There was supposed to be a big balloon festival in Szczecinek - but upon our arrival at the airfield, we see nothing but old planes and an empty beer can rolling around in the wind.
A little disappointed, we have to state that we have either got the date wrong, or it has been cancelled.
At least there aren't any hot air balloons.
We take it as an experience, walk around and look at the old planes that could be in an Indiana Jones movie.
We find a place in a forest where we can set up camp, so Bertil can also come out and sniff around.
Bertil thought it was great to be on tour. He has accepted the car as his new home. We don't have to move the car many meters before he becomes completely electric and has to come along.
In any case, it must not run without him.
On our way around the country, we find many symbols that it is a Catholic country we are driving in. You can see it on the house gables and along the road.
We chance upon a small museum of geology and dinosaurs. There are often many experiences along the roads and we have learned that it pays well to stop to see what it is. So we try our luck.
Everything is written in Polish, so we are a bit lost. But we then find out that the balls are dinosaur eggs and the rest must be up to the imagination.
A deserted forest is always a good place to take a break.
Close to the Czech border in the town of Kletno is the bear cave. It is a huge cave system, with fossils of brown bears, wolves and other mammals. However, the majority are bears.
It sounds very interesting, so we drive there.
Once again we encounter a closed door.
Nice info signs proclaim in Polish and Czech that this project is supported by the EU, to promote tourism... but no text in any Western European language.
They won't open until a few days later, so we'll have to settle for a short walk in the area.
We google a bit to see what other options we have.
Zloty Stok gold mine appears and it even has open.
After all, gold has something to do with trade and value - they must therefore understand that in order to make money - you must be open and have a given product to sell.
We park the car and sign up for a guided tour. We can choose between Polish or Russian guide, so we grab the Polish one.
They have understood the concept of being in the tourism sector, which is food stalls - gold mine for families with children and interesting things for people who don't necessarily speak the language.
Hooray – now we're starting to get onto something real.
Down in the mine, our guide tells the story of life. We smile and look like we understand it all.
Fortunately, she points to some maps, which of course tell about how long the corridors are and how deep we are down under the ground. We admire it all and form our own impression.
After a long trip underground, we are picked up by the mine train and driven out into the daylight again.
We continue through the northern Czech Republic. In fact, only with a quick overnight stay and so on into Germany so that we can get to the trade fair in Bad Kissingen.