Wednesday, 5 September, 2012  Kaunas, Lithuania to Berlin, Germany (643 miles) Total Trip Miles – 12,405. 12.5 hrs hours riding

Weather Temperature mostly cloudy in the mid 60’s with a mix of sun & clouds with some brief rain showers especially late.

Truly was looking forward to this day since Piotr with HTL-Strefa had met me the evening before and for the first time during this long journery I had no responsibilities to plan the days route…Piotr was going to take the lead on the trip to Warsaw, Poland – the city he currently lives.  The first picture of the day is of Piotr (left) and Marty (right)…as you may recall we met Marty the evening before looking for the hotel and he’s on holiday in the region on his motorcycle…good luck Marty on the rest of your trip!

Riding conditons were excellent and Piotr started the day with more scenic and winding 2 lane roads…by excellent riding conditions I mean the weather and the actual road conditions.  Since I was delayed in Novosibirsk due to mechancical issues, this was to be a short visit to Warsaw unfortunately.  We arrived in Warsaw early afternoon and the plan was to have lunch in the city.  As we were parking our bikes, we were joined by Jarek Moleda who runs operations for HTL-Strefa in my part of the world out of Atlanta – what a truly wonderful surprise to see him – he typically visits the corporate office in Warsaw about 4 times each year and as luck would have it, he was able to join us for lunch.

I have known Jarek for several years and he always comes to visit with a gift…just about every leather good I have has been a gift from him – the wallet and even the business card carrier I currently carry have come smartly embossed with the HTL-Strefa logo.  Lunch was at a cool spot in the city cal the San Antonio and we chose  the patio area since the weather was so nice.  Jarek recommended the tomato seafood soup as a starter – kind of a light marinara sauce flavor with bufferfly shrimp, oysters, calamari and other spices – it’s great to back in the west!  My main course was a stuffed chicken with ham accompanied with potatoes and grilled zucchini…are you kididng me!

After saying our goodbyes, I was off alone to Berlin, Germany on the A2…I must say the section of that highway in Poland is some of the best in the world.  Speed limits are 140 kph or about 90 mph and the surface conditions are excellent.

Arrived in Berlin about 9 pm and stayed in a small boutique hotel recommended by Piotr…The Weinmeister Hotel – a very trendy spot located in the heart of the city.

I am excited about the ride tomorrow to Calais since I’m only a ferry ride across the English Channel to London marking the start of my final leg of Rally Around the World…I can hardly believe this day has now arrived!!

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