On the bus between Vilnius & Warsaw
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2008
1
21
37
Trip End
Oct 05, 2008
Warsaw,
Central Poland,
Poland
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
This morning we packed up & went for a walk - no particular direction in mind. We bought some bread rolls in the Rimi supermarket we've been visiting at least daily. We recognised & connected some places previously visited, and found new ones. Later we found a large market (open-air & covered) with a mix of everything. Some stalls in sort of shops, some on trestle tables in rows.
Because I was feeling a bit queasy we mostly stayed away from food stalls. I was looking at jackets that might be blazers
Vilnius Old Town
. In the end David made our sole purchase - 3 pairs socks. He has worn holes in socks on this trip.When we felt that time demanded we head back, we only half knew where we were. I think both of us were surprised that it was me who recognised we were near the Gates of Dawn & the miracle-working Madonna. We were surprised at how far we'd walked.
Back to the hotel to check out of our room (and order a taxi for later). Left our luggage in the "left-luggage room" and walked to the nearby Lithuanian National Picture Gallery.
This had art from 15th to 20th centuries but largely pre WW1. Lots of portraits of people we knew little or nothing about, but also various historical views of Vilnius & other Lithuania, as well as pictures of countryside & costumes.
Back to our hotel again and a taxi arrived as we did. We collected our luggage & got in saying "bus station ?" Really we were depending on the fact that the hotel had told him our destination. Often this trip I've felt we were trusting ourselves to others.
In this case we reached the bus station in about 10 minutes - I was glad it wasn't me driving the narrow streets. The taxi fare was 13 lit. David paid the guy a 50 note. He gave us 2 20-lit notes change. We rummaged & only had less than 1 lit in coin. I added 1 of the 1-lit coins I'd been keeping for toilets (keeping 1). He waved away our attempts to dig out more coins
1-Vilnius Old Town
. When have you known a taxi driver ever content to accept less than the fare?We took luggage into a waiting room & then I stayed with the luggage while David went to learn more. Turned out that we were leaving from the furthest stand for long-distance buses. We waited in the waiting room for a while & then phoned Cathy. It was lovely to hear her voice.
I had an "interesting" experience using the public toilet at the bus station. Luckily I had to wait briefly behind someone because I saw her take toilet paper from the roll near the basins before going "in". I did the same. The toilet turned out to be a squat style. Step up on the step, position feet on the (well worn) once-painted footprints & aim. Paper in the bin in front of you. Pieces of magazine or even newspaper were evidence that perhaps others hadn't remembered their paper - or found it sufficient to needs.
This is getting difficult - 1 hour 40 from Vilnius & we're just bumping into Kaunas.
Back on the road. While stopped at Kaunas I spoke to an American woman, travelling with a friend. I'd overheard her say the magic words "I'm looking for my great grandfather". He apparently had lived at Vilnius & Bialystok (NE Poland). He was the Rabbi in Bialystok & when the community was being persecuted he persuaded the whole community to move to USA.
That bit was out of place, but not much because in fact we'd spoken to the 2 women before getting on the bus because the bus was late & another bus had pulled into that stand, but that bus was going to Riga
3-Vilnius Old Town
. David had been to ask the driver about our bus. A young American male had come over to ask what we knew (that the other bus was late but we were waiting in the right place). And then I'd overheard these women stressing about what was happening & went over to tell them what we knew. English speakers drawn together.They are going to Bialystok, getting in at 7.50 after losing an hour - Poland is on western European time & so 1 hour behind Vilnius - ie 8 hours behind Sydney. We & the young Americans are going on to Warsaw, getting in about 11 (Polish time).
Our guide, Chris, has offered to meet us at the bus station & drive us to our hotel. He will pick us up from the hotel on Saturday for the drive to Poznan.
That brings you up to date. Apparently we're now 30 kms beyond Kaunas. We're on a bumpy road - 1 lane each way. There is only a narrow border for crossing between Lithuania & Poland, avoiding Belorus on one side & Russia on the other.
Have you looked closely at a map of this part of Europe & seen that there is a little pocket of Russia, disconnected from the rest? It's the area around Kalingrad & has Latvia to the north, Lithuania to the east & Poland to the south & the Baltic Sea to the west.
Good heavens - the bus turned off our sealed road onto a dirt track. We bumped over between the fields to a petrol station (not visible from the road) and then later bumped back
2-Vilnius Old Town
. So that's all from me for today I think. Now I might look out the window at the last we'll see of Lithuania & maybe doze some.
From Kerry - still somewhere in Lithuania
A little later - now in Poland. We've just passed through a very depressing town. Flat fields & only occasional homesteads was suddenly broken by a series of approximately 12-storey square block high rises. Lots of them. Not all on the same angle. A few looked marginally better than the others because they had a green stripe down 1 end & a yellow stripe down the other. Occasional blocks had balconies but most did not. They were just identical square concrete blocks, with a number & a word on it - presumably an address.
Amongst one group of such buildings was a small McDonald's - a drive-through. Most odd. Nearly all the apartment buildings were on the right side of the road. Then we passed a very large building on the left side of the road. Painted a sort of rust-brown, it was 8 storeys high and 50 windows long, without a bend - and the word Policija written on it. Spoke volumes actually.
Next morning. After that on the bus was a DVD - The Lake House - with Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reaves speaking Russian, with English sub-titles. I watched, David did not. That movie coincided with some sort of road works or blockage - we didn't move for ages.
Waiting for our Ecolines bus to Warsaw
I'd said to you that we were to be 8 hours on the bus plus an hour's time difference. Well that was wrong. It was supposed to be 9 hours on the bus, less an hour's time difference, but we were over an hour late, so arrived at Warsaw after midnight local time (after 1 am Vilnius time).
David had phoned Chris earlier to say we'd be late, and then David followed our route into Warsaw on TomTom, so he was able to advise Chris when we were half an hour from the bus station, and Chris met us there & then drove us to our hotel. He seems a lovely friendly guy - looks promising for our traveling with him. It was certainly kind of him to come out so late to meet us last night.
Our hotel is in the Old Town - next to the old Town Hall - actually from the window beside me the Town Hall is maybe 20 metres away. I'll write more tonight or tomorrow about Warsaw. We have a lovely large room in an old building, and yet the art on the wall is something like Avant Garde or maybe as in the movie Cabaret - perhaps pre-war. Either way there are a couple of very demanding faces on the room walls - odd to wake up to.
And now I must get ready for Warsaw. From Kerry & David in Warsaw now.
