After Klaipeda I started cycling towards Curoniqn Spit and Nida, even though it was not my plan that I had made during my stay in Klaipeda. In general, I have very flexible plans and they might change very fast. Curonian Spit is a border between Lithuania and Kaliningrad. What a different feeling it was to cycle with new energy, while following beautifull white sand shoreline. On the one side there was big dunes and on the other side was peacefull lagon, in between pain forest. I pitched my tent next to the lagon, and while I had a swim a family had ended up having a dinner close to my camp. They invited me to join them to eat some smoked fish and of course i went. Smoked and dried fish can be found all over Baltics and it is very deligious!
The next day i continued towards Nida, and planned to take a ferry back to mainland. I met a couple from Holland, whom i had met earlier on the trip. We shared the same route all the way to Poland, so we decided to cycle together. Ber and Christel are just pure inspiration, and my new idols! This kind of sparkles I want to have in my eyes as well, when I get older. How hard it was to say goodbyes in Sweinka, in Poland.
For me, Lithuania was the most surprising country in Baltics. The hospitality and help of the
strangers was once again overwhelming. Most of the roads, which i did in Lithuania were not along the Euro Velo cycling routes. After leaving the costline, I followed Kaliningrad border, and tried swimming across Nemuna river to Kaliningrad, but the border patrol came with the boat, when i was half way through.. So i had to skip the plan. In Lithuania it is easy to find a place to pitch a tent, and they have free camping places with all the facilities but water. Even if i loved my holiday next to the beach, the rolling hills close to border with Poland was my favorite cycling part. In Finland we dont have that kind of a landscape, and the hills were easy to cycle, and of course easier to roll down :)
Here comes some random facts about Lithuania and Lithuanians, which i heard from the locals: When the local people heard that i come from Finland, they always said that Finland is a good country, since it was the first country recognizing Lithuania as an independent country. Lithuanians drink more alcohol than Finnish people. In the beginning of 2015, Lithuania changed their currency to euros, and all the prices went up. In eurozone Lithuanians get the least money in salary, the minimum wage being only around 400 euros (!). I really got impressed by the woodwork in Lithuania, beautifull carpender work can be seen along the roads.
After leaving Lithuania my right hand stopped getting numm while cycling, which has been a problem since I left for the trip. I also had some pain on my sholder, but one morning when i woke up it was also gone. The cycling itself feels good and I have found my speed and rythym for my days. I have not had any problems with the bike for long time (until i got to Poland) and the bike has been rolling nicely. I have learned to know how far I can get during one day and what are my limits.
Currently, I am in Poland, south west from Bierbrqnzki National Park watching two eagles flying in the sky. Of course, my back tire got some problems in middle of the National Park, middle of nowhere. The outer tube didn't stay on the wheel anymore. Might be that even if I let out some pressure out when I was doing small dusty roads for one day, which were in very bad condition, the tube got damaged.. I tried fixing it, but the the back wheel kept jumping. I was lucky once again and there was a car with flat tire and when Thomak got spare tire for his car, he gave me a lift to Lomza and I went to see a bikeshop. They told me that the outer tube needs to be changed. My chain had started had streched also, so i changed that as well. And where am I know? I am just outside of Bierbrqnzki National Park and made friends with Thomak and Natalie :)
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