Extremities

Forget the signs with some place name like Czech Republic or Warsaw or even South or West. Take whatever comes at you. Write the sign "Anywhere" or "I just want away". Ok, they all say that Krakow is fantastic, but when a guy picked me up and after asking where I go, said that he goes to place near the Czech border, to Nysa that is away from main road, then I only said: "oh, it is perfect, lets go there". Also Nysa was beautiful. He said that before the WW2 there were 40 churches in this little town, but Russians thinking that German fort is there (although was many kilometers away), made a hard damage. Now there is only 28 churches if I remember correctly. "Only"! I have never seen such a small place with so many so grand churches and cathedrals. But yes, they say that in medieval times it was the big centre for Catholic church.

Anyway, although guy said that also from there many cars go over the border, it was maybe too peaceful. It was already evening and I still hoped to get to Brno, where David (a doctor whom we met in Kenya) could host me. David said, that he can host me only this one night. Did I regret my choice to get away from the mainstream. No - it is so beautiful around here. In Poland´s side there are wheatfields with cornflowers and swallows flying in deep blue sky. Road and houses already feel to have some Mediterranean influence. And over the border in Czech are mountains (or well, high hills). Finally! I really missed highlands.Everything is so beautiful and peaceful. One couple takes me to border. I step over to the Czech side. Otherwise I wouldn´t even realize it, but on the border I try to go to shop with polish coins still left, and I was sent away. No use of that money here anymore. So I´m finally in a totally new country for me. I have never been in Czech Republic.

I walk a bit. First village called Mikulovice seems almost like dead. But then I hear few men having a conversation in front of the local bar. Next thing I see is a small one wagon train that goes only over the border with about two people in it, and then comes back to here. This is all. I walk and car comes in about every 10 to 20 minutes and they still don´t stop. But even though I think that I again have to camp, then this time it doesn´t bother me. Weather is nice, place is silent and beautiful. Hills covered with forest. But suddenly a microbus comes and stops. There are three men and one women. All looking very bohemian. They are actually from last Polish village, but still, they remind me that in old times these areas were called Bohemia, and in Bohemia you should be the bohemian. They ask if I know djembe, and when I say that yes, I have two djembes at home, then they reveal that they are going to some drum workshop in a school nearby and ask if I want to join them. I hesitate for a moment first, but then the bohemian in me wins: "sure, I probably don´t get to my friend in Brno anyway, so lets go." Drumming is cool and additionally my new friends say that I can sleep this night there. It is nice room filled with exotic stuff and lots of tea. Doh... they call it the tea room. After saying that I´m reggae and world music DJ, they want to keep me. They said: "Why do you want to go to west? There is nothing interesting there. Stay here. We have a festival in the beginning of july. You should be there."

Morning in Jesenik. I walk through the town that seems much smaller at first than it actually is. It continues by the side of the river for a long time. It is quite the same traffic situation as was in the evening. Do I ever get to Brno? Do I have to walk over the mountains? These were the questions in my mind at that point, but I still didn´t have any regrets. Finally one car stops and ride over the hills starts with full throttle. By the road that goes up the hill like a snake and same way down again at the other side, this driver makes a real ralley. He really makes an ideal trajectory for himself in the turns, and in some places when cars come from other direction, it really depends on the masterful driving skill. It isn´t like "Need for Speed" I felt on the speedway before Warsaw, it is like craziest mountain tracks in "Colin McRae Rally" only much more crazier. Road is narrow, trees around and where is no trees, there is deep precipice going down at least 500 meters if not more. And as if this wouldn´t have been extreme enough, there was a gas tank rolling freely from one side to other in the back of a car, one tire that seemed as if it could come off if it gets a nudge strong enough, and driver just talking with me or his son, turning his look from road now and then. I of course didn´t had a seatbelt back there, but I think it wouldn´t had made a difference anyway. If driver would had made any mistake or if simply our luck would had turned us down, then probably we all would have died, whether you have a seatbelt or not. Same way as on a mountain, this guy speeded by the narrow road going through villages. He passed some cars with such surgical precision, that Polish drivers didn´t seem foolhardy at all anymore.

Sadly, rest of the Czech isn´t anything special at all. Hills are behind us, landscape mainly like in Southern Estonia, but more barren, without forests and fields just fallow. Only sad Soviet era reminding Cities and towns giving some diversity. Ok, I didn´t go to Prague, but it doesn´t even draw me so much anymore. When I went through Brno, I didn´t see anything special, if only area where poor gypsies or just gypsie looking Turks lived. Even in city centre I felt bad, as for example when I tried to ask for information, some people just ignored me, others were cold and busy... pretty much just: "Ok, ask away then, but be quick." It seems worse than Estonia. Definitely worse. So I just wanted to get as far away from this city as possible. By random coincidence I was picked up by two cool foreigners. One going to Slavakia and inviting me there (I was thinking about it, but I wanted to continue towards Austria. Another one was Polish Italian. He asked where I´m going and I explained that through Austria, Italy and France to Spain. He said that he is driving straight to Rome and was very exited of such coincidence. "So lets go to Rome?" he asked from me, but this time I didn´t want to take from this possibility. Seeing Austria has for a long time been a great dream for me, and now I wouldn´t see any Vienna, and even seeing mountains in the night, would be mood breaker. I also got a host in Vienna and she seems like someone interesting I should meet, and it anyway would feel wrong to searc a place and then just say that I don´t come after all. No, going to Italy straight feels rushing in any way. Was it Marek, my Warsawan host who said that travelling in Europe is like one day - one country, and this is exactly how it has been for me in last days. I think it is time to slow down a bit and enjoy some Austria.