Finland Russia Baltic Day 12

Trafalgar Tours - Day 12 - October 14, 2008 - Tuesday - Siauliai-Riga, Latvia

The morning was foggy but Xavier said it was a promise of a beautiful day. The temperature was 51 degrees and the humidity was at 89%.

We greeted Marja as she met us on the bus at 8:45. Our mission for the morning was to visit the town of Trakai. On our way out of town, she gave us even more information about Vilnius and her country of Lithuania.

When we arrived in Trakai it was drizzling. We spent a few minutes looking at the little amber shops and then gathered at the bridge to go to the Trakai Island Castle. The castle is in the middle of the Lake Galvė, surrounded by beautiful autumn trees.

The town of Trakai was once the old Lithuanian capital. Marja gave us a history of the castle where 300 people used to live to serve the Duke and to be protected by the walls of the castle and the surrounding moat.

This site is Lithuania’s most famous and photographed landmark which has been painstakingly restored to give an insight into the former grandeur and turbulent history of the Grand Duchy.

Ruling here in the medieval times, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania lived in this castle. There are also many rooms devoted to a museum housing artifacts from the 8th to the 15th centuries.

We finished our tour at 11:00 and had a little time to explore on our own. Gennie and I walked all around the castle along the lake. We met back at the bus at 11:20 to return to Vilnius.

As we left the village we saw the old wooden cottages, many of them built by the Karaites, a sect originating in Baghdad. Marja told us about the popularity of the Persian food these people made and then sold. Now it is even available in the grocery stores!

On the way back to the capital, Marja told us more about her life in this country during the Soviet times. The “Forest Brothers” or Resistance had been an underground force during the occupations.

The educated and religious people were the first to be punished, deported to Siberia, or killed right here in Lithuania. She remembered being hidden by her parents and having to spend night after night with a different neighbor to be safe from the army.

The hope to be free has always been in the hearts of the people of this beautiful country. On March 11, 1990 Lithuania declared its freedom. Ireland was the first country to recognize this new nation. Marja told us that the USA was slow in acknowledging their independence. President George H. W. Bush and the USA was the 33 country as he was worried what Gorbechov would think!

When we got back to the hotel, we had one hour to have lunch. We had a piece of pizza and Coke to get rid of our last Latis.

We had money left over so we went into a bulk candy store. We offered our handful of coins and asked the clerk to help us spend it all. She measured out a few jelly beans, counted our coins, then she added a few more until her candy matched our money!

The group met at 1:00 all ready for our five hour bus ride to Riga, the capital of Latvia. We followed the main road for 285 K, almost the whole length of Lithuania.

Our afternoon comfort stop was at a quaint little inn close to Smiklė Zarija. We had 20 minutes to walk around and look at the various wood sculptures. When we walked to the back of the barns we saw the wood carver working with his chain saw creating his next work of art.

Nicholas took a short detour to stop for a visit to Siauliai and the 'Hill of Crosses' – a symbol of resistance against Soviet occupation. In the 14th Century a single cross was placed on the hill, but no one knows the original reason why…

Then over the years believers placed crosses here for the centuries. During the Soviet occupation, the tanks bull dozed and burned the crosses and defied anyone under penalty of death to worship there or place crosses.

Night after night more crosses would appear; a sign of the resistance. Now worshipers from all over the world come to bring a cross to add to the millions already here.

We walked up to the top of the hill only to see another hill also covered with crosses. In 1993, Pope Paul II came to worship here and dedicate the site. The whole aura of the Hill of Crosses was incredible.

At 4:35 we left the site and then drove to the Latvian border. There are no longer any working border patrol stations as all belong to the EU, only vacant buildings and a sign marking the entry into another Baltic State.

We drove on to ancient Riga, Latvia's capital. When we were 35 K from Riga, Nikolai noticed that something was wrong with the rear suspension of the bus.

We went a few more kilometers and stopped once again. Xavier told us that the rear inflatable suspension ball had burst so our air suspension system was disabled.

Nikolai and Xavier worked on the problem so we could go slowly, but at least we were able to limp into Riga. Instead of getting to the hotel at 5:30 we arrived at 7:15.

We had dinner in the hotel buffet as soon as we received our luggage. We had a free evening but decided to stay in tonight to finish the journal and get some rest for our two night stay here in the capital of Latvia.

Accommodations: Reval Latvija Hotel - - - Meal: B, D

Hi, my mum is Christine Lacey and I have been following this journey you are all on mainly through my mother's text messages. This site is great though. A great opportunity to experience the tour with you as it unfolds. I hope you all travel safely and enjoy the adventures.

Great stories; loved the picture of the Hill of Crosses. Keep up the good work

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