We head down though all the lovely little towns towards Cesky Krumlov which we had heard was a great place to see. The Czech Republic is a really lovely country scenery wise. We love driving off the highways here as the roads aren’t too bad and the towns are great to drive through. This proved the case when we spotted a large castle in the hills and when I saw the sign for it plus a motorcycle museum we quickly turned off as often we hesitate and miss out. After forking out 150K to park- rogueing buggers- we walked up the hill to the castle, no mean feat for Vicki as the cup of concrete hadn’t worked much but she is one to soldier on. It was a grey day rain holding off but we decided not to pay up to $40aud to look inside so walked around it instead. We came upon an enclosure in the moat where a rare black bear resides. It was really a horrible place and filthy with a water pond that was nearly empty and green. No trees or grass. The pictures near it showed what it was like probably ages ago but nothing like it now. The bear was in his little hideaway and we heard a comment from a guide that she hadn’t seen it move out for weeks. It is so cruel and we were both really sickened. Other tourists were going on how ‘cute’ it all was and we were saying it was disgusting and the castle should be ashamed of themselves. Not sure what they thought of that. Anyway we took photos and am seriously considering sending them to WWF or similar.
I couldn’t wait to leave so headed down to the bike museum. After thinking it was closed we went around to the hotel entrance and a young girl let us in so I had a look around the bikes on my own. This is one of the best Jawa (they are Czech built) collections around and had some really neat bikes including speedway solos and legends of the sport including NZ’s own Barry Briggs & Ivan Mauger. As I had read Barry Briggs Autobiograpy when we had to fly back to NZ in June I found it very interesting. We were chatting to the girl about travelling etc when the owner arrived and of course he wanted to show me around and we chatted about speedway and bikes & NZ & Aussie racing which was a treat. In hindsight I wish I had asked him more questions and learnt more even with his limited English. And we didn’t get charged so bonus there. We had a coffee before taking off to Cesky Krumlov. But I didn’t buy a bikeT shirt he had for sale as they were in red which is not really a colour I wear. Bugger.
We were a little late arriving in town here since we had left Prague a bit late and it is quite a distance to drive, along with the stop. There were a couple of places we could park up which we checked out. Both looked quite dreadful and rundown derelict places so we decided we weren’t staying there. We went out of town a bit to a campsite called Camping Paradijs – and we though yeah right sure it is. It was 6km out of town and on a little river in the middle of nowhere really. When we pulled in, they had the most beautiful gardens and what a lovely place it was. They were entitled to call it what they did.
We chatted to the owner who understood a little English and with a few handsignals we parked in a secluded garden area on our own. The owners are very friendly which makes a nice change from some as you get the impression that they don’t want to help. Again we got great tv reception and we watched NZ play Namibia. Also there is a great retro channel playing music videos. So a few beers and a turkey meal in bed watching tv –heaven after reading a thousand books.
The camp is in a valley surrounded by forests with a river running through and it is indeed paradise. There are heaps of apple trees, raspberry vines and colourful flower beds. We reluctantly drove into the town next morning all packed up in case we do not decide to go back to Camp Paradijse (6 kms to far for us to bike on very busy & hilly roads) and start to explore this quaint and obviously busy tourist stopover. After our obligatory stop at practically the first café we see for a coffee and apple strudel (which reminded us of Holland) we explored another fantastic old town with architecture we just can’t get enough of so old and sometimes derelict but functional and full of charm. Vicki bought a bright orange T shirt and I am still on the lookout for a bike or beer one.
We had to go back to put more $$ in the parking for the van and sometimes you do not know how much to put in as it is a foreign language so better to side on less to start. We quickly made a sandwich on the run then headed back to town this time heading to the castle. We meandered our way through the enclosed walls dodging bloody tourists ( we never cease to be amazed how the guides just stop in the middle of the main thoroughfare to deliver their spiel and stuff everybody else) Again we saw an enclosure with two bears this time that seemed a hell of a lot better off than the lone one from the day before but still very sad and listless but at least these ones had fresh water and a bit of green. I would love to put the powers that be in their place for a week and see what they thought! The view from up here was brilliant and I have some great views to kick-start my art career. I had a quick ale costing a $ and then walked back down. I was keen on visiting the Eggenburg brewery but couldn’t find the map to it so walked around the river (which is a little like a small scale Brisy) only to find it closed for renovation. Duhh! I wanted a refreshing ale but since we had done extra miles for nothing best to be prudent and not. Then we were running out of time and we still hadn’t seen the last bit of the old town but due to the extended walk etc etc had to get back the van. Vicki was feeling pretty low by now so we headed back to camp early doing a shop on the way. I felt a bit bad as there was a bit of crossed wires but it allowed us to get our washing done and relax down by the river so peace was restored. As we reflected we toasted some canoeists floating down the river and thought how lucky are we. The camp lady washed and dried our washing for us which was lovely and the owners sister Maria who looks after the garden let Vicki pick a large bowl of fresh raspberries and didn’t want anything for them. Along with a handful of gooseberries and fallen apples we felt very privileged and it definitely lived up to the title of Camp Paradisje.
As we left at 10.30 which is quite good for us (read Scot) we decided to push on and make a good fist of getting close to Krakow as we had booked in for a day tour of Auschwitz. Our first stop was a small picturesque village called Telc which after parking found the obligatory market square where, even though we wanted coffee but ended up with soup where my Goulash was ok but Vicki’s chicken soup was ordinary. It was a shame as we walked around the square there were some quaint cafes. Just goes to show when will we learn not to go to the first one you see.
On the road again and a long drive today but finally ended up (7pm) at a very clean and quiet camp and we think they didn’t charge correct but we weren’t complaining. The drive was a mix of highways and country roads. It is funny but no matter how much you plan, and the tablet is a crucial navigating device, just when you need direction the most , yes that road is closed off and quickly please find an alternative route before the truck runs us off the road. But again the countryside is so unique and we love not being on the motorway. Luckily the roads are in great order and we cruise through small villages and wonder at the life they lead and what they do. Much too soon we are back on the main road but as it is getting dark , beats cruising, and it is dark as Vicki miraculously finds our stop. The lady speaks English at the camp but not enough to find out where to empty the toilet, so I go and ask and she says ‘I think it is here’. It is dark and raining and we really have to empty it if we want to use it so I empty it into the sink where I figure it is(no signs anywhere) and wonder why it is not going anywhere except on my feet. Then I see the hole in the ground and have a Homer moment. Shit I have emptied it in the fresh water fill up. So I quickly go back to the van and get a paper coffee cup and empty out the sink hoping the toilet paper has dissolved enough. Thank god no one crapped in it and I had to dig out a turd. However next morning all looked ok. Lesson 101 leave this stuff till daylight and thank god men do it and stuff it up.
Some Czech countryside
Disgusting bear compound at the first castle. Shame on them
Buildings coming into Cesky Krumlov. Not a great shot but the buildings in Czech R. are often very colourful like this
It is late Saturday afternoon and we know that the rugby world cup has started today so once we sort the van out; take the bikes out, plug the electricity in, set up the bathroom, set up the tv, take all the stuff off the bed and put in it’s appropriate place; Scot then figures he will see if we can get tv reception so he may be able to see the games. So he turns on the tv, tunes it in and Voila! He gets the start of the South Africa vs Japan game and he is stoked. I am sure everyone would have heard him In Aus and NZ he was so happy (and rightly so after 5 months with none). So we watched that game, or at least Scot did, I watched the first half and then got chatting to the next door GB neighbours and didn’t get to see the last part. That was an amazing game – Japan won which was the hugest upset of all time. Unfortunately the channel we were watching didn’t play the second game. We had a great tea and had an earlyish night so we could get into the city early in the morning. The camp we are staying at is on an island in the middle of the river just a short ferry ride away from the city. We could hear music booming reminiscent of Stockholm and it got louder and louder, it turned out to be a large party boat full of revellers with a disco full on lights and all. And then we were treated to a cool fireworks display.
The next morning we get up and head off to the ferry. It is a very small boat that can take only about 9 people. The last ferry goes at 8.09pm which is a tad too early but if you want to get home the easy way you make sure you are there. Apparently though if there are more people than seats, you get left behind.
So we get off the ferry (and yes we did pay him but wish we hadn’t paid him until he had got us home again – more later) and started walking into the old town. We needed money – Czech krowns, a sim card and a city map, well a better one than we had. We are walking along one street and we come across a Cat Café. So me being me, we had to go in and check it out. They charged one flat rate for the first hour which included as much coffee, tea and bikkies that you wanted and free wifi which was a good deal as it was only aud5 equivalent each. There weren’t enough cats though which means they don’t come near you very much since they are probably already sick of people. Never mind we stayed for a bit and left to get our list sorted. We were actually quite a bit out of the old town but didn’t realise it as all the buildings are amazing. They ornate architecture is just amazing and is everywhere. After a lot of searching we eventually found the avenue where Wenceslas square was and then found an information place. No wonder we weren’t in the right place, where we had been was very quiet and where we arrived at was packed. We found a place for a data sim and money so we were set. After walking a bit we found a lovely quiet island on the river where we could sit and eat our sandwiches. Whilst sitting there a couple came and asked us if we knew where the pink tank was. Huh?? We had no idea so we researched it and as it turns out it isn’t even in Prague. It is a tank from the war that was coloured from green to pink and back again many times – it’s a long story and I won’t go into it here.
We leave the little island garden and then walk up the esplanade and find the most walked over bridge I have ever come across. It is absolutely packed and they are all tourists. Holy crap where did they come from??? Anyway we make our way through them and have a look at the stalls on the side of the bridge as we walk across. At each end of the bridge are great archways – I never got to learn about their history but they are obviously very old and at the far end you can walk up the stairs to the top which we did. Great views over the old town and around the other side of the bridge.
We walked around the other side of town for a bit and eventually decided to go and find a bar that would be playing the All Blacks game that night. We figured that any of the Irish bars would be playing the game so we found one on the other side so got our seats ready. The game kicked off at 5.45pm and we needed it to be finished by 7.30 so we could get the ferry home. A great game was enjoyed with a few other Kiwis that were in Prague. One couple sat with us and they were from Auckland but lived in Sydney. They were travelling around for a couple of months. Not a good idea to get chatting really as when the game ended we finished up our chat with them but by this time it was 7.45. So we had to make a very fast exit. We ran most of the way, but it was a really good couple of kms away. Scot ran ahead of me but when I got there the ferry wasn’t in sight. We were on time – it was only 8.05 and it wasn’t supposed to leave until 8.09, however we figured that being Sunday night the ferryman must have wanted to get home so trusting him was not a good thing. We could see his ferry light on the other side but when it went out we realised he had gone. We had to face the 4+km walk back to the camp in an area I would rather not have walked really. It wasn’t late though so was ok. The island didn’t have any street lights so was very black walking trying to avoid the pot holes on the road.
The next morning we decided we would bike into the town and not worry about the ferry. That way it wouldn’t matter about getting home. We biked along until we came to a part we thought it was ok to leave the bikes. We stopped for our morning coffee at a lovely place on the river. Then we went in search of the John Lennon wall. It was more difficult to find than we thought it would be, but it is a piece of a friary wall that people had started to put up Lennons message of peace etc around the 80’s and the friars kept on painting over the graffiti. But the people persisted until eventually the friars gave up and now there is all sorts of graffiti on the wall, but some of the John Lennon stuff remains. There is a lot of crap there as well now, but does make for a colourful photo.
We spotted a lot of cars that were convertibles that you could hire for touring the city. They were obviously stretch replicas of old looking cars. Although not the real mccoy they were still cool looking cars. A bit too expensive for us though. We decided to buy our lunch today and as per usual we found it difficult to find an appropriate place, but settled on a goulash type soup in a bread bowl. We then walked up the hill opposite the old town to find The Strahov Monastry which was up a huge hill past a whole lot of beautiful buildings and souvenir shops etc. It was quite a walk but the view from the top was great. We didn’t go into the Strahov Library even though it was supposed to be amazing, but it was expensive and you couldn’t actually go in, you could only look from the doorway, so I didn’t see the point. We did go into the monastery and have a look at the paintings and painted ceiling there. Quite cool really. We went to the brewery up at the top and Scot had a beer of course. Then we went back down again and had stopped on the square to have another drink. By this time I was starting to feel chilled and unwell. I just thought is was from having a big day and it cooling down early but how wrong was I. After the drink we decided it was time to find the bikes and bike home before it got too dark. We had remembered our lights though. Prague or Praha as it should be called is quite a big city and the normal 2 days just wasn’t going to cut it. We still had seen hardly any of the old town so we decided we had to spend another day there since all the buildings here are just so beautiful. I had to stop taking photos as there are just too many buildings with amazing architecture. We both just love this city and we can understand why there is a massive amount of tourists here still at this time of the year. It would be amazing to come back when it snows.
The next day I was sick. I had picked up some kind of flu and was horridly achy and I had the start of an inflamed throat which I believe turned out to be strep throat (something I don’t reckon I’ve had for over 20-30 years). So I took my double cup of concrete, many drugs and we put our bikes on the ferry as this was the only way I was going to get anywhere today. We got off the ferry and biked along to the old town. We wanted to find some art supplies for Scot and then there were a few things in the old town we hadn’t yet seen. So we went right up to Wenceslas square this time, found the art supply shop and then found the Astronomical clock that was very widely painted all over. The clock was amazing and on the hour it plays a tune and has a little characters coming in and out above the clock. We got there just before the hour and wondered why there were so many people just standing staring at it. Then we realised it did it’s little ‘thing’ on the hour and then everyone moved on. This must be the most photographed and painted feature in Prague. We did quite a bit of walking, visited a soup kitchen for lunch which was fabulous – 94 krowns 6aud for a plate of soup, a piece of quiche, a glass of juice and a sweet pastry for desert plus all the bread you wanted to have with your soup.
My cup of concrete was wearing off so we decided we had to get home so I could go to bed. It is so difficult being sick on holiday. You can’t not do anything because you know you want to see everything and time is marching on, it really is crappy. We rode back to the ferryman who didn’t leave without us this time – only because we were well before the last ferry.
The next morning, I didn’t feel like going anywhere, but I got myself up, drugs taken, cup of concrete etc. The showers weren’t working – no water – so my wake up shower wasn’t going to happen. My throat today was so swollen I didn’t feel like swallowing anything. I started wondering whether I should see a doctor but really didn’t want to be bothered, although you just never know what kind of germs are hanging around a huge tourist city like this. I had been taking our colloidal silver which I make here to try and kill any bacteria but it seems it wasn’t working enough, so I decided to step up my dose in a huge way and really attack that bacteria. We got ourselves packed up and headed out of Prague down south towards a place called Cesky Krumlov.
Note: Prague was such a full experience that it was impossible for us to remember everything we did especially since we couldn’t get to write about it straight away, but it is a measure of the city that there is so much happening and to see. I took more photos than any other city but it would be ridiculous for me to put them all on the blog, so what you will see is only a handful. If you want to see more – get off your butts and come and see for yourself – it would be one of the best cities in the world for sure!
Arriving in Prague
On the little ferry
The start of the beautiful buildings
Looking towards Wenceslas Square
Karlov Most (Charles Bridge) Started 1357, finished 1402
View down over the city and the convertible cars
One of the many churches
Market square
The old town hall
Astronomical clock
Astronomical clock
The castle is in the background. The Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge
Looking down from the bridge tower
From the bridge tower
Looking over Charles Bridge from the bridge tower
Cool streets
A needed beer
John Lennon wall
A bridge railing completely full of padlocks
Goulash soup
More cool streets – coming down from the Monastry
There were thousands of swans on this river
Great buildings
Coppers couldn’t figure out whether this park was legal or not!
We pack up the van and switch the fridge to battery, of which there is little power left, but we hope there is enough to keep the food cool until we get to a campsite to power up again.
We head out of Vilnius city. A lovely place and was absolutely worth visiting.
We head south to a little village called Paneriai which is where the Nazi’s did most of their killing of the Lithuanian jews plus some Russians and others they wanted to exterminate numbers around the 100,000 but no one really knows exactly how many people died. This village is only about 10kms out of the city centre and when you stop here you can understand why they used this place. It is on the train line, far enough from the city, but in the middle of a large wooded area. We had to park at the train station and walk about 1km to the memorial. There are about 5 pits that they used to kill the people and a pit for burning the bodies when eventually they decided they needed to hide the evidence.
We hadn’t realised but the museum here was closed on a Monday, but that was ok as we could walk around the pits without any other tourists there, it was just us and that made it very real. It had that same eerie feeling where you felt like you had to look behind you just in case you were the next one to go into the pit. Sounds weird, but although I want to see these places as they represent what happened and the history that I am interested in learning about, I feel I want to run away from this place when we arrive. In a forest like this you would normally hear birds or other noises, but this place was silent. There were no birds or other animals and there was no beauty. Fear, horror, terror is what I feel here.
As we head south out of Lithuania, I think of all the little things we observed in the Baltic countries that were different. Cows are not enclosed in paddocks they are chained to spikes in the ground like we do to dogs at picnics, quite funny really. Lithuanians are particularly keen gardeners and you see their little gardens often in a community area away from the houses and then you see them on the side of the roads selling their produce to make a few bucks. Cats rule here, they are everywhere and dogs would be scared. The Baltic cities are all amazing and well worth the trip to see them. Lithuania would be my favourite for countryside. Farming is huge in Lithuania and people try to keep their yards looking nice even if their houses are quite run down on the outside. We think the freedom that people feel here since the occupation finished is very palpable and shows in all that they do. In the whole of the Baltic countries we didn’t experience road rage in a huge way nor that many problematic drivers as we had been lead to believe. We would come back here in a heartbeat.
We drive south over the border into Poland and see similar little plots of peoples gardens they are tending to and it looks like a neat country similar to Lithuania. We know we aren’t going to be able to get too far so we stop in a town called Augustow which is on a lake. We pull into the marina and talk to the guy. We didn’t have any Polish zlotys and we had not known what the exchange rate was so the guy wanted to charge us 60zlotys but he said he would take 25euro. What we didn’t know was the exchange rate between the two currencies meant he charged us double euro which we paid as we didn’t have anything else….bastard taking advantage like that.
Anyway as per normal we were the only ones at the marina staying and they had to give us our own key to the handicapped toilet and shower. Although they told us they had wifi it wouldn’t work for us – so what’s new.
In the morning before we took off I had made the decision that we needed to go into the town and find the information centre and buy a sim for Poland so that at least we could find places to stay – freebies preferably and of course some zlotys. So we biked into the town and what a lovely town it was – the small kind that I really like as they are more personal. We found an ATM, got money and then found a T-Mobile. 5 zloty it cost for a sim for the tablet for 1GB – $2aud, so cheap. We had a bit of a look around and then had a coffee at a lovely café recommended by the information place staff. We biked back to the marina and packed up the van and headed out of town. Driving out confirmed what a lovely place it was – the kind you just want to spend a bit more time having a look around but unfortunately we don’t have the time. Whilst we had been parked in the marina we had looked at the front tyres and they didn’t seem to be wearing well and one front tyre was ridged and worn badly so we determined that once we got to Gdansk we would find a tyre place and replace both front tyres. In Belgium they reckoned we would get another 10-15,000 miles out of them and we had already done 8,000 miles – 13,000 kms so it was worth getting them done.
We hit the road – we had about 390kms of highway to drive before we got to Gdansk so it would be a long drive. We arrived in a little settlement out of Gdansk called Stegna which is right on the beach but also surrounded by forest. The forest goes right up to the beach dunes. The campground was lovely and the owner couldn’t have been more helpful to us. We stayed two nights and we did our washing and went to the beach and Scot had a swim – of course (in the Baltic sea). The beach, unlike Scandinavia was very clean and there were lots of birds and shells showing an abundance of sea life. There were a few people around on the beach sun bathing but no one was swimming as the sea was a bit cold. We had a coffee and then biked into the little town of Stegna which was very small. We got some fresh berries and vowed to come back and get some of the farm veges on our way out. We got the lady of the camp to phone the tyre place 45 minutes drive away to see if they could fit us in the following day on our way out which was fine by them. There were a lot of stray cats at this camp which seemed to get their food from the campers who felt sorry for them. They were quite skittish and didn’t want patting but were happy to receive any scraps we had. Washing finished, bed remade, ironing done (yes I bought a travel iron and I iron my pillow slips and hankies) we had tea and an early night.
We got up quite early and had a walk along the beach which was so nice. This is our last seaside walk for a while as we will be inland for a while. We headed off for the tyre place just outside of Gdansk. When we got out of the van when we pulled up our tyres were pointing outward and I saw the inside of one side and metal threads were all sticking out of the inside of the tyre. I nearly died of fright. Here we were travelling at highway speed for 390kms two days ago and had that tyre blown we would not have survived. My god we have some amazing angel looking over us. The other tyre was just as dreadful. They guy in the tyre place was a bit shocked I think, but they had worn where we couldn’t see them and we had done the right thing by making a decision to replace them when we thought they weren’t that bad. Anyway we sat for about 3 hours whilst they put new tyres on, did an alignment and we also got them to change the oil and filter since it was nearly at 10,000 miles.
It was late when we got back on the road so we didn’t make it very far and stopped for the night at Znin. We went to a campground – empty as usual – but it was such a half star place. The kitchen was out of the 60’s and the showers and toilets were unbelievable, but you deal with what they have and it’s only one night. The surrounds were old and quite run down as well.
The next day we decided we would drive over to Germany and find a camper store and see if they had a van hinge to replace our broken one. I had found a store that looked quite good, so we headed over west to Frandfurt an der Oder. It took most of the day as the roads are quite slow. Poland is a very pretty country with lovely treed countryside and cute villages. A little run down in a lot of places but still a lovely country. We found out that the road rules in Poland aren’t followed too well. On roads with a single lane each way and a small side area for pulling over vehicles are expected to drive in the pull over lane so others can pass when cars are coming towards them. And if the car passing can’t fit in their own lane the vehicle coming towards them has to pull right over in their side lane so all 3 vehicles can fit side by side. We watched as huge trucks would overtake someone not caring if cars were coming the other way or not. Hilarious for us watching, but not so when all of a sudden you are confronted with a truck coming toward you and you are expected to pull over as far as you can out of their way, but that is how they drive and you either play the game or lose! On the highways heading out of Poland there were heaps of young girls in skimpy gear standing on the side of the road either near truck stops or in areas that trucks could pull over. We called them the truck roots on the truck routes. There were heaps of them and I guess because there are literally thousands of trucks that pass each day they are bound to make enough money to live on. You can tell that Europe moves most of it’s products by truck rather than train as there are just so many of them.
We arrived at the German camper shop in the late afternoon and asked about hinges. The guy really wasn’t’ interested in helping us, it was late Friday afternoon and he really couldn’t be bothered with us which was a pity as we had travelled a long way, but they had nothing at all. We left feeling very disappointed.
We then had to find somewhere for the night so we travelled down a bit further south in Germany.
We needed to stop at a supermarket and as we drove through this small town I commented to Scot that it looked very ethnic, quite unlike Germany. We saw a supermarket beside a McDonalds so we pulled into the car park and had a look around us. We realised that in the small wooded area beside this shopping centre there was a group of maybe 40 refugees living there. They were sitting and walking all through the car park and were looking very ominous. In amongst the pristine countryside of Germany these refugees had accumulated the most disgusting pile of rubbish strewn everywhere in the wood (There were rubbish bins not being used). I was horrified. Here these people are wanting to be given a new life in a new country and they treat it with such disrespect and contempt. A lot of the guys had phones, were smoking and drinking and obviously were having McDonalds. If they are so hard done by then how come they can afford these things I ask. For me they deserve everything they get if this is how they are going to treat Europe for trying to help them. I would march along with all the others that have around Europe in protest about them coming into Europe. I think they should send them back, the bunch of complete ungrateful assholes!! 28 European states are looking at housing 120,000 refugees yet this is only 20 days worth of immigrants. Funny enough, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and one other don’t want to help because they have no muslim population. They can only see problems. Several of the countries have already put in border controls and Hungary has built a fence. It is not good and as we get nearer the problem areas we aren’t sure what we will be confronted with. There has been rioting etc, so is definitely a concern for us.
We drove straight out of this carpark after locking our doors and drove onto a camp ground. They were closed for the night and the gate was closed so we camped outside in the car park for the night for free.
Saturday 19 September
We were up the next morning and headed out early before anyone in the camp ground woke up. They couldn’t do anything about us anyway as we had arrived late and it wasn’t our fault we had to stay outside for the night. We were undecided where we should go next and initially decided we would drive towards Krakow. We got on this road that took us into Poland but the surface was so dreadful we thought it would shake the van to pieces. There was no other road to travel on and we went probably 60kms on this horrendous road – see pictures below. We stopped about midday at McDonalds McCafe for a coffee and at that point we decided we wouldn’t go to Krakow – we would go into Czech Republic first and then go back up into Poland after doing this country. Poland is so big we can’t do all of it. So we headed slightly back the way we came and down into the Czech Republic.
It is a lot hillier in this country and for the first time we headed up and down windy hills. It is very pretty countryside here. We had to buy a vignette on the way in. This is a sticker for your windscreen which pays for the road tax/tolls for the period of time you are in the country. We bought one for 10 days. The police are very active here in checking for them and if you get caught without one the fines can be quite severe.
We decided to camp at the marina on a little island in the middle of the river near Prague city or Praha as the Czechs call it. We arrived at the camp about 4pm.
We got up in time to see the events before the marathon took off at 9am. There was the marathon and the half marathon that took off at 9am and there were thousands competing. It was great to be there like we were a part of it. They paraded the flags of all the nationalities taking part and they read out all the countries and there was a NZ flag for Scot – we believe he was the only one from the other side of the world because there wasn’t an Aussie flag. After the marathon started we walked up Gedimino ave for a coffee and when we were finished some of the runners were coming down this part of the course so we started cheering them on. After having competed ourselves, there is nothing nicer than people cheering you on especially if you are feeling like you are struggling, so we did a lot of this but others just stood and stared at the runners.
We went down to the square then to watch the winners come through. The first guy was a Kenyan who ran the marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes – which was 40 minutes faster than the first female over the line and about 10 minutes ahead of the second male, absolutely amazing and he didn’t even look puffed. We went back to the van for a bite for lunch and then went back to watch the start of the 10km run of which there were thousands competing as well. We took back our NZ flag with us and it was quite hilarious because whilst waiting for the 10km race to run there were lots of photographers taking pot shots of the crowd and runners etc. When they saw our flag they started taking photos of us standing at the barrier. Then one of them came over and said are you really from New Zealand or is your flag a Joke. So funny – they really didn’t believe anyone would be there from the other side of the world.
Then Scots run came up – the 4.2km run and again there were thousands running in it which was just great to see. They gave everyone participating a medal at the end which was so cool as a momento. I know Scot could have run more but I didn’t want him to push it as he has had problems with his archilies from running previously and he hasn’t been training. I cheered on from the side line whilst fighting to keep my front line spot on the barrier.
Scot’s feeling during the run – when he started to feel a bit of pain, that his was voluntary whereas the pain of the Lithuanians during the occupation was anything but and this spurred him on. Also thinking that only 5 months ago he had had part of his body removed and how awesome to be able to be participating in something like this.
They gave away free beer ( non alcoholic) at the finish which Scot snavelled a few. Once all the events were completed we went and had dinner out before heading back to the van. We tried to read as it was quite early but our power was nearly dead so it was too difficult. It will be a buggar on the road tomorrow as we will have no power in our batteries to keep the fridge cool and you can’t drive with the gas on. Our loo also is almost full so tomorrow we must find a camp ground.
Vilnius was only 30kms away from Trakai so we arrived there about lunchtime. We parked in a car park that was a few minutes walk to the old town. The car park allowed motorhomes to park for 24hrs at a time but had no facilities. Rob and Sue had told us about it. It was a great place, even though it was quite isolated, no one much came into the car park and it had security cameras all around and the police patrolled the roadway in each night (don’t know why – and they didn’t either when I asked).
We walked into the town and started to walk around some of the tourist sights. We passed a few weddings about to start and one church we went into they were about to start the ceremony so we left feeling like we were intruding a bit. It is obviously a very popular place for weddings and Friday was a popular day. We got harassed by a few beggars – these guys though were funny as they had legs bandaged up and we thought possibly fake makeup on to look like injuries and they often faked bad walking postures for the sympathy effect. They were ok though as they just left when we shook our heads. We sat at the information place to try and get emails, but it’s difficult to sit for very long at these places so after a short time we left. We went to an area called Uzupis which is an arty farty area. We stopped for a drink and a cheese platter at a hotel there – for our wedding anniversary – and they refused to tell us their WIFI code even though they had given it to some others who were sitting close by, so we left. Uzupis has it’s own constitution and rules and pleads to be it’s own republic, not sure how that works though.
We went to find a cat café but it wasn’t there which was a shame as it was a bit out of the old town and we wasted some precious time. We were a bit tired so after we had a walk through the lovely gardens near the cathedral square and a short walk up Gedimino avenue we went back to the van before dark (which is getting earlier every day unfortunately) and Scot cooked dinner.
The next day we walked up to the top of the hill beside the car park where there was a castle and some ruins and got a great view over Vilnius. They have kept a lot of greenery and it makes it look like a very small city indeed. They have a lot of parkland which featured fountains, very pretty flower gardens and wide pathways. We watched in the cathedral square as they were putting up a whole lot of tents and wondered what was happening. We discovered there was a marathon on in Vilnius tomorrow and because of this we made the decision to stay an extra day. I convinced Scot he would be fine to do a short run and how awesome to be involved in something on this side of the world along with something like 20,000 other people, so he went and registered to seal his fate.
We then walked along Gedimino avenue to find a second cat café which we knew was still operating but they hadn’t opened for the morning when we arrived so we went down the road for a coffee. Just as we were crossing the road I spotted the Japanese man we had spoken to in Trakai, so we went up and spoke to him and invited him to have a coffee with us since he was on his own. He thought we were hassling him until he recognised us with surprise but declined as he was heading to the airport to go home.
We headed back to the cat café when it was open. They have 13 cats here but have a licence for 15. They don’t rehome them, this is their full time home and they are simply there for people to come and have a pat of them whilst having a cuppa or a meal. The cats are generally friendly but I felt they just get too much attention and they really wanted to just be left to their own devices. It was cool though. There are many such cafes right around the world particularly in places like Tokyo or New York where it is difficult for people to have their own cats.
We then went in search of the campsite we thought was nearby here because our van was running out of power and we also were close to needing the loo emptied, but we couldn’t find it. We did however find multiple weddings happening. One church we walked past had 3 brides virtually lining up to get married. When one came out of the church, the next one and their guests filed into the church and the next one moved up in line to wait. Even though Scot was dying to tell them it was a great day to get married as it was our Wedding Anniversary but he didn’t. I doubt they would have spoken English anyway.
Next we went into the KGB Museum also called the Museum of Genocide Victims. It was in the actual building that the Nazis and the KGB used when each of them occupied Lithuania. The base of the building has the names engraved of those they know were murdered in this building. They brought people here who were deemed to be collaborators, resistance members, political agitators or those who helped the resistance. Any who had been previously in power when they took over as political figures were considered a threat as well as many others for various reasons – but since when did the Nazi’s or the KGB need reasons?
We wandered around reading about the plight of Lithuania and how dreadful l they were treated from the time of the Russian occupation before and after WWII and during the Nazi occupation. They had various photos along with spiel in each of the rooms and one particularly graphic room had photographs of murdered people as they had lain when killed. Very graphic and quite upsetting. The basement of this building had been used to house the people that either occupier had arrested and in one small cell they could have up to 24 people – really just enough room to sit with cramped legs. From the moment I walked down the stairs I could feel this oppressive energy like I have never felt in my life. They murdered too many people to even mention the numbers here in these cells and you could feel it. I can barely describe what I felt in the cells as we walked along looking, until I walked into one particular one. There was nothing different about this cell compared to others but as I went inside I thought I was going to vomit. The feeling I got was so strong and felt so dreadful, like a huge weight, I had to get out and thankfully there were exercise yards opposite where I could get some fresh air. I don’t know if others can feel the same thing, but as I said I have never felt anything like this, but I guess when you have thousands of people murdered in these confines it must leave some spiritual energy behind. When we went into the torture chamber – I was surprised they didn’t have any torture implements or anything. They were just showing a video re-enacting how some of the murders were done. But like that one other cell, although there was little in this room, I couldn’t handle the feeling and I had to leave. I couldn’t look at the rest of the museum as I felt so sick from the oppressive energy so we left. I would go back to that museum in a heartbeat as it has taught us so much of what happened in this part of the world that we never knew about.
We walked around more of the town and then went back over to Uzupis to look for the other campground where we may park up the next night. The campsite was a shit hole and was fine for the hostel people who were staying there, but not a pleasant place to park the van so we decided we wouldn’t waste our money here, we would have to deal with the lack of power in the van as best we could. The refrigerator was being powered on gas so it was fine, it was just the reading lights we would lose only too soon. We walked back around the town and it was starting to get dark. It was actually nice for a change to be in a city when it was dark and see it in a different light. We felt very comfortable in this city and never once felt threatened. We stopped at an Italian restaurant to have a pizza and beer/wine before heading back to the van. Scot needed his sleep for his big run the next day! As we got back to the car park we could hear a band playing and lots of people walking up the hill to where the 3 crosses were. We asked someone coming down what was going on and they said it was a rock/music festival. The coppers we had asked at the entrance to the street had no idea. We decided we didn’t need to walk all the way to the top and went to bed.
Castle near the car park
Statue outside the main museum
Presedential Palace
Statue of one of the kings
main souvenir street in Vilnius
One of the many churches
Town Hall
Market square near the town square
Church of St Peter and Paul
Church steeples
A pub with a Dunedin name
Bride just going up the stairs
Ausros Vartu street
Old buildings
Arty street in Uzupis
Anniversary drink
Art in Uzupis
Gediminas tower
View over Vilnus
Gediminas Tower
Theatre
On the KGB/Gestapo building
KGB Gestapo building
The names of the murdered on the KGB Gestapo building
We headed out of Siauliai in the morning after a pitch black night at the campsite as it’s sole occupants. We headed for Kaunas where I had a campsite picked out. The weather had turned a little ordinary. We drove via Panevezys and then down to Kaunas. When we arrived at the campsite, you had to enter a paid parking area before you could go into the campground. We drove through the boom gate and then sat and looked at the camp and wondered if we really wanted to stay. The day was miserable and I didn’t feel like seeing a big city and nor did Scot. After half an hour – we made and ate lunch in the car park while we decided that we didn’t want to stay there after all. I had read that Trakai was meant to be the most beautiful spot in Lithuania (We think that is what the American students that we had met in Tallinn had visited and recommended we see) and so we had to get them to open the gate without paying the carpark fee and we took off for Trakai. This little town is about 30kms from Vilnius so it took us another hour or so to reach it.
Trakai is on Lake Galve and is a very pretty area. We found a campsite close to the town – again we were the only ones there – and settled in for the night. A camp ‘cat’ came over to greet us and then proceeded to follow us around the campsite as we explored. The whole camp was deserted and we went and sat on the steps leading from the restaurant down to the lake front where there were numerous sun loungers all sitting unused for the autumn and winter. The restaurant was also closed as well the supposed ‘spa’ with treatments etc. This place would have been stunning in the Russian days and we thought it had seen better days. It was such a shame as It has so much potential. Scot went and got a beer and cider and chips whilst I patted the cat and we sat on the stairs watching out over the lakes happenings. We had 4 hot air balloons go past us and many yachts. We could see Trakai in the distance with the castle standing out quite clearly. It was a beautiful serene view and one we wished we could be part of – particularly sailing in one of the yachts on the lake or Scot has a balloon ride on his bucket list so that would also have been appropriate.
With our anniversary on Friday we came up with the idea that maybe we could stay in a nice hotel on the Thursday night as a treat. So we headed up to the reception area to get wifi access to check out the hotels and guest houses in Trakai. We came across this lovely hotel that said they had massage specials that comprised of 15 minute steam bath, 15minute body scrub, 45 minute massage and 15 minute tea relax at the end. All this was for 40Euro each and they also touted an amazing Turkish bath room we could hire and sit in and relax for an hour or two for 20 euro. We got so excited, an afternoon of pampering followed by a night in a normal bed and room and they had a car park for the van. So the next morning we drove into Trakai and sought out our perfect retreat. We went to park in a local car park when a local called out to us to come park in his yard all day for the same money which we did (he didn’t speak English – this was all done with hand signals which I actually got wrong).
We went into the hotel and suddenly realised that the pictures on the internet were likely about 20+ years old and the place had dated badly and was not what we had expected. They spoke very bad English which I was surprised about since this was the major tourist destination in Lithuania aside from the capital Vilnius. They said the steam room/Turkish bath was booked out and I thought they said the hotel was booked out as well, until another lady came in and we established there was a room available and they could organise someone to do a massage if required. We said we would be back after check in time of 2pm. After some discussion and thought we realised that this seemingly lovely hotel was in very bad shape and if we stayed there we would have been bitterly disappointed and cranky that we wasted so much money so we never went back. It would have been like déjà vu of the dreadful honeymoon resort we stayed at in the Maldives! We decided to walk around the town and check out any other potential places, but one look at the majority of the buildings told us that no one here had any money to spend on anything and it was not the place to get a comfortable hotel room for the night. We stopped at a little traditional cuisine café and had Kibinas (I think this is how it’s spelt) for lunch. They were a little ordinary, but we accepted that they are most likely very nice, but this was a tourist trap and maybe the quality wasn’t quite what it should be. A ginger cat adopted me in the café and I had the pleasure of him sitting on my knee for quite some time. The town is overrun with cats actually. They are everywhere you look. I am guessing that people can’t afford to have their cats fixed so they breed prolifically. We spoke to a Japanese man from New York in the café who was upset about the poor service in the place and we had a brief chat before we paid the bill and headed off.
We went back to the van as I had realised I had underpaid the man for staying in his yard and we wanted to park there for the night so had to check if it was ok. As we arrived back at the van I spotted Sue and Robs Jabiru van over the road (We had met them in Riga – NZ couple) so I headed over to say Hi – what a small world really). They parked up in the next door yard beside us. We then headed over to the castle to have a look as it is really quite a lovely looking building. We didn’t pay to go through though as they were charging too much I thought and we have seen some amazing castles so far. It was very peaceful there and after the castle we took a walk along the lake front where we hadn’t walked before. We came across a lovely restaurant and guest house which were quite new and maybe might have been ok to stay if we had have found it earlier. We sat and had a drink and a cheese platter before heading back towards the castle. We bumped back into Rob and Sue who invited us to join them in their van for an easy tea of chicken and salad. That was really lovely – it isn’t something we get to do very often. As I have mentioned before we are heading in the same general direction so we may even bump into each other again in another country on the way which would be really lovely. Sue and Rob gave us a parking location we can stay in, in Vilnius that is right near the city and is only a few euro a night which is great as the campground in the city actually closed for the winter today.
Friday 11 September
Happy Anniversary my husband whispered in my ear when we woke this morning in our van parked up in someone’s yard in the middle of Trakai – but overlooking the lake so the view was quite lovely to wake up to and was of mist drifting over the top of the water with clear blue skies above.
We had breakfast and said goodbye to Rob and Sue whom we will keep in touch with via email as we both travel south. We gave the man whose yard we were in 5 euro as we hadn’t paid anyone any money so far. He was trying to drain the water that had built up in the middle of his yard due to a clogged drain.
We were off to Vilnius and we figured that if we got there early enough we would have a good deal of time to check out the city for half a day at least.
View over the lake towards Trakai
View over the lake towards Trakai
View over the lake and castle towards Trakai
Friendly puss – loves chips
View over the lake towards Trakai
On the stairs
Cats got the salmon
The resort part of the camp ground looks good from a distance
We get up in the morning and because there is a small amount of wifi in the reception area, I have time to quickly load up a blog before we leave, but that is all. We need to try and get another hinge for our van door so we head into town to find a camping store we are told about by the camping ground manager. It takes us ages to find where the store is as the tablet shows it in a slightly different area and thankfully we find a guy at a hardware store who speaks the smallest amount of English to show us where we need to go. Anyway luck is not with us and we think we will have to head into Germany to find another hinge and have someone put it on as it is riveted and we have no tools.
We head out of Klaipeda back the way we came yesterday because we want to travel to Kaunas via Siauliai where there is an amazing hill of crosses to see. We have overestimated the roads in Lithuania – they aren’t as bad at Latvia at this stage, but they aren’t a lot better either. We head out of Kretinga and across towards Siauliai. We have wasted most of the morning looking for van stuff, so it is getting a little late in the day. We do decide to have a coffee I think – it’s difficult to remember sometimes when you write a few days late what you did. We haven’t had wifi or electricity for 5 days now and today is no different as I write this. We are told here there is wifi, but the bandwidth is so bad it won’t even refresh my maps so not worth doing anything.
Anyway we eventually get to Siauliai and find the Hill of Crosses. It is the most bizarre thing to see – this little hill in the middle of the flat and there are probably hundreds of thousands of crosses – possibly even millions scattered around the area. I am not sure exactly how it started but I know that in the 1980’s the Russians used to bulldoze the crosses out of the way and the civilians would sneak back during the night and start to resurrect them all back up again. Now, although the place is used to commemorate the spirit of the Lithuanian people who were killed by the Nazis and Russians, there are many crosses from people all over the world wanting to remember people they have lost. The crosses all have to be wooden and 99% of them are. There are also lots of rosary beads and Virgin Mary and Jesus statues plus other commemorative religious artefacts people have put there. You can walk amongst the crosses as there are paths winding all through them. It is a very strange feeling being there, quite surreal actually and quite difficult to describe. Scot was awed by the number of crosses that at the beginning just seemed like a hill in front of us, but when you walked amongst it was amazing how many people contributed. Busloads of tourists come out each day from Vilnius to see this and many add to the crosses. Scot would describe it just like a pilgrimage. The only thing I thought a bit funny was the one and only sign that said ‘no flames’. It would take a second for someone to destroy the entire hill with effectively a single match. It would not surprise me if one day this happened – if someone took offense to the site from a different religion. I had to put all the pictures I took in as you just can’t imagine how many crosses there are here, my photos really don’t even show how many there are.
We left the Hill of Crosses and since it was 5pm decided not to continue to Kaunas, but stay in a campsite close by. We found one just outside the town that was deserted and looked like it was closed but as we pulled in a lady appeared carrying a large punnet of raspberries. We paid her some money to stay as well as take the freshly picked punnet of raspberries off her hands. They had a washing machine and dryer so we decided to do the washing and also do a spring clean of the van inside and out. We don’t often get the opportunity to do it so have to when we are able to – as Scot really wanted to sit in the sun and read his book, sometimes this has to take second place to chores. The people here have a large country garden that they seem to share the responsibility for. In the morning one of the older guys was into the garden closest to us digging out the old raspberry bushes. From what we have seen the Lithuanians love their gardens and their soil looks very rich.
The camp in Valmiera didn’t have any outside lights so it was incredibly dark during the night and it felt strange since we were the only ones camping there. They had a couple of ski jumps, both had perished a bit but they were fixing one of them up. The other looked like it was a bit far gone and would take some money to get it back into working condition.
We left after sitting at the office for an hour or so uploading photos via wifi for the blog and doing emails. On our way to Riga we stopped at a café/restaurant on the side of the road and really went in for a coffee, but they had a few things that looked nice in the warmers so we ended up eating a small lunch there with our coffee. We had a vege dish and some fish which in hindsight wasn’t a good idea. The fish was a bit ordinary and I don’t imagine it is easily purchased in this part, but we ate it and didn’t suffer. They had a very cute cat which of course I had a pat of. When we got back on the road we were quite close to the city. The roads were quite bad and then we started to get the dreadful drivers. At one point a car passed us and he only managed to squeeze back in front of us with literally a second or two to spare I thought we were all going to collide. Unfortunately I hadn’t had the video camera running at that point so I missed out on a great video. We had a few doing insane things similar to that, but not quite as insane. I realised what the lady had said about cars not sticking to the lanes as marked as the other side they were trying to get two abreast but there really was only room for one. There were road works and our side was only one lane so we didn’t have a problem with that. We passed our first vans in a few days and they were travelling quite close together and they were all from Netherlands, so we figured they must have all just left Riga – which was confirmed when we got to the campsite. As we hit the ring road of Riga, the traffic seemed to settle and it was just normal city traffic and not what I was expecting at all. We navigated quite well to the camp ground and drove on in.
We parked in one spot but a German lady came running over and asked us to move as they had a group of them coming for a get together and they wanted to park together. So no problem we moved over to the other side where a lady was sitting minding their van space and we pulled in beside them. When I asked her where they were from she said New Zealand and of course we though it funny that we were too. Sue and Rob are the first New Zealanders we have come across since travelling. They are from Auckland and had an Australian van they had bought over with them and were travelling around Europe and heading in the same direction as us. How strange to have parked next to them of all the people in the city camp. This city camp was about 20 mins walk across a bridge into the old town so very close. Sue and Rob kindly gave us a map of the town and told us where the markets were that they were headed off to. Since we had arrived early – about 2.30-3 we also then headed into Riga city to have a look at the markets. It was Friday afternoon so there were lots of people around. The markets were in 4 or 5 huge round rooved buildings joined together as well as a large outside area. They are the largest markets I have ever seen. When we walked into the first building it was the seafood building and you could buy anything there was available from many vendors. A lot of smoked fish, whole fish, huge fillets of salmon, trout, unknown white fish , caviar (massive amounts of it) just so much of it all. No wonder the seas are emptying, Scot reckoned it was all getting sent here, amazing. Then we walked through to halls with fruit and veges, spices, cheeses, smallgoods, bakeries with cakes for 0.35c (we had a couple). Outside were another huge lot of fruit and vege sellers – with copious quantities of berries, grapes, fruit we couldn’t even identify, herbs, you name it. We were quite amazed. When we read up about the market they said it was the largest of it’s kind in Europe and I would believe that. We bought 500g of raspberries for 1.50euro and blueberries, strawberries, some cheeses. Its bad really as we tend to go marginally overboard on what we can fit into the fridge when we see amazing food so cheap like this. Anyway, once we had what we wanted we headed back to the camp. Sue and Rob came and sat with us when we had all got back and spent some time chatting until it got cold. They gave us info on an app for freedom camping. This was their first campsite they had stayed in for a couple of years, so hopefully this app may help us find some free safe spots where we can save some money.
A bunch of guys arrived from Estonia during the night and they were quite noisy drinking and partying until the wee hours. There were quite a few of them and they were staying in two small caravans. Initially I thought they were gypsies since they were crowded in the caravans and were noisy and messy like gypsies generally are, but we realised later on that EuroBasket – a basketball competition was on here in Riga for several days and they were here for that.
We had another chat with Sue and Rob in the morning before they left and we headed into town and we swapped details to keep in touch. It’s a small world so the chances of being in the same place may be quite high as we both travel south through the countries.
We decided to bike over the bridge and then park our bikes up and walk around the old town. It was very late morning so we decided to have a coffee first. Nice to be in a country again that makes good coffee for a very cheap price. 1-1.50euro for a good cup of coffee. The Aussie dollar has dropped 15% since we left Australia, so things are getting more expensive for us as we lose more money the more time goes on, but even so, 2-2.50aud is cheap for a coffee. And great cakes for only about 2.50aud. We walked up through the start of the old town. One thing we have noticed here is that there are police everywhere. They are either parked up watching, or on corners or walking patrolling. Not sure if this is normal or if something is happening as they were doing the same in Estonia. We came across a couple of weddings where the wedding party was having photos with the beautiful buildings in the old town. What awesome photos they would get. We went to take some more cash out, but the ATM didn’t give me any money and I am hoping it didn’t take it out of my account either – am still waiting to check.
There were little pockets of people selling paintings, knitted garments and amber is a very popular item to sell here as well. We saw beautiful buildings with gorgeous architecture and churches and then Scot spied a Kiwi bar. Of course we had to go in. When he told the lady there we were from NZ she said they give a free beer to Kiwis who come in. She gave us both one – a very large one. I don’t drink that much beer but I hadn’t realised she was pouring me one too. We spoke to an Aussie guy who was sitting in the bar with his dog who lived in Riga. His dog – Frankie – was a very cute cocker spaniel. We had another drink – this time mine was a cherry beer – a Kriek – nice. Then an English guy and a Scottish guy came in with a man who was born in Dunedin but lived there in Riga. We got talking to them and then they shouted us a drink (or 5). They were there in the Kiwi bar to watch a rugby game between Ireland and England, but were in Riga for a ‘boys’ weekend. Well you know what happened next, beer, rugby, great people to chat to and before I knew it the afternoon had gone and it was about 6pm. I knew Scot was pretty trashed so thought we had better head away before he got worse. I was way too late, after a couple of falls (and probably a few bruises) trying to get home, we ended pushing our bikes the 2km back to the campsite as Scot couldn’t ride. I won’t say any more, but those who know me well will know how I was feeling – apart from the dreadful migraine I then succumbed to by the time we got home. No food, a few ciders or cherry beers does that to me these days.
Alistair and Quentin whom we met at the Kiwi bar live in England and we hope to catch up with them when we return next year. One of the great things is the lovely people we keep meeting as we travel. My address book has so many more entries and I am loving that at some point we will get to see all these people we have met, once again.
The next morning, up reasonably early as we had a lot to fit into the day we now had left to see Riga. I was feeling a lot more comfortable with this city that had me quite apprehensive and it was great to feel that nothing I had read was justified. I couldn’t see any of the aspects that people had described as being so bad. The ladies in the markets didn’t speak any English, but they were all very accommodating and we managed to convey what we wanted and didn’t receive looks of contempt. The people we had met around the town were all incredibly friendly and helpful and we didn’t get run over on the road, cars were courteous on crossings, and I didn’t even feel unsafe at any stage, even with Scot staggering beside me walking home. I love when feelings change like this so that you do a complete turnaround.
We headed into the city the same way and again parked the bikes up. We had buildings ear marked on the map so we didn’t miss them. All through the town were supporters of the teams that were playing basketball chanting and clapping for their team. We managed to see the Cats house which is opposite the Small Guild and the Great Guild buildings. Everywhere in Riga there are things dedicated to cats. A lot of their souvenirs have cats on them. The black cat is a very popular icon for the city. The story we were told is that the Germans controlled the Guild and when a Latvian man tried to join they wouldn’t let him to join. So the Latvian started up his own Guild over the road from the Germans Guild and the Latvian put two cats on his roof both with their tails up and bums facing the Germans Guild. This being the height of insult to the Germans, after some time they told the Latvian that he could join their Guild if he turned the cats around. The cat has been a symbol of strength in the city ever since. We visited the Blackheads buildings which are iconic in Riga and just have beautiful architecture. We walked around the city looking at as many historic buildings we could. We eventually stopped for lunch at the Wok to Walk – not normally my thing but their food was very fresh and nice. We walked around the back of the old town to where the Russian Orthodox church was and they have the most lovely green strip along the sides of the canal that runs through that part of the city. Beautiful gardens and they had lots happening. There was a big stage set up that they were sound tuning likely for a concert after the basketball that night. We saw the freedom monument and then walked on past the French embassy whose building was beautiful. We then saw the Russian Orthodox cathedral. What amazing architecture – so impressive and this one was very spectacular inside. I really wanted to take photos but they aren’t allowed. The inside of this was up with the best of the churches I have seen.
We then visited the museum of occupation. There wasn’t a lot to see like most museums but it told the story of the years of occupation that Latvia (and Estonia and Lithuania) had to endure. On our side of the world we heard a lot about what happened to the Polish during WWII but we never heard that both the Germans and the Russians killed a lot of people from these Baltic states.
At the beginning of the war Russia had already taken over the Baltic states but then Nazi Germany and Russia had a pact that they would fight the allies. But Nazi Germany betrayed Russia and attacked them taking over the Baltic states during WWII. The people thought that Nazi Germany would look after them better than the Russian and let them become autonomous states, but unfortunately this didn’t happen and a lot got conscripted into the army to fight Russia. Nazi Germany took something like 90,000 Latvians, 12,000 Estonians and 24,000 Lithuanians and exterminated them all – the numbers actually change depending on what you read, but a large amount more than that were killed. Russia and Nazi Germany were still fighting and unfortunately that meant that people ended up fighting their own family at times since some had been recruited into either of the country occupiers.
Once the Germans had been defeated Russia then took back over the Baltic states where they stayed in occupation until 1991 when each of these countries pushed for and were successful in declaring independence away from Russia. Within a couple of years Russia had to remove it’s troops and equipment from these countries.
When you learn what the people in these countries have been through it’s not hard to have immense compassion and respect for them and realise how proud they must be of what they have achieved by being able to embrace modern society.
When we left Riga the roads deteriorated into a dreadful state. It didn’t look like any work had been done other than patch up holes for decades. When thinking about it, I imagine when the Russians withdrew from Latvia they wouldn’t have left any money. So in my mind I am thinking it has probably been something that the Latvian government has not had the money for until now where we see them starting to completely re-do a lot of their roads.
So, after visiting the museum of occupation and having a great history lesson (I am learning so much through travelling), we spoke to a lady who worked there and she said that Russia are still saying that they could have their tanks and army in their country within 48 hours and still think they have the right to do this and the Americans are telling them they can have theirs there within 12 hours. There is obviously still a major threat from Russia in the whole of this area. I guess you only need to see what is happening with Ukraine to know that Russia is still not happy with their existence.
We then continued across to the market to buy some salmon for the next couple of days. We had a drink in one of the cute bars in one of the many market type squares that exist in the city. As we were sitting there we heard chanting and a group of people walking through the streets. Some were carrying placards so I thought it was a demonstration of some kind and Scot thought they were basketball fans. Not sure who was right as we never found out, but there were a lot of them gathered together in one area all chanting some slogan. We stopped past this lovely colourful store that had ornaments that I couldn’t help but take pictures of. We ended up going inside and couldn’t help again but buy a small colourful memento. The German man who designed and made the creations unfortunately died a couple of years ago at a young age of 52. Scot keeps getting inspired by all the beautiful artwork, paintings etc and can’t wait to get to Greece so he can create some himself.
We picked up our bikes and headed back to the camp before dark as even though we do have lights we have never put them on the bikes and forget to take them with us!
Riga is a city full of surprises and is a lovely city to explore. I want to come back here and stay in the city and see Riga at night. Yes I have done a complete about turn and really enjoyed our stay. I am very grateful we didn’t bypass Riga as we would have missed out on a lot of history and a great experience.
Monday 7 September
We get up and get organised to leave. Most people are leaving today – the German van contingent too. So there are only a handful of people left in the camp. We decided to drive out west to the coast through Liepaja and then down to Klaipeda in Lithuania. Sue had warned me that they had been told of road works out on the coast somewhere but she wasn’t sure where. I couldn’t look at the map and get roadwork stuff as the free Wi-Fi at the camp wasn’t working, so we made the decision to still go the same way. Just out of Riga we encountered our first lot of road works – well this lot went for about 48km – get that! They have lights set up, but they aren’t controlled according to how many cars there are and they aren’t triggered by the last car through or anything like that so we sat at each set of lights and turned off the van for about 5 minutes each time. I lost count of the lights we went through – easily could have been 20 or more sets all up. The road surface we had to drive across was the worst roads I have driven on in years. The poor van, we are wondering what may have gotten broken by all the shaking and juddering it encountered. Awful really, we hate having the van subjected to that, but once you are on that road there is nothing you can do but keep driving.
Anyway, we got to Klaipeda and due to not being able to get any wifi to see where the free camping sites were on the app that Sue and Rob told us about we headed to a known campsite on the north side of Klaipeda (an inexpensive one). A group of German campers were already here and they had a little dog I am sure we have already seen in a camp ground we have stayed at recently. There aren’t many travelling around this part of the world so I am sure we have seen them before. Anyway, we will head off earlyish in the morning so we can get to Kaunas tomorrow to have a look around.
At this stage Lithuania’s roads are in better condition than Latvia’s roads so are much easier to get where we are going on time tomorrow.
The disused ski jump at Valmiera
Valmiera camp ground
Amazing fish market
Nice Melons in the fruit market
You need to look up to see the best parts of the buildings
We were up reasonably early for us and left the marina around 10ish after a shower, this time separately as the lady in the office was watching, bugger another 2 euro wasted. After emptying the toilet cassette we navigated through the city and on the road south to Parnu on the coast. It was raining a bit but not too heavy as we threaded through the morning city traffic. As we passed through the outer suburbs we noticed lots of cops on some sort of patrol or sentry duty on intersections and outside buildings. We are still not sure what that was about whether it was normal for a Tuesday morning or a security or refugee issue as there was a major alert out of Hungary where the refugees had shut down the train station trying to get to Germany but through Austria. They now have figures of over 250,000 this year mainly Syrians so a huge problem.
It was pretty quiet on the road except for lots of trucks, no campers or caravans seems they have all gone home or staying in Tallinn. Actually we were the only campervan on the ship from Finland and there were only a handful on Finnish vans in Tallinn – doesn’t seem like many come to these European countries. We stopped at a highway stop for a coffee then drove on to Parnu. It was still raining when we got to the camp (again where would we be without the tablet) and found a nice spot overlooking the river. Not the biggest or prettiest of camps but within a 1km walk to the town and all facilities. We managed to get a couple of loads of washing done but the dryer wouldn’t tumble so pain but got them hot then hung them out in the van. Vicki’s ingenuity came to the fore and we emptied out the cupboard and hung some washing in there and turned on the heater and it acted as a warming area with the sheets hanging off the doors. Very efficient and dry in a couple of hours and also a cosy little van with the sound of rain on the roof. Great wifi here so explored the net, caught up on the sport while Vicki did the more important task of sussing out campsites for the next two countries. Had a nice ready-made salmon fettuccine meal for the 3rd nite but still yummy.
It was only misting light rain when we walked into town the next day and halfway in thought we should have taken the bikes but too late. Like a lot of these places they have an old town for tourists then surrounding modern shopping centres and buildings which are not really for tourists. We had a wander around in the rain then found a lovely warm café for coffee, cappuccino and a tasty cherry tart. The drinks were so nice we had another round and then the place started to fill up with lunch people so we left. By this time the rain was still coming down but a bit harder. So brollies out we walked down to the seaside area through beautiful oak tree lined streets, parks and residential dwellings with the occasional restaurant or café. Obviously this area would be buzzing in summer as it is a very popular with locals and tourists but as the summer has now ended it is quiet especially today with the rain. The beach is a really well laid out area with lots of children’s play areas, volleyball nets, sun loungers, changing booths and even an elephant slide out in the water which would be great for the kids when the tide is in. It looks a very safe beach and was originally established by the Russians in the late 1800’s and they built a larger resort spa and mud baths which they have just reopened. The whole area is surrounded by spectacular parks, rotundas, flower and trellis lined avenues and even today, raining and grey, the beauty is evident. Vicki had to go to the loo so she went to one where a lady looks after it and keeps it clean. It cost 40c and great to help to keep someone in work and small price for cleanliness which we don’t see often. Unfortunately I am a jew and hate paying to go to the loo so a little way along I find a secluded free tree to contribute to nature.
Carrying on we find a large building which is supposed to be Estonia’s largest pub but it is closed for the rest of the year as there would be no custom to make it worthwhile now. We see a poster advertising some show which looks quite cool and when I see another smaller one I feel I have to have it for our future bar. But as I am souveniring it a lady comes along then turns back around walking towards us talking on the phone like she was providing our description and giving me what Vicki said was a filthy look. The little poster was now out of date so surely who cares but maybe they are precious about tourists taking things but who knows. Vicki started getting up me about how we have to be bloody careful in other countries doing something which we know is trivial but not worth the danger (seems to have forgotten the (bigger)poster we ‘acquired’ inside a Helsinki bar) (Actually I wanted to ask if we could have it and Scot just took it…V). Sure enough two minutes later as we are walking through a park to the little café we had spied for lunch we heard sirens and a cop car heading towards the beach. Not sure if it was us related but Vicki still didn’t want to swap rain jackets with me as we slunk further into the park to hide. Hopefully the cops saw the other poster that was left and put it into the too hard basket or hopefully cautioned the lady for wasting police time. But we have heard the police are on the take in this part of the world so any excuse may be attractive. (I was literally shitting myself and felt sick….V)
However we had a nice lunch V fish soup and me a dish of olives, capers, artichokes & oven grilled capsicum with a brioche yum yum. After that we headed back to the old town looking a statues and monuments on the way and walked around the 1400 bastion surrounding it which now has a small marina and walkways. We didn’t feel the need to see any more of the old town so walked in the steady rain back to the camp earlier than we normally do for beer & cider and a warm van. V got to pat and cuddle a camp pussycat that was happy to sit on her knee for a bit making her very happy. Tea is the last of the fettuccine so glad that it is all gone now. A small port and chocolate rounds off the day.
(I continue..V)
When we left Tallinn the outer areas of the city were interesting. A lot of the houses look really old but most were in a very poor state of repair on the outside. It seems as if people are unable to afford the upkeep of the outside of their homes – mostly timber. It is a great shame as even if they are lovely on the inside the outside looks so shabby. Even in the city though I have to say that although a lot of the buildings were very nicely done up, there were those that were in great need to re-rendering and painting. I imagine it is quite costly to do and most here wouldn’t be able to afford the upkeep I am sure. As we hit the rural areas even the bush looked quite unkempt and unloved. There is a lot of rural land that looks like it is unused by anyone and then you come across the standard pine forests. Here, they take off all the lower branches so you can see right through the forest easily – looks funny compared to the forests in Scandinavia.
This morning we left Parnu and were going to head across to Tartu before then heading down into Latvia but decided we weren’t going to go into Tartu since it is the second largest city and what would be the point so we took a lower road across the bottom of Estonia and drove via Valga which is a town divided by the border between Estonia and Latvia which driving through seemed quite strange really.
As we were driving in southern Estonia the countryside changed and became far more organised with farms and where there were houses they were better looked after and had nice gardens and a lot were growing their own veges and flowers which was great to see. The southern area is certainly really lovely and was worth seeing. As we drove through Valga and crossed the border the road deteriorated and the cars became old rundown heaps showing what appears to be less well off people in Latvia. Having said that, the houses and gardens still looked really well kept and tended to. We followed a truck almost all the way from Valga down to Valmiera on a road he didn’t want to go fast on as it was so bad, so we took it easy as well and maintained the slow speed and watched while everyone crazily overtook us both even other trucks. We are in a small campground on the outskirts of Valmiera, Latvia and are the only ones staying here. We didn’t see a Campervan or Caravan all day so feel we are a bit on our own now. It will be interesting to see how many are staying in Riga when we arrive tomorrow.
I must say I am completely out of my comfort zone (even though Scot isn’t). There is a lot of very unpleasant things to read on the internet about Latvia and how bad Riga is etc, but I have not let that influence our travel hence tomorrow we are going to stay in the city camp in Riga. Initially we were going to drive straight through Latvia and not even stop, but I think that is a copout and we should at least see some of the country and Riga is supposed to be really lovely, even if it had/has the largest crime rate in Europe. This country is still part of our experience and adventures and it will form part of our memories as much as every other country will. We will NOT be acquiring any posters or even any wild flowers on the side of the road here. I won’t even take a free sugar sachet! We had to bike into the town here in Valmiera as we didn’t have any coconut milk for the dinner Scot is cooking for the next few nights but I just don’t feel comfortable. Maybe it’s because people look at the van and then seem to look at us with contempt or something I’m not sure but this part of the holiday for me is done a little under duress and I am not finding it as enjoyable. I will look back on it I hope and think it wasn’t so bad. I am concerned about driving into Riga tomorrow though as it is supposed to be quite insane and we have to drive right into the heart of the city – maybe I am a sucker for punishment, but I will have the video recorder playing for sure just in case. A lady at the camp in Parnu said people don’t stick to lanes and even though there may be two lanes they still drive three abreast. Stay tuned for the Riga report after the weekend – if we make it through…lol!
One hinge has just broken on our van door that now we have to look at getting fixed, but that is another story – unless Steve…..you could just pop over and weld the aluminium hinge together for us????
Tallinn suburbs
Countryside outside Tallinn
Countryside outside Tallinn
Washing Day
Parnu campsite
Many buildings on prime real estate are left derelict
We got up early and headed to the ferry terminal a bit earlier than required just so we knew where to go and didn’t miss it. We took the Viking XPRS and it was so packed. I reckon they were full as far as vehicles were concerned and there were so many people on board it was bedlam. One could only have imagined what would happen if we all had to get off in a hurry. We had a coffee and before we knew it we were arriving into Talinn port. It was quite a windy afternoon and we had watched a couple of yachts struggle to make headway in the choppy waters.
I was a little apprehensive leaving the safety of Scandinavia and heading down through the Baltic countries as I guess it is quite an unknown quantity to us and pretty close to Russia.
We drove off the ferry and through the town to find the camping ground which was a hard stand at a marina a few kilometres away from the city. There were two to choose from and the other campsite looked like it was in an industrial site so chose the hard stand which traditionally are all very similar and marinas are always nicer and usually safer. We went for a walk along a nearby beach and watched the kite surfers in the wind. We could imagine this beach being very popular in the summer as I guess you could most beaches in these countries. It had a hotel and surf club on the beach front. We stopped at the yacht club for a drink on the way home and it was so nice we ended up having dinner there as well. Nice food at a great price. Hard to think that this was only our 3rd real meal out in Europe.
We got up earlyish Sunday morning and took the bus into town. It seems that there are always several cruise ships in port each day therefore many tourists walking around. The old town is definitely the best part of Tallinn and there is quite a bit to see. We had a walk around for a bit and had a look at some of the markets. One thing I was amazed about is that there is so much linen and woollen clothing here for sale at very good prices. I love linen clothing so think I may need to buy something before we leave. Of course there are the souvenir shops everywhere. We decided we would buy something very small from each country if there was something that typically depicted that country. Like in Holland it was little Dutch clogs. We haven’t got something from every country as sometimes there isn’t something we have liked. We passed by an artist and found we loved one of his original water colours, but since we hadn’t seen very much decided to keep looking around. The old town is partially surrounded by fortress walls and towers that are visible in quite a few of the pictures. Most of it is still in great condition and they have encompassed some of it into buildings like hotels etc. You walk along little cobbled streets and alleys with beautiful old medieval walls surrounding you and then find hidden treasures within archways, tunnels and courtyards, selling everything from little cakes and coffee to wine and beer, clothes etc. We went into this little courtyard where people had homemade their own food they were selling which was quite cool.
As you are walking around all the shops, markets and restaurants which are modern inside but you are surrounded by over 600 years of history. It was relaxing meandering in and out, up and down and around all the streets without any real pattern other than to find the next landmark whether it be a church or a statue. We reached the church where you can climb to the top of the tower via a 270 stair spiral staircase (I counted them). There were quite a few people doing this so it was difficult to pass on the very narrow staircase. At the top we talked to a group of 8 girls who were from USA (Utah, Washington State, North Carolina) and were teaching English in Lithuania for 6 months, they were having a weekend away. We had a great conversation about travelling and experiencing life which they were doing on a different scale to us. We then got talking to a couple of German girls as we looked out over the city. One who spoke the most English had spent time in Christchurch fairly recently. It is quite amazing the amount of people we talk to who have been or are going to NZ or Aus. We then spoke to an Indian fellow who was starting a new business working with both Governments in Estonia and India. He was petrified of heights and although he had made the climb he only just came to the door to see out and couldn’t bring himself to step out further. What a magnificent view and it made us appreciate the beauty of the old city. Worth the 2euro to go up. We went inside the church after the climb down and listened to the people singing which was lovely. They had a guitar and drums and it all seemed quite folk like in style.
We heard one tour guide say to her group that Tallin wasn’t that old since it had burnt down in the 1400’s as all buildings had been built with timber and there was no legislation to stop them building in timber. But when the city got rebuilt, they built it all in stone, but it was rebuilt from the 1400’s which to me is very old, so don’t quite know where she was coming from saying it wasn’t that old.
There was a lot of restoration work going on around the town which is always great to see (but doesn’t make for good pictures).
We walked around the gardens as they had a flower display and games was the theme. There were a few different countries who had contributed. It was quite well done. We had done enough walking so went to find the bus home – which had been changed and we had to try and find the new one – difficult when you can’t read Estonian. We will do it all again tomorrow as there is still some to see.
Monday 31st
We headed back into town in the morning by bus again as it is easy. We thought about push biking, but not really worth it time wise when the bus is very cheap. The weather has held up for us as there were some showers expected but we only had a couple yesterday and it looked like it wasn’t happening today either.
We stopped at the markets and bought a linen top that I had spotted the day before and had loved. Supposedly it was made in Poland – I hope we don’t see them in Poland now for half the price! We then stopped and had a coffee and chai in a café we had one at yesterday because it was cute and had nice coffee. We then went to find the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which was in a hidden part of the city that we hadn’t found yesterday. There seemed to be a large number of tourist groups with guides here that were a pain in the butt because they just stop in the middle of paths and you can’t get past them. The cathedral is a beautiful Russian style building from the outside and is in the process of being renovated. The inside is quite nice and has a lot of gold leaf painted mantel type furniture/fittings. I felt that we had seen more spectacular interiors than this one, but it was still very nice. It struck me a bit odd though that there were no seats inside the church and it appeared that they don’t have services inside this church and maybe it is more of a tourist destination now.
We wandered around this part of the city which had awesome views over the city from the Battlements but it was so crowded with bloody tourists (we are adventure travellers and not tourists – tourists come on cruise ships and planes for a week and then go home) that it was difficult to see properly. We decided to find the café near the church we climbed up, to have lunch at since we didn’t bring food today – Scot was on strike! We had a lovely lunch and then took off to find the painter as we had decided that was going to be our momento from Estonia. It took a bit to find our way back to the courtyard we had seen him at yesterday, but got there eventually. However, the painting we loved yesterday, we felt didn’t depict the typical Tallinn scene and though it was really lovely with bright colours, we ended up changing our mind and chose a scene which I had earlier taken a photo of from the battlements overlooking the city. Although the paining was an original, they churn them out for the tourists and therefore are priced well.
We wandered for a bit more and also bought a Russian doll (made of wood, hand painted and are one inside the other etc) like I have always wanted since this is the closest I will get to Russia for a while. These are made right on the border of Estonia and Russia and not in China, so are authentic enough for us. Having seen everything we wanted to see, we feel there isn’t anything we have missed and head on back to “The Van” (Ruth, we don’t have a name yet, but Scot wanted to call it “Morrison” or “Morry” after Van Morrison).
We got off the bus and headed into a local supermarket to buy a battery for our torch. The supermarket was amazing – it was so huge and there were more varieties than I have seen of items for a very long time. It was on 2 levels. I wanted to just look around it was amazing. The food here is incredibly cheap as is the alcohol etc. We read news about a lot of Finns who now come and retire in Estonia because it is much cheaper to buy property and food etc and it is less regimented living than in Finland.
I really feel for the Estonians when you read up on their history. They have been pushed and pulled between pillar and post and even though they have had independence from approx. 1991 and they joined the EU in 2004, they obviously still feel a threat from Russia. I read some local news where they are talking of building a long fence on their border between them and Russia. People we have talked to say they have really come ahead in the past 10 years and it is good to see that people are starting to really come and visit here. Most of the younger people speak amazing English, actually probably better English than some of the Finnish people of the same age that we came across in our travels. I am wondering if Finland is slightly isolated in the scheme of things compared with Estonia which may see them get a little left behind.
On our way back to the campsite we bought a new camera as our one is starting to be a problem. We can’t zoom more than half or it shuts down and some of the buttons have an issue so we don’t want to not have one. Tomorrow we take off south.
