Lithuania

Lithuania is defenitely a great country for the motorcycle adventurer. But how can a country that is ridiciously flat and sparse with natural sights be interesting? Well - my friend, this is exactly why you should go there! Going to Lithuania means that you will enjoy kilometer after kilometer with wonderful dirtroads without meeting a single tourist (not even a local because the traffic is at a minimum). When you enter a countryside village, you and your bike will be the top story of that day. The people will get curious, asking questions about you and your bike and you will have a chance to look into the daily life of Lithuania. Travelling in Lithuania is not tourism, it is anthropology!

If you're planning to go to Lithuania you have to ride a bike that can handle dirt roads! Otherwise you will be stuck on really good and really boring roads (yepp, the EU paid for those) between the bigger cities, exploring nothing but roadside restaurants. No, the dirtroads are the way to go. From there you can admire the lovely, traditional agricultural areas where much hasn't happend since the 1950's. The farming is small scale and very local and you don't see much of modern machinery or monocultures. In many ways, these are much more sound and sustainable systems than the disturbed nature we have in Western Europe.

Many villages and small farms are rediciously cute and it is a pleasure to take it all in through the sunglasses, riding slowly on your bike. There is one big problem however, when driving a motorcycle in the Lithuanian countryside. Whenever you stop, next to a farm or in a small village to have a closer look, the same thing happens. They are everywhere. The dogs! And unfortunately, they are not civilised at all! If you're lucky, they are tied to a tree, just making noice. But many times, especially in less populated areas, I found myself sitting on my bike with a slight touch of rigor mortis, accelerating with a mad dog in the rearview mirror! At one farm I even saw a huge Ovcharka who had his nest up in a tree (!) being in total control of the entire province!

When a weekend is on its way it is advisable to accomodate yourself in one of the bigger cities. Quite soon you will find yourself sitting on a wooden bench next to a town square, eating good traditional food and drinking beer. Yes, that is actually one of the main ingredients in Lithuanian life - sitting wooden benches drinking beer. And the beer is very good to. If the faces of the beautiful waitresses are slightly yellow, you are most likely to be sitting under the parasol of Svyturys and if their faces are green it is probably Kalnapilis. Good news is, that there are also a lot of microbreweries that are back on track, offering delicious fluids.

But most of all I love the Lithuanian people. It is a homogeneous and balanced population that hasn't seen much of the accelerating ego fixation or materialism that we see in the "west". Life here is more about family, friends and having a beer, than to go shopping for happiness or downloading the latest apps. It is also a very traditional country in that sense that men are still allowed to be men and women are very much women (thank god). When you first see a Lithuanian man you will probably think that he will cut you open, just to enjoy your kidney for dessert, because they all look like Karelin. But don't worry. I can assure you, they are all kind-hearted as lambs! And when you see a Lithuanian woman...you will have absolutely not doubts that she is nice!