Heading North we arrived in Poland. We visited Oświęcim, better known under it’s former name – Auschwitz. This is where 3 main extermination camps used to function, out of which only Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II – Birkenau can be visited today. They host artifacts, photographic evidence and documents relating to the mission carried out there during the second world war.
My old Romanian motorcycle friends informed me there was a track event in Slovakia, near Bratislava, so we decided to extend the trip beyond it’s original destination. Despite the fact I haven’t been racing since 2008, I managed to qualify 11th in the Hobby Racer class after the first day. The second day, during the race, I finished 13th.
Racing is, definitely, one of the things I’ve been missing. In the US, amateur racing is very uncommon. The track events are more of a time trial, mostly focused on safety and less on fun.
I’m proud to accomplish two days of racing on the fastest machine I ever maneuvered (Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R, ~180hp) without crashing (as I did before).
In the meantime I updated the video collection page, adding 19 files to the index.
In Viseu de Sus (Maramures County) there is one of the few (or maybe the only) remaining mountain railways with steam traction in Europe. The service began in 1932 for logging and passenger service. Today only the tourist trains are steam powered, all others using diesel fuel.
The trip is almost 22km long and the scenery is green, undisturbed. During the return journey, the last coach partially derailed. The situation was solved without delay, with the aid of another locomotive, a hoist and a pair of wedges.
