Same Town, Different Night…

"You have got to get a bigger bike, Wojciech...!!"

Wojciech arrived at my hotel aboard his BMW F800S and a short while later we were riding our bikes through the gathering gloom of Krakow…

I had intended to sit down and write the post detailing my visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, while the experience was still fresh in my mind, but decided against it, accepting Wojciech’s offer for coffee with his family instead…

I was thankful that I was able to spend time with them, rather than sit alone in my room with thoughts of death camps swirling around in my head…

"...like the one I am leaning on...!!"

Zipping through traffic in the dark is not my idea of fun, and crossing tram lines every so often, hardly ever has me laughing out loud, but we made it to his mother-in-laws apartment building, where I met his delightful wife Kasia, and their young son.

Within minutes we were seated in the comfortable sitting room, enjoying a home cooked meal and chatting as if we had known each other for years…

I am continually delighted by the great people I meet, who invite me into their homes and treat me like an old friend… It bolsters my faith in mankind, washes away all the negative thoughts and fears of traveling alone through strange cultures and lesser known parts of the world…

Coffee and good company can be just as heady a mixture as Vodka and Beer...!!

Thoughts of an early night to go with the early start I had planned for the following morning, were banished when Kasia suggested we move on to their apartment a few kilometres away to continue “our visit”…

Luckily the rain was holding off, and the tram lines were not nearly as aggressive as they might have been… It felt strange pulling up next to Wojciech at traffic lights, and being on the same level as him… His F800S is a low slung machine, forcing him to hunch down while riding… He normally towers above me, but astride the Big Fella with my upright riding style, I was for the moment on par with Wojciech…

“I feel so small next you on that bike…!” he said at one of the traffic lights…

“You’ve got to get yourself a bigger bike, Dude…!!” I replied, “A 1200GS would suit you…!!”

Wojciech broke out a packet of biscuits, and guess where they were baked...?? At Darius Oskroba's bakery of course...!!

We arrived at their modern apartment in a quiet area of Krakow, and settled down to chat about our travels… Kasia spoke about their visits to Mexico, and suggested a list of places that I should visit when my journey took me through Central America…

They were just as interested in the Mayan and Aztec cultures as I was, and their description of the pyramids and their locations in the jungles near the Yucatan Peninsula, confirmed what I had always known – this was a place I could not afford to miss…!!

I realized with a start that it was well after 10.00pm, and my hosts had that little thing called “work tomorrow” to think about…

We walked out to the parking area together, where Kasia’s comment about the Big Fella “looking as big as a horse” had me laughing out loud…

Next to Wojciech’s bike, with his panniers sticking out a mile, he did look like a bit of a brute…!!

After the usual hugs and kisses, we said our goodbyes, and Wojciech very kindly escorted me all the way back to my hotel…

It had been another warm and happy few hours with a couple as inviting and hospitable as the many others I had spent time with over the past few months… I was very grateful for the short time we spent together, after the harrowing few hours I had experienced earlier in the day…

Thank you Wojciech and Kasia…!! I hope we meet again, and get the opportunity to ride the lonely and far flung roads together…

Wojciech and Kasia Gapinski of Krakow... Another great couple to add to the list of good friends made on my journey...!!

©GBWT 2010