Photos from yesterday

Hill of Crosses, Lthuania.
And how many crosses can you count? There is supposed to be 200,000, but I don't know who counted them or when, or even how.
Now why would anyone even consider lighting a candle?
Family of storks, the first of many I saw on the ride. It is supposed to be good luck for a stork to nest near your house and people put wagon wheels up on posts to encouage them to nest. This one was on top of a telegraph pole. Difficult to tell from the photo, but this nest is about 5ft across and a couple of feet deep.
The Hill of Crosses is only really a very small mound, not even a hillock, and as you can see it is spreading out from the original point. I looked but could not see any from the UK although I did see a number from Australia, so if they can get there why can't the Brits, we get everywhere else.
You can buy crosses to put up yourself from some tacky stores nearby, however, not being at all religious I did not place one.
Had 2 bowls of Sugarpoofs for breakfast this morning, the first I've seen. My excuse is that I don't suppose I will eat again till this evening, apart from my mid morning garage stop I suppose. I feel as if I am losing a little bit of weight, my love handles seem to shrinking, at least I can hope.

Bouncing in Lithuania

One thing I forgot to tell you about Riga was about the cycles, they were everywhere and appear to be encouraged to ride on the pavements. I was strolling along minding my own, when whooooosh, cyclists would come either side almost taking my arms off, you had to look behind you all the time if you wanted to change direction. A bit of a worry.
Anyhow, left Riga for Lithuania, and every one was warning me about the state of the roads there. Well, the road out of Riga towards the border was the worse one I had seen all trip. It warned on the signs about a bumpy surface, but it was worse than you can imagine. Think the prom and multiply by 100, yes that bad. I slowed to a crawl to make my way over the bumpsies but I must admit I was worried about my luggage rack fracturing.
I crossed the border into Lithuania, and lo and behold, smooth roads, you can see where the EU euro is being spent. I must admit I did come across one section where they were laying new chippings but as long as I kept inside the lorry tracks I was OK.
Today I went to the Hill of Crosses, this is a very small hillock where, some years ago, and to express themselves as Christians, people started to place crosses. The Russians tore them down on a few occasions, but the tradition continued. When the Russians moved out the crosses multiplied. At present they estimate that there are over 200,000 crosses of every possible size. This site is so important that even the Pope himself has been here. There were a few tacky stalls nearby selling crosses and people are adding them all the time. I saw crosses from all over the world, however, not one in English, however, I must admit I did not study every one of them!!
On the way from the site I saw my first stork nest with 4 birds in it. This was to be one of many that I saw during my ride to Kaunas, Lithuanias second city.
I arrived at Kaunas and booked into a newish hotel called the Magnus, I was put on the 5th floor but thankfully they had lifts. My room is the best I have had yet, with a super kingsize bed, work station and a bathroom to die for, in fact the underfloor heating in the bathroom was so hot I could hardly walk on it. Only thing missing AGAIN, is a plug for the wash basin. I am really glad that I bought a travel basin/bath plug with me, the best 3 quid I have spent, I have had to use it every single day, even on the super boat from Sweden to Estonia. It makes shaving so much easier. And all for 27 pounds a night including breakfast.
I took a walk into the old town to see if there was anything of note to see, mainly so that I could justify a second night at the Magnus, but afraid not. The old town had a very grubby look and feel to it, although I did have a very nice meal with sweet and beer for 12 pounds. I will struggle to spend the 50 pounds I withdrew at this rate as I paid for the hotel by card. I will have to fill my tank twice tomorrow and pay in cash AND buy chocolate just to use it up, don't want to take any money out of the country.
I made my way back to the hotel and decided to have a beer in the panoramic bar on the 9th floor, but no dice, closed for a private function, typical.
I have decided to make towards Elk, in Poland tomorrow and have booked an apartment for 2 nights. This comes complete with kitchen and room for 3 people, cost 52 pounds for the 2 nights. It does get excellent reviews on trip advisor so I am not too worried. I note from the map that south of Elk is Treblinca, another must see on this trip.
The weather forecast is rain tomorrow then getting better over the next days, so it will be on with the waterproofs again and make the most of the ride to Elk. I do not have to book out till midday so will leave it as late as possible to see if the rain lifts a bit.
This has been typed on the hotel compter as I could not gain access to blogspot on my own notebook, I will try to post photos of the Hill of Crosses later.

A day devoted to History

Right, where do I start? regarding the statue I posted earlier, it is the freedom statue to celebrate the fact that Latvia is now free from rule of the Soviets, it was erected shortly after the country gained its Independence (again, similar to Estonia) in 1991. This park is a green area right next to the old town, it was nice and quiet this morning and, yes, the sun was out.....for a bit.

Flowing through the park is a canal with nice green slopes dropping to the water, not a canal as we know it, but very pretty all the same. Crossing the canal are a number of bridges and on this one people fix padlocks. Most of the locks are engraved with couples names and a date, I can only assume that they are love tokens, the keys being thrown into the canal once the padlock is on. It looks like a smaller version of the prom after TT when there are always a few chains and padlocks stuck to the railings along the front. I've even seen them painted over by workmen painting the railings.

This cat appears on symbols all over Riga and is actually high up on a tower in the old town. Please note the blue sky....it did not last soon as within about 5 mins of this picture I was caught in a sharp shower, luckily it was as I was about to enter the Museum of War. This museum is in a tower caller the Powder Tower and is over 6 floors, showing the history of Latvia and war through the ages. It was a free museum and was very good, only lacking more information in English, but saying that, would an English have information in Latvian. I think not.

From there I went to the House of the Blackheads, this was a society set up in medieval times for bachelor tradesmen of the Baltic regions....think the Masons and you will not be far out. The house was very ornate and was full of treasures bought to Latvia by travelling traders. The original property was built in the 1300's, however, it has been destroyed more than once and re-built. Like Triggers grandads hammer, its had several new heads and a number of new handles but its still his grandads.

The next port of call on my day of history was the museum of Occupation, like the one in Tallinn this one tells the story of the occupation of Latvia by both the Russians and the Germans. The story was told better in this museum and they had tons of information in English. Again the museum was free to enter and is a work in progress as more and more material is unearthed.

This view is from the top of St Peters church (I only went up because this time there was a lift) The view from the top was superb, but the reason I have put it in is because of the 4 rounded buildings (In fact there are 5 but one is almost side on) This is the Central Market and is claimed to be one of the largest and oldest markets in Europe with 5 food pavilions. The buildings themselves are old converted Zeppellin buildings which must make the unique.

This statue is again in the old town and I think it is from a childs fairy tale of years ago. It shows a donkey with a dog on its back, a cat on the dogs back and a cock on the cats back. As you can probably see, the nose of the donkey has been polished by people touching it, the nose of the dog to a lesser degree, and the cat far less. It appears that very few people manage to get their hands on the cock!!

This one is for Rob, don't know if Banksy has ever been to Riga but looks the same as his work. This was in a few places on walls as well as the pavement. Very clever.

Off again tomorrow, the Hill of Crosses and a night or two in Kaunas in Lithuania, I will be leaving Latvia with a 5 Lati note, worth £4.00 unless I stop for a hot chocolate before I leave the country. I had almost got it so that I left with no money but then saw something to buy and had to get a little money out of the bank, still, almost got it down.

Took a walk into old Riga yesterday teatime, took about 20 minutes, but as the rain had stopped it was quite pleasant. It is interesting seeing all the different building styles, a lot obviously precede the time of the Russian occupation but some bore the stamp of the communist states.
One that stood out was Costa, can you believe that, I did not know they were a world company. And before you say anything, no, the building does not lean over, that is my camera skills, or not!


Riga looks interesting with what looks like enough to occupy my mind for today before I move onto Lithuania in the morning. This is a statue that is in a main square in the town, I must find out what it represents.
On my travels I also found a donut shop, mmmmmn donuts! Treated myself to 2, chocolate and lemon if you want to know, and the cost 48 santimu, there are 100 santimu to the lati and a lati is worth 80pence, so 2 donuts for less that 40 pence, that's what I call value. I ate them in my room after brewing up a great cup of tea on my camping stove as there are no "makings" in my room.

I see on Robs blog that he is putting on some stunning photos of beautiful scenery, I'm afraid I cannot compete with scenic views as I have not seen a hill since England, the countryside is a flat as a flat thing pretending to be flat. I think I have about another 10 days before I see anything like a hill, and I will be down on the south border of Poland by then.
In the meantime, not to be outdone, here is a shot of a building?? that is just behind the hotel that I am stopping in. It appears that the started, but could not finish...I know all about that.
I stop in the best areas, who needs the South of France and Italy, jealous, not me!

This is the styling of the homes in the street where I stayed in Parnu last night, as you can see very outdated and of wooden construction. The B and B I stayed at was a modernised version of this, but was all stripped wood inside so not too bad, although the owner was a bit of a miserable git. This morning I asked if I could have a bucket of water in order to wash the bike but the miserable git refused even though there was a bucket near the back door, I even had my own sponge so just needed water! In the end I found a garage where I was able to wash her and she looked all nice and proud again.
Today I have set off for Riga which is the capital of Latvia and is supposed to be a nice city. On the way I stopped as usual at a garage for hot chocolate and this time a cake. Just as I sat down, as there was a little cafe inside the garage, I was joined by another biker who told me he was from Uruguay of all places. He was born in Germany but has lived in Canada and now Uruguay. He had come to Germany to visit his mother, had bought a BMW 1200GS and had took himself off for a trip around Europe. He hoped to spend a few days with his mother in Cologne before he flies back home, thats what you call a good son!
I crossed into Latvia no problem and at the border I saw this Stork wandering about as if he owned the place. I have seen a few during my trip but this is the first one that I have been able to stop and photograph.
You certainly would not want to hit one of these whilst on the bike.

I rode on and occasionally caught a glimpse of the Baltic. At one spot I was right next to the beach so stopped so Jed could dangle a floppy woolen foot in the sea. I could see what must have been about half a mile in each direction. It was a lovely sandy beach "and no-one it"
As soon as Jed was ready for his photo it started to rain, yet again! So it was a rush back to the bike and once again into the waterproofs. The sky was black and certainly menacing.



We carried on into Riga and the rain just got heavier, then it started to thunder and lighten. I was supposed to be camping for tonight and tomorrow but the rain was so heavy that I could not face the prospect of putting up the tent in heavy rain so I stopped at a garage, phoned home and got Chris to find me a hotel near the city centre.
She duly sorted one out and I made my way there, arriving just as the rain stopped. I offloaded the bike and yes, the rain started again. Will it ever stop?
I sometimes think I should have headed south with Rob but then I remember how hot it was last year and I now that I made the right decision, I just wish that I could be dry, don't really need the hot sun, just a little warm sum would be nice.
It is now 1645 hrs here, still raining but not as heavy so I think it is time to wander into Riga and see what it has to offer to a wet visitor.

Bad day at the office

Today has been a bit of a downer I'm afraid, it started out OK but then seemed to go downhill a bit. I packed my gear this morning and loaded everything onto blackie, I then found that my mess tins were causing a bulge in the of my roll, so I loosened the straps a bit, open the roll whilst it was still on the bike in order to move the tins, result, quite a few things from the bag, like my mug, headtorch, milk powder, spare gloves and towel all fell from the bag meaning that I had to take the roll off and start again. Would have been better to do that in the first place, cutting corners does not work.
Finally got on the road and after about 30 mins it started to rain. My jacket is a summer one for letting through air and is therefore not waterproof so in rain I put on an overjacket, however, at what point is it raining enough to don the overjacket, it is a fine balancing act, too early and you have stopped and put it on for nothing, too late and you are already wet! Today I pitched it just about right and pulled up next to heavy woodland, got off the bike and removed gloves and helmet, only to be descended on by hundreds of flies, it was like something out of a horror movie. I threw the jacket over my head then replaced the helmet and continued to sort myself out with the helmet on and visor in the down and locked position trying to hold my breath so I did not mist my visor, what a nightmare.
Finally waterproofed I rode on until such time as I needed fuel. It was still raining so I stayed at the garage and had my daily hot chocolate and chocolate bar, whilst ther I also phoned my dad to wish him happy fathers day and answered texts from my daughters wishing me the same.
Whilst I was at the garage a Swiss man pulled up on his bike and we got chatting. He was also on his annual holiday ride and had been to Norway, Sweden and Finland and was on his way back to home. I noticed straight away that he only had a very small rucksack attached to his bike for luggage ,I asked about this and his reply was that he does not change his clothes too often and if he needed some new pants or socks he just bought some and threw the others away, talk about travelling light, not for me.
I eventually pulled in at Parnu which is a seaside town with ver nice beeches to the Baltic coast but as it was still raining I did not take advantage of them. Tonight should have been a camping night but as it was still raining I decided on a guest house instead, finally finding one in a quiet street of wooden houses for 45 euro, more than I wanted to pay but at least I also get breakfast and it also has wifi, although, in my room it kept dropping out so I am typing this under the stairs with the computer on top of a fridge and sitting on a chair from the dining hall.
No photos I'm afraid today, far too wet, we will see what tomorrow brings.
The bike also looks shite and could do with a good wash, I will see if I can grab a bucket in the morning.
Thats it today, off into town now to find something to eat.

The beautiful Alexander Nevsky Cathedral , why is it all churches have some scaffholding on them? That is one to ponder.

I had a belly busting meal last night at the hotel where I am staying. Started with mushroom soup ( a old favourite of mine) then had loin of pork wrapped in smoked bacon with veg and fried potatoes, and finished off with the biggest baked Alaska that a man could wish for. I'm sure that it was really meant for 2 people to share, but I knuckled down and got stuck in, it took some eating but I would not let it defeat me. Also had 2 beers. I can say one thing for Estonia, the portions are huge. All of the above cost a mere 14 euro, great value.
It rained all last evening and throughout the night but at least it was dry this morning, although cloudy. I took the bike back into town and by the time I got there the sun was out and it warmed up nicely.
First port of call today was the Alexander Nevski Cathedral which is a Russian Orthodox church above Tallinn old town on what is called the Toompea. As all Russian Orthodox churches, this one was full to the rim with gleaming gold and silver, a sight to behold.
After that I had decided to visit another tower.....more steps. This one is called "Kiek in the Kok" which I am assured meant Peek in the Kitchen, this was because from this tower which is quite high, the soldiers could look into the kitchens of the old town. This tower has been turned into a very good museum, spread over 6 floors with exhibits depicting the history of local war on each floor. Below the tower there are tunnels under the bastions, however as the next English tour was not until 3pm I had to come back to it.
Another museum that I was told I ought to see was the Museum of Occupation, this small place tells the story of the occupation of Estonia by 1st the Russians in 1939, then Nazi Germany in 1941 followed again by the Russians after the war. Although it is small the story it paints is very touching telling the stories of those involved and the stories of the thousands that were killed, many shipped to Russian Gulags. Well worth the 2 euro entry fee.
After this it was a short walk back to the main square where I noticed at the base of the town hall there were some wooden bench seats and tables and a sign saying "Elk Soup 1 Euro", well it was time for dinner, so in goes I. Came out with a steaming bowl of Elk soup (tastes like beef) and a fresh from the oven hot meat pie (did not ask what meat) Lunch for a total of 2 euro, it does not get better. I started to chat with a couple from Cheshire who told me that the place was given a very high recommendation in the Guardian travel section...well I can agree and so can Jed, which speaks volumes.

Jed with his empty bowl of Elk Soup, for 1 euro he may treat himself to another.

By now it was about 2.30 so I made my way back to the tunnel tour below Kiek in de Kok.

This tour lasted about 40 mins and took in a section of the tunnels built when the bastions were constructed in the 1400's. Although constructed when the Swedes occupied Tallin they were never used in battle. Instead over the years they were forgotten all together, being re-discovered and used by the civil defence during the war, they were then altered slightly (re-inforced) when the Russians had control and they were prepared as nuclear shelters for those in power. After being abandoned again they were taken over by some homeless people before being used in the 80's by punks as somewhere to play their music as the punk movement was banned. In 2005 the tunnels were cleared and cleaned and opened to the public by way of guided tours.

That's about it for today, tomorrow, weather wise, looks a bit grim with rain forecast, that's typical as I am going to the seaside at a place named Parnu, about 100 mile from here, I can only hope the forecast is wrong.