With Motorcycle to NORDKAPP-Norway
Day-5 : 08 July 2016  Friday
from Warshaw>>>to Vilnius (Lithuania) :-Total distance : 460 km

Warshaw is a big city. Someone needs minimum two or three days to get an idea about the city. As a side information. Warshaw airport is called "Chopin Airport". Sounds good. 

Doesn 't it. But I need to depart. I have taken my breakfast at the Hotel Karat. Today 's route is from Warshaw to Vilnius which is the capital of Lithuania. The weather is good. There is no.rain. I started to ride . The street, in front of the Hotel took me to the right and then I made a U-turn. In order to reach to the high way in direction to Vilnius I rode 10-15 kms. I headed Marki, Radzymin, Wyszkow, Lomza, Grajewo, Augustow Kanal and the border to Lithuania Ogrodniki. The road is offering nice view at both sides. Tall trees and forests are esential vegetation in the surrounding. There are also a lot of fields of wheat and corn. 

Café at the Augustow Lakes

When I saw a nice café at the right hand side just after the kanal -which is called "Augustow kanal"- I stopped for a coffee break. I took some pictures there. There are two lakes close to each other. Since the water level is different they had built a kind of dam with water locking system. One guy is regulating the passage of the boats from one side to the other side via a water locking mechanism. Manually-driven gates are regulating the water level at both sides.

Augustow Kanal

I continued to ride in direction to Alytus which is a Lithuanian city on the way to Vilnius. The roads are straight and paved well. Riding is easy. In some populated areas there are speed cameras. Drivers and riders must be careful. Finally I reached to my Hotel Europa City. It is just at the side of the main road and has only 400-500 meters distance to downtown. The hotel is for less then 50.-Euro incl. breakfast. Nice hotel with a free parking lot in front of it. 

After having a shower and resting a bit in the room I talked to my friend Nurhan from Istanbul and we decided to meet somewhere in the city. Occasionally he and his wife Claudia were also in Vilnius.

After walking on the main road (Gedimino Str.)for half an hour I found them in the traditional chocolate shop. On the way to the centre at the right hand side there is KGB Museum Building.

KGB Museum Building with the names of the murdered people during WW-2.

During the WW-2, Vilnius had been invaded by the Nazi Army. A lot of jewish people had been executed in this city in a very short time. 

Gedimino Street

Taken from Wikipedia :

Vilnius (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs] ( listen); Polish: Wilno, see also other names) is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, with a population of 542,664 as of 2015.^[1] Vilnius is located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the Polish city. Vilnius is the seat of the main government institutions of Lithuania as well as of the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is classified as a Gamma global city according to GaWC studies, and is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Its Jewish influence until the 20th century has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" andNapoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz.

Gedimino Street

Famous Chocolate Shop and Café at the Pilies Street

Resim Cathedral

Cathedral Square 

There are a lot of fine restaurants in the city. Nurhan, his wife Claudia and me sat in a resataurant and had our dinner.

Gates of Dawn

Pilies Street

Cathedral Square

With Motorcycle to NORDKAP-Norway
Day-4 : 07 July 2016  Thursday
from Lviv (Ukraine)>>>to Warshaw :-Total distance : 392 km

I have got my breakfast at the Hotel around 08:30. The breakfast was poor but acceptable. The young girl was not able to speak english. It is cloudy and windy. The temperature is around 15-16deg C. After leaving the Leotel in L'viv, I followed the route to Northwest. I headed the border town Rova Ruska. It rode through the city into the countryside. I tried to reach to the border town. The roads are good. The weather was cloudy and windy. There are smooth up and downs. There are lots of orchards and agricultural grounds. As I came closer to the border I bought fuel. There was a little change office at the exit of the fuel station.  I bought a few Polnish Zloty against the Ukrainian money left in my pocket. I am watching the sky and trying to guess whether the rain will come. 
After a couple of km 's I came to the border. First there was a soldier and he gave a small piece of paper with my bike 's number. Getting out from Ukrain needs also some procedures. Nobody explains anything. I parked my bike at the end of the queue and 
followed an Ukrainian lady and did what she did at the counters with the documents. In one counter I took the stamped passport and in the next one I took the docs of the bike back.
10 minutes later one guy came and wanted to search the cases on my bike. What is the reason ? No sense ! What can I take away from Ukraine. I am riding out.

After being searched throughly I rode to the Polnish part. Polen is much more developed. The procedures are mostly like in The European Union. Things happen easily and smoothly. I passed through the Polnish border. After 10-15 km s the rain started. I stopped at a bus stop on the side of the road and put on my rain gear. The busstop was full of trash.
I continued to ride. The roads are good and paved well. I stopped for lunch break at a BP station just before the town Piaski (N51^07^53.60^ and E 22^52^26.27^). It is just adjacent to a high antenna pole on the left hand side. The restaurant was clean and good . The ladies were not able to speak English and German. But I managed the communication. Since the weather got clear and sunny I tried to get my rain gear dried. After the lunch, around 14:10 I rode away. And after a few km 's having passed around Piaski I took the high way. It is a new high way. I rode faster in direction to Lublin. After 20 minutes the route took me around Lublin and I headed Warshaw. 
Since I had already booked my Hotel on the internet I asked my garmin to get me to the Hotel Karat. My GPS instructed me to get out from the main road when there was around 16-18 kms left. As per the orders coming from my GPS I was riding in the suburbs of Warshaw. Through the clean and cute street etc. In general, Warshaw is a modern European city. Close to the city centre GPS put me on a wide street where I achieved a faster movement. In the city centre there was a hurry. I felt that there is a political meeting.
Finally, I learnt that during these days there was the meeting of NATO. There are lots of official cars with guards in the city. 
I arrived at Hotel Karat. ıt is located at Ul.Sloneczna 37  00789 Warshaw. The Hotel has got a nice front yard where I parked my bike safely. I have finished check-in and went to my room. Nice, big and comfortable room. Takes daylight from both sides. 
The building is old with modern architecture. Rooms are good but not furnished well. I am going to pay 46.-USD incl. breakfast. More then enough !!
After having a shower I went out and started to walk to the centre. Hotel Karat is only 2 kms away from the city centre. I came to the Pl.Unii Lubelskiej and then took the street Marszakowska. There are old looking buildings at both sides of the street.  

A few minutes later I came to the Pl. Zbawiciela where there are 6 roads which are merging.
The main building, there, is the Saviour 's Church.

Right at the corner where Konstytucji and Kosykowa Street are crossing each other I saw a 

girl and the breeze was blowing nicely her skirt.

I walked a little bit further to the Palace of Culture. It is very big place here. The tall buildings are also well seen within the downtown. There are lots of official cars and guards in dark suits. I am sure that the diplomatics who are in Warshaw for the NATO Convention are now returning to their hotels. I walked through the streets in the downtown.

Just for remembering the WW-2 Warshaw had been attacked by Germans' bombers and the people had lost and sufferde a lot. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bombing of Warsaw
Part of the Invasion of Poland
An aerial view of Warsaw burning, September 1939
Date 1 September 1939 - 27 September 1939 Location Warsaw, Poland Result Surrender of Warsaw
Belligerents
Poland	Germany
Commanders and leaders
	Wolfram von Richthofen
Units involved
Polish Air Force Polish Army anti-aircraft artillery units	Luftwaffe
Casualties and losses
20,000 - 25,000 [1][2]	2 Ju-52 bombers lost

The Bombing of Warsaw in World War II refers to the bombing campaign of Warsaw by the German Luftwaffe during the siege of Warsaw in the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It also may refer to German bombing raids during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. During the course of the war approximately 84% of the city was destroyed due to German and Soviet mass bombings, heavy artillery fire and a planned demolitioncampaign.^[3]

Most probably all these new buldings are constructed despite of the demolished buildings.

Modern part of the City Warshaw

Transition from Soviet to European Union

Modern part of the city also comprises old Soviet blocks

Shopping Mall in Warshaw

Technical University

For dinner I went to the Polska Rozana on the Chocimska Street 7. The ambiance and the service is phantastic there . It is not cheap but good experience with exclusive meal.

With Motorcycle to NORDKAP-Norway
Day-3 : 06 July 2016  Wednesday
from Cluj-Napoca - Lviv (UA)  >>>>Total distance : 515 km
10 hr 30 min

Day-3 :from Cluj Napoca (RO) to L'viv (Ukraine)

I woke up early in the morning around 06:30 and packed all my stuff and put them all into the cases of my motocycle. It is a clear and sunny day. After a moderate breakfast in the inner court of the Hotel Transilvania I went to the backyard of the hotel where I had parked my bike. 

I departed from the hotel around 08:15. The map was not loaded on my Garmin Zumo navigator and I fixed the direction to which I have to ride. My plan is to reach to the city L’viv in the West part of Ukraine. 

 I took the direction to the town Zalau. The landscape is wonderful. A lot of fields, meadows and agricultural facilities. There are villages around the road. It is little bit cool. It is around 16-17 deg C. There is a changing topography. Slight slopes and hills are in harmony.The speed limit is 50 km/h within the villages. This is very important in Romania because sometimes there are speed scanners and police control. 

50 km after I left Cluj, there were some mountains to climb. The mountains and the nature was spectaculiar. There are a few hotels and holiday resorts in this section. I stopped at the entrance to Zalau in order to buy some fuel.

I am heading to Satu Mare which is a city in the nord west border of Romania. After Satu Mare I ride in the direction of Baia Mare. The signs on the road related to the border crossing are very poor and after 18 kms I turned to the left in the direction of Halmeu according to map reading. Halmeu is the border town of Romania with Ukraine.

A few kilometers before the border line I saw a fuel station and bought some fuel in order to spent all my Leis. The Romanian border officials are checked my docs and stamped my passport and I left Romania in 15 minutes and I entered Ukraine. Typical old fashion “Soviets” type controls and application started.

They have long registration procedures. There is no visa requirement from Turkish citizens. It took almost half an hour to get in. Just after the entrance there is a fuel station at the left. I rode in and was trying to find a guy to ask about money change there come a a guy and he spoke with broken Turkish to me. He was a funny guy and expressed his best wishes for the feast “Ramazan Bayram”. Most probably he is one of the Turkish origin guys living in Romania. He directed me to the next market where they make money change. Just after 1 km on the right hand side at the road I found the market. I requested for the money change some money. 

Important Hint : Always change money (30-50.-USD equivalent) at the borders. Do not make profit calculation! You may lose some but you feel yourself safe. Anyway this money can be spent for fuel or something. 

The first 30 km s after the entry to Ukraine are bad. The roads are very bumpy and uneven. It was not paved in many places. I followed the route to Berehova, Mukaceve and Stryj. After getting to the main road in Mukaceve the quality changed and the road conditions became better. After Mukaceve there are mountains of Ukrainian Karpats. The roads are good but there was heavy rain. 5-6 kms just after the mountains began, I stopped for rest on the right hand side. There was a very nice restaurant and gift shop.

I have eaten my apple which I had taken from the breakfast basket in the morning.

Then I started to ride but 5 minutes later a heavy rain started on the mountains.

Very urgently, I rode to a sheltered barbecue site in a few minutes and I put on my rain stuff and also rain gaiters. I started to ride further in the direction of L’viv. It was raining very tough.

The signs at the road are very clear. L’viv and Kiev are clearly written. Without needing any map or navigator someone can get to the target. Very close to L’viv I stopped to buy fuel and the take off my rain gear. Because there was no rain and the sky was clear 30 km ahead to L’viv. There came also some other Ukrainian bikers and we talked a little bit.

I haven‘t arranged any accommodation in L’viv. So, as soon as I was in the city center I looked around and asked for hotel. The taxi drivers are poor in English. Language is a problem in general. Circulating in the city I saw a sign of a hotel in a side street. I stayed in

Stepana Bandery Str and Saharova Str are merging into Kopernika Str

LEOTEL in the Str.Lukyanovicha,3  79012 L’viv. The hotel has got also a private parking lot just at the side of the hotel. I parked my bike safely there. It is a very nice hotel and 400-500 meters to the city center. It was 18:40 when I was in the hotel.

Typical street in L'viv

Right after that I walked down the Kopernika Street and I was in the down town.

Art installation on the Street Kopernika

I walked in the Svobody Avenue. I took some pictures in the city. There are a few small and narrow streets all with old buildings. 

Shevchenko Monument in the centre

Shevchenko is adjusting the clock

Opera House of L'viv

Centre

Armenian Catedral on Virmenska Street

Then I sat in Chleb Koniczyna Restaurant at the Virmenskaya Street. It is a small restaurant but nice service and good food is available.

Narrow streets with old buildings

I ate a pumpkin soup with Parma ham and Greek Bugazza (=peynirli kızartma börek).

I paid roughly 7.-Euro incl. a glass of wine. After dinner I walked the streets and I found a well-furnished coffee shop called “Kava Int’l”. I tried their own “kava” which was very tasty.
The ambiance is also very beautiful in the coffee shop.

 Then I climbed up the street Kopernika and I came to my  LEOTEL.

The streets of L’viv are paved with stone. It looks good but motor bikers should be careful when it is wet and rainy. Food and beverage is cheap and in general the ambiance of the city is old fashioned and friendly. The hotel charged for one night 28.50 USD incl. breakfast.

I need to say good night !!