February 14 is Valentin’s Day. And Valentin is one of those very few people whose nameday nobody forgets and who gets greetings from his friends and family both on his birthday and on his nameday. But this year the Lithuanian countryside didn’t offer us any love, warm hugs and heart-formed choclates. Only wind , cold and traffic on the roads. When we got tired and hungry we still considered if it was a good idea to stop for ten minutes and have some half-frozen food from our panniers, because we at least didn’t freeze that much while cycling. And if we wanted to have some bread with some cookies we had to take off our gloves in the Baltic winter. Well, not the worst thing but if we have to struggle with many little things it becomes pretty annoying.
After 78 km we arrived at a hotel next to the main road where we really would have deserved a hot shower and two soft beds. Oh sure, 50 € for two people! Aus der Traum! We must camp tonight. Zero degrees in the bushes and wild camping in Lithuania is not really allowed btw.
So we went to the petrol station next to the hotel to warm up (1 degree outside). Sam started to search for other accomodation options on the internet but many were still a distance away. Valentin tried to wash off the sweat and the dirt from the day at the sink at the toilet, but it still wasn’t a proper shower. Then he asked the cashier – a very friendly and helpful lady at Circle K – if it was possible to pitch up the tent next to the petrol station or whether they had an empty room, where we could sleep on the floor. She asked a customer, Jonas for help with English, the very best gentleman we have met on our journey so far helped us out. They made a phone call to the hotel but it didn’t seem to be possible to negotiate the price. So Jonas did us an incredbly kind favour: he offered us to pay for the room for both of us! We went back to the hotel, checked in, rolled the bikes into a safe place and here we are: hot shower, a lot of food and the most important thing with our journey: to experience that the world we are living in is a wonderful place with warm-hearted and genuine people. We cannot say how grateful and touched we are!
Thank you Jonas again!
The Mighty Ride 