Latvia and Lithuania

Hi Again:

I am up in the tiny Baltic countries of Lithuania and Latvia. They were communist only a few years ago, and now they are free and thriving. I really like them. They are a little too flat for my taste (I like my mountains) but they are really fun places.

I wanted to show you the farms. They are huge, and they go on for miles with never a fence. I guess they are left over from the days when the government owned all the land in common. Look how big this thing is:

As I was pulling into Lithuania, the southernmost of the three Baltic countries, I spotted this sign at one of the numerous roadside parks (remember those --- we used to have a lot of them too, back in the day when we were willing to pay taxes to have such things.  I have no idea what this sign says, but it looked impressive so I had to take its picture.

The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius. It is quite the place, with a marvelous "Old Town" and a ton of activity. Each and every town has its cathedral, but I like the bell tower of this one. You can see it off to the left, sicking up like a huge candle.

There is always a lot of activity in the Old Towns. There are usually street performers playing for coins. These two guys were putting on quite a show. They were really good.

I have seen these rental bicycles all over Europe. You put your credit card into a slot. Choose the number of days you want. Get a password. And grab (or return) a bike anywhere you see a station.  It is quite the popular thing to do.

I stayed at a campground last night because it was warm and dry for a change, and this man was my next door neighbor. He is from Belgium, and he is headed for a Harley Davidson rally in Estonia. He was a super nice guy. My French is rudimentary at best, and his English was non-existent, but we got by with our conversation.

He left Vilnius, Lithuania, about half an hour before me this morning. He was headed for Riga, the capital of Latvia, and so was I, but we did not try to ride together. But as I crossed the border into Latvia, there he was, along with some other Harley riders. He said he didn't know them; they had just all stopped at the same time.

We all took each others pictures to show that we were, indeed, in Latvia. This on may have to go on the wall at home.

When I got to the campground at Riga, the capital of Latvia, I found dozens of Harley riders there. In fact, some more just came in (I am typing this at 11:30 (It just got dark) and they sound like thunder across the campground. Mostly, they are from Germany, and they are all headed for that big Harley Rally in Eastonia.

What do you think of these vintage bikes from WW II. Cool, huh? I wouldn't want to ride one of them very far though.

I wanted to go visit the "Old Town" here it Riga. While I was there I found this giant stone pig for sale. Only 1700 Euros (about 2,000 dollars). I couldn't figure out how to tie it onto my bike so I had to pass.

I did seriously consider buying this stone purse for my wife. (Just kidding, Patrice).

Look at these people way up high in the sky. I watched them getting strapped in. They are up there enjoying a champagne brunch. I don't think heights and alcohol go that well together myself.

Personally, I'll stick with ice cream down on the ground like these kids are getting.

I'm just kidding. In fact, I had a very unique evening meal. I started with a delicacy: Cold beet soup. It was quite good.

And then I had an excellent pasta with beef.  Wow.

And while I was eating, I noticed all the people sitting around smoking tobacco from a Hookah.

Have you ever tried a hookah. Me neither. Personally, after my dad died of lung cancer and pneumonia, I am very against sucking stuff into my lungs. But, when in Rome --- Etc.

I can report that it was terrible. Ugh. I won't ever be doing that again.

Here is a map of where I am. I will be in Tallinn, Estonia, tomorrow. That is as far as I can go. I don't the proper visas for the Communist countries.

But now it is very late. Time for bed. Gotta head north tomorrow (Maybe with the Harley guys for awhile, but I don't know. There are some things I want to see between here and Estonia

That's all for now.

Ron.

Warsaw, Poland

Sunday was absolutely beautiful in Warsaw. Because it was Sunday, I just had to stop into church. The church I chose has Chopin's heart buried inside one of its pillars. Because services were going on, I didn't feel all that comfortable wandering around looking for a dead composer's heart. This particular church honors the first (and only) Polish Pope  Do you know who he is? Need a hint? His picture is on the banner hanging high up to the left of the main aisle.

Need another hint. Here he is in an alcove just to the left of the main church entrance.

Yep. He is Karol Josef Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II. Pat yourself on the back if you got it right.

There is a lot to see in Warsaw. I mostly just concentrated on the sights in the older part of the city.

This lady was one of many balloon sellers.  It was a windy day, and she was having a lot of trouble with her merchandise. It kept blowing around and hitting people.

I took a walking tour of the tourist area. It is one of my favorite things to do. There is always a lot to learn. Unfortunately, it is easy to get overwhelmed. For example, I went into the King's palace, but I was never sure who the king was (all these palaces start looking alike after a while, and all the names kind of start rattling around in my head. 

One thing that our tour guide was very interested in us remembering was that the palace, and all of Warsaw, was destroyed by the Germans during WWII. There was absolutely nothing left of the city. I saw the pictures, so I know it is true.

The people of Warsaw had an uprising against the Germans during the war.  It was a bad idea. Thousands of them were killed, and those that were not killed were forced to leave the city. The city was totally destroyed. 

This statue of a young boy in an over-sized helmet is to help remember the Warsaw Uprising.

When the Germans lost the war, and when the Communists took over, some parts of the city were rebuilt..... but not much. The Communists were not interested in such things. But now the Poles have thrown off the yoke of Communism.  They have been free for exactly 25 years. To celebrate, there is going to be a big rally on the main square in two days. They were setting up a stage there and practicing for the rally.  I don't know who this group on stage is, but they were really good.

One of the guests at the celebration is going to be Barack Obama. I thought about hanging around for a couple of days to hear him (he will be speaking on Tuesday). But then I learned that there is going to be 25 other presidents from all over Europe here as well. No way am I going to hang around for that.

Sorry Barack. I know you would want to meet me. I hate to be a disappointment, but I want to move on.

I am pretty far north and pretty far east, and the sun starts shining at 4:30 in the morning. But what woke me up last night (Sunday night) was rain on my tent. It has been cold and misty all day today (Monday). I rode to the far side of of Poland in 55 degree weather. I didn't bring my heated clothing on this trip and I really miss it.

Anyway, I am right on the border of Lithuania tonight in a small Polish town. The Communist influence is still here in this part of Poland..  The streets are deserted. There are few stores. I ate in a restaurant and was the only one there.  They sure do make nice bike paths though.

Maybe the reason everything seems so deserted here is because of the cold, rainy weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be better.

I am staying at this campground tonight, but I paid for a room here instead of setting up my tent. The room is 130 Zoltney including breakfast. That's about $35.00. I am glad to pay that and not have to wake up to a soggy tent.

As I sit in my room at about 10:30, a pounding rain is coming down outside.  Odysseus has to stay out in it.  Try to stay dry and warm, Odysseus.

Getting into Lithuania tomorrow requires threading the needle between Russia and Belarus, both of which require a visa that I have no way of getting.

Ron