Moving Around Europe - Rise of a Weekend Warrior
 

Out on the road with no fixed plan.Went to Nordkapp from Helsinki for a warm up ride,rains greeted me with open arms for couple of days.But that is how the start of this summer has been in Finland.

Till Oulu and beyond it was little bit boring to ride on the straight roads.But be ready to be surprised by the thick forests,beautiful lakes and lot of mosquitoes as you enter Lapland.Have to pitch tents in lightning speeds with all the gears ON.

There is this river which runs along Finland and Swden border which is ideal for fishing and other activities,it accompanies you all the way till Norway along the E8 highway and then disappears somewhere in the mountains. Heading to Nordkapp from Kilpisjarvi through Norway was a good idea,I had planned my return through Rovaniemi for quick a chit-chat and coffee with Santa.


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Ride went pretty well except the weather became quite bad as i reached Nordkapp and there were lot of tourists around including me ofcourse :D

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Cheers
Biru

Some more from the Nordkapp side of the world

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Returned back to Lapland as i was missing the giant mosquitoes a lot,had a brief stop at Rovaniemi and selfie with Santa and i was off to Oulu.

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To make things interesting on the way back to Helsinki i took some help from best biking roads site and it turned out to be pretty good.I was riding around some country roads with spectacular views.Not to forget lot of clean water lakes,lush green forests and the bad weather :rain:

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Next weekend we move to Estonia in the next post :)

Cheers
Biru

Tallin is two and a half hour by Viking Line or Silja line cruise,viking line being the cheapest AFAIK.The other option is to go thru the pain of getting a Russian visa and ride all the way by land and enter Estonia through Narva. Finished my work for Friday and took the 9 PM ferry to reach Tallin.Being bit late for the Friday night,all i could do is check-in in a hostel and grab some beer to make up for the lost party time ;)

Over the weekend i moved to Narva-Tartu-Parnu-Kuressaare and back to Tallin.Weather played spoil sport at some sections but who cares.

Quick detour to Jagal Juga

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Accidentally bumped into this war memorial ceremony,Follow the brown sign boards as they say.There was very tight security around and i was checked thoroughly before i could go inside and figure out what exactly is going ON.But,it was quite interesting to see,how people respect the freedom they have been awarded these martyr's who laid their life for better future.

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Narva was pretty good,specially the fortification,its location and again a beautiful river acting as a border.While i took the tickets for visiting Narva fort,i was presented with this small coin by which i could buy anything in the local shops inside the fort complex.

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Reminds me of Pink Floyd - Division Bell - All time favorite.

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Cheers
Biru

I was surviving on Hot Dogs during the day and beer during the night,And this was the first time i noticed that there are two sorts of Hot Dogs.One American and another is French.French ones usually have the closed bread and sauces are filled inside it and american one comes with a open bread and we have a choice to fill in some more fillers.Well that was just an observation which i converted into my understanding.
Noticed lots of cops cars and bikes around the Tallin-Narva route.As i was in Tartru for the night i planned to go to the Tartu Cathedral in the morning.

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Some countryside landscapes.

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At last made it to Kuressaare.Frequest ferries are there to connect Virtsu and and Kuivastu.There was huge line of cars waiting to go other side at Virtsu,more than 1-2 Km i think.Same was the case on the other side at Kuivastu.Weekend is to be blamed i think,i didn't waited for the queue and went ahead as our sweet little motorbikes can be easily tucked in any tiny little corner without hassling with the car park spaces in the ferries.

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I always wanted to visit Kuressaare,such a rich history it has.Starting from Danish rule,Swedish rule and then russians came along and then world war.You can see all the pieces of history very well presevered,explained and properly stored with all the details in Kuressaare castle.

This one made me think a lot,such a distraction it can become :thumbup1:

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Outside the castle

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Returned back to Tallin with this last stop.Had to bang my head on the keyboard for the next few days,Until the weekend arrives.

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Next post coming up for the weekend adventures in Latvia and Lithuania.

Cheers
Biru

This weekend and following weekdays i am riding around Poland,Have gone through lots of thread in HUBB about Poland and i could figure out the coastal part around Gdansk is amazing place to be and not to miss the architectural heritage of Warsaw,Wroclaw and Krakow.If you see a fat bloke riding on a old CB500,don't forget to say 'Juley'

Cheers
Biru

Great read and photos...but I can not see the last posts photos, just getting a picture of a camera with 600 underneath it. Might just be my connection

Wayne

Another week went by and i had the same Friday viking line cruise booked for overnight arrival in Tallin.Unlike last time i decided to ride ahead 100 Km or so and rest for the day.But,only a rider would understand how difficult it is stop once we are one with the bike and the road.

Good Morning Latvia
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I crossed over the border and made my way to Turadia castle.I was too early here,like two hours before the castle gates open.How to kill the time,i tried to take a power nap while sitting on the bike.But failed miserably. :rolleyes2:

Finally the gates opened and i could go and pee in the restroom instead of fertilizing the wild plants out in the open.

I was told at the reception that this castle was abandoned after a fire in the medieval years.All the things i will see in pristine condition in the campus is restored/rebuilt.Best thing about Turadia was the main tower,where you can climb till the top and enjoy the spectacular landscapes of Gauja National park and Gauja river.

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Another popular castle known as Cesis castle is in close proximity and should not be missed.I was bit lucky that when i reached at Cesis castle,there was some festival in progress.Lot of traditional activities were going on.I managed to mingle in with the gentleman who has these armors on display.We exchanged some knowledge of our histories and where the world is heading today.Meanwhile i tried some armors and it only made me feel like a midget..every armor was quite loose.

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I found Latvian countryside landscapes quite beautiful and appealing

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I had heard a lot about Liepaja and the beautiful coast this city has.But due to shortage of time,i had to return from Kuldiga.Kuldiga has this widest waterfall in entire Europe popularly known as Ventas Rumba

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This old bridge has some history too,but i don't know much..so google has to solve the mystery here.

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Spotted these beautiful dolls made of clothes next to the road leading to Kuldiga.It was in Sabile as far as i remember.Also found this gem lying around in the middle which tickled my motorcyclist fantasy to stop and lay my arse on the saddle.

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I wasn't the only who was affectionate about this Ural :innocent:

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I came back to Riga and left my bike at the airport.Had to go back to Helsinki for the rest of the week to work and plan for the next weekend ofcourse ;)
Approximate charge for parking for 4 days was around 15 Euros with a free pick up and drop facility.:thumbup1:

Cheers
Biru

In krakow now..its raining cats and dog.Skipped Northern Poland as i need a break from history and architecture.Heading to Slovakia's High Tatras and then further towards Transfagarasan.I could never pronounce it correctly while speaking,but i hope i did it right while writing :mchappy:

Cheers
Biru

Came back to Riga on the following weekend.Air Baltic is my savior for jumping over on the weekends to these Baltic countries.Did you know there are 187,888 lakes in Finland larger than 500 square metres,Well here is a small trailer :)

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Arrived in Riga,picked up my bike and went to the old town for quick tour.

Freedom Monument Riga

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House of Blackheads

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There was some music festival going-on in the city Centrel area.I decided to come back in the evening,have few rounds of beer and enjoy the serenity of this place.

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House of Blackheads and St Peter's church Riga in the middle

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Around Daugava river

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Riga Cathedral,Beautiful Lutheran church dating from 13th century.

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Random street art near St Peter's church.

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I returned back to my hostel,left my bike and came back to the center as i promised myself to not skip the beer,lovely music and lively crowd.

See you in Lithuania on my next post :)

Cheers
Biru

Me and my partner were back on the road next morning to move towards Lithuania from Riga.To make things interesting we decided to pick a trail and visit Rundale Palace.

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And we were here quite early.It was still more than one hour for the palace gates to open.From what i read through the internet,this palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland.I further read about baroque style and it's a artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, theater, and music.

Well,I don't know about all this...But I only got to see the palace from outside and i ran off to Lithuania :)

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As you enter Lithuania,you cannot miss the Hill of crosses.Just few meters away from the main highway E77.

Hill of crosses holds around 200000 crosses of various sizes and the count is increasing day by day.People put these crosses to express their devotion for Christ.It is a symbol of entire nations unshakable faith it's past suffering and Hope.

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Cheers
Biru

great trip report showing how you can see such a great deal in just a few weekends away

I was scrolling through google maps for planning the route in Lithuania and on the coastal side between Klaipeda and Palanga i saw some WW2 ruins.I planned to go Palanga and then take this road which runs parallel to the coastline until Klaipeda.However i miserably failed to find what i saw in the Google maps,except lot of people sunbathing,popping up beer cans and having good time all along the coast line :)

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From Klaipeda i moved towards Silute and planned to stay somewhere around there for the day.But couldn't find any shelter which could fit my budget.I started towards Kaunas which was safest bet for cheap accommodation.

Meanwhile on the way.

Panemune Castle

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Raudone Castle

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Running out of Sunlight :)

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Reached around 11 PM in the night at the hostel and this "Backpackers Wall" made my day.

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Just before entering my room,saw this Japnese guy punching and kicking walls in the hallway in the middle of night.I am like "WTF is this guy upto".Later on met this guy again when i was having Beer in the common area.Apparently he was backpacking around Europe and he was from Southern province in Japan.The most interesting thing was 'He hardly knew any English' and he was still travelling without any issues at all.I would give the credit to European countries and the people who make it quite easy for the travelers.

Cheers
Biru

Next morning i jumped into my tourist pants and went around the old town area clicking pictures and eating ice cream.

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Kaunas castle is mid-14th century castle built in Gothic style.Located next to the banks of the Neris River.

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Cheers
Biru

With a quick excursion in Kaunas centrum,I moved towards Vilnius.But before that i planned a quick visit to the very popular Trakai Linna.

The castle is situated on Lake Galve on the island. The castle represents mainly Gothic architecture and is flocked with lot of tourists like me in Summer time.Not to forget,it's a favorite spot for Lithuanian people as well.

Trakai Museum
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Trakai Castle

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There was a minor entry fees of 6 Euro for the castle and there was a music festival going on as well.Right inside the castle in the middle of it,I wonder if the sound waves might damage the weak ruins/areas of the walls.

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Trakai Linna in its glorious days.

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It started to drizzle a bit with lot of scary black clouds.I just sat next to the Lake Glave,grabbed a coffee and a local dish in trakai called as "Kibinai" and started munching my random thoughts.

We moved to Vilnius in the evening to wrap up another weekend and leave back to Helsinki through Air Baltic with a single Hop to Riga.Meanwhile in the hostel,met two Portuguese girls and another girl from Hungary.We got into some interesting conversation and they were going for party with few guys and asked me to join,But damn my bad luck i had early morning flight to Helsinki.Though i ended up having a beer or two with a guy from Mauritius.bier


Cheers
Biru

Everyday of the weekday was quite difficult to live with.Its Friday morning and Yippee we are back on the air overlooking the beautiful highway and alluring forests of Finland.

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Still had to work for the rest of Friday and in the evening i was off to roam around Centrum. My hostel was quite close to the Gates of dawn.

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Vilnius Town Hall - grand and beautiful :)

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Palace of Grand Dukes of Lithuania

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A beautiful church from inside.

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It was evening and this hill next to the Palace of Grand duke caught my attention.This was the Upper castle area and has a tower which is called as Gediminas Tower.

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View of the town from Upper Castle.

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Church St Anne

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Stumbled upon this wall with the artworks mounted on it,The wall is a sort of memorial to many famous writers and poets.

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There were other wonderful places to be visited in Vilnius,but i decided to return back to the hostel and rest for the day.

Cheers
Biru

From all the Polish people i have met on the way,the only two recommendation i got was to visit the coastal area around Gdansk and Tatra mountains around Zakopane.Poland being a comparatively big country,it looked quite challenging to scale the places i want to go over a weekend.It was difficult to make a choice between two,but i went ahead with Tatra Mountains :thumbup1:

Spotted this beautiful wooden church as soon as i ventured in Poland.

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I reached Warsaw and checked in a hostel named "Lotus Guest House".There was plenty of sunshine outside and city center was few thousand meters walks away.I decided to go for a stroll.

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And the centrum area,quite cheerful,alive and kicking :)

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Lots of statues :)

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Back to the buildings in the centrum area.
Free Music gig and paid beer,good combo to get drunk perhaps :)

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Took a U turn from here,realized that i have come too far and walking back is going to be a pain in the liver as it was time to feed it with some beer or Polish vodka.

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Nice art work.

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And beautiful sunset over Warsaw palace and old town area.

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I returned back and picked up this Polish vodka on the way.And retail store owner advised me that drink it neat as shots,that's how polish people take it.I said 'I I Captain'.

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Came back to the hostel had three shots and next thing i know,it was Sunday morning already.Time to hit the road again :)

Cheers
Biru