On Friday 19th December I took my EasyJet flight to Schiphol (AMS) airport in Amsterdam to meet Dorota. We would have a nights rest before we set off on our 2,746km roadtrip to Poland and back.

We got to Tychy in Poland around 2100 after 1,157km and an 11 hour drive. The best part of the drive there was driving from perfectly flat roads in Germany to passing through the old border control and entering Poland the other side. Video to follow

I will write about the places we visited in more detail later but here is our itinary below.

20th Dec – Amsterdam to Tychy

21st Dec – Tychy

22nd Dec – Drove to Krakow from Tychy
Stary Rynek (Main Market Square)
Brama Florianska (Florian’s Gate)
Barbakan (Barbican)
Bazylika Mariacka (St. Mary’s Basilica) with Oltarz Wita Stwosza (Altar of Veit Stoss), 2m Wooden People, Trumpeter who know one knows

Sukiennice (Sukiennice Cloth Hall) – Middle age cloth hall
Wieza ratuszowa w Krakowie (Town Hall)
Adam Mickiewicz Monument
Wawel – Hill, Castle, Katedra (Cathedral), Dzwon Zygmunta (The Sigismund Bell), Groby Krolewskie (The Royal Tombs), Private and Royal Apartments, Smok, Vistula River (Wista)
Kazimierz Jewish Ghetto – The biggest in Poland

24th – 26th – Polish Christmas in Tychy
Here are some of the Polish dishes we got to enjoy:
Sledzie w Smietanie (Herring in cream) i ziemniaki (with Potatoes)
Smazony Karp (Fried Carp)
Kapusta z grochem (Cabbage with Peas)
Duszone grzyby (Strangled Mushrooms)
Barszcz z uszkami (Borsch with “earlings”, dumplings stuffed with minced meat)
Pierogi z kapusta i grzybami – dumplings with cabbage and mushroom
Kompot z suszowych owocow – dried fruit compote
kaczka z nadzieniem – stuffed duck (with herbs, spices and chicken liver)
Karczek – Pig Neck
Salatki Warzywne – Vegatable Salads
Kielbasa – Sausage
kurczak w galaretce – jellied chicken
Kapusta z grzybami w ciescie francuskim – cabbage with mushroom in French bread
25th Dec – Ice Skating in Pszczyna
27th Dec – Oswiecim /Auschwitz, Brzezinka / Birkenau – the Museum
My first sample of Zapiekanka (Halved baguette topped with mushrooms and Ketchup)

28th – 29th Dec – Czech Republic
Svoboda Nad Upou, Pec Pod Snezkou

30th Dec – Wroclaw
Panorama Raclawicka
Krasnale (Dwarfs)
PRL
Spiz (http://www.spiz.pl/) (Underground pub built within mini Brewery)
Piwnica Swidnicka (http://www.piwnicaswidnicka.com/ Oldest Pub in Europe)
Jatki
Jas i Malgosia (Two buildings)
Garnizon Church & Tower, today Kosciol Sw. Elzbiety (St. Elisabeth’s Church)
Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island) with Wroclaw Cathedral
University

2nd – 3rd Jan – Berlin
Feeling extremely rough both with flu and after a near crash experience that day we managed to bear the 1 hour queue to go to the top of the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), the view was ok, but nothing as spectactular as the Eiffle Tower.

The next day we decided to take the easy route and paid for a tour bus to take us to the following:
Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie
Kurfürstendamm – The Protestant Kaiser William Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche
Dom Aquaree/Sea-Life
Hotel Berlin
Kulturforum, Kemperplatz
Potsdamer Platz
Judisches Museum (Jewish Museum)
Gendarmenmarkt
Alexanderplatz
Friedrichstrabe/Unter den Linden
Brandenburger Tor/Brandenburg Gate
Berlin Hauptbahnhof/Central Station
Flohmarkt
Schloss/Palace Charlottenburg

4th January – Amsterdam then back to Brighton

More to come…

Driving an oddly balanced Toyota Prius hybrid due to its battery and even with winter tyres on was a drive from hell. Every time i tried to change lane the car would slide sideways or I would lose control of the front of the car.

3 tries later, several Audis passing me and after sitting behind this little car for about 25 minutes travelling at 45 km/hr I decided that I would just go for it. I pull out all good, slide into the next lane, start accelerating and I lose total control of the car. So I decide to move back into the slow lane, where my control of the car is now zero. I’m still rapidly heading towards the car in front, almost sideways, which is now slowing down due to the ice, I can’t steer, I can’t break, all I can see is the flashing red traction control light and of course another car looking like it’s driving straight towards me.

This is where I wish I could show the near miss in bullet time, you know, the rotating panning video shot around the object with time paused. Just as I was about to hit it, the car in front managed to accelerate just enough so that I would miss the car by what seemed 1mm.

Now don’t get me wrong a crash at this speed certainly wasn’t going to kill anyone, but when you have borrowed someone’s, Dorota’s boss, brand new pride and joy with less than 5,000km on the clock, I was scared… shitting myself.

Anyway after this near miss, about 2 minutes later we came across this car spinning in the road about 1km a head of us, another 2km up the road a car wait in the ditch, and for two lucky people. We saw two sets of spiralling skid marks going straight down the road and carry on going. How lucky are you to spin your car on the motorway and a) not hit any other traffic and b) stay on the road!

I HATE driving in the SNOW.