2002 Trip to Lithuania: discovering the "Sahara desert" of the Baltic Sea

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The miles ahead are many, over 5,000, only ten days. Departure at night through the Romea. We go to Austria when she begins to dawn, the air is crisp, the group is perceived fatigue, we did not sleep a few hours we pull himself together and, having regard to fair condition, we decided to lengthen the distance, coming over Bratislava. About 1,200 kilometers of stage may be enough and, given the way we develop the trip, we could define them as decisive.

Leaving early, glorious weather. We walk the rest of Slovakia to the border with Poland, crossing the picturesque area of natural parks of the Tatra Mountains. Landscapes of unique beauty, lush and unspoiled nature, seems to be back in time. The road that surrounds the mountains to tempt folds.
Several stops for photos and to admire the villages and the villages of ancient origin Austro-Hungarian architecture elegantly stifled Soviet influence in the years in favor of huge, impersonal housing districts built, mostly in the lowlands, near the factories . In the early afternoon we arrive at Auschwitz. We reach the old barracks became infamous as the first Nazi concentration camp. In silence, embarrassed and almost fear, we go. A guide accompanies us in visiting the places of imprisonment, torture and trial of mass destruction. Everything that can be described as the unimaginable human aberration is Auschwitz.Ci even go near the concentration camp of Birkenau, the one reached by the railroad tracks. In the field, designed and developed to implement the mass murder, degradation el'ignominia have reached levels almost unbelievable, it's hard to believe the story of our guide. E 'fell silent, too silent cameras. It 'almost evening when we go back in motion, a sunset gloomy guiding our search for a hotel, we find him near the train station. It 'great, dispersive half-empty, the ideal container for a sad evening.

Leaden sky on awakening, a heavy rain on bikes left in the parking lot outside. Is not really the ideal stage for the task that lies ahead, go back as much as possible closer to Poland and the Lithuanian border. The rain became a downpour and we make acquaintance with the murderous conditions of roads in Poland, mostly marked by the deep ruts caused by heavy trucks. To keep the "media" we must overtake bulky vehicles, crossing and recrossing the grooves become genuine channels. The tension and focus are at the highest levels. Drive in these conditions throughout the morning. Wander Warsaw to avoid local traffic. We decide to stop for the night in Lomza, not far from the Lithuanian border.



The weather is back and takes us to the border with Lithuania. We enter the Baltic republics. The landscape is as we had imagined, dominated by green forests and by the blue sky. Even the roads are improved, well kept, you can start to do some styling. And 'hot! The road runs beside the bed of a river that will lead us towards the Baltic Sea. The campaign is simple, but cured. It 'clear the rural tradition of this people. The houses are small, one or two floors and brightly colored hues, are made of wood, as are the towers of churches. Inevitable storks, which nest everywhere. In late afternoon we are near the sea, Silute, we choose to spend the night. Housed in a strange hotel, early-century style, the bikes were placed in two funds behind the hotel, we are close to areas of maritime traffic, the caution is never enough. There is difficulty in communication, English is not well known, the better German.

A hot morning takes us to the ferry from Klaipeda takes just a few minutes in the Curonian Spit. It 'a barge carrying everything from vehicles of all kinds, bicycles, passengers. The bikes attract interest and curiosity. Landed on the peninsula left the area purely for tourist to go into the park to the south, bordering the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The black ribbon of asphalt that cuts through the forest down to the sea and the traffic is almost nonexistent. Fewer tourists, a paradise. Begin to appear the first dunes that give the change to pine forests. Stop for entering the forest of the "Hill of Witches", an original collection of statues carved on wood, evidence of widespread popular traditions in these regions and rooted in the ancient polytheism and totemism. We still had to drive back toward the south, the landscape becomes more rugged, the sand dunes now follow each other more stately and tall, up to jump into the sea. Nida is the last village before the Russian border. Neat, quiet, with brightly colored dachas, here we spend the night. But meanwhile, the way to the white dunes, which "move" under the gusts of wind. And 'finally' Lithuanian Sahara ", to over 2,500 km. home. The sunset we saw along the sea, a vast beach, windy, and some really brave, plunge into the icy waters of the Baltic. We placed in a comfortable dacha, run by a strict and militaristic lady, that just is not keen to see our bikes parked in the back garden. And tomorrow starts the return.

Let the dunes of Neringa we head east, destination Vilnius, the capital. Cross a mostly flat area. The landscape is characterized by endless fields of yellow and green, going to meet the horizon with the sky blue. Pass Siauliai, quick detour to Kryziu Kalnas, the Hill of Crosses. This is a hill completely covered with crosses, hundreds of thousands, millions, more, any size, any material, even hung together. Its origin is lost in time, but since tsarist and then after the second war, during the years of Soviet government, which started to become a place of devotion, a pilgrimage thwarted by the authorities and thus also become a symbol of resistance. We climb up the path that runs through the hill, the sun barely pass between the cracks of the jungle shadows of crosses and reflects strange, it seems to lose its orientation. And maybe at night, even with the wind, seems also to hear the voices. Shop at the stalls, a small wooden cross, we have not come to pray, we just want to witness the visit of the hill symbol. Appendix that read:
"That we can continue to travel with the thought, word, with the bike." The evening stop in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. From tomorrow the return through the deadly roads in Poland and the wide streets in Austria, passing through the Grossglockner.