Tired start, by train to Šiauliai (pronounced Showlé – who would’ve thought?) a bit less than 200km northwest of Vilnius. The train was of the old, massive (Soviet?) type again, of almost truck-like appearance with the cabin high on top of the wheels; and it did have a separate bike compartment, just like Lithuanian Railways promised it would.
I parked my luggage at the station in Šiauliai and rode the 12km to a place called Kryžių kalnas, Hill of Crosses. It’s a hill… full of crosses – a Catholic pilgrimage site which also expressed Lithuanian resistance during the times of Soviet rule. And a bit crazy, see below.
Halfway through the visit it started to snow. That and the headwind made me look like a snowman when I was back in Šiauliai.
The next train, Russian-made and extremely noisy, brought me to Klaipėda, at the Baltic Sea. I like the name, and the city seems likable as well, so far.
Lithuanian drivers are really the worst. And no, neither Indians nor Bangladeshis come anywhere near.