Day 26: Berlin - Warsaw

Another early start today with a wake up call at 6:00 and on the road by 7:15. Very uneventful trip out of Germany to the border with Poland.

The atmosphere at the border is very different to what I experienced there 5 years ago - Poland has joined the EU, so the border guards are gone and therefore, the passport check. Last time I had to sneak a photo of the border, this time however, I openly took photos. In some respects, this is good, but in others, I feel it is a loss.

Changed our money and headed towards Poznań. The road for the first 70km or so has not changed and is an experience. There are only 2 lanes, one each way, and is extremely busy now. There were many, many trucks heading from Western Europe to Russia. As such, it is difficult to pass. To get around this, the Polish drive at the very edge of the road, opening enough space for someone to overtake in the middle of the road. Of course, you have to be careful as the same space is used by both directions of traffic!

The magic of the run to Poznań has diminished a bit with the westernisation of the country. Every couple of hundred metres are advertising signs for casinos and night clubs. There is also a lot of construction going on and that rustic feel is slowly changing. I don't think it will be long before Poland will be like any other country in the EU.

Part of the old road to Poznań has been replaced with a duel carriage way freeway, which is now tolled. From a country where the people were controlled where they go, to freedom and now to having to pay for that freedom to move, just goes to show how different the EU us.

Got caught up in some major traffic jams after turning off the motorway, so Mustaffa (our driver) took a short cut through a small village. From the looks we were getting from the locals, I don't think they get many buses coming through. Of course the rough cobbled road would not attract too many.

Got into Poznań at 12:10, so missed the 12 o'clock chiming of the town hall clock. The midday chime is the only one where 2 mechanical goats come out of the clock to butt heads.

The story behind the goats is that one night, centuries ago, two goats were making so much noise outside the town hall, the people came out to see what was going on. It was then that the locals found smoke billowing out of the town hall and were able to save it. So in commemoration of the 2 little billy-goats, the clock was built with the 2 goats coming out at 12 midday.

Had a quick bite to eat then explored a bit of the city, looking at all the wonderful medieval style buildings.

Because of the trouble with traffic, we only had an hour for lunch after spending 5 and a half hours on the bus, and with another 5 hours drive ahead of us to Warsaw, I wasn't terribly excited in leaving. At least the bus is cool - it has been quite hot today, with mid to high 20's all day.

The trip to Warsaw took a little longer than expected. We missed the turn off we wanted to take, so had to travel down some old country roads. This was actually quite good as we saw a part of Poland you don't normally get to see.

Finally arrived in Warsaw at 18:15 and after such a long trip, was very glad to get off the bus. The hotel is right in the middle of the city, between the Cultural Palace and the Old town. We were actually only about 30 minutes walk from the Old Town, so after dinner, a number of us took a leisurely 2 hour walk along the streets of Warsaw to view the buildings all lit up for the night.