Today we were on the train to Krakow – 6 1/2 hours. We battled with the bikes and the train, and ended up stashing them in the corridor outside of the toilet, in front of one of the doors off the train, as there was nowhere else to put them!! It meant that we had to keep leaping up and down and letting people on and off whenever there was a platform on the side of the train where my bike was bungied. The fun really started when someone else turned up with a bike, and proceeded to squeeze it on beside John’s. The Polish passengers seemed to take this all in their stride though, and seemed not to mind clambering over the bikes every time they needed to visit the WC!
The countryside that we passed through was lovely, with vast tracts of pine and birch forests, as well as small villages with a range of agriculture.
Once we arrived in Krakow it was time to use the ‘elbow’ tricks we’d learned off the little old Polish ladies, and we managed to get the bikes off before the people crushed past. The panniers, however, were a different story. We couldn’t get back on to get them off! Luckily a very kind (and strong) lady who had been sharing our compartment lugged all of the panniers out of the window for us, bless her. The random kindness of strangers – never fails to amaze me.
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