Day 88 - Tuesday 30 July - Swinoujscie to Warsaw

Tuesday 30 July

This was the only time in the whole trip that we stayed only one night (apart from the 2 traveling nights, train Chis-Buch and boat Patra-Bari).  I did this because I didn't think Swinoujscie warranted a full day, and both the days before and after were just sitting days.

Today was a train day. We left the bnb at 7:45 for the 15min walk to the station. I checked the departures board, and we settled in. Then D took a photo of the train on the other side of the platform, and I had a bad feeling.

What I saw was the lit-up sign on the carriage behind that lady.  It showed all the details about OUR train, and we were on another one.

 I hurried to the door and asked a local lady who had helped us aboard, who asked the railway person she'd been talking to. NO!! wrong train. I yelled at D down the carriage, and the 3 of us (helpful local included) raced our bags across the platform, and we carriage hopped as the train pulled out. So much for a calm and peaceful exit.  I'm still sure that I read the departure sign properly.
 
So from 8:12 to 6:02 we travelled 660.9km. From Swinoujscie to Szczecin was mostly forest, then more and more wheat fields. So we took photos where we could, many were blurry and have been deleted.  At Poznan we did the in-and-out-change-directions trick we'd done in Breda (Netherlands), but this time we were prepared.  But that meant we were going backwards, so the scenery was gone before we saw it, and photographing was even harder.
  

 

 

 Since Nth Germany, we had been fascinated by the allotments along side the railways.  There were the usual vegie beds, some trees, some flowers, and a little shed for a spade and hoe, now some often have very elaborate huts, with bbqs, and other outdoor equipment, and no vegies.  Some are even 2 storey.  So we did some googling, and found that instead of helping the peasants displaced from their rural roots, they are now highly sought after weekend retreats.

 It rained a bit as we approached Warsaw, and the air-con died, so the conductor was racing up and down opening all the windows she could. We found the bnb, and here we are.

Day 87 - Monday 29 July - Copenhagen to Swinoujscie

Monday 29 July

SWINOUJSCIE?  Where?? You'll find out.

We were up before 5:00, our earliest day, and were at the station at 6:01. We caught a train back into Sweden, but not quite as far as Malmo. We changed at Hyllie, then headed south to the coast at Trelleborg. This is where a roll-on-roll-off ferry crosses the Baltic Sea to Poland, and that's where we were heading.

 Wheat fields in Sweden, and a windmill.

The blurb said be there an hour before departure, but we managed an earlier train than I had planned, and were at the terminal about 7:30 for the 9:30 departure. So we sat around, and it happened eventually.  We were driven in groups of 4 into the bowels of the ferry and we were on our way, with lots of big international trucks, and cars and campervans.

 Our corner

 

 So long Sweden

After that it was pretty boring. The internet was lousy, so all the things I was going to do didn't happen. 

 
We both caught up on sleep, had lunch and at 15:30 reached the Polish seaport of Swinoujscie, which we had never heard of before either. (In fact it is only 2.7km from the German border.)

 A pirate ship came to meet us, on the eastern side of the river

Happy campers on the western side, with the city on the far left.

The ferry terminal and train station are on the eastern side of the river, with a roro ferry to take cars and foot passengers to and from the city on the western side. So I had picked a bnb on the eastern side, and getting there necessitated weaving our way through the line-up of trucks.  It was a room in the home of a couple about our age (she hid and he spoke not much Eng), with a lovely garden, and after settling, we took a ride on the ferry into town.

 Turn around time for our ferry was 2.5hrs.
 
We took a round about way, but eventually found the city central plaza, where there were fountains full of kids, and some notice boards with photos of summer times from years ago.

 Fire hydrant

 

We ate at the distant umbrella cafe, but we had to be inside.

We had pasta dinner which was v slow coming, so were compensated with free cheesecake which was hard to fit in.

  

  One ferry coming as we were filling up.

We then came back to our side of the river, and while walking back I saw a big black wild pig running across the road ahead.  The locals in front of us we just as amazed as we were.

Day 86 - Sunday 29 July - Roskilde

Sunday 29 July

Another thunderstorm rumbled through while we were having breakfast, so we sloshed to the bus stop, and then through the town hall plaza and waited.

An ominous sky, and some trumpeting vikings outside the city hall

 H C Anderson is there too

 It was easing off when the bus left town at 10:30.  Roskilde is about 30km west of Copenhagen, and is home to the largest collection of ancient Viking ship relics in Scandinavia. 5 ship skeletons were found in the local harbour in 1962.  It was discovered that these boats had been scuttled to block access from enemies. They have been preserved, and replicas made, and other boats have been added to the collection. You can go sailing, kids can build 'boats' and dress up, there are craftsmen in workshops demonstrating various ancient skills. Once again, it's a place where you could spend several hours, not just 40mins.

Replicas of a 30m war ship made in Dublin, and a 16m trading ship made in Norway, both originals from C11

 On board the war ship

The woodcutters.

The originals inside the museum

Models were built prior to the making of the replicas.

Paying crew members row out, then hoist the sail for a jaunt around the bay.

Some of the smaller wooden boats donated to the museum

Families making their boats.

Roskilde Cathedral is the burial place of over 30 Danish royalty, so is UNESCO certified. There are lots of big tombs, and 'our Mary' has her mark on the pillar to show how tall she is.  The current queen has her place selected and her casket is being prepared. (Nothing like planning ahead, she is only 78.) (The king died in Feb 2018; he had already chosen to be scattered at sea, and in the castle gardens.)

 

We drove for a bit though farms with traditional buildings and past landscapes with ancient features, such as hills that were middens, and lakes that had been drained for agriculture.

The museum at Lejre was the next stop. When the old farm house burned down about 40yrs ago, it was discovered that the remains of 3 large halls from C7 were underneath.  Another 4 large hall remains have been discovered in the area, and many burial locations.  Archaeology has indicated that there may be some truth in many of the ancient sagas about Danish pre-history.

A model of one of the large halls

Some of the jewelery discovered

Kings and lords often had ship burials, like at Sutton Hoo.  Others who couldn't afford a ship, or didn't have one, were buried within a 'stone ship', an outline made of big stones in a ellipse.
 
Other mass burials of ordinary people were in mounds. and one of these was our final stop.  This tomb, discovered in 1932,  was used for several centuries, with bones and pottery being pushed aside when it got too crowded.  However we found when we got there, that it had been taken over by a group of hippie pagans, who were sitting inside with some strings of Christmas lights and incense, intending to beat drums in the dark. We barged in on them, politely, and I took flash photos, and back in the car park as we were leaving a couple of families turned up. So much for their communicating with the past.

The stone slab the made the ceiling of the entrance passage was very low.  I had no trouble going in, but it was tricky for some of the taller people.

The mound was made first with a circle of tall stones.   Then the ceiling stones were balanced on top, and finally the gaps filled in with smaller stones and birch branches.


It was an interesting day.