We left Vilnius, but made a side trip to Trakai, a small town just 30 km away from Vilnius. It is the location of several nice lakes and a castle in the middle of one of them. The castle dates from the 14th to 15th centuries, but has been restored nicely more recently. Most things were not open upon our arrival, so it was quite peaceful to just walk around the castle without any crowds.
After our walk, we went through the numerous souvenir stalls. Sidney tried on a famous Russian fur hat. We picked up a few things (they were really cheap), including a set of stacking dolls and a linen dress for Sidney. Amber was not quite as nice here, but can be found cheaply in other Baltic cities in various qualities and quantities. Kimber now has several sets of earrings and a necklace.
We then got on the road to Warsaw. As I planned, I evaluated where we were on our trip and time frame once we got to Poland and decided to go back home via Berlin and Denmark. I wish we had a week or so more to get to see the family in Germany, as well as some of the other places we would like to visit, but Houston will be an easier place to get to Western Europe from, and the Baltics and Scandinavia were an opportunity we couldn't pass up.
Getting to Warsaw was a bit of an adventure in itself. I had been told the Polish roads were really bad (by a Pole, no less.) I found the roads themselves to be in pretty good shape for the most part. The problem is that the roads are two lane and set up like the old highway system in the U.S. They pass directly through every little town along the way, and the speed limits are very low going through the towns. There are speed cameras everywhere, so you don't take the chance of speeding, lest you be mailed a ticket.
Warsaw itself is a huge city. It is very intimidating, and at first I almost decided to fore-go much touring because it seemed too difficult to navigate during the workweek. I was able to get a decent map, and located the Old Town, which is very compact. It is also located very close to the Jewish Cemetery and former Jewish ghetto, so most of the things I was interested in seeing were close.
One thing I noticed is that there are lots of statues. And every statue has a sword. Even the mermaid that is the symbol of Warsaw has a shield and sword. I happened to snap the picture of Sidney just as the flock of pigeons was taking off, so she looks a little surprised (behind the pigeon.)
Another thing that is a bit different about Warsaw is the amount of color you see in the old town. There are various porticoes that are converted to apartments, which seems very quaint, and the buildings have a much more western European feel than some of the places in the Baltics.
There are beautiful squares and plazas all over the old town as well. These are surrounded by scenic buildings, including palaces and churches. Restaurants and cafes abound. The palace is also the scene of several concerts during the summer, including a festival dedicated to one of Warsaw's favorite son's - Chopin.
After a nice morning of strolling around, we headed out on our way to Berlin. This would be our last stopping point for the trip, and we wanted to allow plenty of time to get there, considering the speed of travel on the roads through the towns. I was quite surprised when I actually got to the A2 - Poland's answer to the autobahn. It is a toll road that starts southwest of Warsaw and goes to about 100 km from the German border (the remainder is under construction).
We were able to make Berlin city center by about 5 p.m., and found a hotel/hostel right by the Berlin Zoo. The location was great. The hotel wasn't. There was no air conditioning, and there was a heat wave rolling across central Europe, so temperatures in the room were about 95 F with the window open. The hall we were in was full of kids that apparently have never been away from home and ran up and down the hall yelling and throwing juice boxes and water bottles. I finally spoke with their chaperon to get some peace.
We did find some good German food, a Dunkin Donuts and a Starbuck's nearby - my first store-brewed Starbuck's in over a year!
We visited the Berlin Zoo first thing the next morning and were very pleased. The zoo boasts one of the largest collection of species in the entire world, and is very well organized. We were able to walk most of the grounds in the four hours we allotted. More time would not have been enjoyable with the heat.
There were lots of baby animals, including a baby rhino, elephant, and four baby meerkats that were only six days old. They also have a nice aquarium and a giant panda, as well as polar bears and seals. The latter was almost a let-down after having seen them in the wild just a couple of weeks ago.
After the zoo, we did a very touristy thing and took a city circle bus tour to the major Berlin attractions. The bus allowed us to get on and off at the various sites, and was a nice way to see the city, even with the heat. We made the obligatory stops at Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate, and did a couple of other more scenic locations.
We did a little last minute shopping, then went back and got a good night's rest before heading home. The room was a little cooler, and the loud kids were gone, so sleep was better.
We got up the next morning, and after getting the car packed one last time, started the drive to Hirtshals, Denmark, and the ferry to Norway. All was well (yes, our little Getz did 100 mph on the autobahn, quite easily!) until we got to Hamburg. We got into a construction zone, so lanes were smaller, then came to a complete standstill because of an accident in the construction zone. Traffic was stopped for 2 1/2 hours. It was not so fun in 95 F weather!
We finally got going again and made Hirtshals around 9 p.m. Our ferry wasn't until 4:35 a.m., and it was raining, so we checked into the ferry terminal early and slept in the car. The crossing itself wasn't bad, as Sidney slept on a bench seat as I read my book.
Our last little treat was the drive back to Stavanger from Kristiansand. It was scenic, with lots of mountains, fjord-side villages, and a couple of interesting bridges. It was definitely a lot slower than much of the other driving we have done over the past couple of weeks, but we made it home by noon.
Kimber will have a post coming up about her trip to Lillehammer, and we head out Wednesday night back to Denmark to take Kimber down for her sailing trip.
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