Cycling to Kraków for All Saints’ Day and Independence Day | Solo Cycle Touring Across Poland

Cycle Touring from Northern Norway to Azerbaijan – Arctic to Asia 9 (Day 119-133):

The journey from Częstochowa to Katowice and then Kraków is seared into my memory; thousands of candles lit up churchyards dotting the countryside for All Saints’ Day on the 1st of November. The dazzling display of light, visible from miles away, remains one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Halloween in Poland is barely a thing, but the day after is something special.

What is All Saints’ Day? All Saints’ Day in Poland is when people across the country light candles in graveyards and churches to pay respects to saints and religious figures. It’s followed by All Souls’ Day on the 2nd of November, when people do the same thing to commemorate loved ones. I was almost 2 months behind schedule, but I couldn’t care less as I slowly soaked up Poland’s charm, and took the time to extend my stay with a local family in Podlipie for an authentic Catholic All Saints’ Day experience.

I continued through the countryside of Poland to Poland’s cultural capital. My arrival in Kraków gave me a taste of Polish history; it was the 100th Polish Independence Day. Locals gathered in Kraków’s main square in the to celebrate the occasion, painting their faces with Polish colours and waving the Polish flag. Krakow’s city centre came alive, even more so than usual, with Polish soldiers dressed in WWII uniforms, and parading through the streets.
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BACKGROUND:
For the last 1.5 years, I’ve been on a cycle tour from Tromsø in Northern Norway to Baku, Azerbaijan, while interviewing locals along the way for my blog. Cycle touring for beginners like me can be intimidating; I’d ridden a bike 4 times in the previous 10 years before this journey, but I decided to jump in at the deep end and learn about bikepacking and touring while I was on the road. After watching a few videos on “how to cycle tour”, I set off, and covered 11 countries by bike (and took detours to another 2).

Long distance cycle touring alone was always going to be a challenge, but I got used to it after a month, and eventually started to truly appreciate it. I didn’t have much cycling gear or expertise, and I resorted to using an old Trek mountain bike that I got for free, which was frustrating at times, but I found motivation in the locals I met along the way, and the far-flung places I reached off the beaten track.

The adventure by bike introduced me to a new side of travel. I’d never interacted so much with local people and my surroundings, when I’d been abroad or been so exposed to the kindness of strangers. Travelling so slowly as I pedalled made me feel immersed in the countries and cultures I cycled through, and it forced me to stop in some of the more obscure places the world has to offer. All in all, cycling the world shows you a side of some countries that most travellers never get to appreciate.
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