Countries visited: Ukraine, Poland, Sweden
Cycled mileage in September: 1,684.7km
Cycled mileage per country: 97.9km Ukraine, 1,128.9km Polen, 457.9km Sweden
Total cycled mileage incl. September: 57,447.4km
September mileage not cycled: 172.4km (Ferry)
Days per country: 4d - Ukraine, 20d - Poland, 6d - Sweden
Days cycling: 22d
Technical failures: 2 Punctures
Link to this month's route
We had finished the month of August about 50 kilometres short of Lviv in Ukraine. September started with the same sunny and warm weather that last month had ended with. Even the wind was in our favour and we had bashed out the remaining kilometres to Lviv in no time. It was Sunday and the old town was full of people. We zigzagged through the crowds and eventually found a nice hostel right in the historic centre of town. We dumped our stuff into the room and then we went out and joined the weekend crowds.
The next two days were spent pretty much in the same fashion, doing a bit of sightseeing, enjoying excellent Italian, French and local cuisine and drinking lots of coffee. A saying has it that while most of Ukraine is running on vodka, Lviv is fuelled by coffee. And there were so many coffee places selling excellent brews! The weather stayed sunny for another day but on September 3rd it was pouring down for most of the day. Also the temperatures plummeted to just under 20ºC.
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| Lviv old town |
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| Lychakiv Cemetery in the outskirts of Lviv |
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| PIZZA!!!! |
When we eventually left Lviv the next day it was back to sunny but still rather chilly. We could have easily reached the border crossing to Poland the same day but we didn't have to and we didn't feel like it. Instead we slept in, enjoyed yet another coffee and didn't get going until well after midday. In the last sizeable town before the border we found what was probably the cheapest hotel we ever had in Europe and called it a day.
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| On the way to the Polish border |
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After cycling smooth tarmac for most of the last day the bumpy gravel road from the hotel further on to the border was a surprise. It was only about 30 kilometres to go but they took considerably longer than we had expected. Near the last village before the border we cycled past a military training camp and the sound of explosions formed the soundtrack for our last Ukrainian kilometres. When we finally reached the border we were advised that the crossing was solely for motorised vehicles. We stared at the young guard in utter disbelief and of course he did come up with a solution. A young Ukrainian couple in a car was recruited to adopt us as sort of their extended luggage. We cycled alongside their car through all checkpoints, unconvincingly claiming to be passengers of the car. After not even 45 minutes we were officially back in Poland. A great lesson in how to deal with bureaucracy! From the border we continued to the next town. It was quite a bit off our way but we desperately needed a place where we had good mobile reception. Local German radio station Radio RSG had requested an interview with us and all the way from the border we didn't have mobile reception at all. In town there obviously was cellular network and so we gave the interview sitting in a sunny spot right in the middle of the town square. You can check out the interview here (German only). After the interview we pushed on for another 30 kilometres and eventually called it a day at a cosy pension near our route. We had some great conversation with the lovely owners who kindly invited us for dinner and a couple of beers.
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| Last kilometres in Ukraine |
The next morning we had breakfast together, chatted a bit more and were eventually seen off with two bottles of beer for our lunch break. Thank you very much! For much of the day we were cycling along quiet back roads and through forest. Dotted in between were small villages with the odd wooden church or wooden houses. In the afternoon we cycled through a particularly dense stretch of forest. Usually it would've been a bit early for setting up camp but the place was just so beautiful that we did anyway. During our search for the perfect camping spot we had seen traces of all sorts of game and so we shouldn't have been surprised when the night wasn't as quiet as we had expected. There were noises all around us and at the same time it was pitch black night under the trees. Luckily we were tired enough to no worry too much.
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| Lunch break |
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| Cycling through dense forest |
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| Camping routine |
The next day went by rather uneventfully. For the first kilometres we were still riding through beautiful forest but soon the scenery changed and we found ourselves cycling across rolling hills and endless berry plantations, mostly raspberries and blueberries. In the afternoon we reached a small town, found accommodation and did some shopping. Just when were done with everything the first rain started.
When we woke up the next day it was still raining and it was the same picture after breakfast. It didn't require much convincing to extend our stay. Late in the afternoon the rain eventually stopped and we went out so buy some food – just to find all shops closed. We tend to lose track of weekdays and so we had missed that it was Sunday. Ultimately we found a small shop and managed to sort lunch and dinner.
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| Some more forest... |
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| ...and raspberry plantations |
The next morning it was back to sunny and we got an early start. Again most of the day went by rather uneventfully. There were more endless fields and meadows and that was pretty much it. The most exciting sight along the way was a majestic oak tree. In the afternoon new clouds appeared and just before the rain started we reached Radom.
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| Impressive oak tree |
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| Radom |
We were expecting an easy 70 kilometres-ride from Radom to Łódź the next morning but things didn't go as planned. The first 40 or so kilometres were easy cycling along fairly quiet roads. Then the bike route we had been following ended. We must have looked confused and soon a local approached us and warned us about the road we were about to take. There would be too many trucks to safely cycle it. We reassessed our plans an opted for a road that looked much smaller on our maps. For the first few kilometres it actually was quite okay but soon traffic increased and there was construction work just about everywhere. Cycling felt seriously dangerous and it definitely sucked big time. By the time we reached town we were so fed up we couldn't be bothered to do any sightseeing apart from a quick visit to the next supermarket.
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| Łódź |
The way out of Łódź the next morning was luckily less of a hassle. Not particularly enjoyable but not dangerous either. In fact the next three days just flew by. The route was easy if rather boring. Endless fields in various states of harvesting, rolling hills and small villages, some picturesque, some not so much.
Three days after leaving Łódź we reached Poznań in the late afternoon. We checked in to a hostel and called it a day. Poznań apparently is one of Poland's prime party destinations and as it was Saturday night it remained noisy until the early morning.
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| Impressions from the way to Poznań |
The next morning was crisp and clear with ample sunshine. Most traces of last night's parties had disappeared when we went out to explore town. Poznań holds a quite significant place in Polish history. It was the capital of Poland in the early Middle Ages and is even considered the cradle of the Polish state. No surprise there were heaps of historic sights to be explored. The most prominent feature certainly was the Stary Rynek, the Old Market Square with its colourful houses and the central Town Hall. We even saw the famous mechanical goats that butt their heads twelve time at noon every day above the clock on the Town Hall's tower. Equally worthwhile was the river island Ostrów Tumski with the monumental cathedral. In the late afternoon we finished sightseeing and rounded off our day with a cold beer.
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| Old Market Square |
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| Town Hall |
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| The famous mechanical goats |
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| Cathedral |
We had planned to put in big miles the next day but the weather was against us. Temperatures had plummeted over night and there was strong north-westerly wind. For the first kilometres we cycled though forest and the trees sort of sheltered us from the headwind. Downside was the sandy ground that slowed us down constantly. Drained from battling headwind and soft sand we threw in the towel after a mere 40 kilometres. The forecast was for another very windy day and so we decided to wait out the bad weather.
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| Waiting out bad weather |
Eventually the weather improved albeit there was still a notable headwind. It was about 300 kilometres more to the Baltic Sea and it was slow progress. The route was again rather boring, lots of agriculture, very little in terms of towns but at least the traffic was quite okay. It really felt like autumn now. In addition to the unrelenting wind temperatures were rather chilly and there were occasional rain showers. After four rather exhausting days we reached the outskirts of Wolin National Park, a stretch of forest, beach and sand dunes along the Baltic Sea coast just east of the German border.
Over the past few days we had done some soul-searching. Should we continue from Poland into Germany or should we extend our journey a bit longer? The prospect of spending another winter on the road wasn't too tempting. In the end we decided we'd finish our journey on October 16th. We had embarked on this journey on April 16th 2016 so it would be a nice symbolic date. This left us with almost four more weeks. How to use them? We elected for taking a ferry from the Polish port of Świnoujście to Ystad in Sweden. We booked the ferry ticket for September 24th which left us with two more days on the Baltic Sea coast.
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| On our way to the Baltic Sea |
After cycling in grey weather since leaving Poznań the sun finally broke through the next morning. It remained sunny for the rest of the day and also for the day after. We used the great weather to do some short hikes along the coast.
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| Wolin National Park |
Our ferry to Ystad left on 24th in the late evening. The weather was back to cloudy and so we stayed as long in our hotel room as they would possibly let us. In the afternoon we cycled the short way to the resort town Międzyzdroje where we passed a bit more time in a cafe. Just before sunset we continued to the ferry terminal in Świnoujście. We checked in, parked our bikes on the side of the car deck and were then ushered to our cabin. We had chosen the cheapest option, bunk beds in a 4-berth cabin. For the rest off the night we enjoyed the company of two snoring Russians.
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| Cycling to the ferry port in Świnoujście |
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| Aboard the ferry to Ystad |
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We did manage to get a fair bit of sleep, though, and when the ferry arrived in Ystad just before 7am we felt surprisingly fit. There were no customs or immigration checks and it was still dark when we had left the port. We found a bakery where they were serving breakfast - and most importantly - coffee. By the time we had finished our coffee morning had broken and we got going. The weather was rather grey with fog and high humidity. At least the wind was in our favour and we cruised along on some fantastic cycle ways. Just after 3pm we reached Malmö. Per, a Warmshowers-host, had invited us to stay with him for the night. Unfortunately he would only be back from work at 5pm. We used the waiting time to do a bit of sightseeing, visited Saint Peter's Church, the historic castle and strolled around the old town. Eventually we met with Per at his apartment. We chatted a lot about travelling and had some delicious dinner. Still it had been an exhausting day and we went to bed early.
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| Cycling to Malmö |
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| Malmö old town |
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| With our host Per |
The next morning we had breakfast together. We were faffing about like most mornings and Per had to leave for work before we were even remotely ready to pack up. We faffed about for a bit longer and didn't leave before 9.30am. Most Warmshowers-hosts are fairly relaxed about leaving their flat to us which – positively – surprises us again and again. We had been hoping the sun would break through the dense clouds at some point but unfortunately it remained overcast. The wind was in our favour, though, and we made good progress. By early afternoon we reached Helsingborg. The forecast was for heavy rain during the night and throughout the next day. We checked in to a cheap hostel and booked two nights to wait out the bad weather.
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| Riding to Helsingborg |
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| Helsingborg |
The day after was our first proper sunny day in Sweden. The ride along the Kattegattleden cycle route was also absolutely beautiful. Jungle-like forests, rugged coastline and lush green meadows. In the late afternoon new clouds appeared and we called it a day when we reached sort of a resort town on the coast. Most hotels were already closed for the season and the remaining ones had rather affordable low-season rates. Throughout the night there were on-and-off rain showers and we felt lucky not to be out there in our tent.
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| Cycling the Kattegattleden |
The next morning started with a rain shower and low-hanging clouds remained a topic for the rest of the day. There was still southerly wind and so we cruised along with a nice tailwind. The route was also still rather beautiful and despite the adverse weather it was an enjoyable day.
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| Waiting out a rain shower |
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| Grey weather on the way along the coast |
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For a change the next morning started with thick fog. Visibility hardly exceeded 100 metres and it was a bummer to not get to see the landscape really. When we reached Varberg the fog had lifted a bit and at least we got a glimpse of Varberg Fortress. The fog actually gave it sort of a mystical touch. Soon after Varberg the sun broke through and for the rest of the day it was mostly sunny. Unfortunately also the wind changed and we were now battling strong headwind. Still the scenery was absolutely stunning. In the afternoon we reached Kungsbacka. There was another Warmshowers-host waiting for us and again we were too early. We sat down in a cafe, faffed about and eventually it was time to meet with Simon. Together with his girlfriend he lived in a rather unique house in the outskirts of town. Much to our surprise he had built the house all by himself. We chatted for a while and were treated to a delicious dinner. A good way to finish the month of September, the last full calendar month on this journey!
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| Varberg Fortress |
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| Sunshine after Varberg |
