What Are Some Landmarks We've Seen on Our Road Trip?

[Borek]

Let's play a game

We are going North. Now and then I will post information about our trip, but I will do it each time in two phases – first, I will post just few pictures of things we have seen – and next time I will be able to log in I will explain what you see and where we were. Kind of a landmark game, just you know more or less general direction and that we usually cover a little bit over 200 km per day (which is around 120 miles if I am correct). We have to cover around 6 thousands km in about 30 days. As of now I am posting my pictures only, I guess we will both post more when we will either get back to Warsaw or we will have more time for computer work, as of now our days are rather packed with camp duties, driving, trying to see something and not get lost on the way.

First picture is hardly a landmark, but we stopped in a really interesting place, one that I will try to describe in more details later.

Few kilometers from our first camping place.

Easy

A little bit harder, especially if you are not a Pole. Central part is the important one.

Easy again

 

[Andre]

success Borek have a very good time.

#3 is Zespol poklasztorny zakonu kamedułów

#5 is the Orthodox Cathedral in Riga

#4 is Ausros Vartai (Aušros Vartų) in Vilnius

 

[Borek]

Yep, I used these two in landmark game, so they were easy. I think you should be able to find #2 as well, even if not exactly, it was not far from #3.

 

[turbo]

You have some beautiful landmarks there, buddy! I hope you and Marzena fill lots of memory-cards!

 

[Astronuc]

I want to move to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovkia, Montengro, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Makedonija, Romania, Bulgaria, . . . .

 

[Andre]

Yep, I used these two in landmark game, so they were easy. I think you should be able to find #2 as well, even if not exactly, it was not far from #3.

Ah yes #2, the lock, could that be this?

[PLAIN]http://www.augustow.zafriko.pl/pics/Motorówka%20w%20śluzie%20podczas%20wyrównywania%20poziomów%20wody.jpg
in the Augustow canal?

or more precieze http://www.panoramio.com/photo/14657405 ?

Hope your weather is okay. was not looking good for the Baltic lately.

 

[jtbell]

Six thousand km, eh? If you go through Finland, that will be a good test for me, as I've been there a few times.

 

[Borek]

Andre: yes, that's the lock in Przewięź, we were just lucky to get there the moment ship was passing through.

Weather is funny. We are far north, we were prepared for low temperatures, so far we are driving and living in a heat wave, with temperatures between 25-30 deg C. There are thunderstorm now and then but so far they were either in the night or when we were driving - in both cases that's not a problem.

We have already over 2000 km done.

Hopefully more tomorrow in the morning - reception here where we are works 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and I have not transferred pictures from the camera to HDD yet.

 

[Borek]

OK, I forgot I can post first part of my "diary" - these are places Andre already guessed

Day first
Simple – we just got from Warsaw to Paniewo (N53 54.423 E23 18.001 – sorry for idiotic format, that's the way MapSource displays coordinates). Why here – well, we have some memories older even than Junior is. Place is beautiful, unfortunately, it is also noisy because there is a lot of people here, mostly young ones, and it is a weekend – so there are many tents, close to each tent is a car, each car has a loud loudspeaker and every car owner listens to different music. Rarely it is music that we listen to as well. Sanitary part is so limited I will not bother with describing it, luckily it is just beginning of the season, I prefer not to try to imagine how it will look at the end of August. However, we can't leave before Sunday, as we want to vote in our presidential election.

Day second
Side trips.
First, lock in Przewięź, part of Kanał Augustowski (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustów_Canal). Mostly a touristic attraction today. Really worth to see if you like combination of simple technology and beautiful nature. Some parts of the canal are being reconstructed now, so total length of navigable part will be longer.
Second – Klasztor in Wigry. Pictures are not just, as you have to see it from the lake, it looks much better then. Famous and beautiful place.
Third – much longer trip to Druskienniki, in Lithuania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druskininkai). Nice place, but nothing special, I was just curious, my Mom was there about 10 years ago and she liked the place very much.

Day third
Not the best start – it was raining in the night, tent is wet and Marzena waked up with swollen eye. It is Sunday and tomorrow we will be abroad, so finding a doc will be much more difficult. Morning was sunny, so tent dried quite fast, we packed, went to vote, then went Augustów to find a hospital (only place working 24h on Sundays in this area). Luckily we lost no more than about 1 hour, she got some medicine and we can go. Next stop – Vilnius.
Somewhere on the road it becomes obvious that our navigation makes some strange errors. We have a paper plan of Europe, but nothing detailed enough to find a camping in Vilnius, even if we have exact position (hopefully exact position – it is a list of POIs downloaded from internet, they are not always accurate). Luckily the same map of Europe that is not working correctly on Garmin nuvi works OK on my laptop. In Vilnius I had to navigate stopping now and then to switch on laptop, check my position, decide where to turn and so on. In the process I have learned that position that Google Earth displays as 54°40'36.01"N 25°13'33.49"E must be converted to N54 40.664 E25 13.481 before it can be entered to MapSource; I do the conversion using TI89, as then I can see everything at the same time. Idiotic, but works.

Camping in Vilnius was neither good or bad, hot water, showers are OK, but as it is just adapted parking lot we can't put our tent close to the car so we have to make 100 meter trips whenever we need something, and we use car as a closet, so we make these trips many times. Between 9 PM and noon it pours, luckily we raised a tent (raised? build? put up? erected? No idea how it is correctly said in English), bathed, prepared a dinner and ate before.

Oh, I now realized Andre edited his post and added next landmark he has found - yes, that the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_of_Dawn - in Poland known as Ostra Brama. It is mentioned in the first lines of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Tadeusz - epic poem that every Pole learns about in school.

 

[Andre]

Thanks very much Borek, for the reporting. Keep them coming, the landmarks.

 

[Borek]

At last camping internet access was possible only close to the reception which was a small closed building - no way to sit down and post something. Today we sit comfortably in the kitchen and pretend to be eating

Up to today:

This is close to the lighthouse, for landmarkers should be obvious

3000 km behind.

 

[Andre]

I guess the lighthouse is Kuressaare (sorva), where Suur Toll lost his fish.

Edit the distand marker is at Napapiiri

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Did you happen to pass near Minsk? My ancestors are from there. Also Grodno.

 

[Andre]

Meanwhile the tubes are likely the Monument Jean Sibelius

His most chilling music is the Finlandia, chills starting around 5:22 min

 

[Borek]

I guess the lighthouse is Kuressaare (sorva), where Suur Toll lost his fish.

Actually fish is part of the Suur Toll monument that was used in the landmark quizz.

 

[Andre]

Exactly, https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=2147258

 

[jtbell]

Meanwhile the tubes are likely the Monument Jean Sibelius

Yes indeed. I spotted that one right off.

His most chilling music is the Finlandia, chills starting around 5:22 min

I vote for certain passages in the sixth and seventh symphonies.

The Arctic Circle at Rovaniemi was my first guess for the distance-marker, but then I checked the straight-line distance to the North Cape on Google Maps and it turned out much too short. So my second guess was somewhere further south near Oulu. I should have stuck with my first guess. 680 km to the North Cape must be the road distance.

 

[Borek]

We are still alive and going, just no internet access on campings. ATM we have a few minutes in tourist office, but we are going further in a moment. Showers, wind, sun, pictures and problems - everything on a daily basis

 

[Andre]

Good to hear from you,

. Showers, wind, sun, pictures and problems - everything on a daily basis

which made me wonder every year why seeking trouble so far away, if you just can have them at home. Anyway, I'll be on Montcru almost all of next month.

Have a good trip.

 

[arildno]

I'm glad to hear from you!

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Good to hear, I've been missing the Boreks.

 

[lisab]

Put me in the Missing The Boreks camp, too .

 

[Borek]

OK, we have internet acces at the camping today. So far only one picture was not recognized - but I won't post the exact location yet, as I feel it is quite easy, especially after I will post next several pictures. So...

IMHO this guy prepares to launch model glider. Not everyone agrees with this interpretation.

We have navigational problems, already over 6000 km and no traces of Poland yet

 

[Andre]

erm, Poland is to the south?

Last church: Røros Church. South Trøndelag Norway

Penultimate church: Vemdalen Sweden

 

[Borek]

erm, Poland is to the south?

Actually we lost our nuvi, so we are traveling using backup paper atlas and general feeling of direction. So yes, Poland is to the south.

Last church Røros Church. South Trøndelag Norway

Right.

 

[arildno]

Number 3 from the bottom should be Stiftsgaarden in Trondheim..

 

[Andre]

The first new one appears to be the Swedish king Oscar II s monument at the entrance to the North Cape Center Norway

The glider thrower appears to be at the Alta rock carvings

 

[Borek]

Number 3 from the bottom should be Stiftsgaarden in Trondheim..

Sorry, it wasn't on our way. But pictures are posted in chronological and topological order, once you will find out where is the yellow church there is basically only one way that we could follow, and the building sits right next to the road. Actually it sits left next to the road.

So far Andre is right in each case

 

[Andre]

Anyway that yellow church could be the Vågan Church, also known as Lofoten Cathedral in Kabelvåg, Lofoten - Norway

 

[Borek]

That's it. I had a nice hint: picture was taken when we were going in å direction. But obviously it is no longer needed

Seems like others are too difficult. Airport was opened in 1977 and is about 20 km from one of the guessed landmarks. The yellow building was a military object, but has been converted to school. Old building we have seen on our way to Lofoten, while the wild man was already in Sweden (there is an almost identical image in wikimedia).

 

[Andre]

Yes maybe the Valan airport was tough because of the compressed perspective, virtually hiding the the ocean

 

[waht]

I think Borek will drive in a giant circle. From what I've been able to ascertain, he started out in Poland, drove through North Eastern countries Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Finland, and now wound up in Norway?

The next step would be turning back to Sweden and going South through Denmark, Germany, and back to Poland...

 

[Borek]

Andre: yes, that's Valan.

Waht: circle around Baltic was more or less the idea, but not through Denmark/Germany - we will go by ferry from Sweden to Poland. Not sure when yet.

 

[Borek]

Expensive, more expensive, Norwegian

The most common nation at campings - apart from natives - Netherlanders. Each time I see NL I think about Andre

I am writing the diary all the time, but it is not that easy - when I have no access to the internet I can't check facts (like correct spelling of the place name) and I don't want to post them wrong, so while writing is done almost in the real time, final corrections are about two weeks behind

Besides, I still don't know what it is that you do with the tent before you can get inside You put it up? Unfold?

Edit: Oh, and big thank you to all of you missing us We miss you too

 

[TubbaBlubba]

Norway is horribly, HORRIBLY expensive, yeah.