Gryzybowo to Dąbki

Today’s ride on Komoot

I didn’t feel like riding today. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to stay here in Gryzybowo. It’s just a pop-up summer tourist area as far as I can see. There are lots of tourist shops selling the kinds of things people buy on holiday, and the food is pure tourist food – kebabs, pizzas and burgers and desserts.. Heaven help you if you want something Polish and / or healthy.

I guess I was disappointed with the area I rode through to get here. I expected a more natural environment.

So I set off, and nothing I saw for the rest of the day, lifted my mood about this place. The day consisted of following the Eurovelos 10 and 13 which were usually crowded with people around the coastal villages. The villages sold kebabs, pizzas, burgers and desserts as you’d expect. Every single one of them.

For lunch, I went to a Kebab place because I had pizza last night for dinner and didn’t feel like a burger. 😁

Anyway, the first stop was the large town of Kołobrzeg which had a nice lighthouse, so I headed for there. It’s just a bit touristy. On my way into town, I followed some confusing Eurovelo signs and missed a couple, so I spent a fair amount of time by the side of the road looking at my phone. I briefly spoke to two older American guys that I’d see over the next few days, as they were heading in the same direction.

So, I searched for some appetising second breakfast, hopefully from a bakery. The only ones I found specialised in DESSERTS ! Then I looked at the physiques of the people walking around. No need for a salad bar or health food store around here. (Or even a regular bakery).

Second breakfast was an underwhelming coffee and a fantastic raspberry donut. It was sensational but completely full of sugar. Refueled, I set off and dodged tourists for the next half hour.

The path was easy and was either full of people or under a canopy of trees. Later, things would open out a bit, but all in all, it was quite nice.

While munching on my Shawarma plate at lunchtime, I picked a camping ground 40kms away at Dąbki. It was a Eurovelo day today. If the secondary Polish roads hadn’t proven to be so bad, I’d probably opt for a different route to Gdansk, but we’ll see.

I’ve now been in Poland for four or five days, and I’m finding the people a bit cold and stand-off-ish. I suspect that its part of the national character combined with the language barrier and natural shyness. I know no polish so I can’t expect people to interact with me if they can’t speak to me. The Germans were similar, but I could at least speak a bit of their language.

Anyway, I’m at Dąbki, the campground is small but absolutely fine and the lady who runs it is great. I’m all set up and fed, so the rest of tonight will consist of eating, reading and cleaning my teeth.

I’m loving the new tent (Durston X-Mid 2P). Have I mentioned that already? It’s super quick to set up, really spacious has heaps of headroom and I can fit all of my gear inside if necessary – except for the green machine which sits forlornly outside.