I have said many times before with regard to our lifestyle, we are not on vacation. As such, we have down days, chore days, lazy days, personal days, sick days, Netflix and chill days and all kinds of other days that do not involve traveling, planning our travel, or being a tourist. Just as when we lived in a sticks and bricks home, there are days we never get out of our pajamas. Okay, that’s just me, but you get the picture. Sometimes these days are planned, but many times they are not. They simply happen and we accept them completely without guilt or remorse.
Welcome to Warsaw.
It is rare for us to be on the go day after day, but who knew we would be so enthralled with the wonderful cities and sites of Poland? Unfortunately, we cannot sustain the energy or even the desire to keep going at such a pace. It’s inevitable that we are going to burn out. After a very long six-hour travel day from Krakow to Warsaw, thanks to slow two-lane highways, the ever-present unmarked detours and an uncooperative GPS, we arrived at our campground completely worn out.
When we drove into our campsite we were surprised to find it was so beautiful, a quiet park-like setting with lots of green grass and shade from tall trees. Best of all, we were the only ones there. The outdoor seating for the campsite restaurant and bar was about 50 feet from our site, and we had every amenity we could possibly want. Camping Wok was spotless and is among the very best places we have stayed in Europe. We had planned to stay for five days, but as soon as we got parked and set up, we decided to stay for nine.
Fortunately, we had allowed for a few down days and for our first foray into town we had booked a Walkative Tour for three days hence.
The tour was fabulous but we didn’t set foot in the city again after that. That’s not to say we didn’t do anything else. Every morning we went for a long walk and usually ended up at the local grocery store to purchase whatever it was we felt we couldn’t live without. In the afternoons we walked a few feet to the outdoor table at the bar where we enjoyed a beer or two. While we were there we experienced a heatwave, so if it was too hot, we would move inside the bar and avail of the air conditioning. We got lots of chores done too, along with some reading (me) and drawing (him).
We got a message from a blog reader informing us that Kevin and Ruth, of Travels with Kevin and Ruth fame, were also in Warsaw so we fired off a message and in short order we had a meetup planned. When they arrived at our campsite we gave them a quick tour and had a nice chat inside Bijou. We then moved the party to the tables outside to enjoy a refreshing beverage. Obviously, with nearly 20 years of fulltiming between us we had a lot to talk about!
As we chatted, a few rigs pulled into the campground, one of which we noticed was driven by a woman who appeared to be traveling alone, except for the company of her adorable Schnauzer, Oskar. Soon enough we met Barbara, a fun and feisty lady from Germany who we came to know over the next few weeks of traveling north. She had a bit of trouble getting her electric to work, so Kevin and Steven went over to take a look. The two of them poked and pulled and prodded Barbara’s rig until Kevin finally realized the 12 volt button was off. It’s always a damn button, isn’t it??! Or a fuse.
We could have talked for days but our need for food finally ended our lovely meeting. Since then, Kevin and Ruth have gone on to finally take possession of their new motorhome, “Max” which they purchased from a dealer in Germany. It’s been fun to follow along as they kit out and learn the ins and outs of their new home. Safe and happy travels to you, guys!
Eventually we prepared to move on, although we really could have stayed put for a month. We had a date with a friend of a friend in Vilnius in Lithuania who was holding our newly issued credit card for us that had been Fedexed from the States, so we had to get going before our current one expired. We were sad to go, but as always, departure day is exciting!
Up Next: The Baltics
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When we travel in our RV for 3 months we also have down days, cleaning days, sewing days, maintenance days and reading days. Our adult son has asked why we don’t have a campfire every night since we are camping. I tell him, we are not camping, we are living in an RV. And, just like at home, we don’t have a bonfire every night!
I would love to stay at that campground, it looks fabulous and a bar that close isn’t bad either! I am enjoying following your travels!
LOL, I know very few fulltimers who do campfires! We were so lucky to be able to stay in this beautiful campground, during non-Covid times they are booked out a year in advance!
Looking forward to The Baltics!
We had a blast in the Baltics! I’ll try not to wait so long to publish a post about our time there!
We’ve really enjoyed reading about your travels in Poland and I think you’ve inspired us so to be our next trip.
Cheers
Lesley and Dave
Poland was a wonderful surprise for us and I highly recommend a visit there! I know it will be different when the tourists return, but it’s so worth the trip! I’m excited you are considering going there! Feel free to ask us any questions you may have!
Beautiful!!
Thank you, Dolores! Always good to hear from you!
I love that my two favorite couples got together in Germany. I follow you both. Have fun and stay safe.
Yeah, how’s that for serendipity? We had a fun time together and hope to meet up again in the winter! Hope you are doing well, Dee, I am keeping up with your situation and hoping the very best outcome for Jim. Please let him know we are thinking of him.
What a pretty place to have chores n chill. How sparse the streets seem….where is everyone!
We are just on the cusp of the return of the hoards of tourists. What a joy it has been to have all these beautiful places to ourselves!
I always look forward to your postings . You do such a wonderful job of writing about you travels and I find myself drawn in just as if I were there . You can make me smile , laugh and some times frown and as in you last posting feel very sad inside as to what man kind is capable of. I also follow Kevin and Ruth along with a lot of other blogs , something I started doing while having my morning coffee years ago . Tell Steven his drawings are stunning , I now see them on face book . So again thanks so much for all your post . Safe travels . Vern
Steven woke me up this morning saying, “you got a comment from Vern.” And what a sweet comment it is, thank you so much. We always say we write this blog for ourselves and that’s mostly true, but it’s nice to know that others find enjoyment in our words and photos. Steven says thanks and is happy you have found his art page on FB! As always, so good to hear from you.
So much walking in such an interesting place. Good for you two. How fun to meet up with Kevin and Ruth.
We are certainly getting our steps in, but the best part is all the things we learn. The guides are professors and folks who really know their stuff! We had a fab time with Kevin and Ruth, wish we had more time with them!
Incredible architecture! I could walk for hours through there!
I wish we’d had the energy to walk more in the city, it’s a fab place!
Ha! Fun to revisit our visit! Thanks for the great photos of us! Hope to see you this winter.
We are going to email you the photos Steven took, so look for those! I am happy to read about your travels. You may not be going far, but you are going places. 🙂
Thanks again for sharing your adventures!
You have been on a reading binge! 🙂 Thank you for taking time to comment, we so appreciate hearing from you!
So lovely to catch up with you again. Love how honest the text is and the photos are always spectacular. And then there is Steven’s art! Bravo to you both.
Hi Maggie good to hear from you! Thank you for your kind comment. Steven has rekindled his passion for drawing and his dedication is really paying off! We hope you and Joel have a wonderful summer and that things are getting more “normal” for you. (What even is normal these days??)
What a lovely spot to land at the end of an exhausting day – and getting to add more days to relax is the best!! Love the peak of the pink tower between the buildings and the reflection of mixed building eras. How fun to meet up with more great peeps! Amazing that even on another continent RVers still connect and become new forever friends. We’ve moved north from your old home area, still enjoying cooler temps but facing fire-closed routes ahead.
I have been watching your progression north to Washington and wondered if you were going to hit some fires. It seems they get more frequent and worse every year! I know you must be so happy to be back on the road! Love to you both!
That is definitely a beautiful campsite! And a great place to relax and catch up on life. In more than seven years of traveling we always found it challenging to have days when we just chilled out. Our tendency was to head out first thing in the morning for adventures and skid back into our campsite just in time for happy hour, lol. But it was fun! Truthfully, I’m feeling a bit anxious now as we prepare for our first trip in more than a year and a half. We’re taking it easy, just heading to North Carolina for a month and staying in one place. Love knowing that you guys are doing so well and thriving in your European adventures.