Trakai appealed to my sense of history. Asking at the hostel desk for directions it turned out there was just a short walk to the bus station to catch the appropriate bus to Trakai. Loved the walk to the bus station in this beautiful old city. I checked the timetable for the bus it was only a short wait, there seemed to be plenty of them. The excellent trip out to Trakai taking about 40 minutes, loving the scenery.The bus stopped at the local markets.The weather particularly cold and the wind biting, so checked out the markets for something to wear that was warmer than my clothes, but alas nothing fitted.
Trakai Castle
Given the general direction of the castle, I started walking past the houses that I had learnt were Karaites , a people with turkish background that had settled in the area around the 14th century. Ending up at the edge of Lake Galve. A lake with 21 islands in it,
Trakai Ger
I am in front of the walkway/bridge connecting the Trakai castle. A castle with a chequered history that goes back to the 1300’s, the serenity of the of the lake from its tree lined edges and hills.
I was stunned with the red brick buildings, and massive courtyard. Very few tourists to spoil the magic of the moment. Not surprising really, given that the day was bitterly cold, as well as the chill factor from the wind. In need of something warmer, I stopped in at a cafe with a ger and tables. Of course, I had to have the fun of sitting in the ger to enjoy lunch and get out of the weather. I continued walking taking in the various sights, a little faster in order to stay warm. The church in its simplicity, after some of the places of worship I have visited, was beautiful. I headed back to the bus stop, and the local toilet.
It was somewhat scary leaving the truck and new found friend,Russell. The GPS lady had said it was 750 m to the hostel I was staying. I hadn’t reckoned on cobbled stones to pull a bag across, as well as midnight in a strange city and location. So I started towards the nearest light that I could see, it turned out to be a bar and restaurant. Asking one of the waiters where the hostel was, has become difficult because he hasn’t heard of it! So he pulls out a mobile phone and goes online to find it,eureka.
Kindly giving instructions in broken english. Understanding as much as I could, went on my way. Soon after finding it open, it didn’t take long to install myself in a very comfortable room in Hostel Gates, after climbing the inevitable crooked stairs. The next morning chatting to another kiwi also staying, only to find she lived near one of my daughters in Auckland.
As is my habit, it’s out early to take in the wonderful city of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. My goal for the day was to see the castle and the Gediminas tower. I was much relieved to find it had a lift to the top, just a small one slow,and steady . My fear of heights and claustrophobic lifts ,not a good combination. The short walk to the main street in the old town had me fascinated, walking the old narrow winding streets, the fabulous old buildings and many cafes\restaurants. Stopping for breakfast and coffee at one. I was lucky with the weather, a beautiful day made it easy to wander.
In the end I kept walking around all the streets, charmed by a wall with teapots within its structure. It was close to one of the lovely old churches, they appeared to be having a service so I slipped into the back row to enjoy the service. Afterwards, noticing a tour group walking with a guide I joined them discretely at a distance. Listening to the background of some of the lovely buildings and sights I would have missed by myself. Learning of all the types of architecture found in the old city. I was introduced to Baroque and gothic structures, we just do not have these magnificent buildings in New Zealand.
True to his word Russell ( we later introduced ourselves)came back for me and we headed off to the truck. An enormous vehicle, a lot bigger than the trucks I was familiar with at home. He put my suitcase in the back of the truck and I carried my backpack into the cab. It was quite a thrill climbing three steps to get myself into the passenger seat of the cab. One that had two beds, and all mod cons including a GPS with a lady who kept recalculating throughout our trip. We drew out, stopping one last time to drop off , I presumed, more papers.
Once we were clear of the border station, he stopped the truck to lock the back with my bag in it. While stopped he asked if I wanted to use the toilet, a portaloo on the roadside. Thinking I’d better as I didn’t want to hold the guy up any longer than necessary. A disgusting experience, some one had crapped all over half the seat. The exercise in using squat toilets came in very useful.
He said while at the border crossing after going into the shed, one of the officers had come to him and asked ‘Britannia’? In all his trips he had never been asked to go to the office and did so in fear and trembling, thinking the x ray had discovered something. In the office the English speaker had asked if he was going south and while she did so, he had seen me playing on the ipad.The penny dropped and he heaved a sigh of relief.
I got back to ,the truck and there was a beautiful cup of coffee made. It tasted so good, just how I drink it. He apologised for the lack of sugar, but as I don’t have it , wasn’t a problem. In fact I had had been using the small packets of coffee and never did find one that did not have sugar. The pleasure of a decent coffee much appreciated. on the move again with a coffee in hand.
We passed portaloo after portaloo, for at least 2 kms, and I commented on them , apparently the queues to enter Russia can and do extend to those lengths. The waiting time anything from about six hours to twenty four hours, such a waste of time and productivity.
We continued on roads that would have shaken the life out of a car, the uneven surface making drinking coffee an adventure. The roads on our entire trip through Latvia never changed until we crossed into Lithuania.
Russell drove at a steady speed that was comfortable, he had a bouncy seat that must have absorbed some of the bone shaking roads. He picked up the radar, the cops and didn’t miss any thing road related.
We turned down a road I forget the reason , that had a signposted 17%
gradient. I ask you , 17% ? Any way he ended up having three goes at the hill.It even had the locals out at their front gates watching this enormous rig, stalling just before the top of the hill then of course going backwards . The mirrors massive, I had three on my side , I never did count them all. Back down at the bottom of the hill , we are ready for another run at the hill when a car appeared,He let that go then a last run ,finally making the top, it was edge of the seat driving for me, no doubt for Russell just another day in the office!
As we drove through Latvia he pointed out various points of interest, we chatted most of the time, obviously sharing the same interest in travel and a relief to be able to hold a conversation! Passing an old man sitting on a small stool milking his cow. It would have done any dairy farmer proud,nice cow.
Russell had driven over most of Europe at one time or another . Married to Dawn with three children, two grown and a little one called Freya.
Obviously a family man, with a very supportive wife, as his driving can have him away from home for months at a time. A professional driver, like all professionals, a pleasure to watch doing the things they do best.
The kilometers just disappeared, we covered all of Latvia in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Noticing a drunk slumped on the roadside, who had obviously had one for the road !
We got to the border of Lithuania, and Russell tells me that was the border! No signs to say so, just a change from the bone rattling Latvian roads to a surface that was more conducive to coffee drinking.
Lithuania was pretty from the start and I really enjoyed the ride through this country, the towns were attractive, and with the spring blossom everywhere , enchanting. Russell noticed a cop sitting on the road as we passed ,at the legal speed, and he goes oops, got to get road tax! Slowing the rig to a stop at a rather insignificant building he hops out and gets the road tax. I had asked about an ATM to get some money for a taxi, because neither of us knew how close we would be able get to the hostel. He came back to the truck and said no ATM but the banker lady would change some cash if I wanted to do that. I still had some US dollars stashed, so thought it appropriate to use one of the notes for cash. She actually gave a very good rate and I was pleased. Getting back into the truck , Russell is cooking our meal, a cabonara pasta , yum! It was a damn sight better than one I had a couple of nights previously in St Petersburg in a supposedly Italian Resturant.
After dinner it was on to Vilnius, he was keeping track of break times as they are required to do. Just outside of Vilnius we stopped and he put the hostel address into the GPS, it came up alright, but gave no indication of the width of the roads. We carried on and with a number of recalculations by the unseen lady telling us where to go, we reached the end of the road that I would find the hostel, just 750m away. With hazard lights flashing I scrambled out of the cab and grabbed my bag I didn’t want to hold Russell up if I could help it. Still very conscious of the fact that he had driven some 200 kms out of his way to drop me off here! So it was hasty goodbyes, and thank you from the bottom of my heart to man that I will never see again, who gave me a real insight into the kindness and life of a long haul trucker. Drive Safe , Russell!
As 9am drew nearer the receptionist tells me that I am being picked up to be taken to the border /customs control centre. The driver came to look for me, an English speaker! He escorted me to the car, a brand new Mercedes. Then proceeded to drive me the 300m to border control! Here he translated to the soldiers the reason for my presence. While listening to all this, another voice joined in , it was an English long haul truck driver. He had gone to St Petersburg to drop off musical instruments for a band that cancelled their gig. My Mercedes driver was the fixer for things Russian and the truck driver was part of the team.
Having handed me over to the customs officer, they both said goodbye and disappeared. The officer then took me on to the processing office and required a fine of 700 roubles. Sounded horrific but in the reality of NZ dollars it amounted to $20. Now the next problem, I rarely carry a lot of a money going between countries because sometimes they will not change a specific currency. So rather than have a lot of superfluous cash, there is little left. This I tried explaining to the officer, but I had a bankcard , so we then set off to the local bank type building ,which was closed. It would have been nearly a kilometre away, so as we returned to the control, he remembered there was a ATM at the hotel where I had spent the early hours of the morning.
Extracting some cash to cover the fine, we walked back to the offices, where after couple of hours I was allowed to walk through no mans land between Russia and Latvia, to the Latvian authorities. The stupid russians taking me off the train had not considered my ongoing travels. More stupid russians arranging my overnight ticket and messing up the visa date. The Latvian ladies in the office were very kind including one who spoke almost perfect English. She spent a good part of the day online trying to find a connecting bus or train. Finally coming to the conclusion the only way I was going to move on was by getting a ride with a driver going south to Vilnius.
Sitting watching out the window, fascinated by cars being stopped, searched and asked if they could take an old lady south. Further over was a very large shed that trucks were going through, stopping then exiting. The English speaker saying they xrayed the trucks for illegal loads. Its late afternoon and still no way of moving on despite the officers asking a lot of people. My English speaking friend had exhausted the online searches. Sitting playing on the iPad, its battery getting very low, I looked up after hearing a voice saying ‘she can ride with me’. It was the friendly truck driver I had met earlier this morning, he had only just got through customs, nearly 8 hours waiting in a queue.
His truck was waiting to go through the shed, so he smiled and said he would be back later.
