Poland, Lithuania and Latvia
Poland
Olsztyn
My first stop was the city of Olsztyn in north east of Poland. It's a nice little town with a big park close to the city center. Quite a few decent restaurants to choose from around the main square in the old town.
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Wolf's Lair
Hitler's eastern front military head quarters were not far from my planned route, so I went and had a look. I beat the crowds by arriving early, just when I was leaving several buses full of tourists arrived.
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Shortly before the advancing Red Army arrived the complex was abandoned and blown up by the Germans. What remains of the massive buildings is really impressive.
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Masurian moskitos where rampant and after a while it felt as if 20 or so were literally following me. I took a few short cuts in order to make it back to the car before they could eat me alive.
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Apparently they even have some kind of accomodation there. Not exactly my cup of tea though.
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From the Wolf's Lair I took the shortest route to Lithuania. Roads were generally good but narrow and led through fields and small villages. Lots of lakes as well. I was driving very closely around the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad before I reached Lithuania.
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Lithuania
I entered Lithuania on what looked like a farm track. If it weren't for the signs, nobody would know there is a border. This is what I really love about the European Union.
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Planning to spend the night in Latvia there wasn't much time for sight seeing in Lithuania and I crossed the country in a couple of hours, merely stopping for petrol somewhere. If I hadn't already done so a couple years before, I certainly would have paid the beautiful coastal town of Klaipeda a visit.
Latvia
Jūrmala
After I crossed into Latvia I set course for Jūrmala, a beautiful seaside resort city close to Riga.
I've been there briefly in 2009 and it has developed quite a bit since then. Lots of accomodation, good restaurants, but also quite expensive by local standards.
The main attraction of course is the huge beach.
![Jūrmala Beach Jūrmala Beach](/scaled_images/posts/2018/06-13-poland-lithuania-and-latvia/20180614_20180614_185240-01_landscape_1.jpg)
![Large Building at the Beach Large Building at the Beach](/scaled_images/posts/2018/06-13-poland-lithuania-and-latvia/20180614_20180614_194458-01_landscape_1.jpg)
![Pedestrian Zone Pedestrian Zone](/scaled_images/posts/2018/06-13-poland-lithuania-and-latvia/20180614_20180614_200721-01_landscape_1.jpg)
I stayed at the Parus Hotel, a beautifully restored Villa in walking distance from the beach. This kind of architecture is typical for the region. After walking around a bit I had dinner at the Lighthouse Grill in the pedestrian zone, which didn't disappoint.
![Parus Hotel Parus Hotel](/scaled_images/posts/2018/06-13-poland-lithuania-and-latvia/20180614_20180614_184859-01_landscape_1.jpg)
![Roast Duck for dinner Roast Duck for dinner](/scaled_images/posts/2018/06-13-poland-lithuania-and-latvia/20180614_20180614_211258-01_landscape_1.jpg)