Hi everybody! It’s nice to welcome you (again) to our blog. After two exciting weeks in the Baltic States, we are heading back to Germany. However, only very slowly – because first we are on the road with the #ContiEuropeanRoadshow for two weeks in our eastern neighbor Poland. And I really like it here, too – I’ll tell you that in advance!

Relaxing in Warsaw

The start of our Polish chapter was a bit unsteady, as you can read in post about our stations in Lithuania. After we went to the garage to get the spare part installed, we headed straight for Warsaw. We are happy when we finally reach the hotel. The two weeks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were quite exhausting – I feel the same as everyone else in the Continental crew. So I put my feet up and turned on the TV…

Our first stop in Poland is reserved for Continental employees. We head for  technology park Business Garden outside Warsaw. Look, there is already the black horse on a yellow background. The employees are briefed on the show truck and get to know the five topic worlds on the trailer. Continental’s site here is equipped with the latest technology, so it’s certainly a good place to work. And there’s a gym just around the corner. Perfect for me, I’m happy to take the opportunity to work out!

My place to be: the gym in Warsaw. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

Why are the roads so nice and clear in Poland too?

When I look out of my cab to the left and right, Warsaw seems very modern in general: lots of new high-rises, one glass façade after the other. Overall, however, even in the capital the traffic seems to me to be much less dense than on German highways. A bit of traffic jam during rush hour, okay. But otherwise, it’s really much more relaxed here than here. I can’t shake the feeling that most trucks from Eastern Europe are on the road in Germany. But that’s also logical to a certain extent – after all, Germany is right in the middle of Europe and the EU.

The first customer event in Poland will be at the Autodrom Jastrzab near Radom, 120 kilometers south of Warsaw. Our show truck is part of a course, and tractor units are also available for test drives. Cornering, braking on wet and dry roads, different surfaces – the tracks here are really cool for driver safety training! That’s where you can really check out the good tires from Continental.

Exciting mixture from old an new: Katowice. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

Katowice – a city in transition

From Jastrzab, we continue southwest to Katowice. That’s quite a distance again, a good 200 kilometers. Here we parking our show truck in an industrial estate. It’s an exciting mix: a brand new office building back there, a gray prefabricated building in front of it, and a mining tower with the old, beautiful facades of a colliery directly in front of us. Yes, the carbon age is coming to an end here in Upper Silesia, just as it did in the Ruhr region five years ago.

New companies have settled in the old factory halls: Start-ups, IT companies, service providers. IBM has its Polish headquarters in Katowice. And automatic green packing stations are on every corner here. “One Box” is the name of these terminals… The only thing more eye-catching here is our yellow show trailer, a real eye-catcher!

In the evening I jog through the historic workers’ housing estate Nikiszowiec. The old brick houses are under monument protection and could also stand in Essen, Bochum or Dortmund. There I like the people very much because of their direct way. Is here certainly similar, but I understand too little Polish to find out.

Yummy! When I’m on the road, I also want to try the regional food. Photo: Ronny Nittmann

Next stop on our roadshow: Lubon near Poznan

For dinner I try a typical Polish soup with meat. Delicious! By the way: There is also delicious cake here. But I’m saving that until tomorrow morning to get back up to speed. Then we’ll pack up in Katowice and make our way via Wroclaw to Lubon near Poznan – 370 kilometers. Hope the highways are so nice and clear again….

Until then – see you on the road!
Your Ronny

You would like to know how it went on? Read all about it on my blog post about my second week in Poland.