Saturday started with us leaving Mińsk Mazowiecki for Sopot. F1 excitement in the background, so our first stop was Factory Annopol – charging on a Polenergia DC charger, because it's cheap and convenient. While we topped up the Tesla to 75%, I watched the sprint from the São Paulo GP. The perfect combo of charging the car and charging up on racing thrills!
With plenty of range we set off on a road that – thanks to the S7 roadworks – felt like a go-kart track at times. Interestingly, just a month ago, when we drove to Sopot for our own wedding, the route looked completely different. Now you could see a lot of construction progress, but the Tesla's soft suspension had its moments. On two of the nastier bumps the mud flaps had a little "encounter" with the road. Well, such are the joys of driving on Polish roads under construction.
Charging on the way – plans vs reality
We planned a short stop at the MOP Lutek rest area – a good GreenWay promotion meant charging would cost just 1.6 PLN per 1 kWh. But since I'd been watching F1 while charging in Annopol, the battery would easily have got us all the way to Sopot. We decided to stop in Ostróda anyway, so we'd have a buffer of about 40-50% for getting around the Tricity freely and a visit to Mandu.
That's where the adventures began. At the MOP Ostróda rest area both chargers were taken, so we drove into town. Not far away there was another GreenWay charger – unfortunately the app refused to cooperate, both on my phone and on J's. Next step? A Biedronka (a Polish supermarket chain) with a PowerDot charger. Although the price was higher (2.40 PLN instead of 2.10 PLN), we decided it wasn't a problem. But as we drove past the rest area on the way to Biedronka, we saw the charger there was now free. This time the RFID card worked, so charging went without a hitch. A quick toilet break and a short, friendly chat with a Passat owner about electric cars – and off we went.
At our destination – cheap and convenient
We reached Sopot without any further adventures. Once there, we discovered a great deal in an underground car park – AC charging at about 1.30 PLN per kWh, though limited to 10 kW. The perfect way to calmly charge the battery after the trip.
The only stressful moment was the GreenWay app failing – it's definitely worth having an RFID card as a backup. Even so, the Tricity turned out to be very EV-friendly – chargers literally at every turn.
Gdańsk, IKEA and another lesson
Towards the end of the week we went to IKEA in Gdańsk. Two chargers were waiting for us there – one on a promotional rate and the other more expensive. Of course the promotional one was taken, so we plugged into the pricier one and went shopping. When we came back, I saw a Tesla driver who couldn't connect to the charger because the cable was too short. Since our car was already topped up, I politely freed up the spot and plugged his Tesla in closer to the socket.
Talking to the driver, I learned that he mainly uses a DKV card, which offers good prices. I used to think their prices were poor, because I'd been adding VAT to the net rates, while… in the DKV app I actually have gross prices set. A calculation error on my side! After checking at the hotel, it turned out the DKV card really does have great prices, especially for AC charging and PowerDot DC. The result? A new card already ordered.
What's next?
We're heading back tomorrow, so I'm planning another post summing up the whole trip, as well as the previous trip to Wrocław. Travelling by Tesla has its challenges, but with every kilometre we learn something new – about routes, chargers and travelling. 😊