First days through Poland are a little appetizer to my bike rambling and a reminder of what I truly love about it.

1. people

Cycling means meeting people. Some encounters are short and casual, others, when I put up my tent in somebody’s garden, longer. It’s an opportunity to collect people’s stories, a moment to get to know each other and a way in which I remember places.

2. smells

From home to work, from a car to a shop the smells disappeared. On the road I can smell lindens in bloom, a forest after the rain and a field of wheat in the sun.

3. Sounds

Instead of a radio I have larks flying over the meadows, cranes calling and storks clattering a lullaby.

4. discovering places

There are lots of unexpected surprises on byways: monasteries, castles, palaces, cemeteries, chapels and old houses. Off the beaten track tourist attractions. And a way to feel that you actually discover something. Like Henri Mouhot in Angkor Vat.

5. suprises

Although each day seems to be like the previous one, at the same time each one is completely different. And there is always something new behind each bend of the road.