Poland

I woke the next morning to slightly overcast skies and a slight drizzle, but more importantly, the sound of heavy machinery. I quickly vacated my ad-hoc squat, heading back up the road towards the correct hitching spot. I walked around for a bit, evaluating the best hitching spot while getting lightly sprinkled on by the overburdened clouds. Soon enough, perhaps after 30 minutes, my patience paid off, and a kind young woman pulled over and offered me a lift to Berlin. As it turns out, she was going to Prenzlaurberg, where I had stayed last year with Sophie's sister. I mentioned having a friend in Pankow, to which she replied that she actually worked in Prenzlaurberg, but also lived in Pankow. What are the odds, eh? Anyway, I was dropped off at a rest-stop without a gas station (my [extremely poor] choice), where I would spent the better part of the day. During my stay there, asking people, flying my sign, etc, I was controlled by the German police. In this case, they were extremely cordial, checking my passport/visa status and reminding me that it is fine to talk with drivers, but I must not walk on the Autobahn (Interstate, again) itself. I thanked them for this, and they dissapeared. Why can't American police act like this?
My luck changed when I flashed my sign to a Polish truck driver, whom gave me the “jump on up” signal, and away I went. I had been flying a sign for Warsaw, though I actually wanted to get to Krakow, assuming that I would be able to get a lift in that direction, and then change lifts as necessary. Well, using his CB radio, my ride got me a lift a bit further than he was actually going, and I ended up at a Polish rest stop with free wifi (but no power!) near Poznan. I picked up some road food, preparing myself for a night out (and thrilled to be finished my cheese and crackers, the only food I had brought from Amsterdam). Between intermittent drops of spittle, a truck stopped with a super-friendly driver. We drove for HOURS, on our way through Lodz (the back way), again attempting to pick up continuation lifts with the CB, unfortunately also unsuccessful. I camped at a rest stop south of Lodz around 1AM.