I’d arranged to meet up with Chip and Ken again, and we agreed that Kaunas in Lithuania was a handy spot for us all. It was great to see them again, we had some catching up to do! We stayed at the Lux hostel, which was excellent and right in the centre.

Kaunas has the longest pedestrian street in Europe, along which there are shops and bars for over 2km. Our hostel was on that strip, between the old church and the fountain. Very cool! The old town is at the other end of the strip, full of old buildings.

Kaunas also had the longest bridge in the world at one time! The other side of the river used to be soviet owned, when at one time a different calendar was used. The two sides of the bridge were 2 weeks apart, meaning it took two weeks to walk over the bridge. Therefore (according to Lithuanian logic) it was the longest bridge in the world!

Next to the hostel I stayed at is the green cafe. The owner of the hostel told me the coffee there is excellent, so this morning Chip, Ken and I went to see. The brew bar is where you can choose from 21 different types of coffee. Once you’ve selected your beans, there are then 9 different ways to have them brewed to choose from.

The guy was a superb barista and knew his stuff about coffee. He took some of the pain of decision making away by asking what we liked in a coffee, then making recommendations. Excellent!

My drink was a very good cure for a hangover, which is a good thing this morning!

There were lots of road works on the run down to Kaunas in Lithuania. The signage is quite misleading in a number of ways.

Firstly, the road doesn’t work. It’s broken and being repaired, so “road works” should maybe have no space in it?

Secondly, I didn’t actually see anyone doing any work. Much like the miles of coned off lanes in the UK with nothing going on.

Finally, non of the road ‘workers’ i saw looked anything remotely like the woman holding the sign.

I waited at the first set of lights for 10 minutes, after which I could see a line of cars coming the other way. My light went green before they arrived, then turned to red before they passed. The lights aren’t synchronised!

At every other set of roadworks there was a traffic jam, as two cars had met head on in a one car wide stretch. No accidents, but animated drivers all claiming the other had run a red light. Luckily my motorcycle is narrow and I could leave them to it!

So much for Latvia, don’t blink or you’ll miss it! It’s small, S.M.All!

To be fair I’ve only cut the corner off it, transiting towards Kaliningrad. On the way back up to St. Petersburg I’ll spends more time there and visit the capital.

Just inside Lithuania, I found a great camping spot next to this lake. The hammock is strung up ready for a comfy night’s sleep, while the tent is pitched and drying nicely.

I stopped for lunch when I eventually found a cafe. There isn’t much on Latvia along the roadside, you have to go into a village. Ludza is a pretty little village with a couple of nice churches. The cafe was nice but I had a language problem again. No English or Russian menu and no internet, so I had to take pot luck. Flashbacks of south Korea!

“Chicken’s feet please, medium rare but cut the toenails.”

Hmm. I got a lovely ham and cheese omelette with red sauce. Wow! Red sauce! I haven’t seen that for a while. It was a great meal, just the right size too. The waitress spoke a little English, as she revealed just as I left.

Heading for Kaliningrad, I plan to stop just before the border of Lithuania and wild camp somewhere. I’m hoping to meet Chip and Ken for one last night in Lithuania tomorrow, before we go in different directions again.

It’s about 700km to the border with Latvia from Moscow. I did most of that in a day, as there’s not much to see along the way. Mostly forest and swamp at the side of the road. I wild camped in a great spot not far from the border, but it rained overnight making it a bit of a struggle to get out. Mud mud mud!

The border crossing was the usual faff, but just before lunch I exited into Latvia, the European Union! Practically home (sort of). First impressions were very similar to eastern Russia. Basic accommodation, farming and a rustic feel. I saw a sign saying there were road tolls and I realised I hadn’t got any Euros. So I swung onto a back road to a place called Zilupe, as advertised by an attractive sign.

It was a tiny little village and I knew there wouldn’t be a cash machine. In the centre was a small green with a bench, tiny shop and….. A cash machine. Bingo! (Well better then bingo, you win money every time!).

Cashed up I went onward and upward into Latvia.

On the last night we went to the Moscow state university, where all the bikers meet. Nothing actually happens there, just like minded people socialising. It was a good friendly atmosphere. There’s a great view of the city too. We met up with some of Helgi’s friends including a lady on a Hyabusa, then went for a ride to the downtown.

With very little traffic at night you can get a move on, it was good fun going around the ring roads and through the tunnels. I saw a black Lamborghini going very fast, looking for a race. Later I saw a red Ferrari doing the same. On the right bike it would be a blast racing them through the tunnels at night, though I’m not sure I have the balls for it these days. Maybe I’m getting old?

After saying goodbye in the morning I got an escort to the exit road to the border. Very useful as I’m good at getting lost! The daytime traffic wasn’t too bad, but the drivers…..

I’d been warned about crazy car drivers, ‘be very careful’ everyone says! I’ve seen a lot of Russian driving now and first impressions are that they they’re all mad. However, I realise now that isn’t a fair assessment, in general Russian drivers are very good. Moscow drivers particularly. They can really drive.

The average driver knows exactly how big their car is, and is able to drive it within an inch of the next car without making contact. They are also spatially aware, knowing who is behind them, to each side and in front. ‘Sorry mate I didn’t see you’ doesn’t apply here, as the drivers actually look properly and see bikers. In many ways much better than lazy people at home and in Oz, who just can’t be bothered to look.

However, despite this there are still a lot of accidents. I counted 8 in just 2 hours of riding. Drivers let themselves down here with their margin for error, they just don’t leave any! When something does go wrong they have no options and BANG! (Usually it’s a big bang too). If that was to change it would be pretty safe, but for now it’s eyes open and full on self preservation mode!

Be very careful!!

I felt like a bit of a tourist, but I walked around all of the usual attractions with my camera. I needn’t have worried about looking conspicuous, the entire place is teaming with people and cameras. I can see why though, it’s both impressive and beautiful! This panorama of the walls of the Kremlin is taken from one of the bridges.

I walked, and walked, and walked! All day walking after an hour or so on the tube to get there from Helgi’s. My knee injury from Mongolia was playing up, especially after the stair hike in NN! I soldiered on though as there was loads to see.

Helgi have me a link to a good walking tour. When that finished I wandered aimlessly through the city. It was great to loose myself, knowing that a subway station was always nearby to get me home. I spent a lot of time at GUM, a huge shopping complex full of expensive shops punting luxury items. It was in stark contrast to the shops of Mongolia, where toilet paper and deodorant are considered luxury items!!

It’s very tiring but worth it. I need to come back here when I have more time. As usual, I have an open invite from Helgi. Thanks doesn’t even start to cover the generosity, but, er… Thanks!