Polen - Teil 3
(Teil 1 geschrieben im Stau): Puhh... die letzten Tage waren sehr heiss und wir haben uns innigst einen Platzregen oder ein Gewitter gewünscht. Doch heute kam dann alles anders. Als wir wieder unterwegs nach Vilnius waren, regnete es so stark, dass die Strasse zum Fluss wurde und plötzlich nichts mehr ging. Wir beschlossen den Stau am Strassenrand stehend abzuwarten und schreiben einen neuen Blog. Also...
Überschwemmung...
Auf dem Weg in the National Park Bialowietza changed the design houses. We drove through small villages with one-story wooden houses (in Russian) and the crosses on the roadside were now definitely Russian Orthodox (the crosses are made of two horizontal cross bars and a third angled). Despite its proximity to the National Park, you may enter only part of guide, we found a parking space just outside of Bialowietza where we stayed for two nights.
Russian Orthodox wooden church - scrap metal collection in Polish.
course we also decided to strictly protected part of the forest to visit and we could share the prize with an American for the guide. But the leadership was only going on in the evening and so we went by bike to the zoo, at least there to see the European bison and moose, because the probability today to see wild animals on the tour, we estimated as rather low ...
A bison
After the animal tour we drove on through the vast forest. A stroll through an oak forest, we read the stories to each (up to 450 years) trees, before we met with the other to the tour. The 3-hour hike took us through the European forest. We saw before allem Spuren von Spechten an den Bäumen und andere Besonderheiten worauf unsere Begleiterin hinwies. Und wie geahnt sahen wir, ausser Hufspuren von Bisons, nichts "Wildes". Dafür klärte uns die Führerin über den Eichehain auf...Früher waren die Polen nicht so interessiert an Naturschutz, deswegen erfanden findige Waldschützer Geschichten zu den alten Bäumen um so das Interesse an der Natur zu wecken. Im Urwald sahen wir von der "Pionier"-Touristen-Magnet-Eiche nur noch die morschen Reste.
Meli in einer Eiche - Texttafel zur Eiche.
Impressions of the last European primeval forest. after
Before moving on Lithuania, we visited the border with Belarus. There's been times the official limit, with tar and barrier, but the ban is 500 m before the transition to the bikes made us change. To a crossing was not thinking, because we lacked the visa and car insurance. Following a tip, we bumped along a paved road along to knock at the end of standing in front of a border fence. The road ended in the middle of nowhere. We shot down illegal photos ... what they have to hide it accessible at these limits? banned photography:
at the Belarusian border!
(Teil 2: geschrieben auf dem Rigaer Campingplatz): Die letzten drei Tage verbrachten wir mit Melis Eltern und Sabina und nutzen nun die "Besucher-freie" Zeit ,bevor Anina kommt, um den Blog zu vervollständigen.
Litauen
Der Grenzübertritt nach Litauen war wieder mal einmal völlig unspektakulär. Da in der Zwischenzeit fast alles zur EU gehört gibt es nicht mal mehr einen Stempel! Dafür war wieder Mal ein Landschaftswechsel fällig. Irgendwie ist es hier sanft-hügeliger, was sich oft in einer Achterbahn-artigen Strassenführung ausdrückt. Zu dem sieht man hier nie eine wirklich gross Kuhherde, wenn dann sind es einzelne Kühe auf einem Feld, welche am Abend be milked by the farmer directly to the field. This is in stark contrast to the huge Kolchosehöfe from the Soviet era that are now in ruins.
collective farm ruins - Shopping on the road.
According to our travel, we were now in a country where for the right to a free night, the park can Büssli everywhere. We then had some trouble but still an appropriate place for our first night to find. But then found a field near a railway line. After dinner we got local visit. Despite language barrier (we in English and with few Brocken Russian, Lithuanian and Russian on it a few more chunks) but we persuaded the man to sleep in his garden. We parked at booze and it was immediately upon arrival. So we spent the evening with beer, liquor and World Cup game with the Lithuanian family.
The Lithuanian family in the garden - if the TomTom fails ...
We did not leave us the next morning. The family emerged during our evening meal, and drove away not as we noted Meli, that the house was locked with a padlock from the outside.
After the tour of Kaunas, the Southern Hauptstadt von Litauen, parkten wir das Büssli auf dem Parkplatz vor dem Kloster Pazaislis. Wir kühlten uns im Kaunaersee ab und verbrachten die Nacht vor dem Kloster. In unserem Reiseführer steht, dass die Stellplätze für Wohnmobile an Wochenende rege von Litauer genutzt werden, die oft lange in die Nacht feiern. Hier hielt sich der Lärm jedoch in Grenzen (doch mehr dazu später).
Eindrücke aus Kaunas.
Leider war am nächsten Tag Sonntag und das Kloster geschlossen. So fuhren wir weiter ohne einen Blick hinter die Mauern zu werfen. Dafür besuchten wir das IX. Fort. Ein Museum und eine Gedenkstätte für die Gräueltaten der Nazis, aber auch der Sowjetunion. Für die Menschen in den baltischen Staaten war das Elend nach der Nazizeit (hier im Fort wurden wohl die meisten Menschen während dem 2. Weltkrieg in Litauen getötet) nicht zu Ende. Danach kam die Besatzungszeit der Sowjetunion, in der mindestens so viele Einheimische deportiert und ermordet wurden. Es war interessant etwas über die russische Okkupationszeit zu erfahren. Uns fiel jedoch ein frappanter Unterschied zwischen der Nazizeit und der Sowjetbesetzung auf: die Russenzeit ist viel weniger dokumentiert mit Zahlen und Listen als die Nazizeit. Dafür gibt's mehr Fotos von erschossenen Partisanen, da die Russen, diese nach der Erschiessung auf öffentlichen Plätzen als Mahnung an die Population "presented".
The IX. Fort - a memorial at the IX. Fort
The Baltic states regained independence only in 1991 and tourism try its gap with the West catch up. For us, this does mean that we are several sights due to the renovation work only partially or not to visit. This happened with a few castles on the way to the Curonian Spit.
Under Construction ...
Prior to the trip to the magnificent sand dunes in front of the Lithuanian coast beschlossen wir unsere Velos in Kleipedia zu lassen. Wir hofften so die immensen Fährengebühren für Wohnmobile und grosse Fahrzeuge zu sparen. Dies gelang uns jedoch erst nach etlichen Verhandlungen. Die kurische Nehrung war grossartig. Wir genossen den 50 km langen Sandstrand, kühlten uns im Meer ab und besichtigten die Fischerdörfchen. In Judokrante spazierten wir durch den "Hexenwald" und bestaunten die geschnitzten Figuren aus diversen Märchenszenen. Ein Wanderung durch die 53 m hohen Dünen liessen wir uns natürlich trotz grosser Hitze nicht entgehen.
Schnitzereien im Hexenwald - Raphi lässt sich tragen.
sand dune - "pennant" in the fishing village.
the great horror, we got the evening we returned to the mainland. Our bikes were gone. We found only one with a separate lock. The police had summoned the English is not, unfortunately, powerful, and gave us the address of the police station, where should we report it the following day. We stayed so close to Kleipedia and reported the theft to the police station in the morning. The nice police officer then showed us the way to the market where we wanted to buy new wheels. Meli tried an interesting cycle: two brakes including withdrawal (a strange combination aus mehreren geklauten Velos?). Der Preis war aber viel zu hoch. Raphi meinte, dass unsere Räder wohl bald auch bei diesem Händler zu finden seine. Doch wir wollten weiter und erstanden ein rotes und ein grünes 80er Jahre Klappvelo. Die passen eigentlich viel besser auf unser Büssli.
Finde den Unterschied...
Die Übernachtungsplätze in Litauen wählten wir aufgrund des heissen Wetter oft in der Nähe von Seen oder dem Meer. Das abkühlende Bad am Abend oder den Vorteil einer Dusche im See am Morgen lernten wir so kennen. An einigen Übernachtungsorten (vor allem Freitag/Samstag) verbrachten auch viele Litauer ihr Celebrated this weekend and with very loud techno music from the car speakers, more getting used to ...
When grilling ...
Our trip was in a big loop from the coast back inland towards Vilnius. We made a trip to the garden outside Orvydus Salantai. The Steinmetz Orvyus has collected here during the Soviet era grave stones and other works of stone masonry with Christian symbols and installed. The law forbade Christian symbols for cemeteries, but not for gardens. Such a wide smorgasbord was created in a deliberately neglected garden.
In Orvyus Park
We spent the night near a former Russian nuclear missile site on a lake. Since it was the middle of a national park, we had to pay for such a camp. But we got fresh water from a spring. Our Büssli had here a defect in the left headlight. The parking lights did not work, but the bulb was still in order. Raphi cut so very professionally the verdigris from the connector. Now the lights are working properly again. Well, those problems seem to have been dependent on old cars. Here we had in the night, the first time really fun with techno music until the early hours of the morning ....
Melis birthday we celebrated with a hearty meal in Lithuanian Siauliai as lunch. On the way there we visited the Hill of Crosses. Another contemporary witness of the Soviet era, which, however, is still active is used by pilgrims. The Hill of Crosses is a hill on the crosses and more than 200,000 pilgrims from modern times to enlarge the number today. The Hill of Crosses wanted to destroy the Russians, of course, but the Lithuanians managed to prevent this, he is now considered one of the monuments to resistance and liberation of the Lithuanians.
The BER of the crosses.
Our journey continued through the rather weak-toruistisch used area in Lithuania. Somehow here our TomTom some trouble. Because on the way to Paluse it suddenly ordered us to turn from the paved road and take a forest track. This led us in a bow on bumpy through pine forests to the village, but it certainly was not the official and the shortest path.
As the day was extremely hot and stuffy, we enjoyed the evening as well Paluse entirely on or in the lake. The next day we enjoyed a rest day on the water (unfortunately, with techno music from a car on the beach) and watched the evening with the entire village on a makeshift screen, the World Cup final.
The beach in Paluse - World Cup game as in KuBaA?
On the way to Vilnius we passed through the center of Europe. Who would have thought that this so far in the East. But apparently independent bodies have calculated the location of the center and so we probably agree. We used it briefly for a nostalgic photo stop before we drove into the capital of Lithuania.
At the center of Europe.
Vilnius we visited on our new bikes in oppressive heat. Unfortunately, we were not cool bathing. On our tour of the city we found den perfekten gratis Parkplatz: vor einem alten Sportstadion auf dem Berg der drei Kreuze mitten in der Stadt. Unser Plan das KGB-Museum zu besichtigen fiel in Wasser da Montag war und auf Grund der Hitze waren die vielen kühlen Kirchen und Kathedralen eine wunderbare Alternative. So besichtigten wir einen grossen Teil der UNESCO geschützten Altstadt schon am ersten Tag. Besichtigen die Basilika, das wichtigste Gotteshaus in Litauen. Besteigen den Burghügel. Radeln zur Peter und Paul Kirche, wo wir die unzähligen Barock-Gipsfiguren bestaunen und geniessen das Abendessen in Uzupis. Uzupis ist ein eigener Staat (vergleichbar mit Christiania in Dänemark) mit eigener Verfassung, eigenem Präsidenten, eigenem Militär (27 Mann) und eigener Hymne. Leider war das Gebiet nicht ganz so alternativ wie wir uns wünschten, denn die seit einigen Jahren steigen auch hier die Preise für eine Wohnung und die Autos in den Strassen deuteten auch eher auf reiche Einwohner.
Barock in der St. Peter und Paul Kirche - Kreuzberg.
Grenzübergang in den Staat Uzupis.
Am nächsten Tag nutzen wir die Frische des Morgens um noch die restlichen Kirchen des "Florenz des Nordens" zu besichtigen. Wirklich gewaltig, wie unterschiedlich die Kirchen hier sind. Auch hier wurde wieder einmal mehr meisterhaft restauriert. Es sind weder Spuren of the war the Soviet era visible. That the Russians, the Casimir Church as a "museum of atheism" used was probably the height of cynicism. We liked the city very well despite the heat. Only there was still the KGB museum. New day new luck, but we did not hold. Against all information from travel guides and Touribüchlein, the museum was also closed on Tuesday. Very disappointed so we went on the road to Trakai.
Basilica of Vilnius.
The heat forced us to look for another parking space with bathing and we found him as a car park are famous mansion. Although half the park was in total revision, we could the lake between other Lithuanians grab a swimming pool and cool ourselves. And then came the first desired rain. There was not much and he came in the night. The next day we visited it on something more comfortable temperatures, the castle of Trakai. Here, too, has been diligently restored and rebuilt. The castle was only about 25% obtained, but now all over again to visitors. Accordingly, tourism is the place. We were not the castle carved from the stool, but that is for our castle tour experience more and more difficult.
mansion garden? - Castle of Trakai.
On the way back to Vilnius (we wanted to umbedingt the KGB museum, as Becky and Will we have this highly recommended), then came the first interlude described by torrential rain. We stayed so again at our booth in front of the stadium and enjoyed the techno music during the night ...
at the third attempt our visit to the KGB museum finally worked. We stay two hours. The face of Lithuania to the Soviet era is very impressive and depressing. People here had to endure after the Nazi era even the cruelty of the Soviets. After the museum we went back to the north to Latvia.
Latvia Latvia to the south, we visited first the Rundale Palace. A huge three blade Baroque palace with 138 rooms. As the building was used during World War II as a hospital and then was very negligible, it goes without saying that the restoration work is still ongoing. We admired but still 48 rooms of the palace, two in one could even look at the restoration work. The walk in the park was then passed through the heat slightly to a torture, but was still very impressive.
Rundale The Palace - Golden Hall.
Since we are only in two days in Riga to be had, we decided to spend the next night at the King sources. The royal sources Three sources, which arise on a hill in the south of Latvia. It seems to have been cured with the water of the injured Swedish King Karl XII. The spring water is heavily used by the Latvians in any case. We watched as cars drove by car arrived and removed the letter Up to 150 liters of water in 20-liter PET bottles. The next morning, when filling our jerry cans, then we got into conversation with a man who had even come all the way from Riga.
can fill in the king source.
Then it was off to Riga, where we visited the parents of Melissa. Sabina came as a surprise guest from Berlin in the evening even at that. Maja and Peter spent the first afternoon with us at the campsite and helped us in setting up and washing. No sooner had everything set up and hung the wash, dark clouds came and thirty seconds later we all sat on the bus and saw "the Flood". Our tent was immediately filled with water and the herring might not withstand the pressure. We had to get out and take down the tent. Once outside, we were immediately soaked to the underwear. So much water from the top we had all seen before. But the storm had an advantage: the temperatures dropped and we were able to visit the city with pleasant temperatures. As the weather had calmed down again, we headed to yet in the city. The next two days were spent sightseeing and shopping. Also here is the entire Old City, some unique Art Nouveau buildings and more than 500 wooden houses on the UNESCO world cultural heritage, therefore there was much to see and photograph. Also in Riga, we visited the Occupation Museum and have been impressed us about the sad past of the country.
Impressions from Riga: Liberty monument - black houses.
Art Nouveau? (Insider Peter) - If as our bikes?
Sweden gate - dinner at Büssli.
Maja and Peter let the pampering take not of course and we enjoyed eating out much:) The farewell came much too quickly, fortunately Sabina stayed a few hours more and we went by train to the city Jurmala on the beach. I said earlier, everything has come to an end and now we are alone again ... until tomorrow Anina for a few days to come on the trip.
On the beach in Jurmala ...
