GERMANY, CZECH, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY,

AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE – Part 2

July 17, 2012

It was then time to head north toward but not as far as Warsaw. Continued rolling hills now with small plots of crops including tobacco. Countryside and small towns are clean and tidy. The roads, however, are a different matter. Multiple layers of patches and a never-before-seen-in-our-travels set of perfectly straight ruts in both lanes from the over-weight vehicles on too soft asphalt. Getting in and out of these to pass is like going into hyper-drive on the Star Trek episodes usually to the wide-eyed amazement of oncoming traffic. Made for a long and tiring day at the wheel. The campground we had planned to stay in was closed…sort of…though an open gate let us seen foot high grass, overflowing toilet facilities, and washing machines in the open used by a few gypsies in large caravans. Time to move on. In Kozienice we finally found a sort of campsite with rough cabins with no water or toilets, some ready to fall down, a hotel which the staff preferred you use, and toilets and showers in the hotel. To get power we had to get into one of the cabins and plug in through the window…oh well…whatever works. We were the only camper with very few others in the hotel or cabins though we were kept constant company by bees and bugs of various shapes and sizes.

On Friday, July 13 we left for Wilga, about 50 km south of Warsaw, where I was to meet the Polish Zen group associated with my teacher (He has three centers; the main in northern California where we normally go, the Polish group, and one in Iceland.) My teacher, Kwong-roshi (Roshi is a high level title for a Zen master and he is considered one of the best on North America). Roshi was also there. He had invited me a few months ago to take Jukai in a ceremony where certain vows are taken by the student which are aimed at recognizing past efforts and at the same time aiming for improvement. As part of the ceremony a small bib-like garment is given by the teacher to the student as well as a lineage document going from Buddha to the student. The final piece is a Dharma (Buddhist teachings) name given by the teacher. Jukai is far more than just symbolic; it is a move, a pull, a push forward, a step in the continuing path of practise for a Buddhist. For the last 25 years Zen has been a huge influence and part of my life. I deeply thank all those who have helped me get to this point…you know who you are.

The ceremony was moving, inspirational and involved some with whom I had spent time at the main center in California. To see them again and to have them there beside me was part of the amazement of the day. One of the reasons for me to take Jukai in Poland rather than in California where I would normally have was that I was planning to be near Poland at the time. More importantly this would mean that Dawn could experience it with me. To me that was extremely important.

(As a side note, after a four year effort, some of Roshi’s talks are on the web on Podbean and on iTunes. If anyone is interested please send me an e-mail and I will send you the info on how to find and listen to them.)

The next morning it was already time to head south through Poland and into Slovakia. Slovakia is a beautiful country with rolling hills and the Carpathian Mountains in the south. We had a long day and at the end could not find a campground. Wild camping or on the side of the road was not an option due to the large number of Romas in the area. The local tourist office was no help but dawn had noticed a motel/restaurant nearby. We stopped in and asked the owner if we could part our van there and use the toilets. Absolutely was his answer. We offered to pay. No way he said. Just enjoy. Super nice man. We had just arrived when a couple from Austria in a motorhome stopped in. They stayed as well. In short order we were sitting glass in hand with Bruno and Ingrid, two extremely nice and funny people who looked a dozen years younger than they were!

The next morning we drove up to Spis Castle, just above the town of Spisske Podhradie. The castle dates to 1204, over 800 years ago! Ancient fortresses date back to 500BC. One of the largest in Europe it covers 4 hectares (10 acres). The rolling scenery of farmland and forests is magical enough but add such a castle and it is unbelievable. Amazing what you could do with cheap expendable labour back then! And the celebrations in those days were a big event. Read some of the do’s and don’ts.

After the visit we bee-lined to Hungary where we found many roads to be worse than those in Poland. We had originally planned to visit the town of Eger with an old center. But we have now officially had our fill of another old town center, another church, another city…and so we went straight for the campground and relaxed a bit.

The next morning we made a bee-line to Austria on our way to the French Alps. We needed a mountain fix and we love the Alps. Austria is one of the prettiest places on the planet and one of our favourite countries. Going through western Hungary, our GPS took us smack dab through the center of Budapest. So even though we had not planned to visit the place, we certainly did. We think we spotted John Wayne …or was it Clint Eastwood…on a motorcycle. The guy was a mix of western cowboy and Thunder Dome wannabe. Looked pretty cool though. The eastern part of Austria is gentle rolling terrain with crops. Nearing Salzburg the mountains equal in beauty to the Rockies appear. We didn’t stop in Vienna or Salzburg since we had visited both in 2004 during our second European bike trip. Both cities are incredible.

What tops Austria? Only Switzerland or Heidiland as we call it. Thundering mountains, bright green steep pastures, ringing cowbells, weather-beaten wood buildings, crooked and steep mountain roads on which it is impossible to get even close to the speed limit, crisp air, an independent attitude. It’s all there in Switzerland…and then some.

From a distance it always looks like the Swiss mountains are dotted by large lawns. Closer up you see they are steep fields of tallish grass. It never is let to grown up to the height of hay and is cut with a funky large lawnmower-type machine. The tall grass is let to dry and most often fluffed and later gathered with wooden rakes. We never see many farm animals and so have no idea what it’s used for. Many houses have large historical or cultural paintings on the walls. And many of the villages have old wooden buildings now used as storage, some redone and lived in. They are beautiful and have an earthy feel.

For the third time in six years we crossed a region of Switzerland which is especially beautiful. Crossing two passes high above tree-line on very crooked and narrow roads, the 70 or so kilometers takes over two hours. A narrow vehicle, good brakes and strong nerves are a must.

While in the western side of Switzerland we came onto a roundabout with…two camel statues. Our plan is to go back to Morocco…but maybe we’ll come back to this part of Heideland instead.

In the last ten years we’ve camped all over Europe, in campgrounds ranging from simple fields to posh five star massive places. In that ten years we’ve seen a change. It seems that more and more campgrounds are becoming permanent “homes” for people who with the deteriorating economies cannot afford a house or an apartment. Old beaten-up caravans, scruffy as they may be, are better than living on the streets. These people are becoming the unseen, unappreciated, and forgotten victims of an economic system not made for them. They feel as economic slaves living in “campgrounds” which are fast becoming ghettos.