After my visit to Heiko and Anja I went a bit further through Germany. On my way to Poland I visited the Göltzschtal bridge, the largest brick bridge in the world with its 98 arches. Then we continued towards Spreewald. I stayed at a small campsite near Finsterwalde, the campsite Bornsdorf "Am Waldsee". The night before, they had a line dance event there and were busy with dismantling, the kitchen was closed. I just had some bread and a few nuts with me. The nice lady at the front desk offered me something from the grill they had set up for the workers. That was just great! This are people I like to remember, they make a trip like mine even more special. In conversation with the people there, I was recommended to look at the F60, the largest mobile technical machine in the world. "Just go there and have a look at it from the outside, you can also go in if you want". So I drove there the next day. It was full of festivalgoers who were on their way home. Apparently there was just a festival over. So I looked at the machine from the outside and drove on towards Spreewald, made my round through Lübbenau. About the highway, it went north.
At Stettin I crossed the border to Poland and then continued across the country to Szczecinek, where I took a hotel room. It had been pretty fresh all day and I did not feel like camping. When I searched for something to eat, I noticed that all the restaurants were already closed, and this at 20.30. Luckily I found a small shop that was open until 11pm. Some cheese, some meat, some bread and my dinner was ready
The next day we went to Gdansk. Eliza and Mironq were waiting for me there. I met both of them in 2015 in Georgia. Eliza was the hostess in the hostel where I was stuck then. As soon as they arrived, Eliza started preparing for Khachapuri, a Georgian specialty. In the evening we went for a walk through Gdansk and enjoyed a beer. The next morning I spent alone in Gdansk. Eliza worked the morning and Mironq all day. In the afternoon, Eliza and I go to the Hevelianum, a hill in Gdansk, from where you can look over the whole city. I stayed with them one more night. A big thank you to Eliza and Mironq!
The next destination on my bucket list was the geographic center of Europe near Vilnius. I made it to Suwalki near the border with Lithuania. There I found a small bikerfriendly campsite. The whole check-in process went smoothly and easily. "Have you got a free place?", "Yes, find some place, there are the showers and toilets". Simple, uncomplicated, friendly. That is what one wants to have. I drove on over the border to Lithuania and on to Trakai for a photo stop. I just looked at the moated castle from the outside, it was hot and there were too many people there. So a few photos, have a drink and continue to the center of Europe. There I met a Lithuanian who was waiting for friends. When they arrived, a man and an old lady, the man told that someone had stolen the battery from the car. After a short conversation about this and that I drove on towards the mountain of crosses. I knew that I could not get there, so in the evening I searched for a campsite on the sat nav and found one in the middle of the forest. In the forest I came to an intersection, straight ahead, gravel, left, gravel, right, asphalt. On the sat nav, I saw that a camping site had to be right, so I went there. There was no one to see, only two dogs barking. I looked around a bit. It looked like a summer camp. Several cabins, sports field, shared room ... Then came a car. A young woman got out. I asked if this is a campsite and if it is possible to stay overnight. She explained that they were not going to open until one day later and that it was a camp for children. But she asked the boss if I was allowed to stay there and I even got one of the rooms for one night. The next morning no one was there, again only the dogs were there. I grabbed my motorcycle, put the money and keys on the table in the room and drove to the hill of crosses. When I got there, I already saw that it was furnished for many visitors. I parked my motorcycle and went to the mountain. Well, actually it is just a hill and not even a very big, rather a small survey. But there are over 200,000 crosses on it. There I met Thomas, who was traveling with his GS in the Baltics. He told me that we are there early enough, even before the onslaught of tourists arrive. So take pictures and get away.
Unfortunately, Latvia was only a transit country. I drove through Riga and thought to myself "You have to visit this city someday". In the evening I stayed about 30 km before the border with Estonia on a "campsite". It had no water, no showers, no electricity, nothing at all, the worst campground I have ever been to. Luckily there was a small café nearby where I could have a drink and use the wireless internet. The next day we went to Tallin, where I had booked a room in a hostel right next to the harbor. I settled in and was in touch with Robert, who was also on his way to the North Cape. He arrived in Tallin that same evening.
After he had moved into his room, we went in search of something edible in the old town. We were both amazed at the prices. They were quite high for EU standards. Partly similar to Switzerland.
The next day we made our way on foot through Tallinn's old town. We visited the sights and searched for beer for a maximum of 3.50 €. In the old town we found nothing. On the way back to the hostel we passed a bunker. Outside stood the typical billboard of bars and restaurant. We went down the stairs and finally found our beer for 3.50 €. The decor and decoration reminded of the old Soviet Union. The bar had its special charm and certainly not for everyone. In the evening we got in the supermarket to eat something and ate in the hostel.
The weather was better the next day and we visited the Telliskivi district, the bohemian district of the city. The graffiti and paintings on the walls were great, with little cafes and restaurants everywhere. It's worth a visit. What I did not like was that it had no alternative flair. I had a different idea, more free spirits or alternatively living, maybe with something hippie-like. Maybe it was like that when the neighborhood was rebuilt, but not anymore.
Robert continued with the ferry to Finland. I stayed one more day in Tallin, doing some stuff on the notebook and taking some rest.
Then it went to Finland.