On from Latvia to Lithuania! With posh accommodation…
With tips from my uncle, I’d put together a nice route along the coast from Riga to Klaipėda. Here too there were again the public campsites, or the option of pitching your tent on the beach. Under a bright blue sky I rode through great, wide forest roads. It actually looked a bit like northern Finland again! I also passed the Ventas Rumba in Kuldīga. The Ventas Rumba is considered the widest waterfall in Europe. The water hasn’t fallen far, but the river at that spot was really very wide!
Past an apple tree, where I took a few apples with me, I walked a bit through the small town and around the waterfall. In the evening I then found another great spot by the sea to stay the night. There the mainland was breaking off bit by bit, so my tent stood on a small plateau. It was a bit windy, but still very lovely!
The next morning I packed my things as usual, tied everything down and ate my peanut butter sandwich with a sea view. I set off for country number seven on this trip. Unfortunately it started raining shortly after I set off, and so I crossed the border in liquid sunshine…
Of the apartments I’d so far only seen photos, but I knew something really posh awaited me there! I was hugely excited! Along the coast I rode to Šilutė. The little 15,000-inhabitant town had everything you need. Among a few older houses, right next to a school, stood the newly renovated house. It stood out just from the fresh coat of paint! For check-in I’d simply been given a code for the door and one for the key box! The whole house had been renovated and digitalised! When you opened the door to the apartment, the light in the hallway came on automatically! The apartment was furnished in a great style! There was a living room with a sofa, dining table and TV. Opposite, a kitchenette, with a dishwasher, microwave and kettle, plus a large selection of cookware and crockery. Adjoining it, a large bedroom with a double bed, wardrobe and a desk. Right off the hallway there was then also the big bathroom with a bathtub. There was also a super brightly lit mirror… where I then also quickly noticed that a shower was now in order first…
As already mentioned, everything was newly renovated and thus unused. You know that feeling when you’ve just bought something new and it simply smells of that lovely „new smell“? It was like that everywhere in the apartment. As if the invitation to such a great house hadn’t already been enough, Adolfina — the mother of my mum’s friend — had also filled the fridge for me. The hospitality was overwhelming, and it was almost embarrassing to me to be allowed to accept all of that! For the late afternoon Adolfina wanted to come by with two friends. My mum’s friend Jovita always helped with the communication. Because, unfortunately, her mother Adolfina spoke no English or German, and my Lithuanian sadly wasn’t exactly outstanding either. Before Adolfina and her two friends came by, I wanted to quickly sort out my luggage and wash a thing or two in the sink. I went out to get the last bag. Stupidly, I’d also left my phone with the access code for the first door inside. The door fell shut and I stood in front of the house in a T-shirt. A really unpleasant situation. On the ground floor there was a small nail salon, which luckily was still open too. Only, while the lady was treating a customer, I had to knock on the window like a stalker… luckily, though, she understood the situation straight away and called Dijana, the owner of the house. It couldn’t have been more awkward: I didn’t know Dijana, and yet she’d invited me into the house. And now I was standing outside on top of that, having forgotten the access code for the door. She also didn’t pick up the phone right away, she was busy, but called back after a short while. After I’d tidied up my luggage a bit, Adolfina and her two friends came by! They were really pleased to meet me! Also, Adolfina had assumed beforehand that I’d be pretty hungry after such a long trip, so she brought a huge meal from a Lithuanian KFC. A big bucket of chicken wings, two lots of fries with ketchup and mayo, and a bottle of cola. I was supposed to eat all that on my own! But I did then manage to convince the three of them that I couldn’t possibly manage that alone! So we ate together. The two friends helped with the translation. Handily, they were a teacher couple. I learned quite a bit about the house and the conversion, and about the town’s history! I also told them about my trip so far, showed a few photos and reported on experiences! On the map I also briefly showed where I was headed next. I’d actually planned to stay only one night, but was immediately invited to a second. Because tomorrow I wanted to go to Nida, a small island in the north of Lithuania. So that I’d have no stress and could look at everything at my leisure, I should stay another night and only ride on Friday. Adolfina also promptly called her cousin, who lives in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. After just two minutes of conversation, she wrote down the number of Almis, her cousin’s husband, for me. I should then just contact him once I know when I’ll be there. It was, once again, overwhelming! The next morning I set off for Nida! A short ferry ride took me over to the island. There I definitely wanted to look at the shifting dunes. Nida is actually a kind of spa resort, or at least it looks like one. Everything is super clean, there are lovely restaurants and cafés right by the sea and lots of places to stay. Since Nida is mostly a national park too, you have to pay a toll after a short while just to be allowed to drive further on the island at all. The roads were great, though, and led through lovely little forests. Near the shifting dune I parked my bike and walked the last bit. Suddenly I had the feeling I was standing in the Western Sahara. Just a moment ago everything had been overgrown with trees, and suddenly just sand.
The shifting dune here in Nida was, by means of little natural wooden fences, more or less prevented from shifting further. That way you could walk over the dunes all the way to the sea. I did one more big loop across the island and then set off back to Šilutė. Since, unfortunately, the season had long been over, there wasn’t much going on in Nida, or rather nothing was open. Back on the mainland I stopped at a Bosch service centre. I had to tension my chain again. It currently felt like it got longer every 100 km. Since the Bosch service was exclusively a tyre-changing workshop, the chance of being able to borrow a torque wrench was high! When I pulled up, I was greeted super warmly and immediately got chatting with a BMW GS rider. While we pushed my motorbike into the hall, I briefly told them where I’d already been this year! Meanwhile all the others joined too and inspected my motorbike! While I was still telling my story, my rear wheel was already being loosened and the chain tensioner screwed back. I really had to slow the men down, since I prefer to do that sort of thing myself! They just laughed and handed me the spanners. At the same time one of them held a torch for me! After a short while and a click at 110 newton metres, the chain had good tension again! We chatted a bit more and everyone told a little about where they’d already been by motorbike or still wanted to travel. Super great and open people! Super happy about the encounter and, of course, the tensioned chain, I headed back to the Apartamentai Muzika. Since I was pretty hungry, I first had to use up the rest of my pasta and made myself some pasta with tomato sauce! I moved everything super carefully and put it on the hob! Because I think I was the first to use the pots, or rather the hob. The fridge, by the way, was still full. There was so much to eat! In the evening Dijana, the owner of the house, and Adolfina then came by too. In their luggage, a big family pizza with different toppings and extra sauce. I was really pleased to get to know Dijana! Anyone with such good taste in interior design can only be cool, I’d thought beforehand. For translation support, Jonny then joined too. He lived long-term in the top-floor apartment and was currently looking for clients. His main job is filmmaker and photographer. So we had a few topics to talk about! First, though, we ate pizza together and Jonny diligently translated. Dijana then also called Jovita so she could see us all. It was a super funny group and, once again, an example that you don’t always have to speak the same language to understand each other! After Dijana had understood that I do, in short, the same thing as Jonny, she suggested that the two of us could make a short video about the house together. She’d be able to place that well for advertising the coming season. In the same breath she handed me a big bunch of keys with all the keys to the apartments. She also suggested I should stay another night so we could film in peace. I was really pleased to be allowed to produce a video for her, to be able to give at least something back for the hospitality. Once only a few slices of pizza were left, Dijana and Adolfina set off home. Adolfina and Jonny, though, I’d invited to breakfast the next day. Jonny also showed me his apartment and told me what exactly he now does for a living. He grew up in Tenerife, where, from a young age, he’d already accompanied tourists on boats who wanted to see dolphins. At some point he started making short videos of the tours and selling them to the tourists. He became a filmmaker and, alongside the tourist videos, also made videos for big events and artists in Tenerife. For love, though, he then came to Lithuania and tried to get a foothold here. Currently he mainly makes videos of properties for his clients. So a good qualification for the next filming day. The next morning Adolfina came for breakfast as arranged. I’d even specifically told her again that she didn’t need to bring anything. But she had a big homemade rhubarb cake in her hand. Together with Jonny we had a leisurely breakfast. After that Jonny and I started making shots of the individual apartments. Around midday there was a knock at the door and Adolfina and her partner came by. After I’d mentioned in the morning that I didn’t know the country’s typical dish Cepelinai (Lithuanian for „zeppelins“), Adolfina had quickly made these for us for lunch, following the traditional recipe. Just for understanding the work, here’s the recipe: The Cepelinai are made from raw and cooked potatoes. The raw potatoes are peeled, finely grated and well squeezed out through a linen cloth. The potato liquid is kept and, once the starch has completely settled, it’s added to the potato mass. The cooked potatoes are mashed and worked together with the rest of the mass into a dough. In parallel, onions are fried and mixed together with the minced meat; you can season with salt, pepper and marjoram as needed. Now the actual preparation can begin: for this, you take about half a cup of potato dough in your hand and lay it flat. Then the surface is filled with a teaspoon of minced-meat mixture and formed into long, „zeppelin-shaped“ dumplings. Now the dumplings can be thrown into the boiling water and should simmer for about 30 minutes. Traditionally, this dish is served with a sauce of fried bacon, onions and cream. It was super, super tasty! I was also, once again, overwhelmed by the joy and the hospitality. I said goodbye and, as a keepsake, we took a few photos together.
In the evening I dropped into bed completely stuffed and tired. Jonny and I had filmed the whole rest of the afternoon. I also still had to dry my things and, of course, wanted to leave the apartment as clean as possible. In the evening I then also said goodbye to Jonny. The next start began with sun. I briefly used it once more to take exterior shots of the Apartamentai Muzika. After that I headed into the south of Lithuania. Below you’ll find the address and the video for the Apartamentai Muzika! From me, of course, this accommodation gets five out of five stars! Many, many thanks again to Dijana, who let me stay at her place; to Adolfina, who welcomed me so warmly and really fed me for all three days! Warm greetings, and also to Jonny for the cool collaboration and the motivation, with the idea of just going ahead and doing something and giving it a try. I learned quite a bit. Apartamentai Muzika, Atgimimo al. 5, 99123 Šilutė, Lithuania
