58 TRAVELwww.volkswagencamper.co.uk
W
e imagined endless, empty stretches of
perfect sandy beaches, unspoiled forests,
the unpopulated and vast countryside,
the relaxed & unregulated campingenvironment and the national parks in Latvia. I also
fancied some off-road driving whilst Silke wanted to
tread the ancient cobblestones of Riga, Tallin and Vilnius.
She wanted to disappear for hours roaming countless
shops for the best baltic amber bargains.
After docking at Klaipeda port, we drove from the ferry’s
bow and headed for the Nida Campsite at the southern tip
of the Curonian Split. According to Lonely Planet, it ranks
amongst Europes top 10 beaches. To reach it, we took a
small car ferry after which it was clearly signposted and
just a 2 hour drive to the campsite. You can’t miss Nida,
as the road ends at the border of Kaliningrad, where we
sadly couldn’t gain entrance for even a day into Russia. It is
absolutely impossible, entry with an embassy pre-booked
tourist visa is only possible for EU members from the
Polish borders, not from Lithuania.
We pitched up amongst many other VW buses and
were quickly adopted into the VW family of fellow
travellers. The first thing we did, was to hike over the
huge sand dunes to watch the sun go down, which made
us realise just how tranquil and special this place is.
The next days we spent walking the beach searchingSuspension
test road
Welcome
to LithuaniaPreparing for our summer break in 2016, the pretty but unmapped
Baltics caught our interest. We know all about visiting by cruise ship.
In contrast, we wanted to explore the hinterland and to soak it all up.
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS; EICKE & SILKE BITTNER.Baltic Bliss,
part one;
Lithuania.
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TRAVELBALTIC BLISS