North from Poland you hit The Baltic States, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and these were new countries for both of us. For a lot of the 20thCentury they were under “occupation”. First by Soviet Union in 1939 under a pact with Germany to divide Europe between them then by Germany in 1941 when Germany invaded Russia and then once again by Russia in late 1944/45 when they re-occupied the States under communist rule up until independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time many atrocities occurred both by Germany and the Russians with citizens deported and often killed. In all the countries you can find many monuments and memorials as well as cemeteries for those killed during this time.
The Lake at Kaunas
First stop on this part of the tour was Kaunas in Lithuania. The weather was still very hot and we found a really nice campsite next to a very popular lake that was used for lots of recreation. The beaches were packed with many people while on the lake, activities included rowing, wakeboarding as well as a great obstacle course. People seemed to be using the facilities until late into the evening as it was so warm.
Statue
Cycling the 6 kms into the old town was again so easy on the cycle tracks so we spent a couple of days there. The old architecture was once again superb but sadly this time where buildings were damaged or destroyed during the last century they have been replaced with “Communist concrete monstrosities” Many areas of the Baltic States seemed to have traditional buildings with these concrete blocks of flats scattered amongst them.
Pope John-Paul preached here
Ornate Church Interior
Kaunas Town Square
Beautiful Church
A Church in Kaunas with "Communist" architecture around
The Funicular had closed down
Drawings on the wall
Kaunas Castle
Local Street Painting is a big thing in Kaunas
From Kaunas we headed towards the coast at Klaipeda where we needed to catch a ferry for about 300metres across to The Curonian Spit. This oddity is a sand spit that almost cuts of a bay in the Baltic Sea. The northern end has a gap to the Baltic Sea and this is where the port of Klaipeda is. It is also the only access onto this spit from Lithuania. The southern end is attached to the mainland but this is in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The Lithuanian section is about 50 kms north to south and around 1 km wide made up of sand dunes and pine forests. The areas we were heading for was down near the Russian border in a small resort town of Nida. The campsite here was very pretty in the forest but another of those that they cram as many in as possible so space was very tight. Cycling through the pine forests though to small villages with coloured wooden buildings and statues was again a pleasure. The beaches were long soft golden sands with the Baltic on one side and the Lagoon on the other. A ride down to the border was a must and we thought security may be tight but we didn’t see anyone apart from signs saying no photography. Obviously the camera came out to record this.
Nida had a Jazz festival on at the time we were there so the village was bustling and very enjoyable with many locals and tourists sitting on the grass by the lagoon listening to the band play
Sand Sculpture
Old Weathervanes
A Calm Lagoon
Enjoying the Jazz
At the Russian Border
Once back on the mainland it was time to head north once again stopping in many of the villages and towns, sometimes just to look around if something caught our eye or others to stay a night or two and explore the area. One such place we just happened to spot was a large “memorial stone” shining in the sun to one side of the road in the forest. We had read of many atrocities happening in Lithuania as well as the other Baltic States. Many Lithuanians joined forces with the German occupiers and “assisted voluntarily” in the Holocaust. The stone was a memorial to the 240 Jews killed at that spot on 6thAugust 1941. We happened to be at that stone on the 6thAugust 2018, exactly 77 years after. What was more poignant was just past the stone was a rectangular pit with a simple wooden cross that we assumed was the original grave.
The next town we came to was Sabile with home made bunting draped across the streets and a house with loads of “cloth people” in the garden we felt we had to stop and explore. The town also has the worlds most northerly vineyard on a hill plus an old manor just outside the town that a sculptor now owns and has filled the many hectares with his stone and metal work.
The Memorial stone we first saw
The unused execution pit
The Synagogue in Sabile
The Vineyard
a few of the sculptures
What we didn’t know until later when I did a bit of research on the internet with regard to the Memorial stone in the woods was that the 240 were shot at the side of 3 rectangular pits. Two were filled in with the bodies and the 3rdwas for the execution of some Roma Gypsies that managed to escape. Not only that but the 240 Jewish men, women and children murdered were from Sabile and they had been rounded up and locked in the Synagogue on 5thAugust then taken the next day to where they were killed. We had photographed a nicely coloured building and didn’t know at the time that it was the Synagogue.
It was not just the Germans in the 1941-44 time that caused death and destruction as we have visited two relics of the “Cold War” era. The first was a nuclear missile bunker that was left empty in 1991 when the The Baltic States regained independence from Russia. We were able to get into the control rooms as well as some of the machinery areas. The Russians cleared out this missile launch area and things they could not get out they destroyed like a huge diesel engine that ran the generators. What to us was the most “sinister” things were the 4 huge missile silos that we could enter. Obviously these are empty now but standing inside the dome looking down a long way made you realise how big these missiles are. This base was a secret area in the forests and was only “discovered” in the mid 90s and opened to the public recently
Looking down the missile silo
Jan looking down the silo
On top of the ground
The second one was another top secret Russian defence centre but this time was the secret security bunker for the Communist government in times of war. This place even remained secret up until a couple of years ago as the Latvian Government hoped to be able to use it now the “enemy” is Russia. It is a huge underground shelter and command centre that still has a lot of the systems in place as when the Russians left. To us what is very sinister about this one is once again it is in the middle of nowhere some distance out of Riga in a large forest. The centre is all underground and was built from 1970 to 1980. For the 2 years after that they built a rehabilitation centre with spa, saunas as well as hospital facilities above ground. As far as anyone knew it was a hospital etc for the Communist elite. It is still a rehabilitation centre and walking in the main entrance then taking a few doors and stairs down you enter a different secret world with maps on the walls, rooms in honour of Lenin, rooms full of telecommunication equipment, generators that still operate as well as an air supply system. All for use of the Communist governors in times of nuclear war.
The Rehabilitation centre grounds
Jan on the hotline
Gas Mask
In the Lenin Room
Riga was a beautiful city and like most of them in the Baltic area it has a medieval centre with many original buildings. We stayed for a night at Jurmala, which is Riga’s posh neighbour or rather it was. Again back in Communist time this was the place that all “good” Communists came for the holidays and seaside. The Russians had built up the resort removing many of the original houses and built large monstrous concrete flats and apartments plus lots of saunas, Gyms and many leisure facilities for the elite. Now many of these are crumbling relics, empty and unused. Many of the original houses are being renovated but much needs to be done. Even the architecture of the stations is pretty amazing.
Our Camp with derelict Russian "luxury" apartments and Gym
Original houses renovated
some need some work still
Some used as hotels
Mike Busking as we needed some cash
Bears in the city centre
Riga at Night
Our river front campsite
Riga at night
I
t was still very hot in Riga and once again a really easy ride into the medieval heart of the city but as we moved again north the weather changed and cooler wetter times came in by the time we got to Tallinn and the furthest point north. Tallinn is another of the medieval Old Towns but this time very busy with tourists. We went into the city late in the afternoon we arrived and it was really enjoyable. Lots of tourists wandering around but not too many. The Cruise ships tend to depart around 17.00 so the passengers are back on board late afternoon. We went in again the next day and as we walked along the coast you could see that 5 huge liners were in plus several Baltic Ferries. We looked thse ships up and they have over 2000 passengers each so walking in the old narrow streets and winding hills of Tallinn was not that pleasant. Way too many people in a small area of narrow streets. After lunch the weather also broke with hard rain so that may have helped dispurse the tourists but it became a lot easier to get around. One good thing about having storms about is it can produce lovely clouds that really enhance the sunsets.
Beautiful sunsets
The gates to the Old town
Jan and Friend
Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Justament playing in the town square
And the rain came down
Big Cruise ships in port
Rain over Tallinn
Another town we stopped for a night was Parnu. At this campsite we could only stop one night as they had a “Classic Car Show” the next day and needed all the room. It was a bit surreal parking up next to very old cars. The next day we also found a Jet Ski Grand Prix happening so spent a few hours watching the practise.
Parking with the Old cars
Jet Ski Racing
After Tallinn it was heading south again and hoping the weather warms up. This time we would travel south down the eastern side of the country and we found this very rural in Estonia. Much smaller fields and a lot of pine forests. We spent a couple of nights around Lake Pepsei which is the border with Russia. Here we even found a white castle that was built very much copying Balmoral in Scotland.
It is just this memorial and graveyard is all that is left of a large POW camp from WWII
This Memorial is for the Latvian Independence Wars back in 1919
Lake Pepsei
Villages by Lake Pepsei
Is this Balmoral?
Builder had the plans upside down
The Baltic States are a very flat area with hills, even small ones at a premium so it was surprising to find a ski area. Yes we had seen signs for skiing but assumed is was Nordic skiing with cross country. At Cēsis in Latvia we were very surprised to go for a walk along the river Gauja and come across an Alpine resort with 4 ski runs and 3 lifts. It also had a derelict Russian Bobsleigh Track. The runs may not be long, max 500 metres but looked ok with snow making machines stored ready to use.
derelict Bobsleigh Run
ski lifts
Our camp beside the river
Cēsis Castle
Our final stop in Latvia on the way south was at Rundales and this was to see the magnificent Places, built very much on the lines of Versailles in Paris. It is a beautiful building and grounds. We went on a Saturday and we suspect so did all the brides that had married that day for miles around. It was funny watching the queues for each wedding to take its turn on the steps or by the fountain. I lost count of how many wedding parties their were having photos taken with the Palace or the grounds as the backdrop.
Rundales Palace
Count the weddings waiting around
We are now back in Lithuania and at the capital, Vilnius. Another city with an old centre and many hundreds of churches. It has been our first visit to the Baltic States and we have loved all three of them.
Thank you for reading and please don’t forget to let us have your comments. Our next country on “Our Grand Tour” is to return back into Poland but this time heading down the Eastern side as we move further south.
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