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Published: November 22nd 2004
Winter wonderland
Better snow than in England, I'll say. Sigulda, Latvia.There was a controversial experiment performed in the 70's where one person had to ask questions of a subject and give them electric shocks of increasing voltage (enough to kill) if they got them wrong. The point is that it was a trick: the person getting the shocks was faking it. The real subject of the study was the person giving the supposed potentially fatal punishment, to see if they would conform. This came to mind in Auschwitz, one hour from Kracow. The tour guide was excellent, but he really needed a change of job. He was really troubled with how people could do such evil deeds such as those done by the Nazi extermination camps and was worried about if he would do the same if he was wearing a German uniform at that time. Well, one day of thinking deeply about that was quite enough for me. Auschwitz is a must-see for Poland, but I had some pretty weird and violent dreams that night. Feeling better now, thankyou, and back to viewing Hitler as that funny man who looks like Charlie Chaplin.
After Krakow, I headed to Warsaw for a brief look at the old city (nice) and,
Watch out, Lenin's about!
Graveyard of communism - Grutas Park, Lithuania. of course, a night on the lash. A group of us were taken out by one of the guys who worked at the hostel who happened to be English. He tried to give out the image of Jude Law in Alfie, but tragically ended up as a cross between David Hasselhoff and Harry Hill. I am only saying this 'coz he acted like an arse and stiffed us for pricey cocktails all night. The women in the nightclub we went to were incredibly forward: wasn't sure if they were hookers or we were simply gorgeous. You decide. As we staggered back to the hostel, I realised that the 12 hour train for Vilnius, Lithuania left in 40 minutes.
Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, is very small. We 'did' Vilnius in about an hour an a half. It has a bloody history as I found out at the excellent Grutas Park, Druskininkai. Thousands died in the Gulag in Siberia. More recently, Soviet troops stormed Vilnius in 1991, killing 14 people, but Lithuania got its independence. Grutas park is another Stalin-land with all of the old statues like the one in Hungary, but tons better. Because of the Gulag many thought it
Warning from history
Tracks where the trains stopped after passing through the gates. Auschwitz, Poland. tasteless to open this park but it went ahead, albeit amidst much controversy. The owner had wanted vistors to arrive in a simulated "Gulag train", but was talked out of it. Nightlife-wise, Vilnius has a ropey nightclub with a DJ who plays naff get-up-and-dance tunes. Hmmm, sounds familiar.
Riga, capital of Latvia, is a real party town which made losing my bank card at midnight on Saturday and having to go through the cancellation process a real bastard. Once back on track, I discovered that the pubs/clubs were top stuff. The music was great and the women made your jaw fall off (not with their amusing anecdotes). I think a few British stag nights will wake up to this quite soon.
A bunch of us took a trip from Riga to the small town of Sigulda. The guide book tells you that you can go on a bobsleigh track at 80km/h! What it doesn't tell you is that unless you are training for the olympics, you can only go on the weekend. I hope the writers of the Lonley Planet sleep easily in their beds.... After much cursing and gnashing of teeth we came up with plan B,
Feels like Nottingham
Off my head in Warsaw. which was to jump on a cable car to the other side of the valley and see some caves. The caves were absolute arse but the views of the valley with the forest blanketed with snow were pretty damn spectacular and worth every penny of the two pound return fare.
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anonymous
non-member comment
from Lithuania
Hey Ryan, you've shot really fun pictures in Grutas Park. Don't get too cold in Syberia :) best regards, Giedre (=your company in a bus from Grutas :))