City, Country, River
Once again, our visit to the third Baltic country was essentially limited to the picturesque cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, as well as the onward journey from there to Poland. It wasn’t just a question of time that led us to decide to travel by coach from Riga to Vilnius and by train from there to Kaunas. The 300 km or so from Riga to the Lithuanian capital not only pass through a rather uninspiring, monotonous and predominantly flat landscape, but above all along a busy motorway with no cycle path. It therefore makes more sense to use the time saved to explore the attractions of the two cities.
Two years ago I wrote a detailed report with lots of photos – you can read it here: Vilnius and Kaunas. But as it was Astrid’s first visit, here are a few extra snapshots after all:
And then there was another special experience worth mentioning: my reunion with Nerijus, the cycle tourist from Klaipėda (Memel). I’d met him two years ago at a campsite in Poland whilst he was on his way to London, and he’d kindly let me use his staff flat in Kaunas. During our reunion, which was marked by great warmth and cheerfulness, we could do nothing but laugh about how I’d lost the flat key just before I was due to continue my journey and the complications that had ensued. Our meeting and conversation were so intense that we completely forgot to take a photo to mark our reunion – what a shame!
When continuing on to Poland via Marijampolé, the only thing worth mentioning is the border crossing – or rather the route leading to it – which is, in truth, unreasonable for cyclists. Once you reach the point just before the border via a perfectly tarmacked road running alongside the newly built motorway, the road comes to an abrupt end just before the border and you are directed onto an extremely rough, steep and barely passable track, at the end of which a mobile border post very kindly checks our documents and wishes us a safe onward journey.
