Riga

Posted on September 11, 2023 by Clunegapyears

07/09/2023

We stayed the previous night in another temporary city camping at the Expo centre. There was an event on, so the car park was pretty rammed. We managed to slot between two motorhomes … too close to be comfortable. I apologised in my best school girl German, to one neighbour and moved to a corner once the car park cleared. The office was only open in the morning, but fortunately, another German (yes, 8 German vans, 1 other UK and 1 Estonian) told me where to find everything. Just as well as showers were turn right … back of one expo hall, right again into next! It wasn’t as quiet as the Vilnius City Camping … boy racers doing wheelies, screeching tyres disturbed my sleep. At least it was only a short bike ride into the historic centre.

We joined a free (give a healthy tip at the end) walking tour. Another well-educated and well-informed guide. He did an intro on the history and influences of Latvia to start. Occupied mostly by Germany and tzarist Russia and briefly by Sweden and Poland. He also explained that the Latvian language was only created in the 1860s. Latvians had been serfs up till 1860, so they didn’t attend schools and spoke numerous dialects. The language is an amalgamation of these; phonetic, simple rules. It was adopted as it was taught at schools, which then became mandatory. However, 40% of the population speak Russian as their first language with Russian speaking schools teaching Latvian as the second language. A legacy from the Tzarist occupation when Russians were shipped in to work in growing industries.

Unlike Lithuania, which is strongly Catholic due to a long Polish occupation / affiliation, Latvia is not particularly religious … late to the Christian faith, originally Catholic, then the Russian influence of Orthodox, and under Soviet rule, religion was repressed. So churches have swapped faith and been redeployed as theatres, markets etc. Only returning as functioning churches after independence in 1991.

The only other time Latvia has been independent was 1920 until 1940. Even that didn’t go smoothly as a dictator took over in 1934. From 1940, it was occupied by the Germans and then the Soviets from 1944/5. So J and had a discussion about whether Latvia should even be an independent country. What contributes to national identity etc? At least when Russia invades, they are mostly bilingual!

After the walking tour, we used gps.mycity app to visit some other sights.

Statue on the parliament building. From a folk story where the hero attempts to slay a lion that represents all the country’s occupiers. The tale ended with a symbolic stalemate … there is the ever present *threat*.

*The House of the* *Blackheads building. Formally it operated like a guild of trades. Latvia claims they erected the world’s first ever decorated and lit Christmas tree*. *This and neighbouring buildings were flattened in WW2 and reconstructed.*

*We tried to have lunch at the huge market, but no dogs inside the food hall*

*Russian cannon balls in the wall of Powder Tower, a relic of the fortifications. It got its name as it was used as gun powder storage in C17*.

*Loved wandering the pretty streets and squares.*

*The 1934 dictator used speak* *from this* *balcony,* *so had* *the houses in front* *demolished* *to make a space for* *people to hear him!*

*Houses of the Three Brothers. Actually quite unrelated*, *as they* *were built at* *different* *times in different styles.*

We both really liked Riga. It’s very small but we walked around feeling pleased to be there. Lunch eventually … was a fab Mediterranean soup for me and good old fish and chips for J!

Rather than pay another €25 to stay at the city camping, we did the services and joined the stationary traffic to get across town. Let’s go away from town and around the ring road said I. Over an hour later, we finally escaped the traffic!

*A pretty overnight spot* *with no boy* *racers, just mosquitos!*

Vilnius

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Clunegapyears

06/09/2023

We caught the bus into Vilnius … but heading the wrong way. I’d tried to ask the chap standing at the bus stop if we were the correct side of the road. The answer was long, in Lithuanian, with lots of expansive arm gestures. We were none the wiser. So we hopped on the first bus … it said Centrum. The wrong centrum, as it slowly dawned on me, as I followed us on the map. A young man on the bus with English and a phone app put us right. Fortunately, each bus fare was only €1 each.

Using GPS.my city app we self guided out tour around Vilnius. A lot of churches. We went into some, but not all. Having been joined with Poland for many years, Lithuania is heavily Catholic.

*Of 9 city gates, only the Gate of Dawn remains C16*

On the other side is the chapel is the icon on the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy. This and other artefacts are said to protect the city and bless travellers. The lady in purple just wouldn’t move, despite another tourist yelling at her!

*Inside the Holy Spirit Orthadox Church*. *Unusual green iconostasis and the bodies of 3 saints.*

*The Cathedral that doesnt look like a cathedral! Remarkable for its simplicity and high side chapels. Reconstructed in 1770s.*

*Really liked the dripping Gothic facade of St Annes’s Church 1495.*

*A school group reluctant to move an* *risked* a *shower from* *the* *tree* *watering* *team.*

*The university was founded originally as a Jesuit college in 1579, making it the oldest university in the Baltics. It has 13 courtyards and we mingled in a few with the undergrads.*

*Palace of the Grand Dukes … only completed 2018 and a museum*

We considered doing a 2nd day in Vilnius, but it hadn’t grabbed us the way other cities had, such as Wroclaw or Krakow. We also felt that we missed the historical facts being connected up by not doing a paid for walking tour. So that evening I did some planning for the rest of our trip and booked walking tours for Riga, Tallin and warsaw.

Augustow … end of the Season

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Clunegapyears

03-04/09/2023

A drive from Treblinka to Augustow … home of a canal and 11 lakes. It seemed everyone and his wife, and their 8.6 children, had the same idea. It was rammed. No room at the Inn for us. We tried a hotel with a camper sign. 80Pln, about £15.20 to park in their car park … with no services. An extra £2pp to use the hotel toilet. Not happening. We rang a campsite. Same price, with hot showers, toilets and electricity! We booked on for 2 nights. A bit shabby and tired but showers hot and good pressure, and we paid to use the site washing machine.

On Monday, we cycled around one of the lakes. We spotted, oh, so many places we could have parked up had we arrived a day later. It was chalk and cheese. In season, out of season. Not been on the bikes since Callender in Scotland and Corrie trotted a good section, particularly over gravel and sand, so we kept our speed right down. 30km, and J could feel it in his legs and back, thankfully flattish and he sticks his bike in ‘pleasure’ mode (more pedal assist).

*Pretty scenery but nothing* *spectacular*. *Great* *for* *cycling*

We’d hoped to find somewhere to have a light lunch, but no. Everything shut up … end of the season. Just before returning to base we found a shop … very little stock… bought some revolting biscuits. I dribbled the jam on my Tshirt and ate most of them! J had better taste. A second shop had a better selection, so I bought a cheese and ham for lunch and the wherewithal for a BBQ.

Treblinka

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Clunegapyears

03/09/2023

We arrived at the Treblinka parking at 0830 before the museum opened. I just hoped staff didn’t think we’d overnighted here. The map showed that it was about 3km to the site of the labour camp. J fed Corrie and then I took her with me for the walk. J stayed behind to have his breakfast. Poor Corrie probably wished she’d stayed behind. She is the laziest dog. Once she’s done her business, she hopes to turn back. Every time I read an information board, she hung back in the hope that this was my final destination and that finally I’ll turn! We clocked up over 7km. The sheer size and scale is overwhelming.

Our route took me along the Black Road. Cobbled in the way it it had been. Although the headstones removed from Jewish cemeteries to be used as paving are now in the museum.

*Representation of the railway that brought in the undesirables, about 100 per cattle car.*

*Stones with the countries the victims came from. Treblinka was 2nd to Auschwitz / Birkenau in the number of people murdered there.*

*Monument to the murdered. Each small stone, about 17,000, represents a town or village where the victims came from*

*Tteblinka* I. *A huge area where just the labour camp footings remain. The Germans dismantled and destroyed the evidence*

*The huge gravel pit where people from the labour camp were forced to work 12+ hours a day.*

*Treblinka II. Wher*e *the gas chambers used to be. The new chamber could ‘process’ 2000 victims a day. Over 900,000 people were murdered.*

The museum was small, with little to add to the information boards at each location. However, there was a very moving film where a survivor talked of his experiences. He’d survived as he’d turned his hand to whatever was needed … brick layer, cutting off womens hair before entering the gas chamber, piling up dead bodies for more efficient burning. He’d escaped in August ’43 and fought with the resistance.

I don’t really know why I wanted to visit another extermination camp. Perhaps it’s something to do with the scale of former Jewish populations in each of the cities we’ve visited. To pay my respects. Treblinka is very different from Auschwitz / Birkenau, where the camps and extermination areas were left intact. But nonetheless, just as moving.

Sanomierz

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Clunegapyears

02/09/2023

Having been along and crossed over the River San several times, it seemed appropriate to see where it joined the Vistula. We didn’t, in the end. Conscious that we’ve still not made it to the Baltics and our tunnel is on 30th September, we cut our visit very short. We actually commented that whilst we are really enjoying this trip, having a deadline, and a looming deadline, creates a certain pressure.

So our limited time in Sandomierz was walking around the historic centre. Once the capital of the Duchy, it is very smart, with some fine and huge buildings. It would be easy to spend a weekend here going inside, climbing towers, going into the underground tunnels … and trying out some of the smart looking eateries.

*We did sample* *a baked* *cheesecake each. 😋*

We were pleased we’d not planned to stay overnight where we parked up for our visit. We’d arrived at 9.30 am and the garage / restaurant / Circle K shop owner approached us … slurring words, a beer in hand and repeating himself. A self confessed alcoholic. 😔 Having rejected offers of beer, a coffee and bikes to cycle into town, we eventually extracted ourselves. But not before I was told I’d nice eyes!

We drove 5+ hours up to a small town near Treblinka. Used Google Translate to ask at a restaurant if we could have a table at 7.30 and if we could sleep in our motorhome outside. No and yes. The owner wrote on a piece of paper that opening hours were 0900 – 2100. Aah … 24 hour clock! I amended Google Translate to a table at 1930 and sleep outside. All smiles … yes and yes. A pretty average but inexpensive meal … dishes around £8 each, but a bottle of warm rubbish Spanish (no choice) wine was £18!

Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels

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