Blogs from Lithuania, Europe - page 39

With our eyes firmly set on the coast we rode north from Warsaw with the hope of some beach bumming before heading into the depths of Siberia. On route we passed through Biebrza National Park, a large river delta area, and Poland’s largest national park. Our plans to take the scenic route through the park and spot the elusive black stork (czarny bochin) were foiled when the road we had intended to take was under flood. Nigel attempted to prove to me that it was in fact ride-able, and took his first tumble of the trip, which would have been very entertaining except for the fact that his precious video camera had been submerged, and Cycle Touring TV was nearly no more! A rapid first aid on the camera was performed when the bike had exited ... read more

I last left off in Tallin Estonia. Tallin was great, it is a real carnivores delight. Everything is meat, meat and more mystery meat. Step outside the old town and you start to feel that everything isn't all that super. As our tour guide Lowry put it when asked "it is safe enough around here isn't it?" the answer was No. Despite breaking away from the Soviets in 1991, the Baltic states have been left with a bit of a social issue. Russians are a major portion of the population and a lot of them are still loyal to Russia and dont want to be part of the independent baltic states. So they pass their time by drinking lots of vodka and going around bashing people. Apparently they leave tourists alone in general though. In Latvia, ... read more

Early morning I wake up - around 5:30 - probably because of my less than pleasant sleeping position: as we put the tent up on a slight slope, my head is actually about 10cm lower than my feet, which didn't make for a great night's sleep. Then I realise: it's 6:30! Forgot about the time difference again, I really must change my clock forward. As Hans is up as well, we decide to just get up, pack away our stuff and flee the still mosquito-infested meadow. In the next town on the way, Eliskes, we stop to get some cake for breakfast which we then, along with the obligatory coffee, have for breakfast a little bit further down the road. The following 30km go by fast: a slight wind from the side, good road conditions, and ... read more

The last (half) day in Poland! Apparently, our tent was hidden well enough as nobody found us (or was bothered with us being where we were). As usual, we start the day off with some coffee, where I almost manage to set fire to the forest floor because I spill some cooking spirit. We get on our way towards Lithuania. As if someone was trying to keep us from reaching the border, the headwind picks up and makes cycling a real pain. Traffic is perfect though, not even the Nr. 16 route people warned me of manages to come up with much in the way of traffic. Generally, everything seems like it's asleep. It is Sunday morning after all, and we're in a pretty religious part of Europe. On the other side: Lithuania. A new country ... read more

Another old town, and to be honest by now we’re a little old town fatigued. Sort of like travelling in Asia and grimacing at the thought of seeing another temple, or Tibet and visiting yet another monastery - we’re just hankering for something different. So to be honest we didn’t spend too much time lingering around here. Instead our Lithuanian hosts Danielius and Grazina took us out to the countryside for a taste of something a little different. We took a day trip out to nearby Kernave which is the site of manmade hillforts that date from the Bronze Age until the end of the 14th Century. The Kernave Hillforts are pretty mind boggling due to the fact that the hills were literally manmade. Large quantities of soil were reallocated to form hills; a place of ... read more