My roete in geel / My route in yellow.
Nou is dit so 'n vaal-rooi / Now it is a funny red.
Tipiese ry-toneel in Pole / Typical riding scene for me in Poland.
Hier eet ek my laaste sop in Pole / I had my last soup in Poland here.
Koning KLR kom in Litaue aan / King KLR arrives in Lithuania.
My oornagdorpie maak 'n goeie indruk / My town where I am going to spend the night is a real beauty.
Nou is ek gewapen vir Rusland! / Now I am ready for Russia!
Goeie naand!
Ek het gisteraand in Wyszkow oornag.
Ek is vroeg daar weg. Sommer gou het ek padwerke gekry waar ek baie lank gestaan het. Ek het in totaal seker 'n uur gestaan. Die Pole het dit egter goed georganiseer.
So teen 1 was ek by die grens na Litaue.
Litaue was 'n groot verrassing. As voormalige Oosblokland het ek die toestande baie anders verwag. Hoe verkeerd was ek nie! Die hoofpaaie was so glad soos in Duitsland. Ek kon my geluk nie glo nie.
Tot ek in Kaunas aangekom het.
Daar het ek my pad heeltemaal byster geraak. Letterlik en figuurlik. Twee keer in die regte rigting probeer ry. Hoevele mense gevra maar niemand kon my Afrikaans / Engels verstaan nie en ek is nie Russies magtig nie.
Ek is toe weer terug in die rigting vanwaar ek gekom het. Seker 25 km suid van Kaunas kry ek toe 'n snelweg wat wes draai, en ek wou noord-oos. Ek ry dit toe maar om te sien waarheen dit gaan. Vir eers is ek wes, toe draai die snelweg noord, daarna oos en eers daarna kry ek toe die pad waarna ek die hele tyd gesoek het.
Wie sou kon dink mens moet wes ry om die pad noord-oos toe te kry! So iets gebeur net as jou GPS nie werk nie.
Dit was net die begin van die verrassing. Die pad was leeg. Geen motor nie. Geen vragmotor nie. Gou kom ek toe agter hoekom. Hulle het die pad opgekap om nuut te bou, en as alternatief is daar net 'n klip-sand-modderpad.
En gister het ek na Afrika verlang!
Toe kom ek laatmiddag in Ukmerge aan. Dit was nog so 100 km van waar ek beoog het om te slaap. Dit het my bekommerd gemaak dat die landskap al hoe meer mensleeg geraak het.
Ek soek toe in Ukmerge slaapplek. Dit skeel niemand dat ek nie Russies kan praat nie. Almal praat en beduie in Russies. En hoe meer hulle praat hoe meer Grieks word dit vir my.
Om 'n slaapplek te kry het ek heen en weer gery, dosyne mense rigting gevra, honderd verskillende verduidelikings in Russies gekry, en tot ek besef het om by die slaapplek te kom moes ek in 'n 270 grade sirkel om die plek sirkel tot ek een klein paadjie kry waat daarna lei.
Maar ek is hier en het lekker gestort en geeet.
Ek sukkel nou al so en Rusland is nog twee lande ver!
Ek het 'n dame gevra om dit nou vir my uit te tik hoe ek in Russies na blyplek kan vra. Ek hoop dit help.
Groete!
(Rina, as jy vertaalkans sou gehad het help asb!)
Good evening!
Last night I stayed over in Wyszkow.
I left there early. Soon after leaving I had to stop at road works where I had to wait for quite a while. In total I had to wait for about an hour. But the Polish had it well organized.
I was at the Lithuanian border at about 1 o’clock.
Lithuania was a big surprise. As a previously East block country I expected the conditions to be different. But I was totally wrong! The highways were as smooth as in Germany. I couldn’t believe my luck.
This was until I arrived in Kaunas.
There I got lost. Twice I attempted to ride in the right direction. I asked many people, but nobody could understand my Afrikaans / English and I can’t speak Russian.
I went back in the direction from where I came. Some 25km south of Kaunas I found a freeway turning west, while I wanted to go north-east. I proceeded onto this freeway to see where it will take me. At first it took me west, then it turned north, then east, and eventually I found the road I was looking for the whole time.
Who could have imagined that you have to drive west to get the road taking you north-east. Something like this only happens if your GPS is not working.
This was only the start of the surprise. There was no other traffic on the road. No car. No truck. Soon I realised why. They were busy demolishing the road in order to build a new one, and as an alternative there was only a stone-sand-mud road.
And just yesterday I was longing for Africa!
It was late afternoon when I arrived in Ukmerge. It was approximately a 100 km from where I planned to stay over. It was worrying me that the landscape was getting more and more deserted of human life.
I started looking for a place to sleep in Ukmerge. It wasn’t bothering anybody that I couldn’t speak Russian. Everybody was speaking and directing in Russian. And the more they spoke to me in Russian, the more it was sounding like Greek to me.
I was driving back and forth to get a place to sleep, I asked a dozen of people for directions, received hundreds of explanations in Russian, until I realised that to get to my accommodation, I had to drive in a 270 degree circle to get to a small road that leads to it.
But, I have arrived, showered and have eaten.
I am two countries from Russia, and already I am struggling.
I asked a lady to type out the Russian phrase in which to ask for accommodation. I hope it will help.
Regards!
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