The change in the hour to two hours ahead of British Summer Time gave us extra time in bed because neither of the dogs can read a watch yet. It meant a late start, but that didn’t matter because it was only a 2 hour drive to Vilnius. Although Camping Druskininky was a generally well laid out site, I have to give it a special award for the worst chemical disposal point so far.

Readers of a squeamish disposition should skip to the next paragraph. On this trip I have emptied the chemical toilet probably more than a hundred times. It’s what keeps me fit. I have seen a mixture of disposal points from the excellent (Caravan Club probably wins that) through the mediocre, the weird and unusual, to the plain badly designed or unbearably smelly, but Camping Drusininky takes the biscuit. It was a converted workman’s portable toilet but they had put two bars at the front of the cubicle at about three feet and five feet high. This is presumably to stop anyone stupid enough from using it as a toilet. However this led to some flaws in it’s primary function as a chemical toilet emptying point. To empty the toilet it was necessary to lift your cassette over the 5 foot bar and then let the contents drop from that height into the toilet bowl. Well you can imagine the spray back from dropping liquid from five feet – not pleasant at all. Its a man’s life. When I got back into Basil I was able to tell Sarah that if I smelled of urine for the rest of the day it wasn’t because of my old man’s weak bladder but because my legs were covered in a fine sprinkling of both her and my wee!!

The journey to Vilnius demonstrated what immense forests this part of Europe has. We drove for 80 miles with nothing but a few minor breaks in the trees. The roads were first class though. Straight as a die and wide. It makes a change. We were also amused to see yet another country’s road signs. We were particularly pleased to not meet any Lithuanian deer because if the warning signs are anything to go by they are very giddy indeed!

Lituania’s very giddy deer

We arrived at Downtown Forest Hostel and Camping in Vilnius (54.677760, 25.302361). At €21 a night it is essentially no more than a hostel located in a rundown part of Vilnius with motorhomes allowed to stay in the concrete parking area at the front of the hostel. It has a shower and a toilet, neither of which lock, but the staff are very friendly and it’s big advantage is that it is only located about a 10 minute walk from the old town. We had originally intended to stay for 3 nights but we have reduced this to 2 because there is nowhere that we can really relax outside Basil and it is 25 degrees and humid.

Vilnius

In the afternoon we walked into Vilnius and had a wander about. Tomorrow we are going to go on a free walking tour. There was also a huge craft market which Sarah enjoyed and again Melek loved the food dropped by the tourists. There are a number of stag parties we have already seen but they seem well behaved. I was also exited to hear a noise that is so familiar to me from the Cathedral at home. The sound of Peregrine Falcon chicks. It wasn’t difficult to locate them. There was a tall tower in Cathedral Square. A perfect vantage point for Mum and Dad to dive on unsuspecting pigeons. Finally Vilnius on a Saturday in June is wedding central. We have never seen so many brides meandering around a city with a photographer in their wake and a bevy of bridesmaids bringing up the rear.

Cathedral Square. The tower was the location of the Peregrines

Craft market

Our first impression of Vilnius is that it has a pretty old town, but it’s visual appeal is a little way behind Krakow or Torun. We have, however, spied a well reviewed Indian restaurant and having been without an Indian meal (other than my in Basil attempts) for more than four months I think we are going to be making our way back into the old town tonight to try the Lithuanian version of our favourite cuisine.

St. Anne’s Church