Fall comes to a close in Poland

My adoptive family. Jerzyck, Karolina, Franek, Kuba and Gucio.  They took care of me through my saddle sore recovery and here is our good-bye selfie.  After two weeks of laying low and letting my body heal, I am ready for the train.  I loaded my bike and gear on two trains connecting to Krakow and met my boys that afternoon at our reserved Air BNB.  It's so good to be back with my family, and due to the care and graciousness of my Warm Showers hosts, my experience away from my family was a true asset to our journey.

Marta (blue shirt on right) is the grandmother of my Warm Showers family in Poland.  She invited me to a typical Polish dinner with other extended family members. After the meal I joined her at a "Hula" workshop.  She takes Flamenco lessons weekly and this was a special event for members of her dance cohort.  On the plates are cooked barley, pickle compote, a meat dish (pork I think) shredded and fried, pale coloured meat balls and cooked buckwheat.  To start was a delicious leek soup - one of three to choose from.  Marta is a soup guru and had made three different soups earlier in the week.  She stored them in jars, ready for this meal.

Sandomierz, Poland.  Sampson, Markos, Tarn and Rick stayed in this town on their journey through eastern Poland following the Green Velo cycle route.

 Sampson navigating a muddy road.  Despite the inconsistent road conditions, the boys followed the Green Velo route for the  majority of their two week cycle to Krakow from Bialystok, Poland.

Brightly coloured bee boxes.  It seems most people in Poland have their own sources of honey, eggs, milk and garden vegetables.  The small stores found in the countryside sometimes don't have these items for sale - maybe because people grow/harvest their own!

Rick and Tarn work on a wheel.  The side wall went out on a tire of the tandem.  Aside from our tents and our dry bags, the majority of gear we are using on this trip has had previous experience.  We knew these tires would need replacement before long.  Rick hitchhiked back to a town and purchased two quality tires, knowing the other on his tandem would likely go too.

The fall is coming to an end.  It's been an incredible one.  Following the colours and the leaves since Finland, we've had our share of warm sunshine as well as our dose of cold and rain.  We now have our 60 day visas for India and flights booked to leave Europe from Budapest on November 13th, heading for Mumbai, India.   Prior to our departure we get to explore Budapest with two sets of friends coming to visit us there:  Timo, Sampson's exchange student friend from Stuttgart, Germany and Jonny, Jackie and Aspen, from our home in Calgary.

Just for fun I thought I'd list a few of our "staples" that we carried with us through Europe.  I'm guessing the list will be quite different for India and Southeast Asia!

longunderwear
toques
water/wind resistant gloves
complete rain suits
soy sauce
hot sauce
salt, pepper and hot pepper grinders
muesli
oatmeal
rice
fruits and vegies (apples, pears, bananas, mandarins, tomatoes, and a cucumber, a head of lettuce)
bread/buns
peanut and raisin mix
chocolate bars
hot chocolate
coffee
cheese, salami
mustard
canned fish
jam and honey