Poland and beyond

Finally got around to doing the ride report from Poland and beyond in late summer of last year, I know I am bloody useless at ride reports.

Usual ride to the coast and overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland. Then an 8 hour ride with some heavy rain showers but made it to Torun in Poland. Finally got in the apartment, couldn't ring them as 50% battery in an I-phone means it is dead !. Apartment is cool overlooking a private courtyard and the block faces the town square.

Went for a walk around the town, down past the town hall to the river then up river to the Sailors Gate. First built in the early 14th century. The main road from the port to the center of town went through this gate and it became known as the royal route as it was used in the 15th to 18th century by Polish kings visiting the town. My apartment is over the Osetia

The old historic centre of town is not huge and a couple of hours will cover it, apparently most museums are closed on Monday's. This is the road bridge I came in on, the famous leaning tower because, it err leans, and a typical street.

The Spanish Donkey, or brass ass as the Americans call it, is not your typical friendly donkey. From the 15th century to the 19th century on the site of the Corpernicus monument stood a pillory which was used to perform punishments such as flogging and severing body parts. In the 17th and 18th Century there stood a wooden donkey with a sharp metal lade (think its a metal item with a sharpish edge) on its back. Defiant guardsmen were sat on the donkey with weights tied to their legs to increase the severity of the punishment. The original donkey stood here until 1797. Donkey rides will never be the same.

Epic day, 10 hours, heavy rain, wind, glorious sun, stuck in a forest, hidden soviet town, a tank, 20 km off road lost, gravel, mud, water, sand, green lanes, Polish ghost town, mad 3 hour dash back for beer.

This is me taking to a forest track for a pee, before I went another couple of hundred yards and got stuck in the mud. Pictures are of the second world war graveyard, also containing graves of POW's, Soviet occupation soldiers, workers and families. There are group graves of unknown persons and a lot of people buried there have no official documentation. The others are a T34 tank and the repurposed old Soviet hospital that is now a modern health care facility.

BORNE SULINOWO – THE BIGGEST FORMER SOVIET MILITARY BASE IN POLAND

Borne Sulinowo garrison housed the biggest group of Soviet land forces in Poland. About 25,000 soldiers stationed here in two military towns (Borne Sulinowo and the nearby Klomino) and exercised on the surrounding training ground of about 18,000 hectares. Borne Sulinowo garrison was a closed military base officially excluded from the territory of Poland.

It was built between 1933-1938 by Germans as a military base with testing and training grounds, soldier barracks and The Artillery School of the Wehrmacht. It was officially opened on August 18, 1938 by Adolf Hitler. Named Gross Born at that time, it had strategic importance for the Third Reich.

Borne Sulinowo was not destroyed during World War II. In 1945 it was taken over by the Soviet Army which stayed here for 50 years. Borne Sulinowo garrison became a strategic part of the Northern Group of Forces. The exact number of Soviet soldiers and military equipment of that time is not known. The spy report to CIA revealed that in July 1981 (5 months before the martial law implementation in Poland) the number of T-55, T-64 and T-72 tanks in Borne Sulinowo increased to 1,000.

In 1968 a Missile Brigade with missile launchers R-300 (the equivalent of the American SCUD) was placed near Borne Sulinowo, in Brzeznica colony. In the mid-80ties this unit had 60 atomic bombs.

The last transport of Russian soldiers left Borne Sulinowo railway station on October 21, 1992. Today about 5,000 inhabitants live in Borne Sulinowo and tourism is the key to its development.

The monument is in the graveyard containing the graves of Soviet soldiers, workers, families and children. There are also a number of graves of POW's and a large number of graves of people with no identification or records.

The tank is a T34 and the nice building is the former military hospital now repurposed as a medical facility. The apartment locks are known as Lenningrads as it was there that they were prefabricated in a factory and shipped out for accommodation, still in use today.

Next stop was the only Polish ghost town, Klomino. It was part of the German garrison before being taken over by the Soviets.

Long day again today, 10 hours riding. Late start as I couldn't get my bike out of the garage as the key card didn't work. Then realised I had to take the longer route to avoid Belarus. So rain, eventually gave way to sun and on I trundled - nearly 500 km. Started to get cold and I forgot about the time difference, less an hour, so stopped to phone to let them know I was going to be late. Guess what, 75% battery in an I-phone means it is totally fucked. Got here for 8:20 pm and the photos are the humble hovel that is my home for the next 3 days.

Went for a walk in old Vilnius today. Duck out of the alleyway to the apartment and the first sight is the semi-pedestrianised area where I had dinner last night. Headed north to the river and found the main bell tower outside the Vilnius Cathedral, the first wooden cathedral was built here in 1387 with the final version being built in the late 18th Century. From 1950 the Soviets used the cathedral as a warehouse, gallery and concert hall until it was reconstructed in 1989. The statue as far as I can tell is of Gediminas, who was the Grand Duke of Lithuania around 1315. He is regarded as the founder of Vilnius. According to a legend, possibly set in 1322 while he was on a hunting trip, he dreamt of an iron clad wolf, who stood on a hill, howling in an odd manner as if thousand of wolves would be howling at once. He consulted his vision with his priest Lizdeika who told him the dream spoke of a city that must be built at the exact place and decided to build a fortification on the confluence of rivers Vilnia and Neris, where the place of his vision was pointed out. Adjacent is the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and atop the Gediminas Castle and Museum.

Long shlep up the cobbles to the castle afforded some excellent views of the city and a historic storey most people have probably never heard of, myself included. Lithuania declared sovereignty on its territory on 18 May 1989 and declared independence from the Soviet Union on 11 March 1990 as the Republic of Lithuania, and was the first Soviet republic to do so.

On the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact - 23 August 1989 - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia decided this would be the best time to draw the worlds attention to the plight of the Baltic states by forming a human chain across all three countries.

The Baltic way started at Gediminas Tower in Lithuania and continued through the Latvian capital of Riga by the Freedom Monument and ended at Tall Hermann's Tower in Tallinn. The distance was 650 km (around 406 miles or just over the distance from London to Edinburgh). 1.5 million people had to hold hands although the number reached was 2 million. Special sections were assigned to some groups such as deportees.

The Baltic Way became a symbol of the universal peaceful goal of independence and statehood for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic Way had international significance and drew the attention of the world. In 2009, the Baltic Way was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register..

On the Saturday the weather was fine as I set off to Rezekne, first stop was Paneriai, a sobering place to remind oneself on the brutality of mankind. As many as 100,000 people – the exact figure is unknown – were murdered here by the Nazis between 1941 and 1944. About half of Vilnius’ Jewish population, some 35,000 people, had been killed here in the first three months of the German occupation by the Einsatzkommando 9, an SS killing unit and their Lithuanian accomplices. Victims arrived by train and were lined up in rows of 10 and shot in the back of the head to fall into a pit before being covered in sand ready for the next layer of victims. Later in the war the bodies were exhumed and the bones pulverised to hide evidence of the crimes before those who were forced to dig up the bodies were killed and buried in the deepest pit. A number of people were eventually prosecuted for the crimes carried out here after the war.

On a lighter note the route then took me to Trakai which was a decent ride with a fairy tale castle at the end. Stopped for a photo opportunity but decided not to visit as time was passing by. The next stop being Kernave, this is one of Lithuania’s oldest settlements (evidence of settlement dates back to 9000 BC and the mounds are old forts overlooking the River Neris). It is thought to be the place where Mindaugas (responsible for uniting Lithuania for the first time) celebrated his coronation in 1253.

The next stop was the Centre of Europe, located in the middle of a golf course ! The French Geographical Institute pronounced latitude 54o 54’ and longitude 25o 19’ to be the place. The rock has a placed at the centre with a metal plate. Although the French did discount Malta which would move the position about 100 metres. And yes, I have the certificate to say I have been there.

The roads have in the main been good. There are a few motorway (2 lane) standard roads about and the main roads are generally good. Smaller roads are pot luck (if you owned shares in an overbanding company, you would be rich). And then there are the roads that go to many of the smaller villages. These are generally gravel (Garmin take note - gravel is not paved) some fine graded and quite solid and some not. My route took me down some of these and they are not difficult, you just need to look well ahead as there is the occasional hole or muddy area.

Finally found the hotel at the arse end of town, looks like a sports complex. Turns out there were about 50 guys from various motorcycle clubs from Lithuania and Latvia staying here as well, I think they had been on a charity ride somewhere, lots of Harleys about.

Sunday and a nice morning to go for a ride with nowhere in mind. Had a decent breakfast, the hotel location might not be great but I can’t fault it as a place to stay, the restaurant served a good dinner as well as breakfast and strong beer, though not with breakfast.

The photos are just my meandering around the countryside heading to the oldest Latvian town of Ludza which was founded in 1177. It is between two lakes and the village grew around the castle built by German crusaders in 1399. The castle has been in ruins since 1775 although there was some archaeological work going on when I was there. (See previous post pictures)

After that it was just follow my nose and see what was out there, enjoying some of Latvia’s finest “roads”. The country is pretty flat so main roads can be a bit straight and boring, the one from Daugavpils to Rezekne is 75 Km long with three bends, but take a smaller road and all bets are off, you might get winding tarmac or miles of gravel meandering through the countryside.

Left Rezekne Monday morning and headed north to Cesis. Stopped at Rezekne castle (Rezekne first settled in the 9th Century but the castle is nothing exciting but an interesting building next door). There were a shed load of roadworks along the way and some interesting sights, nice new houses and the ubiquitous soviet era apartment block. Passed through Madona where there was a nice contrast in buildings each side of the railway lines that run through the town (and all over the country).

Tuesday was a ride out to Sigulda. There is an old castle there that was first constructed in 1214 on the site of a Livi stronghold. There are a number of buildings and museums and gardens to wander around. After that it was off to the Rehabilitation Centre, which was a former secret Soviet bunker code named “the Pension”. The bunker was the shelter and command centre for the Latvian communist political and administrative leadership in the event of chemical or nuclear war. 250 people could survive in isolation in the bunker for 3 months.

The bunker was planned in 1968 by the Latvian Central Soviet Committee but first became operational in 1982. The bunker is 2,000 sq. m. in size and is built 9 meters underground, of which 5 meters are made of steel and concrete plates and gamma ray protection from lead plate

The bunker was so secret that it was only declassified in 2003. There was only 1 bed in the whole place as workers were required to sleep at their stations. Apparently the password to get in was your name, if you were on the list you got in. Outside there are two dry ponds which doubled as helicopter landing pads. He political elite were expected to survive for up to 3 months here. It was used for three days as practice.

Scary picture of me in a gas mask and planning my invasion in the war room.

Left Cesis for Plunge in Lithuania (Near Klaipeda – for the ferry more of that later). A lot of rain today and not easy riding conditions as the roads are not good. Route went through Riga (nothing special it was a building site). I headed through the National Forest and found my way to Plokstine Missile Base. At the time when the United States started building underground military bases, it was decided that the Soviet Union had to maintain its military advantage. For that reason in September 1960 in the village of Plokščiai the Soviets started rapid construction of an underground military base, one of the first in the S. U. The chosen location for the base was located 160 m above sea level, the soil was easy to excavate and the local population was small. The local inhabitants were poor farmers who were paid 4.5 thousand rubles to move their farms. Further, from this location all of the Europe could be covered by the missiles, which could reach Turkey and southern European countries.

Ten thousand soldiers, mostly Estonians, constructed the base. The missile silos were dug out with shovels which took approximately 6-8 months. Simultaneously, in the centre of the four silos they excavated a large hole for the support structures – electrical and radio stations, control rooms and recreation areas for the soldiers who would be on duty. All of these underground facilities were waterproof and covered with earth. They were constructed in the way that under normal conditions the personnel could survive in the silos for 15 days or 3 hours in extreme conditions with the silos hermetically sealed. A 2.5 km water trench was dug to the Plateliai lake, and a water pump station was constructed. On December 31, 1962 the construction was completed; at 10 p. m. – just before the New Year – the “rocketeers” accepted their military duties.

The photo of the target list is actually from the USA, the Soviet one is still secret, and next to the bottom is the missile base where I was standing, earmarked for a US nuclear strike.

Four R12 nuclear missiles, 23 meters high, including the 4 meters warhead, were installed in the silos. The rockets were fuelled with a mixture of kerosene and nitric acid. They were intended to last 10-15 years; in Plokštinė they were changed once in 16 years. The rocket launching facilities were guarded by 6 security systems including barbed wire, alarms, 1700 volt electric wires, etc. The rockets were aimed at different western countries: Norway, Great Britain, Spain, West Germany and Turkey. Every 3-4 years the targeted countries were changed.

Eight missile warheads were stored in the ammunition depot in Plokštinė. Extra rocket carries were stored in the ammunition depot specially build in the nearby Šateikiai. Šateikiai also had eight surface missiles which had been deployed the year before those in Plokštinė. The personnel of the 179th regiment participated in the deployment of rockets to Cuba; they poured a concrete for the rocket platforms in the central Cuba and in September 1962 the rockets were transported from Šateikiai to Cuba. The rockets were transported to Sevastopol and loaded on commercial ships for transport to Havana.

Next to the military base there was a canteen and two wooden barracks for the duty relief of 9 officers and 22 soldiers which changed every 3 days. Shifts were 6 hours long; 6 hours in the missile silos and 12 hours off. The autopark roofed two 25 meters long machines for raising and loading the rockets into the silos, as well as machines, which pumped air into the silos. Spare parts, various equipment and insulation were in the maintenance storage section.

There were no incidents with the missiles while they were deployed in Plokštinė. They were removed from the base on June 18, 1978. The silo is thick concrete (you can't get to the bottom of it).

Apparently this is one of 3 missile bases in the world you can visit, the others are in the Ukraine and USA.

Well this is the hotel, a couple of miles from Plunge (which as a town is no great shakes but the hotel location is good). Met an English guy with a Lithuanian wife who told me since going over to the Euro things have got a lot more expensive there and people don’t go out as much as they can’t afford it. Suggested as I had time to kill why not visit the Hill of Crosses.

One of Lithuania's most awe-inspiring sights is the legendary Hill of Crosses. After the 3rd partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. These two uprisings are connected with the beginnings of the hill: as families could not locate bodies of perished rebels, they started putting up symbolic crosses in place of a former hill fort.

The hill became more significant during 1944 – 1990 when the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania. The hill became a place of peaceful protest although the Soviets tried to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times (including attempts in 1963 and 1973).

On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice.The hill remains under nobody's jurisdiction; therefore people are free to build crosses as they see fit.

After that it was a ride back and to the coast, after a nice bit of lunch, before heading to the port to start the trip home.

Turns out when I got back to the hotel the ferry had been cancelled due to bad weather, a total fuck up was on the cards - not disapointed. Met a couple who had also had to re-book due to the previous days ferry being cancelled, they left it to DFDS to re-book, which they did, except they didn’t include the camper van so they were stranded in the car park hoping a lorry wouldn’t turn up so they could get on.

I got sent to the middle of lane 3 and then watched all the other motorcycles get sent to the front of lane one, I checked I was in the right place and they insisted I was. Eventually they started loading lanes one followed by two and then nothing. Waited around an hour in the pissing rain before they eventually got going again and was sent right down to deck one. Getting from there to the cabin involved climbing what looked like the maintenance stairs (no lifts on the boat apparently it is mainly for truck drivers).

The boat had a very small shop, bar and canteen and that was it. Fine for trucks but shit for anybody else. We eventually got going 3 hours late and arrived in Germany late but in one piece (miracles do happen). Overall by far the worst ferry experience I have ever had anywhere in the world. The website for DFDS is shit as it tells you all about the delays Dover to Calais but sod all else, they suggested I try the Lithuanian site, like I am fluent in fucking Lithuanian.

Got to the hotel, enough said, and went for an expensive meal before retiring for the night ready for the next day’s ride to the Hook of Holland. Got on the Stena Line ferry with no delays, cracking ferry and a smooth crossing to Harwich. Off around 6:30 to join the commuter traffic to London then head home.

Countries visited 5, total distance traveled 3,527.7 miles with, according to the bike, average fuel consumption of around 55 mpg for the whole trip. (That is proper man sized gallons for all those in the USA). Ferries taken 3, ferries regretted being taken 1. Desire to go back to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – very high, they are wonderful places steeped in history.

Hope you enjoyed - better late than never as they say.

A nice read during my lunch break

Thanks for posting

Nice one, we went up that way a couple of years ago.

Fantastic, and I like your style!

Nice one Grez, I’ll read that properly later

Enjoyed that full of interesting places.
Thanks