Sudovia with Tommy: Day 3 - Lithuania
We offended our host Aga on Sunday by asking for
not making the breakfast for us, as we intended to set off for the ride around 6:00 a.m. She is overprotective and overly welcoming her guests!
Well, the first part of our ride northwards led through a familiar Sudovia Gravel 2025 route (or 2026 reversed) and we found a new perfect long asphalt road just made in a month since May this year! So, we reached a lovely little town of Rutka-Tartak in a very good time.
It is the last town before the Lithuanian border.
There were many climbs before we reached the border!
Lithuania is generally a flat country. The country shares a little part of Sudovia. I guess it is the only area of Lithuania with some hills! On the other hand, the Lithuanian gravel cyclists are real heroes as it comes to competing with the Poles. Guess where do they work out for the races? Yes, you've got it right! They train in Polish Sudovia
There were Polish border patrols en route. The Treaty of Schengen allows any EU citizen move freely within the Union. However, we live in
interesting times, so it is better to have an ID on you when crossing the border. Needless to say, none of the patrols paid any attention to us, obviously some Polish cyclists on a short visit to the neighbouring country!
In Liubavas, the nearest Lithuanian village. It was totally devoid of people on Sunday morning!
Later (when I was selecting the pictures) I -- to my biggest surprise -- discovered the pictures taken
earlier were sorted as
later! Goddam time zones! Poland is the easternmost country on the Central European Time (Bravo time zone) while Lithuania is on EET, East European Time (Charlie time zone). So Poland has the same time as Portugal, while Lithuania is in the time zone of Athens, Greece! I looked at the smartphone clock; it was split into Home Time 8:10 and Abroad Time 9:10! When we returned to Rutka-Tartak, the time was exactly the same as upon our arrival in Ljubavas!
I guess Tommy unawarely desecrated that memorial! Later, I used AI to translate the text. It was something about some specific Lithuanian heroes who "broke through" the impenetrable Soviet border in them olden times and managed to escape to the free world via Poland. (Bear in mind Lithuania was a Soviet republic back then). Note: Lithuanian as a Baltic language is not mutually intelligible with Polish at all!
A Lithuanian Countryside Road. Even if this is still Sudovia, the area is significantly flatter than the Polish part.
Even in Poland and Lithuania shared the statehood for several hundred years, the contemporary history is not that sweet. Once Lithuania regained the independence in 1918, there was a Polish invasion in 1920 to "protect Polish citizens of Vilnius and the Land of Vilnius" (rings a bell?) Poland annected those parts. It was a big hit against the Lithuanian independence, and I think it was never forgotten. Even if plethora of Lithuanians visits Poland nowadays, we still see some unpleasantries created by Lithuanian officials. See the signpost? It is Wiżajny not Vižajny!
Riding a gravel road exactly by the border (our bikes are on the Polish side).
Tommy at the Lithuanian border-post The coat of arms of Lithuania is the Pogoń (The Chase), a Lithuanian knight with a sword riding a horse at a full gallop.
And I at the Polish one "Poland, I love you!" (It is true). The Poland's coat of arms is the (crowned) White Eagle.
The rolling hills of Sudovia. Soon, all roads have become asphalt. We could enjoy how speed descents!
The temperature rose to 37 C (99 F). We had the last chance for a lake swim then had to start the ride with a 11% climb from the beach to a more normal level
Then we rode to Suwałki for the train as described earlier.
