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Jane And Rog
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Did you not see his tail! He was terrified!
Jane & Rog’s Eastwards Coddiwomple (2 Viewers)
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Jane And Rog
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Rog managed a team in Vilnius but we haven’t visited. Cities, dogs and heat not a great mix, though we have found an aire, in case.
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Yesterday’s map.
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Coddiwompling day 28: Lakes, Castles etc.
We woke fairly early to find the Lithuanians are a sober bunch. After the music stopped they all cleared up, packed everything away and wend home leaving us with the whole riverside and the park rising up the the town to ourselves.
I took Flynn for a walk up the hill fort for an even more impressive version of the view we’re had many times this stop.
Five minutes later he was swimming in the river as Jane drank her coffee on the bank.
We drove north to Trakai a resort town 28km west of Vilnius. Trakai was settled by (amongst others) Crimean Karaites in the C15. The Karaites are non-Semitic Jews which sent me down a massive Wikipedia rabbit hole. More relevant to us here though, they imported Kibinai which are little pasties filled with meat and baked in a wood oven. We ate a couple over lunch looking across the lake to Trakai Castle.
It’s got hot again; Flynn swam in the lake after being quite insistent indeed about how important it was for dogs to control their fur temperature.
It was 28C by the time we’d finished walking round town and so we retreated to the relative shade of the van before the thunder arrived to clear the air a little. We’d intended to cook tonight and then stay another night in the same place and eat out but… the little site (read private carpark) got so crowded we’re thinking of eating out tonight and then moving on tomorrow. So, we sat around, trying to keep Denby cool, gave Flynn a quick walk back down to the lake then set out for town again.
We didn’t need to worry about the temperature. As soon as Jane was trotter safe on a little pontoon and I was ordering drinks at the land based bar the rain came down torrential like.
We braved it out helped only by Lithuanian Lager and very non weather suitable Aperol Spritz. Eventually the rain cleared and we hurried back along the coast to what we thought was going to be a traditional Lithuanian post house. We didn’t find that but we did luck upon a Georgian restaurant.
We started with Chaciapuris which is quite like white pizza but better and then had duck (J) and Lamb (r) shashlik - basically grilled meat.
It was both delicious and as a bonus brought back fond memories of Ukraine!
Codiwomple rating: Fair with a chance of rain.
Ankle report: Flynn is waiting for Jane to finish with her brace so he can use it.
We woke fairly early to find the Lithuanians are a sober bunch. After the music stopped they all cleared up, packed everything away and wend home leaving us with the whole riverside and the park rising up the the town to ourselves.
I took Flynn for a walk up the hill fort for an even more impressive version of the view we’re had many times this stop.
A river.
On the way down, we encountered a robot lawnmower. Or rather Flynn did - he was not happy with it. I heard him falling over then scrambling along the walkway before coming back, hiding behind me and making a deeper scarier growl than I’ve ever heard him make.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
In the excitement he also gave himself a nasty graze to one leg. Luckily he has three other legs and seems immune to pain.Nurse, the tennis & ball stick, urgently
Five minutes later he was swimming in the river as Jane drank her coffee on the bank.
Am fine. Throw stick monkey! NOW!
We drove north to Trakai a resort town 28km west of Vilnius. Trakai was settled by (amongst others) Crimean Karaites in the C15. The Karaites are non-Semitic Jews which sent me down a massive Wikipedia rabbit hole. More relevant to us here though, they imported Kibinai which are little pasties filled with meat and baked in a wood oven. We ate a couple over lunch looking across the lake to Trakai Castle.
Just like Cornwall except not unfriendly.
It’s got hot again; Flynn swam in the lake after being quite insistent indeed about how important it was for dogs to control their fur temperature.
It was 28C by the time we’d finished walking round town and so we retreated to the relative shade of the van before the thunder arrived to clear the air a little. We’d intended to cook tonight and then stay another night in the same place and eat out but… the little site (read private carpark) got so crowded we’re thinking of eating out tonight and then moving on tomorrow. So, we sat around, trying to keep Denby cool, gave Flynn a quick walk back down to the lake then set out for town again.
Man, actively working on ways to cool Denby
We didn’t need to worry about the temperature. As soon as Jane was trotter safe on a little pontoon and I was ordering drinks at the land based bar the rain came down torrential like.
We braved it out helped only by Lithuanian Lager and very non weather suitable Aperol Spritz. Eventually the rain cleared and we hurried back along the coast to what we thought was going to be a traditional Lithuanian post house. We didn’t find that but we did luck upon a Georgian restaurant.
We started with Chaciapuris which is quite like white pizza but better and then had duck (J) and Lamb (r) shashlik - basically grilled meat.
“Pizza”
Meaty grill
It was both delicious and as a bonus brought back fond memories of Ukraine!
Codiwomple rating: Fair with a chance of rain.
Ankle report: Flynn is waiting for Jane to finish with her brace so he can use it.
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Forgot yesterday’s map!
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By fear of it! He had no idea what it was and it put the willies up him.
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Our first stop apart from a supermarket was… Actually, hang on. Supermarkets are worth discussing as they’re a real microcosm of the country itself. For example, Luxembourg is full of Waitrose++ ones, full of chiller cabinets dry-aging beef, where not only is each piece of meat labelled with its breed, but also with the animal’s pet name and favourite type of grass.
Poland was sadly a bit disappointing - meat was only beef, pork or chicken, and there was rarely any fish at all.
Lithuania has been a step up, and we’ve bought a nice chunk of salmon to smoke / roast tonight, along with fennel and the makings of our own potato salad.
Our second stop was Europos Parkas, which is a forest sculpture park founded in 1991 by the Lithuanian sculptor Gintaras Karosas. It’s around 55 hectares, with various trails wending their way among art works “by leading contemporary artists.” The scare quotes are because I’d not heard of a single one of them.
The most famous piece is probably the largest sculpture in the world made entirely from TV sets. What I want to know is, where is the second largest? Who keeps the list of the world ranking of sculptures made of TV sets anyway?
There used to be 3000 of these Russian TV sets in the piece - sadly time and tide (well, wind and rain) have reduced the number of sets considerably, so we saw what was probably only a contender for sixth or seventh largest TV sculpture.
There were the remains of a Lenin statue in the centre of the TV maze, and we hoped for a return of Flynn’s art criticism – but he’d exhausted his ink on the many trees. He was lucky to even be in the park, as dogs are banned, but the bored ticket man just waved him through.
The park is located at the exact geographic center of the European continent. Exactly how this is calculated is a matter of some debate. Since the French are mostly the ones deciding it, I imagine the arguments will continue until the heat death of the universe.
Here’s a pyramid sculpture right at the point itself.
A few other sculptures that caught my eye.
Coal Forest by J. Vaitkutė and A. Mamontovas speaks not only about the human relationship with nature, its fragility, and purity but also about the approaching critical point in the history of our civilization.
Axis Mundi. The global axis deforms and moves. A man is very powerful so one can screw the bolts even harder. “Is it worth it?“ – asks Saulius Vaitiekūnas.
Flynn’s favourite was this work, Endless Source. Water in its different forms is one of Mireya Samper’s favourite themes: as a symbol of joy and vitality, its drops as a reference to tears but also as a connection to time, to infinity.
Flynn was not so much in favour of references to infinity, but more because his selfish humans had forgotten to take the dog water with them.
Three cones by Jane. This majestic sculpture of three intricately scaled pinecones, harmoniously arranged, symbolizes the eternal cycle of life and the profound connection between nature and art.
Our campsite tonight is YKD camping, which is a full-on hippy glamping experience and rather nice, though not cheap. We were the only people there, so Flynn had the run of the place for a while and we enjoyed a really peaceful evening.
Rog made guacamole for us to have with drinks - we dipped these biscuits.
When I think of legendary smacks, it was the one my Mum gave my brother and me for finding the charcoal in a fire and rubbing it over our entire bodies to be Red Indians.
Dinner was very good. Rog barbecued fish and veg, while I made mayonnaise with our 12V stick blender for the first time to make potato salad - very successful.
Coddiwompling score: I know what I like!
Ankle score B Day - 2
Poland was sadly a bit disappointing - meat was only beef, pork or chicken, and there was rarely any fish at all.
Lithuania has been a step up, and we’ve bought a nice chunk of salmon to smoke / roast tonight, along with fennel and the makings of our own potato salad.
Our second stop was Europos Parkas, which is a forest sculpture park founded in 1991 by the Lithuanian sculptor Gintaras Karosas. It’s around 55 hectares, with various trails wending their way among art works “by leading contemporary artists.” The scare quotes are because I’d not heard of a single one of them.
The most famous piece is probably the largest sculpture in the world made entirely from TV sets. What I want to know is, where is the second largest? Who keeps the list of the world ranking of sculptures made of TV sets anyway?
There used to be 3000 of these Russian TV sets in the piece - sadly time and tide (well, wind and rain) have reduced the number of sets considerably, so we saw what was probably only a contender for sixth or seventh largest TV sculpture.
There were the remains of a Lenin statue in the centre of the TV maze, and we hoped for a return of Flynn’s art criticism – but he’d exhausted his ink on the many trees. He was lucky to even be in the park, as dogs are banned, but the bored ticket man just waved him through.
The park is located at the exact geographic center of the European continent. Exactly how this is calculated is a matter of some debate. Since the French are mostly the ones deciding it, I imagine the arguments will continue until the heat death of the universe.
Here’s a pyramid sculpture right at the point itself.
A few other sculptures that caught my eye.
Coal Forest by J. Vaitkutė and A. Mamontovas speaks not only about the human relationship with nature, its fragility, and purity but also about the approaching critical point in the history of our civilization.
Axis Mundi. The global axis deforms and moves. A man is very powerful so one can screw the bolts even harder. “Is it worth it?“ – asks Saulius Vaitiekūnas.
Flynn’s favourite was this work, Endless Source. Water in its different forms is one of Mireya Samper’s favourite themes: as a symbol of joy and vitality, its drops as a reference to tears but also as a connection to time, to infinity.
Flynn was not so much in favour of references to infinity, but more because his selfish humans had forgotten to take the dog water with them.
Three cones by Jane. This majestic sculpture of three intricately scaled pinecones, harmoniously arranged, symbolizes the eternal cycle of life and the profound connection between nature and art.
Our campsite tonight is YKD camping, which is a full-on hippy glamping experience and rather nice, though not cheap. We were the only people there, so Flynn had the run of the place for a while and we enjoyed a really peaceful evening.
Rog made guacamole for us to have with drinks - we dipped these biscuits.
When I think of legendary smacks, it was the one my Mum gave my brother and me for finding the charcoal in a fire and rubbing it over our entire bodies to be Red Indians.
Dinner was very good. Rog barbecued fish and veg, while I made mayonnaise with our 12V stick blender for the first time to make potato salad - very successful.
Coddiwompling score: I know what I like!
Ankle score B Day - 2
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Jane And Rog
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Today’s map.
Yum, I made a warm potato salad today with anchovy mayo with my 12v stick blender
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Re your comments about Polish S/Markets
You are generally right about the limited meat, but we do occasionally find lamb chops, except they chainsaw them very thin so as to make it impossible to cook 'pink'. Even more occasionally we can buy leg of pork so we buy two for the freezer. Also last week I bought and cooked two nice duck legs, so there are some extras. Turkey portions are also available from time to time.
Your comment about fish is far from our experience. We have a LeClerc 50m across the road which has a 7m long wet fish counter with almost any fish and shellfish you want and opposite is a chilled cabinet with pre-packed fish. 200m down the road is Lidl which has a 3m fish cabinet.
We are further lucky as we have a friend who goes regularly to the foot of the Tatra Mts and brings us back beautiful fresh trout and/or salmon trout to stock the freezer.
Maybe you were unlucky with the S/Markets you found, or it is a regional thing in E. Poland. When I mentioned 'regional' to Basia her response was 'They eat potatoes there'
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Jane And Rog
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Yes, and for the most of the time we were rural and quite far from a major city. I don’t think that’s the case for you?Re your comments about Polish S/Markets
You are generally right about the limited meat, but we do occasionally find lamb chops, except they chainsaw them very thin so as to make it impossible to cook 'pink'. Even more occasionally we can buy leg of pork so we buy two for the freezer. Also last week I bought and cooked two nice duck legs, so there are some extras. Turkey portions are also available from time to time.
Your comment about fish is far from our experience. We have a LeClerc 50m across the road which has a 7m long wet fish counter with almost any fish and shellfish you want and opposite is a chilled cabinet with pre-packed fish. 200m down the road is Lidl which has a 3m fish cabinet.
We are further lucky as we have a friend who goes regularly to the foot of the Tatra Mts and brings us back beautiful fresh trout and/or salmon trout to stock the freezer.
Maybe you were unlucky with the S/Markets you found, or it is a regional thing in E. Poland. When I mentioned 'regional' to Basia her response was 'They eat potatoes there'
- Oct 12, 2009
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I would not call Katowice a major city as the population of the city itself is about 300,000, but certainly not rural. Were the ones you tried in Poland real S/Markets or Mini Markets?
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Jane And Rog
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Mix of both, but more mini than maxi.
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Once motorbike camping in France we by chance spoke to a younger couple at a restaurant on the Ile de Re. Well it wasn't by chance - she'd ordered oysters and when they arrived and she tried to eat them I could see quite plainly that she didn't have the slightest clue how to even open one, let alone how to eat them. Now - neither do I but I knew Pete did and that he also has the strength probably even without a proper oyster knife, so 'I made him' go nd offer assistance which was gratefully received. Then (B me!)- 2 evenings later there we were enjoying moules and frites on the Ile d'Oleron when I spotted the same couple arrive at a table across the other side of the open air plaza we were all eating upon - so there was Pierre again showing the lady how to easily/cleanly eat moules using the in built natural pincers. They were Warsaw natives and could easily get 'wet fish' at home BUT - always pre- frozen and so she decided deliberately to try FRESH fish - and shellfish - at places where the people knew how to cook and present them.
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Come on guys, as in my post #251 above we can get fresh fish and shellfish here in Poland. We often have moules both in restaurants and at home. For home consumption they come vacuum-packed, but not frozen.
Maaybe that couple did not shop in the right places in Warsawa.
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Coddiwompling day 30: The Old Dairy.
We had a bit of a lie in today and weren’t on the road until after 10am. Before that we did manage coffee on the jetty on the swimming pond at YLD Camping.
Lithuania is pretty flat, especially up north so don’t expect a big hill. Do expect a lot of crosses.
The Hill of Crosses started out its life as a pilgrimage site in the C19. During the 60s it became a symbol of defiance against anti-religious Soviet rule. At night locals snuck in to add new crosses to the hill. Nowadays, it is forbidden to remove a cross, and any visitor may plant a cross but only up to a certain size - which feels a bit like banning religion over a certain devotion level. The tat stalls at the entry sell crosses of the approved size and will even lend you a marker pen to write the name of your loved one or in some cases registration of your car on your cross. With no jeopardy involved in adding crosses and a ready supply of cheap examples, The Hill of Crosses mostly resembles one of those bridges that teenagers put padlocks onto so I can complain about them rusting and looking generally crap.
The town is a bit of an oddity in other ways too it has a lot of links to Blighty. Our dairy was initially mechanised with English machinery and the park is described as English style. They even have some “Tudor cottages” designed by an English architect. We think this might be one.
Codiwomple rating: middling
Ankle report: Soon threatening to be bigger than the codiwompling description, the ankle report now comes in three parts:
Flynn’s foot is being treated with constant licking. To be fair, he prescribes constant licking for most things.
Jane has painted her toenails “Passion Pink” for the grand unveiling in two days.
In order to get in on the action, I dropped a brick on my foot last night. It’s not in the same league as the other two though. I’ve been licking it all day and it’s nearly better now, just a big bruise.
We had a bit of a lie in today and weren’t on the road until after 10am. Before that we did manage coffee on the jetty on the swimming pond at YLD Camping.
A latte on the terrace.
Then we set off north to the Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology. In case you don’t know, ethnocosmology is “Everything what (sic) reflects or includes the information on human relationship with the Cosmic World.” I’ve read their philosophy page twice and I still don’t really know what it means. Unfortunately, I probably never will because the road to the Lithuanian Museum of Ethnocosmology was closed. The resulting traffic jams looked intimidating so we gave up and replanned our day to be driving Northwest to the Hill of Crosses.Lithuania is pretty flat, especially up north so don’t expect a big hill. Do expect a lot of crosses.
The Hill of Crosses started out its life as a pilgrimage site in the C19. During the 60s it became a symbol of defiance against anti-religious Soviet rule. At night locals snuck in to add new crosses to the hill. Nowadays, it is forbidden to remove a cross, and any visitor may plant a cross but only up to a certain size - which feels a bit like banning religion over a certain devotion level. The tat stalls at the entry sell crosses of the approved size and will even lend you a marker pen to write the name of your loved one or in some cases registration of your car on your cross. With no jeopardy involved in adding crosses and a ready supply of cheap examples, The Hill of Crosses mostly resembles one of those bridges that teenagers put padlocks onto so I can complain about them rusting and looking generally crap.
It’s full of crosses
Clearly normal
A New Cross above the size limit!
North and more west then almost to the Latvian border. We’re still unsure how far north to go before turning round. We hadn’t really planned to come up here at all (coddiwompling remember?). But now that we’re here it feels like a long way to come again if we want to see Estonia. That said the Baltic states are failing to click with us.Clearly not a good place to be.
Whatever. We arrived in Žagarė. At the turn of the century (no, the earlier one) it had a population of 14,000 and was the seventh largest city in Lithuania. Now its population is only 2000 and it feels a little like a ghost town. We tried one campsite but it felt even more like a ghost town and didn’t answer the phone. We drove back into town and were parked at The Old Dairy Campsite. Which sounds a lot nicer than the more accurate “Derelict ex Soviet Dairy Campsite”. It’s got a certain charm but it’s expensive for what it is.A certain charm
Slightly less charm
And inside that charming buildingSlightly less charm
Oh
More annoying is that the photo above of Jane lying in the orchard is on this site but they won’t let us park down there for reasons that don’t translate into English.The town is a bit of an oddity in other ways too it has a lot of links to Blighty. Our dairy was initially mechanised with English machinery and the park is described as English style. They even have some “Tudor cottages” designed by an English architect. We think this might be one.
To avoid confusion: Tudor cottage on left right.
We wanted to eat out tonight but the town really is a ghost town, all the restaurants are closed. Jane went to the supermarket and bought pelmeni.Dumpling deliciousness.
Codiwomple rating: middling
Ankle report: Soon threatening to be bigger than the codiwompling description, the ankle report now comes in three parts:
Flynn’s foot is being treated with constant licking. To be fair, he prescribes constant licking for most things.
Jane has painted her toenails “Passion Pink” for the grand unveiling in two days.
In order to get in on the action, I dropped a brick on my foot last night. It’s not in the same league as the other two though. I’ve been licking it all day and it’s nearly better now, just a big bruise.
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Can you really lick your own foot? I would need to see photos to believe it my friend
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Jane And Rog
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We wouldn’t lie to you. Everything we write here is true and fact checked by independent experts.Can you really lick your own foot? I would need to see photos to believe it my friend
I might need to get that fact checked by the Facebook Police......
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Footbook police?
Also.
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Not much use for this current graze, but I used to carry Leucillin Natural Antiseptic Spray for Kerry's frequent scrapes (she was a greyhound so...)
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Thanks, noted for future purhase.
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What a relief to get off the dreadful post apocalyptic wasteland and move on. A mere 2km down the road and we are in Latvia. The road surface was suddenly first-world, although (dramatic foreshadowing) this would not be the case at all this afternoon.
We hit the Gulf of Riga to the west of that city, and continued along the coast road, heading north-west. The sea! The first time we’ve seen it since Calais, and then we didn’t see it because we were in a tunnel.
We drove on past the Lonely Planet’s promised stalls selling smoked fish and bread (ideal for a picnic lunch) - because they were all closed. Is mid July not the high season?
Our destination for a walk was Cape Kolka, Latvia’s most northerly point. Flynn enjoyed many swims, and we all enjoyed a walk on the flat sands. I even walked without my brace, as wearing the same shoes for four weeks in 30 degrees had given me the odd blister. Well, tomorrow is B-day - how much difference can it make?
Rog and Flynn even went up a viewing tower - not a surprise for Rog but very much so for Flynn who’s scared of heights.
Then we had a dreadfully long and tiring drive down the coast to Ventspils (which sounds like the flesh poking out of a lardy man’s shorts).
The road was totally ripped up in four of five major sections, with clouds of dust and long traffic lights for the single lanes.
Finally we pulled up at Ventuspils Campsite - a large affair chosen for its electricity, showers, and most of all washing machine.
Sometimes I think that there’s a bit of competition about pitching up in a busy site. Not the Olympics, more It’s a Knockout.
Eddie: Well, the UK team are not having a good start here.
Stuart: No, that’s their second lap of the site and I’m still seeing indecision there…
Ed: No, they’ve gone for it! Pitch 65!
Stu: And he’s straight in there.
Ed: And he’s out again. Nearer the trees seems to be decision from management.
Stu: All good now. And the ramps are out, and he’s on. Nice work.
Ed: And he’s off again. Soil too soft, local hillock…
Stu: Soft pillock? Bit harsh.
Ed: Ramps moved, he’s happy now.
Stu: Look at those Germans opposite smirking.
Ed: Vorsprung durch Selbstgefälligkeit
Stu: Whatever. OK, that was a slow start. Now he’s back to reception to register the pitch number.
Both: (sigh)
Ed: Beginner mistake.
Stu: She’s getting a call.
Ed: She doesn’t look happy.
Stu: She’s packing the van back up and moving the chairs. There’s a certain huff in the air.
Ed: I hate to say it, but I think the Germans have got this…
Stu: She’s having trouble with those cables
Ed: Up and under…
Yep, partly our fault but also a stupid campsite that allocated numbers at random, had people parked where they didn’t belong, and had no idea who was where.
We were both very hot and bothered and welcomed the site’s very good and non-push-button showers.
Dinner was supposed to be at the nearest restaurant which was both OK and, as I said, near.
“Do you have a table for two?”
“No”
OK then. Despite it being the ankle’s first evening out in lady sandals (sadly not recorded for posterity), we had to walk another km to find somewhere who say “yes”.
The service at the second place was also definitely reminiscent of Ukraine, but the food was good and all was forgiven when our seafood platter was comped due to slow service. And we didn’t even complain!
Coddiwompling score: Dusty
Ankle score: New shoes!
We hit the Gulf of Riga to the west of that city, and continued along the coast road, heading north-west. The sea! The first time we’ve seen it since Calais, and then we didn’t see it because we were in a tunnel.
We drove on past the Lonely Planet’s promised stalls selling smoked fish and bread (ideal for a picnic lunch) - because they were all closed. Is mid July not the high season?
Our destination for a walk was Cape Kolka, Latvia’s most northerly point. Flynn enjoyed many swims, and we all enjoyed a walk on the flat sands. I even walked without my brace, as wearing the same shoes for four weeks in 30 degrees had given me the odd blister. Well, tomorrow is B-day - how much difference can it make?
Rog and Flynn even went up a viewing tower - not a surprise for Rog but very much so for Flynn who’s scared of heights.
Then we had a dreadfully long and tiring drive down the coast to Ventspils (which sounds like the flesh poking out of a lardy man’s shorts).
The road was totally ripped up in four of five major sections, with clouds of dust and long traffic lights for the single lanes.
Finally we pulled up at Ventuspils Campsite - a large affair chosen for its electricity, showers, and most of all washing machine.
Sometimes I think that there’s a bit of competition about pitching up in a busy site. Not the Olympics, more It’s a Knockout.
Eddie: Well, the UK team are not having a good start here.
Stuart: No, that’s their second lap of the site and I’m still seeing indecision there…
Ed: No, they’ve gone for it! Pitch 65!
Stu: And he’s straight in there.
Ed: And he’s out again. Nearer the trees seems to be decision from management.
Stu: All good now. And the ramps are out, and he’s on. Nice work.
Ed: And he’s off again. Soil too soft, local hillock…
Stu: Soft pillock? Bit harsh.
Ed: Ramps moved, he’s happy now.
Stu: Look at those Germans opposite smirking.
Ed: Vorsprung durch Selbstgefälligkeit
Stu: Whatever. OK, that was a slow start. Now he’s back to reception to register the pitch number.
Both: (sigh)
Ed: Beginner mistake.
Stu: She’s getting a call.
Ed: She doesn’t look happy.
Stu: She’s packing the van back up and moving the chairs. There’s a certain huff in the air.
Ed: I hate to say it, but I think the Germans have got this…
Stu: She’s having trouble with those cables
Ed: Up and under…
Yep, partly our fault but also a stupid campsite that allocated numbers at random, had people parked where they didn’t belong, and had no idea who was where.
We were both very hot and bothered and welcomed the site’s very good and non-push-button showers.
Dinner was supposed to be at the nearest restaurant which was both OK and, as I said, near.
“Do you have a table for two?”
“No”
OK then. Despite it being the ankle’s first evening out in lady sandals (sadly not recorded for posterity), we had to walk another km to find somewhere who say “yes”.
The service at the second place was also definitely reminiscent of Ukraine, but the food was good and all was forgiven when our seafood platter was comped due to slow service. And we didn’t even complain!
Coddiwompling score: Dusty
Ankle score: New shoes!
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It'll only be a pic of some stray dog.Nothing to do with Poland but we’re in first place in the July photo comp! First place until Northernraider mobilises that is
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Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
Coddiwompling day 32: B-Day comes but with a whimper
Today was to be the great un-bracing of the broken ankle, except it wasn’t because that came off yesterday as previously reported. Jane has 14.3k unbraced steps on her Garmin today.
After we’d finished our second coffee - only allowed on days where we’re not driving I asked Jane if we should pack the chairs before we walked into town. Before I’d finished the sentence, a rainstorm started and everything including us was soaked. We packed up and hid in the van until it eased slightly.
An hour later we were poking around a deserted market place when the rain came down again. “Oh look, brew pub!” I squealed clapping like a seal. We actually knew of Courlander from one of the many guides we have so it was an easy decision. What to order for lunch slightly less so because Courlander specialises in local fish.
As the three of us huddled under the shelter in the beer garden we ate fried sprats, crispy rye bread, fried smelts, and boiled crayfish. Despite them all being starters we had ordered far too much so Flynn did very well in under the table deals. It was all very good.
“Helan Går” is the “The Crayfish Song” which Swedes sing as they eat them. We were taught it at a crayfish party back in the day but sadly couldn’t remember any of it. Here’s Abba’s version:
Turns out, it’s not even about crayfish. Here’s the words if you want to sing along with Agnetha and co:
The whole one goes down
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la la la”
The whole one goes down
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la”
And he who doesn’t take the whole
Doesn’t get the half one either
The whole one goes down
[Drink]
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la”
You will need vodka for the next to last line.
We wandered round town a little more then sat out the rest of the rain in Denby. In the evening I took Flynn down to the beach which is only a couple of kilometres from the site. It was a nice walk but the easiest path:
Luckily it was late and raining so Flynn was spared the chance to get his cold nose where it wasn’t wanted.
Codiwomple rating: 100
Ankle report: see above, massive win! Although my foot has gone the colour of a disappointing plum.
Today was to be the great un-bracing of the broken ankle, except it wasn’t because that came off yesterday as previously reported. Jane has 14.3k unbraced steps on her Garmin today.
One lady owner. Complete set with crutches: €5
After we’d finished our second coffee - only allowed on days where we’re not driving I asked Jane if we should pack the chairs before we walked into town. Before I’d finished the sentence, a rainstorm started and everything including us was soaked. We packed up and hid in the van until it eased slightly.
An hour later we were poking around a deserted market place when the rain came down again. “Oh look, brew pub!” I squealed clapping like a seal. We actually knew of Courlander from one of the many guides we have so it was an easy decision. What to order for lunch slightly less so because Courlander specialises in local fish.
Spot the error.
As the three of us huddled under the shelter in the beer garden we ate fried sprats, crispy rye bread, fried smelts, and boiled crayfish. Despite them all being starters we had ordered far too much so Flynn did very well in under the table deals. It was all very good.
Helan Går
“Helan Går” is the “The Crayfish Song” which Swedes sing as they eat them. We were taught it at a crayfish party back in the day but sadly couldn’t remember any of it. Here’s Abba’s version:
Turns out, it’s not even about crayfish. Here’s the words if you want to sing along with Agnetha and co:
The whole one goes down
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la la la”
The whole one goes down
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la”
And he who doesn’t take the whole
Doesn’t get the half one either
The whole one goes down
[Drink]
Sing “hup fol-de-rol la la”
You will need vodka for the next to last line.
We wandered round town a little more then sat out the rest of the rain in Denby. In the evening I took Flynn down to the beach which is only a couple of kilometres from the site. It was a nice walk but the easiest path:
Wish I’d brought my bike.
Landed you on the most challenging beach:No Mrs Siliņa, I was just walking the dog.
Luckily it was late and raining so Flynn was spared the chance to get his cold nose where it wasn’t wanted.
Codiwomple rating: 100
Ankle report: see above, massive win! Although my foot has gone the colour of a disappointing plum.
OP
OP
Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
We were up bright and early to beat the hordes to the facilities, but got stuck behind a big gin palace, which was emptying each of its three cassettes, rinsing each of them three times, and then anointing them with Chanel No 5.
(When my Dad died last autumn, I found a tiny bottle of Chanel No. 5 that I had bought my mother when I was in my early twenties. Sadly it looks as though she kept it for rare treats, so there was a fair bit left, 40 years on. I now carry it in Denby for my own rare treats, such as the Grand Brace Removal Celebration tonight, delayed from yesterday due to inclement weather.)
Our first stop was the Kemeri Bog Walk. My new Ecco boots got their first outing - very comfortable, I’m pleased to report.
The Kemeri Bog Walk is not a stroll around the bathroom fittings section of B&Q, but a fascinating boardwalk through the marshy sphagnum moss of the Kemeri National Park.
The longer trail wends its way among the little ponds and lakes for 4.5km, and there’s a viewing tower which gives you a different perspective on the scene.
The Seek app on my phone recognised a few new species for me, the most exciting of which was the carnivorous round-leaved sundew. We kept Flynn well away.
Walk done, we pootled 30 minutes down the road to Jūrmala, which is basically Riga’s beach town. It started out as a spa in 1838, and the streets are lined with grand old wooden villas, some renovated, some pretty much in original condition.
After parking up in the back streets, we walked along the pedestrianised central shopping street and back - fairly successfully, as I got an amber bead to add to my striped flint one, and Rog got a black balsamic vinegar and cherry ice cream.
Our stop for the night is a free car park back to the west of town, away from the busy area and in the shade of a large tree. Dinner reminded us of Ukraine again, but in a good way, and it was lovely to relax with a view of the Baltic and in temperatures we associate with the Mediterranean in the days before global warming.
Coddiwompling score: Heading to Estonia, so eleventy million
Ankle score: 18k steps
Foot score: An even more disappointing plum! And Rog can lick it, as proved in bed last night.
(When my Dad died last autumn, I found a tiny bottle of Chanel No. 5 that I had bought my mother when I was in my early twenties. Sadly it looks as though she kept it for rare treats, so there was a fair bit left, 40 years on. I now carry it in Denby for my own rare treats, such as the Grand Brace Removal Celebration tonight, delayed from yesterday due to inclement weather.)
Our first stop was the Kemeri Bog Walk. My new Ecco boots got their first outing - very comfortable, I’m pleased to report.
The Kemeri Bog Walk is not a stroll around the bathroom fittings section of B&Q, but a fascinating boardwalk through the marshy sphagnum moss of the Kemeri National Park.
The longer trail wends its way among the little ponds and lakes for 4.5km, and there’s a viewing tower which gives you a different perspective on the scene.
The Seek app on my phone recognised a few new species for me, the most exciting of which was the carnivorous round-leaved sundew. We kept Flynn well away.
Walk done, we pootled 30 minutes down the road to Jūrmala, which is basically Riga’s beach town. It started out as a spa in 1838, and the streets are lined with grand old wooden villas, some renovated, some pretty much in original condition.
After parking up in the back streets, we walked along the pedestrianised central shopping street and back - fairly successfully, as I got an amber bead to add to my striped flint one, and Rog got a black balsamic vinegar and cherry ice cream.
Our stop for the night is a free car park back to the west of town, away from the busy area and in the shade of a large tree. Dinner reminded us of Ukraine again, but in a good way, and it was lovely to relax with a view of the Baltic and in temperatures we associate with the Mediterranean in the days before global warming.
Coddiwompling score: Heading to Estonia, so eleventy million
Ankle score: 18k steps
Foot score: An even more disappointing plum! And Rog can lick it, as proved in bed last night.
OP
OP
Jane And Rog
LIFE MEMBER
Today’s map.
Mikey RV
LIFE MEMBER
Loving this thread. 
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