the magnificent forest.

We were just inland from the coast for the rest of the day, with various peninsulas and bays.

The roads were undulating which helped keep us warm as our legs worked harder each little climb.

The last 50 km was all on sealed cycle paths, thankfully, as the rain set in, and for the most, a headwind.

The camera rarely came out now. The last three photos of the day cover 50 km.

This is an amazing piece of infrastructure for walkers and bikes. The bridge we are standing on, and the next with arches are car free.

The town is Solvesborg, our destination.

After 121 km, and lots more climbing (872 m) we arrived at our funky cabin, in the back yard of a Swedish couple.

As it was still raining, and our breakfast supplies were in the fridge, we had breakfast for dinner…cucumber, tomatoes, 4 eggs, cheese and the most amazing home made bread ( a sweeter bread, tastes like might be some dates in it?).

I found porridge in the cupboard. With one litre of milk and yoghurt, breakfast is sorted.

Another great day touring!

Our route below. Thankyou for reading 😊❣️💪🚴

Day 12: Katy Rybacky (Poland) to Gdynia (Poland)

On May 25, 2025May 25, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn VikingsLeave a comment

We woke up to a beautiful, crisp morning overlooking the Vistula Lagoon.

We had a light breakfast, purchasing some items from a small store on our way back from dinner last night.

We had trouble leaving the property. Not because we’d fallen in love with it. All exits were locked, some with large padlocks. So back to the house to request our exit.

I think they wanted to make sure we did not leave without paying the four zloty (which I’d left in an obvious spot with the keys).

After leaving Katy Rybacky via a dirt trail through a lovely green forest, the first village we rode through was Sztutwo. This town was previously known as Stutthof.

The first concentration camp outside German borders was established here in 1939. It was the last camp liberated by the Allies in 1945.

Around 65,000 innocent people lost their lives here, 28,000 being Jews.

This is the first such camp we have visited.

The entrance by the rail line where prisoners arrived.

Over 25 guard towers surrounded the site, with electrified wire.

There are multiple layers of wire across a few meters depth.

Passing through the Death Gate was viewed a terminal passing. To the left are the women’s quarters, right men.

At the far end of this picture, by the trees are the gas chamber and crematorium.

I chose not to walk to the far end to visit either.

This photo is in one of the women’s buildings. Pictures and history adorn the walls.

There is a lot more I could write on the specific history of this concentration camp, but sadly differs little to the horrors and atrocities of all. Most of us are very aware of the stories, and hope that such history never repeats itself.

Moving along we rode through the same forest as yesterday to the ferry. We missed it by about one minute!!

However our wait was only about 30 minutes. The arriving ferry had at least 50 cyclists on board.

That was a theme today. Hundreds of cyclists were out and about on the paths, from the serious guys on their roadies, to older people and families with young children.

They all use the bike paths, without fail.

We stopped at the supermarket to grab lunch. We met a Polish man who is touring with his wife and young son. He was super chatty.

We had planned to look around Gdansk but when we got there, it was swarming with so many people, being a Saturday. We were using the bikes like scooters, dodging people as they wandered around seemingly aimlessly with no surrounding awareness.

Gdansk was also due for 2mm rain during the afternoon. We changed plans and headed for Gdynia to be closer to the ferry.

We did stop to view this lovely statue. The Kinderstransport monument depicts children waiting for their train to arrive. Many children died during the war. 130 were transported to England to safety from the Gdansk region.

We arrived at the Port of Gdynia super early, but we were able to check in.

We took the spare time to clean our bikes.

A few hours later we were amongst the first to board. Our bikes were wheeled on with us as they are carbon. Non carbon bikes are stacked onto a trailer that goes I to the vehicle hold, but special treatment for carbon.

We thought the bikes were going to our rooms, but a purser grabbed us and took us to a locked room to store them on level 7.

Our accomodation is level 8, and I lashed out with a Panorama Cabin.

Still in port, view off one deck looking at some of the Polish navy.

This is our spacious cabin, with two front facing windows and one to the left.

View out the front window, still in port.

The Poland section of our ride has concluded. We have ridden 635 km in Poland, out of our cumulative 1243 total after Day 12.

We rate Poland. Beautiful beaches and forests being highlights.

To ride the Baltic path, the minimum touring bike is gravel. Our tyres are 42mm wide and coped fine.

Goodnight from Poland.

Day 11: Gdnyia(Poland) to Katy Rybacky (Poland)

On May 24, 2025May 24, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings4 Comments

Big day today. 129 km riding, around 85 km of that on dirt, gravel and other non sealed surfaces.

We made it to the Russian border.

We completed the entire length of the Polish Baltic border from Germany to Russia with 533 km of riding, the majority off road.

That was satisfying.

But the day started with a huge buffet breakfast in Gydnia, far better than what we would have had in that crappy, desolate campsite.

We needed that fuel for the day ahead.

We had three cities to navigate first off. Gydnia, Sopot and Gdansk pretty well are continuous cities. The population between the three exceeds 700,000.

Lots of stopping, crossing at traffic lights, avoiding aimlessly wandering people who have trouble differentiating walking lanes vs bike lanes, despite the painted symbols and signage. They are impervious to bike bells ringing.

Highlights were the beaches at Sopot. Beautiful beaches, with plenty of cafes and restaurants along the foreshore.

This spot is looking towards Gdansk. You can just see the far Port of Gdansk.

Some very fancy looking hotels. This one was aptly named.

This is perhaps the most magnificent lighthouse I’ve ever seen.

Another section of beach set up for beach volleyball with plenty spectator seats.

In Gdansk it was a busy Friday morning with people everywhere. It took quite some time to navigate.

Once in the old town, plenty of beautiful old buildings to say ‘wow’.

We likely have time tomorrow to look around Gdansk as we need to head back his way to catch our ferry to Sweden.

We rode across the Martwa Wisla (river) to Sobieszewo

At Swibno on the Vistula river we needed to wait for the ferry.

Then when it did arrive we stood on board for nearly 30 minutes.

In the meantime….a nice little boat onshore

Finally the ferry got going and lovely looking towards the mouth of the river, that flows into the Baltic Sea.

Lots of cyclists on board too. There were four cars. This ferry cost 10 zloty each ( about AUD $4.10).

Immediately we hit dirt and forests. We are amazed just how much beautiful forest we have ridden through. Poland has done a great job preserving these forests between the coastline and civilisation. What an asset.

The Vistula Spit canal (Nowy Swiat ship canal) is very new. It crosses the Polish section of the Vistula Soit that is jointly shared between Poland and Russia.

It connects the Vistula lagoon with the Bay of Gdansk.

Prior to this new canal, all Polish watercraft that wished to leave the lagoon (including the Polish navy) had to enter Russian waters and leave via their canal.

This raised many security concerns, hence the new canal. Russia were opposed as they ceded control of who entered the bay.

We have noted a strong Polish military presence this trip. We have passed by many active military area, heard live rounds being fired, noted many personnel, vehicles on the roads, low flying aircraft ( presuming surveillance).

Poland has committed to enlarging their defence to be the largest in the Eu, spurred on by their borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and the sad war being waged.

Crossing looking towards the Bay of Gdansk (Baltic Sea)

The beaches and forests continued to be lovely as we progressed along the Spit.

Quirky art work in the town of Krynica Morska where there was a short boulevard section.

After 99 km of riding, we made it to the border. The sight we were met with we did not photograph. It is an armed border with obvious security in place with vehicles. There are times to not get the camera out.

We just pretended not to notice, and wandered down to the beach. Well wandered is an exaggeration, look at the sand, we dragged the bikes to a fence.

We wandered down to the beach, Poland to the left, Russia to the right.

Looking along the Polish section to the west.

The beach border. The wire fence is not that high. From the beach you can see a Russian observation tower. I am sure there are eyes!

The Dear Tourist sign makes it clear that you are at the border of the European Union (EU) and Russia and you cannot cross.

Lots of others things you can’t do here either. Not sure what the bottom right one is.

It was satisfying to make it to the border. We had completed the Polish coastline from Germany to Russia, predominantly on non sealed surfaces which adds extra challenges, particularly for me.

Now it was time to turn back as we were at the end of this road quite literally.

We had another 30 km to ride to get to our lodgings in Katy Rybacky. Feeling weary with 15 km remaining we stopped and grabbed an iced coffee revival.

We came back mainly on undulating sealed road, bar a 5 km section that has been ripped up that was worse than the coastal track.

Our accomodation is a well appointed unit at the home of an older lady who seems to think I understand her Polish. She goes on and on and on. I smile and nod, hopefully in the right places.

However, on paper she wrote she needed 4 zloty. I was aware there was a tourist tax here of 1.70 each but so far have paid using euro I have left over.

Nope, zloty!!

So off we went looking for dinner and four zloty which is about AUD $1.60 .

We found a nice dinner and was able to communicate with a staff member asking if there was an atm anywhere. Yes, in the next town 10 km away!!!!

She understood my issue and I asked if I could pay extra 5 zloty and receive 4 zloty cash. Nope.

What she did was so very nice. She got her purse and gave me 4 zloty and a hug. I was very touched.

So we have 4 zloty sitting here for our Polish lady.

What a day! We can look back with a sense of achievement with Poland as it has been challenging and we met it.

Todays route.

Day 10: Leba (Poland) to Hel Peninsula (Poland)

On May 23, 2025May 23, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings6 Comments

The best laid plans can go wrong despite everything.

Today was to be one of those days.

After a lovely Polish breakfast, where the young chef explained what he’d made and had so much interest in me liking his food, understanding its local origin and no chemicals.

He’d made this lovely crepes with a light creamy filling. I enjoyed those with locally cured beef.

Everything has onions though. Onion and I are not best friends and these little balls he insisted I try…onion, onion and a bit more onion.

I secretly hid them in my disposable serviette, popped into my jersey pocket to deal with later.

We packed our bikes and Tony decided to pump up his front tyre. Lots of cursing, his tyre totally deflated and he could not get air in.

We were going nowhere.

I recalled seeing bikes at the back of the shed so went back into the small castle to enquire. A man arrived a few minutes later and said he had a compressor.

The wheel was removed, taken to the compressor and we had air and off we tootled.

After only a few km of sealed road we hit non sealed surfaces. Another 45 km or so today of varying surfaces.

This was shitty! When I see Tony sliding ahead if me and release his foot from the pedal cleats, I know to go slower than slow.

Riding through sand is hard, many points you push your bike.

At this nice junction in a forest we stopped to remove some clothing. It was only 11 degrees Celsius, cloudy, but with occasional sun we had warmed up.

Again today we mainly followed EuroVelo 10 and 13. Whilst having our routes clearly on our bike computers, it is always nice to see the EV signs.

We had sandy and muddy pot holes.

The undergrowth vegetation had changed. Lots of heath like plants.

These were cute. In two villages were thesedog poo bins. We could do with some of these near us for the ones too lazy to pick up after their dog and dispose appropriately, including a couple of public areas I try to maintain.

It is very pleasant riding through here. Nice trail and forest.

We crossed a bridge in the forest. Views to the right and left.

In Wladyslawowo we searched for a bike shop. We had been very conscious that our pump was faulty and if either of us got a flat we’d be a bit stuck and need to wait for the next cyclist to venture along.

Wladyslawowo is a large town and whilst searching saw a few interesting buildings.

Found the bike shop and this lovely bloke who is Polish but speaks great English.He has been touring around Poland for around 2,000 km so far. He went into the shop to assist with interpretations in purchasing a replacement pump.

We arrived on the Hel Peninsula, a 35 km sandbar separating the Baltic Sea from the Bay of Puck.

The plan was to ride to our accomodation, some 8 km short of the peninsula end, ride up there sans gear, grab dinner and head back to our lodgings.

Tonight we were booked into camp huts that looked ok in the pictures. I had lots of difficulties finding somewhere suitable for the bikes as most accomodation is privately owned apartments who were not keen on bike storage.

The bay was calm.

For the most, this was the cycle path surface.

Boats out of water.

Continuing on our merry way.

We were staying in a campground that had many good reviews. It looked like this from Booking.com images.

We could not figure how to get in there. There was a caravan storage place for derelict caravans and a desolate, abandoned, graffitied building with fences and locked gates.

We rode up and down the road.

We noted a small pedestrian gate not latched. We pushed through, riding through long grass, past what looked like the setting for a horror movie.

The place was abandoned and desolate and plain creepy.

We got to the cabins and quite clearly, they had not been used for some time.

There was noone waiting to greet us as per our check in instructions. I messaged them as there was no phone number.

Surrounding the cabins, maybe 50 metres away were more crappy looking caravans. One had a car and motorbike.

We just needed John Jarratt’s Wolf Creek character to pop out and I’d have screamed.

We could not stay here even as the only guests. We did not feel safe.

We made the decision to bolt.

The plan tomorrow had been to train to Gydnia for our next section so we headed to the nearest railway station. The ferry left too late in the day.

There is a one way train from Hel! Good to know.

There were ticket vending machines. I purchased two adult tickets but it would not let me do the bikes. The machine does not print a ticket.

The train arrived, we boarded. There were two other bikes on board. The Polish conductor protested in Polish re our bikes. He did speak minimal English enough to say that there was no room for our bikes.

I pleaded my case. He ended up rolling his eyes and blew the whistle and the train departed, with us on board.

He came back multiple times with long messages in Polish.

I handed over our credit card and he charged us for the bikes. Problem solved.

We later found out from a lady using her Google translator that only two bikes are permitted. We were bikes three and four.

The reason I could not add the bikes to the ticket was that those two owners had already booked bike tickets.

Fortunately they both got off within two stations.

So a bit of tension and we arrived into Gdynia to find a hotel. I had a quick look and noted two larger ones that may cope with bikes.

Took a mountain of energy to get the bikes out of the station, down stairs, up stairs, up ramps that were designed by non cycling engineers.

We found the Mercure hotel by chance. It was one of the two. I went in, booked a room and our bikes are in our room!

So here we are. I have requested a refund from Dodgyville Camping and Booking.com.

With self planned tours, you need to think on your feet and come up with solutions. You are self reliant. But it’s worked out ok.

The only down side is not seeing the best parts of Hel.

We have ridden 113 km today so another solid day. Here is our route.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading 😊❣️🚴💪

Day 9: Ustka (Poland) to Leba (Poland)

On May 22, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings4 Comments

Another fine day.

A great start to the day with a lovely breakfast. The lady spoke to us in English with an Irish accent. Turns out she is Polish but lived in Dublin for 9 years.

She gave us wrap to make some rolls to take with us today. Super nice of her.

We headed off via a paved pathway through forest, running parallel with the beach.

Again we would follow EuroVelo 10/13 for most of the day.

The village of Wytowno put old bikes to use plus an information board with local history.

Towns and villages all have similar signs. The lower sign was also used in Germany.

In Rowy wooden carved statues appear every hundred metres or so.

The Slowinski National Park is another Baltic coast park. It was formed in the late 1960’s to protect the area known for its large, shifting sand dunes. The dunes are encroaching at up to 10 metres per year.

The three lakes were once bays off the Baltic. Forests have been swallowed as has a village!

Sand dunes and touring bikes don’t play together well. Horse riding and trekking are the recommended ways of seeing the dunes.

Shutter stock images:

Meantime, we’re in the forest section. Someone made themselves busy with this pile of rocks.

The trails varied. These are good sections. we did have some very pot holed sections and far too many km of mislaid, multi angled concrete slabs that were jarring.

We did around 45 km today off road.

Another village, more wood carvings.

Little lakes surrounded by peat bog marshes.

We had lunch on a bench seat to the left of this sign. I was having very light food due to an upset stomach. Too many different foods perhaps.

This is where we deviated from EuroVelo for the rest of today’s ride. It went through more unpaved forest and given my tummy and Tony’s sore neck we opted for the busier, sealed arterial road.

We do love to the storks nests. In this village we counted five. In the second image you can see the nest is formed on a man made ring provided for this purpose.

The nests are incredible structures. So high up.

The last 10 km featured a nice sealed and separated bike path. The headwind made it tougher, but nice to be on a path.

Leba was the last town in today’s ride, another busy tourist town, with the wind biting hard.

After World War II, Leba was occupied by the Red Army. Eventually after the Potsdam Conference, unit was returned to Poland.

Leba was where the defence prime Rheinmetall tested long range weapons back in the 1940’s. Up until 1973, Meteor sounding rockets were also launched.

Three days running we’ve seen similar ships.

A beautiful white beach. Not sure if the dredging equipment is for the river channel or do they move sand around?

Tonight’s accomodation is an old 14th century castle in Nowacin, on the shores of lake Sarbsko. Our bikes are well secured in a stone outbuilding.

At the entrance is this dude. There is small change on the tray.

After dinner we wandered to the lake. Hire boats were available.

84 km today. We still have three full days riding left in Poland.

One thing impressing us is the amount of green forest that is preserved, and just how many people are out and about enjoying the forests and parks. In wet weather, they are still out and an out, just with appropriate clothing.

Todays route.

Thanks for reading. ❣️😊🚴💪

Day 8: Kotobrzeg (Poland) to Ustka (Poland)

On May 21, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings4 Comments

Sunny skies. Yes! today we had 122 km to ride to get to Ustka, another town on the edge of the Baltic Sea.

We headed back up to the beach and turned to the east. Paved boulevards through more forests.

Nice long white beaches, only broken with the erosion control posts.

We were to follow Eurovelo10 and 13 for most of today. EV10 is a Baltic route over 13,000 km long. EV10 is an iron curtain route some 10,000 km long.

The surfaces today were mixed. Overall very good compared to yesterday, interspersed with dirt and gravel section, and other parts with those cement slabs with holes so you go bump, bump, bump for the length.

We were cyclists 22 and 23 to enter this section, and nearly 71,500 have passed through since January.

We were riding along narrow stretches of Land with the sea to our left and inlets, lakes or other waterways to our right.

Gaski, a name I can pronounce, as there are so many Polish names I cannot get my tongue around.

This cute statue was near the Gaski sign.

The beach here was long and unimpeded.

It was 10 am and whilst the sun was out, maybe 15 degrees Celsius and there was a strong, coolish breeze. Never too early to sunbake on the Baltic.

Random nicely renovated wooden boat in the forest.

We headed inland twice today to go around large sea lagoons.

Predominantly farmland, with rapeseed (canola) the dominant crop along with wheat and occasional vegetables.

I think the next two pictures are Darlowo.

Riding back along a narrow slither of land, with the cement blocks seen below, we did encounter a few sand drifts.

This was a push the bike up section. The path may have originally gone to the higher side on the left, but there was a large washed out section not yet repaired.

At the next town we learned how to use a tap and go toilet with all instructions in Polish. There was a turn style preventing you entering the toilet, with cameras watching.

We did eventually press the right sequence and pay 4 zloty each to use the loo. There was no light in the toilet for 4 zloty either! One zloty is about 41 cents AUD.

Jaroslawiec was the last larger town of the day, located on the coast. Another lighthouse, and shops selling the same soft toys, buckets, balls and a plentiful supply of icecream shops.

A really pretty inland lagoon.

A nice village church.

Then we had a long gravel section weaving through farmland and wind towers.

The final section of about 6 km into Ustka was an excellent sealed path. The sign below has been on paths the last three days.

Translated, it says Western Pomerania, the region of Poland we have been travelling through.

As we found our lodgings, two blokes in cycling gear were locking an exterior door to a bike shed. Awesome!

Today was a longer day, flattish, but still with surface challenges. After 122 km we were glad to be here, shower, launder our clothes and head off for a walk.

Walking is good after cycling as many hours as we have. Stretches different muscles and helps with the lactic acid build up.

The town is quaint, some with painted images.

Down by the river, there are decorated boats and a draw bridge that lifts every hour for 15 minutes.

The ubiquitous lighthouse features.

Glorious beaches. No sunbathers.

We found a nice restaurant along the waterfront boulevard for dinner. We were hungry and they supplied the food quickly.

Ustka is a nice town, lots of interesting homes and architecture.

This is our hotel. Well positioned, convenient, good bike shed and hopefully a great breakfast.

Check in was quick and easy. Usually our passports are checked, copied but here they did not want to see them. No city tax here either.

Our route today along the Baltic coast. A solid day but another wonderful day to see the region, communities and way of life.

Thanks for reading. 🚴❤️💪😊

Day 7: Swinoujscie (Poland) to Kotobrzeg (Poland)

On May 20, 2025May 21, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings2 Comments

Not the most exciting view from our room, but I do love the sign on the window.

Cloudy with drizzle was how we started our cycling day, but not before a lovely breakfast.

There are four floors of accomodation here and we think there are only two other rooms in use based on the breakfast table set up. It certainly was super quiet.

We packed the bikes and headed to the river. There are a distinct lack of bridges in this town and we needed to transfer across by ferry.

The ferry is free. No cars crossed with us on this trip, but there were a handful of cyclists and a few walk in pedestrians.

Ferries leave every 20 minutes from both sides. I presume the ferry operational costs are cheaper than building a bridge and the payback would be far too many years.

After a few km we were riding through a forest on dirt tracks. We did about 20 continual km on non sealed in the first 25 km. in places there were thick drifts of wet sand that were difficult to get through.

This was interesting. Wolin had an underground complex here pre World War II. The area formerly belonged to Germany and there are over one km of underground tunnels. You can visit in guided groups.

The forest traverse was close to the ocean. We needed to walk our bikes down the next section as the sand was over 30 cm deep with large ruts and wash aways.

We passed two young blokes who had been on our ferry crossing here. They had made a concerted effort to pass us earlier on so we smiled that the oldies caught up.

We were to see them on and off again for the next few hours with various stoppages.

We rode through the Wolinski National Park. It was particularly nice with lush vegetation, red squirrels and small deer. The paths were better quality than the earlier sloppy ones. There were many walking trails and a zoo.

With the Baltic Sea close on our left hand side, the forest provided great protection from the blustery coastal winds and persistent light rain.

On our right hand side (south), we passed numerous small lakes.

We stopped in a small town looking for food. A statue of Neptune drew our attention in the village of Wiselka. We found a small shop to grab some supplies.

Leaving the town and dirt behind for a while, we were following EuroVelo 10 and the path was nice and smooth!

The further we travelled, the more holiday and camping sites appeared. There does appear to be an interest in all things military in the area.

I thought the little blue vehicle was ‘cute’.

We continued to ride adjacent to forests between the ocean front and the main arterial road. A curious fox darted out to have a better look at us. Unlike the non cooperative deer and squirrels, this little one stood watching us enabling me to grab my iPad.

The town of Dziwnow is a holiday township these days, with salt springs discovered last century. We followed the river along for some distance.

Village after village along this stretch seemed dedicated to tourism with lots of construction occurring.

We have noted that overall, the Polish coast has been less affluent than the German, but with the amount of construction and tourism in the region, can only think the region will become a power house in the regional economy in time.

We went through Rewal and Niecxorze.

EuroVelo 10 had significant trail sections in the last 20 or so km, through plantation forestry areas. Still not as bad as our first 25 km by any means.

After 108 km, with around half being on dirt of various quality, we were thankful to arrive into Kolobrzeg safe and sound and without mishap. Both the bikes and our legs needed cleaning before checking in.

The reasonable clean bikes are in penitentiary.

We have half board lodgings here so dinner was included. Tony noted we were by far the youngest there! This is a spa town so I guess there are many seeking the youth elixir.

We ate far too much of a variety of Polish dishes on offer. Fish being very popular here as a main ingredient. We headed off for a post dinner walk of around 4 km.

Heading to the beach following broad paths through more forest.

A Baltic Sea white beach. These beaches stretch along the northern German and Polish coastline for many hundreds of km.

Looking to the east, our direction tomorrow

Lots of signage and curios.

The lighthouse was first constructed in 1899, and stands at the entrance to the port of Kolobrzeg.The Germans blew the lighthouse up in World War II as it was a lookout point for the Polish artillery. After the war it was rebuilt at a slightly differing location.

Found a Viking boat, of sorts 🤣

This statue intrigued me. Either the guy was little, or the fish was huge.

We have now been on the road for a week. We have ridden just over 700 km in our first week. Not a bad touring effort.

Today’s route along the Baltic coast.

Okey dokey, I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open. I need sleep.

Thanks for reading 🚴❣️💪😊

Day 6: Stralsund (Germany) to Swinoujscie (Poland)

On May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn VikingsLeave a comment

Today had it all. Sun, rain, wind, shelter, sealed paths, cobbles, dirt, rougher tracks, great sights, friendly cyclists.

We enjoyed our stay in Stralsund, what a gem of a city. Great hotel with our first buffet breakfast in one week away.

The bikes were stored in a lower level bike storage room. Great place for touring cyclists.

Leaving the city we followed the Stralsunder Fahrwasser around the coast.

Our first shot of the day looking back towards Stralsund

As we turned slightly inland on the designated cycle route, adjacent to a busy arterial road we started what would be around 20 km of cobbles. At the start we had no idea it went so far as our maps showed a sealed surface, not what type.

Lots of rolling resistance and bumps that jar through your hands. After about 10 km of this, Tony had enough and headed to the busy road at a junction.

It was a busy and there was no verge, and he realised we were safer on the cobbles.

It looks smoothish but on a bike it rattles.

It went on and on. In villages the cobbles became a larger cut, very rough cobble.

We were in a crop growing farm region, interspersed with the occasional dairy farm. The cows were still in their sheds.

Elation when we hit this. Would it last?

A renovators delight.

Plenty of renovated boats in the first large town of the day, Greifswald. The river Ryck runs through and at the mouth through a series of bays into the Baltic Sea.

Small statues adorn the riverside. We found a place for a ‘coffee’ and a loo. The coffee was not the best, but it was warm.

Pit stop, love the Pissoir name. We payed 50 cents to use the loo.

We edged closer to the river mouth then headed slightly inland again.

Nice church in the little village Kemnitz.

We passed a sculpture park.

Wolgast was where we found some lunch. Being Sunday very few places were open, including supermarkets.

As we ate it started to lightly spit with rain, so we donned our over shoe booties and raincoats. Rain was forecast and you always hope they are wrong and you might reach your destination first. Today was not that day.

Wolgast is coastal and we were to cross a bridge to the island of Usedom, where our journey would continue.

Usedom is a Baltic Sea island, shared between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rugen (where we rode through yesterday from the ferry terminal at Sassnitz).

Interestingly it is the sunniest region in both Germany and Poland with 1906 hours of sunshine annually. Today was not using any of that ‘allocation’.

It is super popular as a holiday destination as we would see with very large villas ahead.

There are also heavily forested areas with really pretty walking and cycle trails.

Much of the rest of the day we utilised these paths. The forest provided protection from the rain as it got heavier (more nuisance level, not pouring) and the wind that was super strong along the beachfront.

Typical flat section in the forest. The path weaved and undulated.

There were various jetties and access points along the way.

Huge villas in the tourist haven of Ahlbeck.. In this area we were riding along a paved, wide boulevard adorned with places to buy food such as crepes, ice creams or beer. We could imagine that when the 1906 sunshine hours are in action, the place would be packed.

No one was swimming today.

Here I am, half in Germany, half in Poland. The boardwalk behind me heading to the beach had German coloured uprights to the left, Polish coloured to the right.

We were only a few km from our destination in the Polish town of Swinoujscie. We are in the far north west corner of Poland, in the region of Pomerania.

At our hotel when I checked in, I sorted out where the bikes would go. I had been given two options with booking. Upon checking both options, we took the dead end corridor only accessible from reception.

As I filled out the paperwork for our passport ID, I was aware I was dripping water on the forms and floor.

Tony had cleaned the grime of our bikes, relubed the chains ready for tomorrow and making them look decent enough to be in the building.

A welcome shower and we headed off to dinner at a recommended local restaurant. I had Polish chicken dumplings with cranberry sauce. Very tasty.

Rain is forecast for the start of tomorrow, then hopefully clearing and sun is forecast for the next few days.

Poland will be interesting as we weave our way along the Baltic coast.

Our route today is below. We rode 110 km and climbed just over 500 metres.

Thanks for reading.

❣️😊🚴💪

Day 5: Bornholm Island (Denmark) to Straslund (Germany)

On May 18, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings3 Comments

We arose early to finalise our pack and leave Stavehol, our home for the last three days.

There was a light misty rain as we hopped on the bikes at 6.15 am.

Our destination was Ronne, 21 km away, where we were to catch a ferry to Germany.

It was a quiet ride with not a lot of traffic around, and we appreciated our last ride here surrounded mainly by farms.

We checked in and headed to Lane 21, set aside for bicycles and motor bikes.

The couple ahead of us here are from Rostock, Germany and are returning home after a one week bike packing ride.

The wait was cold. It was about 7 degrees Celsius as we stood in the light rain for around an hour.

Our ferry finally arrived.

It was very packed on board which surprised us based on the number of cars lined up (as in not as many as we expected).

However, two large German tourist buses were the first to board the ship and the place was milling.

We found a table and seating by a window upstairs as the ferry departs.

Our final views.

On the PA the voice announced cabins were available. We lashed out and grabbed one and did enjoy our own room, bathroom and rested for the most.

Bornholm Island has been a wonderful experience. I have been asked a few times, why Bornholm?

I had never heard of it until I started researching ferry options to Germany and Poland. I looked into it more and considered this could be an interesting island to spend a few days riding.

That it was!

This is our heat map from riding 270 km on the island. Reasonably comprehensive.

Arriving in the Sassnitz Port we departed slowly as all cyclists were required to push their bikes from the boat following a bloke as he criss crossed around the port to the exit.

It was drizzling so we then stopped to put our over booties on (go over our cycling shoes).

The first 5-8 km was on a path passing derelict large old buildings, appearing like old residential blocks from the regions earlier East German era.

There was also significant construction in the area.

The path varied in quality and width. At Ostseebad Binz we found a lovely cafe for a bite of lunch.

The sun was out, the raincoat and heavier duty outer layers were replaced with lighter layering. The breeze still had a bite to it, but pleasant sitting out of the wind.

Binz is the largest seaside town on the island of Rugen. Yes we were in an island. It was a popular holiday town and during the communist era, the East German government compulsory acquired many of the fancy homes and hotels for their members use.

After the fall of the East German government these places were returned to the original owners families.

Some sights of the town:

The route to the next town of Sellin took us through forest. It was beautiful but the first four-five km very hard work.

That path is not as nicely compacted as it appears. It consists of smaller blocks of a blue stone maybe 3-4 inches square all at varying angles.

It was a bladder stimulating section for sure.

When the path climbed or descended there were these blocks of cement. Each of those little inserts are lower than the cement and rough as guts to ride on.

I was lucky to be doing 6-8 kmh through the five km.

Tony’s bladder had enough and we stopped, just around the next bend the path was a much nicer compacted gravel.

Signposting was excellent, although we also use our Hammerhead maps where we have uploaded our planned routes. Signs are nice confirmations.

Sellin featured many large homes.

We then skirted around the shores of Neuensiener See, an internal lake that empties into the Baltic.

Tourism boats, marinas, little homes, lovely views made the next 10 km one of our favourites for the day.

More signs,with signage for both walkers and cyclists. Many of the paths differ. We were heading to Putbus.

Riding through beautiful forests.

Lovely thatched houses.

People fishing out in the deeper waters.

Path still following the coast.

King Friedrich Wilhelm 1 of Prussia (1688-1740)

This village was very cute with varying thatched roofed, gardens, wooden boats all overlooking the coast.

We crossed a long bridge to leave the island of Rugen and land on the European continent.

Our destination lay ahead in Stralsund. It looked a bit industrial from the bridge.

We do love it when my ride maps finish us at the front door precisely. Boom!

A total of 99 km today plus a 3.5 hour ferry transfer.

As I checked in, we were given two chocolates. This hotel is known as the house of marzipan and has quite an assortment available. I enjoyed mine, Tony tolerated his.

We were delighted to find two water column heaters in our room. This meant we could wash lots and get them dry.

After showering we walked into the older part of town to source a meal. The town seemed quiet for a Saturday. Many restaurants had just a few people, then we saw a sign for a lower level restaurant and we recognised the word schnitzel.

We had a wonderful meal, served quickly, good value (relatively 😁).

Straslund developed as a medieval fortress stronghold back in the 13th century. Many of the buildings were commenced then.

St Marien church is a Lutheran church built around 1380. It was the world’s tallest building between 1549 and 1647.

The Rathaus is a Gothic town hall, again from the 1300’s. The towers of St Nikolai in the background.

Door into St Nikolai that is not accessible.

Alter Markt is a large spacious square featuring beautiful buildings.

One entrance to the Rathaus. We walked out from there.

We followed the Knieperteich, large ponds around the old city centre back to our hotel.

We stopped to watch these two guys fishing. They had caught something large. It took the two of them to land it in the net. We are not sure what type, but it was very large.

Our last city view for the night.

A solid day today. Our routes. Along with the 99 km, we also climbed over 560 metres.

That’s it for today folks. Thanks for reading and joining us.

Tomorrow we ride towards Poland.

😊❣️💪🚴

Day 4: Bornholm Island

On May 17, 2025 By Sharron YaxleyIn Vikings2 Comments

The sun was shining! Whoot woo.

It was only 8 degrees Celsius, but at least the sun was out and we could see blue sky.

We did debate clothing – bare legs, covered legs? I chose to wear my long legged bibs, Tony wore leg warmers. We both donned multiple upper layers, and had other clothes with us to add or reduce layering.

Heading off up the dirt bike path we headed to Bornholm’s most famous sight, Osterlars Kirke.

We were too early to enter so decided to pop back at the end of our days ride.

A few photos of the exterior and watching the people tending the cemetery. Another exquisitely maintained cemetery. There is pride in their work.

Today there were a lot of churches. For an island of 37,000 people, there are many.

This is Østermarie kirke, circa 1891.

Windmills also featured today. This is Kuremollen and dates from 1861. It remained in service until 1960. Visitors can tour during summer.

We rode around the edge of Svaneke, a village we had ridden through yesterday. Climbing out of town we encountered some lovely horses and barn.

Two lovely vistas looking back to the coast.

Hallebrondshoj is a sorte muld, constructed in the Neolithic era, some 5,500 years ago, as a burial site.

Ibs kirke dates from the 12th century.

The route today was a mix of cycle paths, road, dirt trails. This section was lovely as it protected us from the very strong winds we were experiencing.

Looking towards Snogebaek and Dueodde, where we had ridden yesterday.

The next three churches….

Vestermarie kirke circa 1885 after the former church was demolished. Why are there doors up on the top level of the tower?

Ny kirke, built in the 12th century and considered the youngest of Bornholms four round churches.

Cykelvej signs are what we have used extensively on the island. There are over 230 km of marked cycle paths. Very impressive and one of the factors that attracted our visit.

This sign was embellished, the first one we had seen like this. We turned left to head to Ro, and this section was great following what seemed to be an old rail line.

Gudhjem is the prettiest village on the island in our opinion. We descended steeply with many tourists walking slowly up the hill. I did think that will be an interesting climb out for us.

Gudhjem was established as a fishing village with smoked herring a product sent to Copenhagen.

There are an assortment of restaurants and gift shops and yes, we spied the gelato shop, as had many of the tourists. We are not great with queues and did not want the old leg muscles cooling down before climbing back out of the village.

A few photos of the village.

The chimneys are used for smoking herring

Looking at our Hammerhead (bike computer) map we spied a possible alternative climb out of town. It was heaps better as there were no tourists wandering around.

Sharron climbing up and out of the village

To finish off our ride we headed to the supermarket in Osterlars to source dinner and then back home via Osterlars kirke.

30 kronor got me in. The church was built around 1150 and is the oldest round church on the island.

Men and women used to have separate entrance’s but today all use the front door!

The external walls are an incredible two metres thick.

The beautiful frescoes were created in the first half of the 12th century. Not all church attendees understood written and spoken Latin so the images told the biblical stories of the priest. In latter years these frescoes were covered with whitewash and rediscovered in 1889, restored in 1960.

These steps were super steep, narrow, highly polished and slippery. I was wearing my cycling shoes, so an added challenge.

Climbing the stairs there are two step off points. At the top level you can see the foundations for the cone top, an incredible meccano like slithers of timber.