Dubna, Smolensk, Brest, Poland and the Czech Republic. Days 1-4 of the trip

On July 14 we had our wedding, and on July 15 we were supposed to leave for Europe in our car. We wanted to get up early, pack, load everything into the car and leave around noon, but at that very time we were only just starting to get ready, so in the end we left at 5 p.m. By 11 p.m. we reached a hotel near Smolensk. I booked it on the way, though I had found it before the trip. Its main advantage was that it stood right on the highway, so we did not have to drive into Smolensk and waste time at the city's traffic lights. We checked in, and then I spent another two hours sorting out our stuff because we had packed everything in a rush and nothing was organized.

On July 16, the second day of the trip, we got up early, had the breakfast included with the room and drove on. At the start of the journey hotel prices were still reasonable. This place with a private shower, toilet and breakfast cost us only 1200 rubles (17 EUR), and it was an actual room, not just a camping spot. That day we crossed all of Belarus, barely stopping anywhere because we still wanted to have time to walk around Brest Fortress in the evening. We got there and parked somewhere at the back, although in fact you can park closer. For that you need to drive through the gate, and there is parking inside the grounds. Here are the coordinates for a free spot: 52.085604, 23.656578. Cars cannot go farther, but from there the fortress is close. The whole area is not that big either, so in an hour you can walk around and still eat at the inexpensive Citadel cafe. The two of us spent only 635 rubles there.

Here is the square in the center of Brest Fortress:

Then we went to check into the Yunost hotel. Its price was pleasant too, around 1200 rubles. There was one shower and one toilet for two rooms, but the other room was empty that night, so in practice we had it all to ourselves.

We also filled the tank properly in Brest because we knew fuel in Poland would be much more expensive than in Belarus and Russia.

The next morning, July 17, we tried to get up early so we could reach the border sooner. We were expecting to spend several hours there. We had also read all kinds of stories about this border crossing and assumed it would not be as easy as the Russia-Finland border. But everything went perfectly: they barely inspected us and we passed through without trouble. The main drawback was just the time. On the Polish side, the officer looked at my passport and asked in surprise, "Have you been to New Zealand?" She also asked whether there were really a lot of sheep there and how work was over there.

The border took us four hours. While waiting in line we spoke to a driver from Belarus who crossed it often for work. He assured us that with our plans we could go to even the strictest border officer, but we still worried about our cereals and instant noodles. He also recommended an inexpensive and tasty cafeteria in Poland called Viking (coordinates 52.038255, 23.187724), 33 km from the border before Biala Podlaska. We stopped there and did not regret it. The only downside was that nobody spoke English or Russian, and the menu was in Polish, so we had to spend quite a while translating everything with Google Translate. Still, we ate well for only 470 rubles, which is cheap for Europe. Jumping ahead a little, on the way back we gladly stopped there again.

We drove on. That day we wanted to cross all of Poland and reach the Czech Republic, but we ran out of time and started looking for a place to stay in Czestochowa, almost by the Polish-Czech border. We found a hotel for 1750 rubles per night, which was acceptable for Europe. Even though we were in Poland, the interior looked very Soviet: high ceilings, linoleum floors and long dark corridors. Our room looked like a hospital ward and even had a sink in it. In the middle of the night, when we were already asleep, a full busload of people, I no longer remember whether they were Czechs or Poles, arrived and started singing songs.

July 18. We got up early and left. All day we wandered along Czech roads. In some places there was construction, in others just traffic, and at one point we even drove into a dead end, so we did not reach the place we had planned and instead checked into a campground for the night. The campground was quite cheap, only 10 EUR. The guy at reception barely understood English and did not understand Russian at all. Somehow we managed, I paid, and we set up the tent. After Norway and New Zealand this campground felt rather uncomfortable. In Norway and New Zealand people are friendly, but here everyone seemed closed off, and the campground itself was poorly arranged: the doors to the toilets and showers either would not close at all or barely worked. Still, you cannot expect much else from a 10 EUR campground.

And then things got more interesting. What happened during the night will be in the next article.