Last two days in Lithuania I was on a small journey with Mykolas. At first we visited his homeplace in Kernave - a silent beautiful cultural reserve with small village. And then went to lake Sartai (that is between Utena, the birthplace of best Lithuanian beer, and Ignalina, from where even some of Estonian power comes if I know correctly), where we fished, swimmed (by the way, it was my first swimming in this year), rode with the boat, drinked Jesus brewed home beer and ate śaslikas and fish.
Last two days have been a tough test for me. I didn't get to Warsaw in one day and now it actually seems even crazy idea that I hoped, as in Poland there is lots of smaller and bigger places, where road turns. It is almost impossible to get to Warsaw in a one car. And actually in some places traffic is quite light and most cars just don't stop.
From Vilnius to Kaunas everything went as planned. I got to highway with a free Maxima bus. There I went to Kebab road stop and asked if anyone goes to Kaunas. One guy said that he can take me along if he can get going as his car just doesn't start. Finally he still got it running and I was in Kaunas already before noon. Kaunas was quite a different from Vilnius. Kaunas seemed like an industrial city with everything little bit smaller and rougher, but I liked it... it was special. Especially I liked some graffitis and massive industrial looking steel bridges.
But from there my test of earth and fire started. Test of earth was the distance that I can go by foot my heavy bag on the shoulders plus tent and still Kaubamaja (Estonian supermarket) plastic bag with food stuff in hands. Test of fire was my resistance to sun. I didn't want to spend money there for a bus ride out from Kaunas, or actually I even didn't had enough litas anymore as I had to buy Coca-Cola to get into bathroom (or actually I wanted to buy, as it is better to get a cold refreshing drink and get to WC than just pay for some crappy public toilet). Ah yes, if you wonder, then yes, today's post has quite a lot of something that smells for advertisement, but why not, these companies and shops help me in one or other way to carry through my journey. Anyway, it was quite a way to walk, especially because in one place I made a wrong choice of the road. And then I still didn't know that this day the test of earth is just beginning. Same way I didn't understand how strong is the sun this day. Already last days being on the trip with Mykolas, I got a lot of sun, but it wasn't anything compared to this day. When I had crossed bridge in Kaunas, I felt that my arms are just burning. So I quickly turned my bag upside-down and found the sunblock. The same that I used in Kenya - 50+. This day I put it I think at least four times and I still felt that my hands are getting more and more red. Temperature was close to 40 degrees Celsius and on the way I started worrying about my water amount. Had to start conserving it.
Ok, anyway one guy drove me to the crossroad where he turned to Kaliningrad and my test got even worse. Before the Lithuanian-Polish border and on such roads with quite a few places good enough for stopping, no-one picked me up. I decided to walk. I think I walked about 20-30 km-s until I got to the last fuel station before the border. I already thought about putting my tent there as evening was getting close already, but didn't want to give up yet. Finally I found one truck driver who was heading to Bialystok, and he spoke english well. Ok, Bialystok is little bit away from the ideal route, but that chance I took. I wanted to get over the border in this day.
With the truck I got some way through Augustow, that is really beautiful small town close the border in Poland. After Augustow there was this crossroad where went the "straight" way towards Warsaw, and then other road south to Bialystok. And then truck driver made a stop for 45 minutes. I said to him that I go to try my luck on the other road and if unsuccessful, then I come back there in 45 minutes. I tried, but no cars stopped, but when time got close I decided that it is better to look for a place to raise my tent around there, as when we get to Bialystock it would be really dark, and I would have to walk away from the city, but this place was totally a countryside. Forest was only about four km-s away, but I decided to walk forward on the road to illusionary forest stripe in front. Actually, what at first seemed forest was some trees here and some in some other place, and mostly some houses near these little patches of wood. I walked and walked, it was getting dark. I met some young fellas on the road that still tried to catch a ride to Warsaw (probably locals), but they also had light reflecting sign. I walked still many kilometers, until finally said to myself that it is enough - I just have to find some place however bad it would be. My sleeping place was hidden by hills from two roads and one house. From other house it was fairly hidden by some bushes. I really didn't like this first night in the tent because wind was strong and flapped reeds and bush branches against my tent - test of air, not like I thought, but still. Probably in future I get more stronger wind that makes even walking hard. Ground wasn't flat, as it was on the edge of some farm field, and road was so close that I feared that I don't get any sleep. But I slept. I woke up every few hours, because of paranoia that someone, maybe landowner, is coming, but especially because traffic noises and cold. But then again I survived. I didn't need a sleeping bag or matt. It is my kind of traveling that requires good amount of will power. When I called going to Jesus' place a pilgrimage, then this suddenly started to feel much more like the real thing. Walking, feet in front of feet, next step, do not feel the tiredness or stress or sunburn, just continue and free yourself from everything.
In the morning I didn't feel as powerful as last day. Sunburns weren't a problem like I thought, even feet weren't as bad as I feared (My shoes are really great for walking the long distances - look for advertisement some posts down. Shoes were great also on excavated walkways of Lomza today, as no pebble got into these), but shoulders and my palms that held tent and the food bag were tired and painful. Also because seeing sun in this day was at first quite a rarity I didn't have such (will) power as before.
In a new day, hitching a ride went much better though, and drivers got more and more nicer (I don't write cool anymore, as then someone might confuse it with coldness of personality). So in that sense, that when getting closer to Warsawa it got easier and more pleasant to hitchhike, Poland is very different from Latvia. Yes, in rural areas and also in Lomza I saw some discouraging gestures and some guys who shrug the shoulders as the car would be full of people although they are alone and without any visible stuff taking the room.
I have best experience on this travel and second best on all my hitch-hikings (As when I got the ride to Viru Folk, about what I wrote in the past, was simply unforgetable). First of all, guy who took me to Warsawan speedway, made a little round because of me, and there I didn't have to wait even for ten minutes. But especially last driver was such an amazing guy as I finally found out. At first he seemed some ordinary businessman type, then my paranoid mind started saying to me that probably this guy isn't very happy because when he asked where I want in Warsaw, I said that anywhere is fine, but best would be the Center. You know, when you have a paranoid mind, then any one who talks the language that you don't understand, or times when you don't hear something well - these things start to seem suspicious. Anyway, as I already said he was the greatest. Well, he finally didn't take me to center, but still quite a way from his home to place where I can get to tram. That wasn't all of course. He gave me five żlotish to buy tickets and also gave me one of the best presents - a CD we listened in a car, about what I was curious who is singing as it is great polish music (it is his friend's band). Anyway, I learned a great lesson of not to judge people by their outlook, car, or even the way how they simply feel at first.
Oh, Warsaw is great. First big city on my way, with variety of both racially or philosophically/stylistically different people. Although Marek, my current host here, feels that blocks and houses of Warsaw don't fit together very well, I think it is at least best you can get in a country so lately been in the hands of Soviet Union. Warsaw seems basically what I have seen from plans and schemes about what Soviet Union planned for Tallinn too. For some reason, it happened in Warsaw, but not in Tallinn. And certainly Warsaw is best looking city I have visited so far. Even Stockholm, Berlin and Helsinki seem puny and unstylish in comparison, methinks. When I got to Warsaw, I think I really looked like some half-minded village person pretty much looking it all with an open-mouth. As well I could have written a sign saying "I'm from Estonia and I don't know what to do in such a big city". And in many cases I felt that people are looking me like I would be some hobo because of my dirty Kaubamaja plastic bag. Because of that I went today to find myself some bag made of cloth or cotton. I found really nice one that fits very well my shorts and overall style. It is not the biggest and because I found it at the edge of the old town, it wasn't the cheapest I recon, but I'm happy with that purchase.
Ah, and Warsawan girls are much better looking and nicer than ones in Vilnius or Tallinn. My first encounter was in this first tram. I had my ticket, but didn't see anywhere the place where to put it or what to do with it. So I asked from one girl. Actually at first just because I thought that young people know the english best, and because she was simply the closest one, but later I understood that I actually picked also the person who I liked most. And she really was nice. She smiled, talked very nicely and finally worried if I get to where I want to get. Then, when I went to eat (I chose a Kebab place, as in Italy for example I want to try Italian pasta and pizza, but Warsaw seemed like a good place to eat something Turkish), there was another young and very pretty girl who served me. She already really seemed as she would have fallen for me from the first moment. Sometimes she peeked at me from behind the corner, and she sometimes went to whisper with another waitress girl after coming from me. But, just to make all things clear, I don't have any plan to have closer contacts with girls here. For me there is now only one girl. She is really waiting me in Kenya already for almost a year and I have no plan to make something that would be unfair to her.
And I really like Marek. He is one of these very friendly Warsawians. We met already in city center, to go for a beer with his friends from office. He has bought me many beers and any other way shown the hospitality. His home is cozy and his friends are nice. I only feel sad that I can't meet his wife who is on the travel in Georgia now. We have had conversations with him on many topics and I have never felt as stranger or out of place. I feel that I should have made some present for him and his wife too, but I have such a limited money and even more limited knowledge of the city, so I don't know where to get something invaluable in meaning but cheap by price. But this is the life of hitch-hiking travellers and their hosts I guess.
Ah yes, I was talking about tests of the elements. Then there was also already small hint to the scary water tests coming in the future. Yeah, this time it only tried my psychology,.. made me fear. Already from the morning after this camping, sky was pretty much cloudy, but when I got to the speedway that goes straight to Warsaw, then sky was really dark and it was only question if I get to car before the rain or not. Anyway, as getting the car didn't take any time, I was safe in the car for about 90 km-s... 90 km-s that goes with the speed of 150 km-s per hour. So what after that... going to the rain? No I didn't have to, because just before the Warsaw, my luck smiled on me, or my faith and will payed off. Anyway, sun suddenly started to shine again. That is how it seems to be here. For example in the late evening sudden thunderstorm struck and ended soon and as suddenly as it started. But ride to Warsaw with a speed of 150 km/h in a road that still in large was one row road (for each direction) and surrounded by forests, shooting by the slower cars and dodging the ones that approach from other direction, this was quite scary. By the way, yeah what is interesting about Warsaw is that it is pretty much surrounded by forests (Marek said that three of four sides of the city is surrounded by forest), and when you come from northern Poland that was mostly empty farm land, then this seems surreal. When you are only a little bit away from city, it is hard to believe that there in the middle of this forest is a city housing millions of people, wide areas of very dense population and urban houses, especially that there are some skyscrapers in the middle.
Alright, this is all for this time and about Warsaw... tomorrow I will try to get to Brno in Czech Republic. I'm not going to Prague (what is especially sad, because I couldn't imagine, what is the old town of Prague, when already old town of Warsaw impressed me), because I get to sleep at Brno at the place of our friend David from Kenyan times.
Cześć (See you in Polish)
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