Tag Archives: Lux bus

Jul12

The bus from Vilnius into Warsaw

Posted on by
Standard

Tuesday, 18-June-2024


Lithuania passed by the bus windows, and Poland came into view.

I mean, I definitely wouldn’t have noticed when we switched from one country to another if we hadn’t stopped for a passport check by the Polish authorities. I hadn’t noticed when I transitioned from Norway to Sweden, or from Estonia into Latvia or into Lithuania, and this border crossing wouldn’t really have been any different.

Outside the bus were beautiful fields of crops, some stands of trees, and lots of sun-drenched landscapes. Towns came and went, and the bus rolled on. It was a long ride, this time, starting at 7am and arriving in Warsaw at nearly 3pm, so I had quite a bit of time to watch the fields between naps. We even had a few rest stops to stretch out legs, which were definitely appreciated… even with the rather intense amount of napping that I got in over the hours.

I was feeling good, though, with the worst of the food poisoning behind me. Tired, still, but more energetic… and a bit more of an appetite to boot. I’d packed some snacks, grabbed coffee from the bus’s onboard coffee machine, and kept myself feeling good. It got warmer, and I was ready for some adventures in the first of my ancestral lands!

Jul9

The bus ride from Riga to Vilnius

Posted on by
Standard

Saturday, 15-June-2024


I survived the bus ride.

That’s really all I can say about it – I wasn’t quite recovered from my food poisoning, but I was stable at least. I was able to take some Dramamine ahead of time, and made sure to spend what little time I was awake with a ginger candy in my mouth to help double-protect against any possible nausea. I mainly drifted in and out of sleep, thankfully, with quick bouts of staring out the windows at the passing fields.

The bus was comfortable, thankfully – I can’t recall if I mentioned that about the bus from Tallinn to Riga, but they’re from the same company and were quite nice. Lux Comfort, specifically, and I definitely recommend them quite heartily.

Simple and easy – I made it to the bus station, took the bus, slept, got off the bus, and took a cab to my hotel in Vilnius. Left my jacket on the bus, but… c’est la vie. It was an older jacket anyways, that I’d been planning on replacing once I got to Dublin, so… guess I get to keep an eye out for jackets on my adventures, now!

Jul5

The Bus from Tallinn to Riga

Posted on by
Standard

Monday, 10-June-2024


Leaving Tallinn was a bit melancholy – I absolutely loved the city, and was definitely sad to see it go… but at the same time, I’d had such an amazing introduction to the Baltics that I couldn’t help but be excited for my next stop on my South-bound journey. I was torn, and I’m completely okay with that. Mean’s things are going well!

I’d scouted out the bus station earlier in the week, of course, because I’m me and I like being prepared… and it had given me a good excuse to go on a longer scooter ride. Looking back on the other posts, that ride was actually why I’d found the farmer’s market! All that said, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for when I arrived at the bus station, so was thankfully able to move through the process pretty simply… no security or ticket check ahead of time, but knowing the layout was still helpful.

The folks at the bus station had recommended that I arrive about 15min early – so, being me, I was there about an hour ahead of time. My bags next to me, my book out, it went well and time went quickly.



Soon enough, my bus pulled up and people started heading in. One driver checked our bags, and the other checked our tickets, and I’d say within 10min we’d fully loaded up and were on our way to Latvia!

The road was pretty and the route seemed simple enough, though there were definitely quite a bit more turns than I’d have expected for something in the States…

The United States highway system is a wonder of the world – that’s my takeaway from this bus ride. The number of times we switched highways, going from one capital to another, and the size of those roads that we took… I’m not disparaging them at all, but I am saying that they’re quite a bit smaller than those in the United States going between cities. Which makes lots of sense, since they’re not going between cities or states; they’re going between countries.



An interesting observation, appreciating the United States for what good parts it has… and just making me that much more sad about all the negative sides that seem to be cropping up more and more frequently.

My introspection lasted a while, but was nicely interspersed with reading and going through photos – with many thanks to the dramamine that I’d taken before leaving!

Soon enough, though, I found myself carrying my bags out from the station, and settling myself into a palatial hotel room in the heart of Riga…