Picture this scenario:
Estonia. It's winter, early December. First snow was the day before but this particular morning slush was all over the ground. Standing on open roads thumbing with subzero temperatures. Ahead, ~300 Km to Riga. It though it was easy...
Scenario part two:
Stuck in Pärnu about to lose hope and either CS there or take the bus back to Tallinn. White truck pulls over and a friendly twenty something driver. He picked me up and drove all the way to Kaunas while sharing tons of stories. He dropped me at the end of Kaunas but before he gave me his number.
Now, fast forward to exactly a year later...
I'm about to leave Lithuania, again. I'm in Vilnius where I'd stayed the previous 5 weeks (you will read about this, I just thought to share this before as it's very important and meaningful to me). I decided to text him as he told me the year before that he goes quite often from Poland to the Baltics. What where the odds for him to reply to my text, maybe not many. But to my surprise he did, he remembered me and I was even more surprise when he tells me that he's going to Kaunas and that he could drive me back to Poland! We agreed where to meet and I set off to Kaunas.
A Lithuanian truck driver was the one that drove me to Kaunas. I tried to explain where I was going. I said Garliava, he said Ok. Wojtek texted me that he was not going to unload that evening but the next morning and asked me if I could somehow get to BLS, the place he was unloading the cargo. Again, explained this to the driver and he left a few hundred meters from the entrance. What came next surprised me: he made a hand gesture meaning that now he was going to turn back and head on to his destination... what?! he didn't need to take me there but still he took me! Ačiu very much kind sir, ačiu.
When I get to where he was, a distribution center, Wojtek welcomes me with a huge smile, we shake hands and hands me a beer as we begin to catch up.
Practically the entire day we are catching up, playing games on his iPad. We reached his home town, Grajewo. He invited me for a meal at his parent's house where I met them. They were a really nice couple and of course, very welcoming. But it was getting dark and I had to go. We said our good-byes and Wojtek took me to a petrol station outside of town where he found a ride to Ostrołęnka... the town I was stuck for a few hours the year prior... going to Warszawa!!! Now I have a new friend to visit when I go back to Poland.
It was almost dark when I left Grajewo. It was pitch dark when I got to Ostrołęnka. The driver spoke the same amount of words in English as I know in Polish. He tried several times to find a ride on the CB radio to WAW but nothing. I saw that he was talking on the phone and suddenly he says "hey, kolega" and gives his handy. I began talking to his daughter. She tells me that he's going to take the trailer to the parking, take the truck to another parking and take me to the bus station where he will pay me the bus to WAW... I couldn't say anything but a huuuge thank you.
Finally I made it to WAW. My friend Agata found a place to stay with Mateusz, a CSer that lives in a squat.
My friends Ania and Antonia are back in Poznań and I tried to reach them but it was impossible. I left WAW late but I managed to get on the motorway. Near Łódź, some guys with a car with Luxembourger number plates drove me to Berlin, where I'm recharging batteries before continuing my journey back home.
Wojtek, thanks for everything man! see you again soon, maybe in Guatemala?
ps. I love everything about Poland
A Lithuanian truck driver was the one that drove me to Kaunas. I tried to explain where I was going. I said Garliava, he said Ok. Wojtek texted me that he was not going to unload that evening but the next morning and asked me if I could somehow get to BLS, the place he was unloading the cargo. Again, explained this to the driver and he left a few hundred meters from the entrance. What came next surprised me: he made a hand gesture meaning that now he was going to turn back and head on to his destination... what?! he didn't need to take me there but still he took me! Ačiu very much kind sir, ačiu.
When I get to where he was, a distribution center, Wojtek welcomes me with a huge smile, we shake hands and hands me a beer as we begin to catch up.
Practically the entire day we are catching up, playing games on his iPad. We reached his home town, Grajewo. He invited me for a meal at his parent's house where I met them. They were a really nice couple and of course, very welcoming. But it was getting dark and I had to go. We said our good-byes and Wojtek took me to a petrol station outside of town where he found a ride to Ostrołęnka... the town I was stuck for a few hours the year prior... going to Warszawa!!! Now I have a new friend to visit when I go back to Poland.
It was almost dark when I left Grajewo. It was pitch dark when I got to Ostrołęnka. The driver spoke the same amount of words in English as I know in Polish. He tried several times to find a ride on the CB radio to WAW but nothing. I saw that he was talking on the phone and suddenly he says "hey, kolega" and gives his handy. I began talking to his daughter. She tells me that he's going to take the trailer to the parking, take the truck to another parking and take me to the bus station where he will pay me the bus to WAW... I couldn't say anything but a huuuge thank you.
Finally I made it to WAW. My friend Agata found a place to stay with Mateusz, a CSer that lives in a squat.
My friends Ania and Antonia are back in Poznań and I tried to reach them but it was impossible. I left WAW late but I managed to get on the motorway. Near Łódź, some guys with a car with Luxembourger number plates drove me to Berlin, where I'm recharging batteries before continuing my journey back home.
Wojtek, thanks for everything man! see you again soon, maybe in Guatemala?
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| 2013 |
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| 2014 |
ps. I love everything about Poland
