03.09.2022-08.09.2022, 1220 km

The beginning of September, the last sunny days. My partner and I decided to use them.

03.09 Sat, 236 km

We took off in the morning. The first stop was a nice restaurant "Spokojna" in Lomza.

The next stop was the memorial in Jedwabne. It memorializes the Jews burnt in a barn during the World War II.

Then we took a stop in Rajgrod. My partner has a sentiment because he used to spend his vacation here.

Then we arrived in Suwalki.

Our accommodation was in the village Wychodne. They breed their own fallow deer. The owner was worried that they might fight our bikes, but they didn't care much about them.

The accommodation was very pleasant. We had a little house with a porch to ourselves, next to a lake. And, of course, these little fallow fellows running around... Fabulous.

Before we went to sleep, we had a chat with the family running this place. I especially enjoyed talking to an older man with crutches. He was a kind of person you don't meet often. He was smart, talked just the right amount, shared, but also listened and knew when to say exactly the right thing. We talked about the deer, motorcyclists and how fragile we all are.

04.09 Sun, 205 km

First thing in the morning, we enjoyed the enchanting acommodation.

Some chicks were hitting on my man.

Then we took off to visit a few places in the area. The first two were the viewing points.

This place could be seen in the movie "Pan Tadeusz". A unique lookout on three lakes.

The tri-border area. Of course, the Russian side is heavily guarded and you better not put a foot on it. Seriously, it could get ugly. You can get a ticket or even a night in jail.

Another viewing point. From here we can see our next destination.

And here we are, the famous bridges in Stanczyki. Honestly, I thought it would be less commercial.

But they sure are lovely. Beautiful colors.

No standing unter the bridges? Then how the hell are people supposed to meet? (That's how I met my man and a few other people.)

Then we visited Goldap. We saw the graduation tower. And then sat there a little longer and enjoyed the weather. It was getting late though and I still wanted to see the pyramid in Rapa.

When we got there, the parking was already closing and we had to park outside of it.

It was around 19:00, when it started getting dark and we headed back home. It was rather unpleasant, because the roades we took were in terrible shape. Bad roades, cold, darkness... the worst combination. We should've watched time better or taken better roades home at this hour.

05.09, 222 km

The first stop today was the Post-Camaldolese Monastery in Wigry.

The cult of John Paul II. HE was standing here!! OMG

But the monastery was indeed beautiful.

And the surroundings too.

A short stop to grab a bite to eat before we drive to expensive Lithuania.

And there it is, the Neman.

The glass pyramide, Merkinės Piramidė. Interesting accoustic.

Then we went straight to our accommodation in Vilnius. The hosts were nice and could speak Polish. We had a little seperate home, not far away from the city.

The prices are indeed high and the language is really weird.

06.09, 24 km walk

Today we were exploring Vilnius by foot.

I wish we had something like that in Warsaw so that we could wash hands or get some water.

The old town is really huge in Vilnius.

The basilica

The bastille

The three crosses

The view of the city was nice. You could see how big the old town is.

The Užupis district, known for its bohemian and laissez-faire atmosphere.

The Lithuanian garlic bread with cheese. Tasty, fatty and filling, but so unhealthy.

The museum of Adam Mickiewicz was closed due to some meeting. Bad luck.

The Gate of Dawn. The entrance is a little hidden and pictures are not allowed. We were closely observed by some lady.

The old prison that serves as a place for events. Cool.

Nothing like a good beer at the end of the day. The place was called "Beer library". The service was nice, but it was very loud there.

07.09, 228 km

In the morning we went to see the Naugarduko g. 31a, the place with many interesting murals.

The hill of angels

Nearby was Uzutrakio dvaro sodybos rumai - the beautiful royal garden.

From the shore, we could see the Trakai island castle. We didn't crave to visit Trakai, since it was too commercial, crowded, expensive and nothing interesting.

The water was so clear. The nature there was very pleasing.

I could really spend a lot more time there, but we had to keep on moving.

We ate in the Navas tavern, where once again I delighted myself with fried garlic bread.

In Alytus, we visited the Holocaust memorial.

"Memorial ensemble is composed of the symbolic "Star of David", 9 pyramids, indicating the burial-grounds, an obelisk and a stela. In the highest hill of the memorial stands a monument of pain, a broken 'Star of David', symbolizing broken destinies and lives of humans."

On the Meteliai observation tower, we once again enjoyed the beautiful nature.

It was our lost stop in Lithuania. We smuggled some Lithuanian kvass (gira) back with us.

We headed for Augustow, to our accommodation. Studzieniczna is a little village next to it. It's a sanctuarium, where John Paul II stepped his foot and immediately got a monument erected to his honor.

In Augustow, my man was hitting on another chick. Maybe I'm too pale for him?

We ate in Szuflada Bistro, since it was the only open restaurant in this town. It was really good though.

08.09, 255 km

Our accommodation "eMka" was very pleasant. Not only the appartment, but also the host, who we had a very nice chat with.

We went for a stroll, sipping the kvass.

We visited the museum of the Augustow canal, where we learned the history of the canal. The lady working there invited us to ask her any question. It was very nice.