The last kilometers on the Baltic Sea, and then what next?

In order to continue east from Gdansk, we chose Poland's most famous cycling route, the "Green Velo". This starts in Elbląg, and up to there we followed the EuroVelo 10/13 along the Baltic Sea coast, from which we soon had to say goodbye. At the mouth of the Vistula we were once again (slowly a running gag...) in front of an inoperable ferry, which is why a detour over the nearest bridge was necessary. The Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (warmińsko-mazurskie) begins just before Elbląg and the northern starting point of the Green Velo is also in this town. Behind Elbląg it went into a hilly and wooded moraine landscape - not particularly strenuous, but something different after the flat Baltic Sea coast. Meanwhile, in the beautiful landscape, we began to have doubts as to whether we were going in the “right” direction. Our original plan was to go to Moscow via the Baltic States and then on to China via Central Asia and Mongolia. We had already mentally said goodbye to the tour through Russia. However, since the current news situation also gives reason to doubt that China will relax its entry regulations for tourists this year, it is becoming increasingly "narrower". What now? Do we still want to pull the “emergency brake” and drive the other way around the world? We could first cycle through Masuria to Suwałki and then to Klaipėda in Lithuania, from there to Sweden and from there via Gothenburg to Denmark and then on across the Atlantic to North America. Or do you even drive back to Gdańsk to head straight to Sweden? We decide to think about it. A little later in the evening in the small town of Frombork, the place of work and burial place of none other than Nicolaus Copernicus, we decide to follow the Green Velo first further east and then south along the eastern border of Poland, to cross Slovakia and Hungary, then Romania and Bulgaria to Turkey and from there on to South Asia. Currently, Asia is realistically impenetrable for us due to the three-way chain Russia - China - Myanmar - so we have no choice but to hope that one of these three countries will be open to us again in the course of the year. But before this becomes acute for us, there are many other countries and thousands of kilometers ahead of us, which is why positive thoughts and anticipation grab us again the next day. And somehow these changes in plans make up the real adventure! The Green Velo takes us to the border triangle of Poland-Lithuania-Russia, where we spend half a day together with Ramona, a touring cyclist from Germany who is cycling to the Ice Hockey World Championships in Helsinki. At the border triangle we can take a quick look at Russia. But don't touch. And don't even take pictures (of the forest there), because it's also strictly forbidden. That somehow says a lot about the current situation... So after a rest day in the notorious “Suwałki Corridor” we continue south. A "minor detour" from the originally planned route will be necessary, perhaps to Thailand. We'll see…

Through dense forests and wide swamps

At the border triangle we have reached the Podlaskie Voivodeship (podlaskie), which is known for its national parks. As far as Augustów, it often goes through beautiful, dense forests and of course past the well-known Augustów Canal, which connects several lakes, the banks of which can be used very well as a rest area. A highlight behind Goniądz is the "Tsar's Road" (Carska Droga), which leads dozens of kilometers through natural forest, in which even moose can be found (we weren't that lucky though). Until Białystok, the Green Velo shows itself from its best side! In Białystok we look at the celebrations of Constitution Day of May 3, 1791 - one of the oldest modern constitutions in the western world. East of Białystok, the Green Velo took us through terrain that was very interesting both culturally and scenically. Here we drove through the settlement area of ​​the Belarusian minority in Poland, which is noticeable in the villages through the typical wooden houses and numerous orthodox churches (worth seeing: the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Hajnówka, which is designed in modern concrete construction). The contrast with the rest of north-east Poland within a few bike rides was quite surprising (for those interested in history: here is a small part of Poland east of the so-called Curzon line of 1919). Life here takes its regular course, but of course the situation has been tense since the migration crisis last year. The added fear of an escalation of the conflict with Russia does not necessarily make the situation any easier. A Polish cyclist explained to us that the restricted zones set up near the border last year can certainly collide with the course of the Green Velo. Fortunately, the passage through the western part of the Białowieża Primeval Forest, one of the last “real” primeval forests in Europe, was not in the restricted area! The area is home to the world's largest population of european bison, but as with moose, we unfortunately didn't get a chance to catch any of the animals in the wild (the photo below was taken in a wildlife enclosure).

Not along the Bug river, but then out out of the lowlands

Arrived in Mielnik at the river Bug, which is not yet the border river between Poland and Belarus, we were again warned by our host Markus that the restricted area would “get” us on the other side of the river if we followed the Green Velo near the river. So, having now arrived in the Lublin Voivodeship, we had to feel our way further inland on smaller country roads to the south, always checking on the map not to get too close to the Bug. In Małaszewicze we were very kindly welcomed into their home by Grzegorz and his wife Ela, (Warmshowers host), both also enthusiastic cyclists! The conversations with the two were very interesting and insightful. We learned that in eastern Poland cycling is still often seen as a sign of poverty, especially among younger people. This coincides with our observations that in rural areas, even if there is cycling infrastructure, it is hardly used. A fairly clear difference to the Czech Republic, where cyclists were actually quite common in March. Perhaps this will change a little at some point, because the prerequisites for this are there. South of Włodawa we were able to follow the Green Velo again, as the border area with Ukraine is not a restricted area. At Chełm the weather will be really summery for the first time on this trip. We mainly used our stay in the city to relax and given the temperatures, I immediately got a shorter haircut. South of Chełm the landscape was very sprawled: although the population density is actually not particularly high, it felt like about 80 km (50 miles) through a single long village with short breaks. The opposite of that was the beautiful passage through the Roztocze mountain range between Szczebrzeszyn (well, who can pronounce that without stumbling?) and Horyniec-Zdrój: through a wooded, gentle hilly landscape, we progressed quickly on very good paths, a real blessing! And then (on a Sunday) there were actually not that few people on the bike trip. In Horyniec-Zdrój there was a real holiday mood: a folk festival, many excursionists, warm weather, good food - and that was about 60 km (37 miles) away from Lviv, near which rockets had fallen on the morning of the same day. Madness... Through extensive forests we continued near the border to Ukraine to Przemyśl, where the passage through the Carpathians began for us. Along the San River we drove on beautiful roads to Sanok, where we were warmly welcomed by our Warmshowers host Tomasz. And what a delicious soup! The next day, Tomasz accompanied us on the bike for a bit - thank you very much for the hospitality and the valuable tips! Soon we reached the Laborecký Pass, where we reached the Main Carpathian Ridge and the border with Slovakia, ending our time in Poland - 5 weeks, 5 days, 2.300 km / 1.430 miles. It was nice!

A little about Green Velo

The Green Velo is a cycling route running in the north and east of Poland, which, in our opinion, is advertised much more visibly than other cycling routes. The quality of the paths varies greatly (as of spring 2022), which is particularly relevant for loaded bicycles:

Elbląg - Braniewo: initially good forest paths, then often loose sand or bumpy flagstone paths, now and then good roads.

Braniewo - Górowo Iławeckie: easy to drive on, sand paths from time to time, but otherwise beautiful country roads.

Górowo Iławeckie - Bartoszyce: not recommended - often bad to very bad forest and paved paths, the concrete hexagons of the spoke death, the route between these two cities takes a big detour. Other touring cyclists have therefore taken the direct shortcut via the country road, which would certainly have been better for us.

Bartoszyce - Węgorzewo: excellent - either very good country roads or even own paved bike paths.

Węgorzewo - Suwałki: mostly unpaved paths, some of which are easy to drive on, but also consist of loose sand in places.

Suwałki - Białystok: up to Augustów occasionally loose, difficult to drive sand, but then almost exclusively very good roads or own bike paths.

Białystok - Hajnówka: very good section, mostly paved, sand tracks in good condition - one of the most scenic sections!

Hajnówka - Mielnik: asphalted country roads or forest roads that are mostly easy to drive on, but with one notable exception: between Nurczyk and Nurzec-Stacja a “corrugated iron road” made of sand awaited us. Torture for man and material.

Mielnik - Włodawa: Attention: currently (as of May 2022) the main route of the Green Velo in the Lublin province between Gnojno and Włodawa runs almost exclusively through a restricted area that was newly established in 2021 near the border with Belarus! In this area, we therefore had to switch to a self-made route over smaller country roads in the hinterland, since entering the restricted area is forbidden for non-residents.

Włodawa - Horyniec-Zdrój: almost always very easy to drive on and almost always paved! The passage through the Roztocze mountain range between Szczebrzeszyn (it's really called that...) and Horyniec-Zdrój is a cycling highlight!

Horyniec-Zdrój - Przemyśl: very nice section, rarely loose sand, mostly good to very good roads!

From the Green Velo to Slovakia: from Przemyśl, more precisely from Olszany, we always stayed on the banks of the San River (good, quiet roads) and finally left the Green Velo south at Siedliska. From Sanok we followed route R 63 (Zagórz - Morochów - Komańcza - Radoszyce) to the Laborecký Pass (686 m) to the Slovakian border. The roads on the pass have only mild gradients and were only moderately busy on a weekday. The last stretch from Radoszyce to the top of the pass we had the road almost to ourselves.

The Green Velo is consistently signposted, but at some junctions there are no signs that are absolutely necessary, which is why additional navigation with (digital) map material is recommended. On the subject of dogs: In complete contrast to the cycle route on the Baltic Sea coast, there are often free-ranging farm dogs on the Green Velo, which cyclists are hardly or not at all used to and can react accordingly excitedly. This should always be expected when driving through the numerous small villages and farms.

Regarding accommodation: Finding accommodation can be difficult in some parts of the Green Velo, but you can ask to pitch the tent in a garden or yard. Unfortunately, almost all of the campsites are closed almost all year round, which is why they are rather useless for cyclists (we don't quite understand the purpose of Polish campsites - even in Iceland (!) campsites have a longer season...). Ultimately, with a little asking around, it was always possible to find accommodation, because Poland's east is more rural than the western part, but still much more densely populated than Scandinavia, for example. Agrotourism and simple guesthouses/hotels are good and cheap, as is the food! Last but not least, we refer to the Warmshowers community, which is also active in Poland! Unfortunately, wild camping is forbidden in Poland. Some people on the internet claim that the law only exists on paper. However, since the Green Velo often runs close to the border, we met many people in uniform (military, border police, regular police) in the woods. If you want to risk it, it is better to have enough knowledge of Polish to be able to negotiate with the officials. So we didn't even try.