We are presently in Lithuania as some of you may know from updates from us.
We were lucky enough to be included in the Cambridge Evening News again (all thanks to Rebecca Attwood) - if you would like to search for the article please go to this webpage and look up Beastly http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/search/default.asp.
So here is the weekly update to get you all salivating at our epic monster of a journey!
Germany
After our update last where I told you about the visit to the red light district, we ventured into Hamburg ( a surprisingly pretty city) and then ended up in an underground Brauhaus where they served beer in 10 litre kegs and meat slabs on a wooden platter.
From Hamburg we moved up on to the Baltic Coast (Stahlbude and the Insel Rugen area) where Tom and Greg went to a local nightclub with the local men in the know and returned at 4am with Greg incapable of climbing the ladder to get into the Maggiolina on the roof. The following day brought more than just a hangover. The starter motor had cracked and wouldn't crank us to get started and on the road. We had so much help from the local guys who came and bashed things and towed us but were unable to supply us with a new starter motor on a Sunday. So we had to wait until Monday to get to a garage that was open and then wait until Tuesday for the new part to be shipped in. Meanwhile we were standed in Stralsund, a UNESCO World Heritage site, located on an island, with stunning buildings dating from the 12th Century.
So back on the road again and heading for Poland. Unfortunately the maps omitted to tell us that the border to the north of Germany is closed to every kind of traffic except for pedestrians... grrr! So we had to stay over so close to the border, yet unable to cross it! The owner of the hotel we stayed in told us of a lady who had arrived last year and was walking from York (UK) to New York at the age of 65... so we were slightly humbled by that (at least we have some comfort albeit travelling at 50mph and feeling every bump!)
Poland
We managed to make it to Poland eventually by travelling to the next border open 130km south of where we were! We stayed in Gdansk after having to resolve another puncture. Gdansk was almost obliterated during the war with over 60% of the buildings being destroyed. The Polish nation reconstructed the buildings and the town is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Gdansk consists of cobbled roads, tall multi coloured pastel buildings that look like those seen in Copenhagen and is a city waiting to be discovered by the likes of cheap airlines across Europe. Well worth a visit!
From Gdansk we set off across the potholed and cobbled motorways of Poland to the Lithuanian border and hunting for a replacement tyre, inner tube and hub. We managed to make it to Malbork where the Teutonic Knights that ruled most of the Germanic and Polish area moved their head quarters from Venice to an enormous 12th Century fortified castle in the town.
From Malbork we have staggered into Lithuania were we are currently staying in an e hotel in Vilnius, the capital. A capital with only 600,000 people!
