Day 12 – Daugavpils, Latvia to Warsaw, Poland via Lithuania
Daugavpils is a beautiful town with all facilities for a tourist and has relaxed environment. This city is close to the Latvian border and we had to stay here as it was late and dark on the road. The Border crossings took exceptionally long, a foreign car at this border is very uncommon and some staff have seen it first time hence an irregular procedure has to be adopted. The Terehova border is normally used by cargo vehicles and some cars of local inhabitants. We stayed at Home Like Hotel a decent one here available at the last moment and started off from here to drive 730 kms to Warsaw today with some quick breaks on Fuel stations on the way.
There are trees loaded with apples, plums and cherries on the sides of highway and one can stop by to pluck and enjoy some real fresh fruits. This route is full of lakes too giving a photogenic scenery at every small interval.
The road is mostly 2 way with no lights and no divider which slows down the coverage. Lanes are not standard width and traffic moves on both sides at 100+ kph speed making it NOT AN EASY DRIVE. It needs very careful attention throughout the route specially when it gets dark.
We reached Warsaw around 10 pm and checked into Novotel, which was a decent hotel, good service and comfortable beds. This time we did not leave the dinner for the night and had it during an evening break at a fuel station.
Warszawa or Warsaw is ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central Europe. Today Warsaw is considered an “Alpha–” global city, a major international tourist destination and a significant cultural, political and economic hub. Warsaw’s economy, by a wide variety of industries, is characterised by FMCG manufacturing, metal processing, steel and electronic manufacturing and food processing. The city is a significant centre of research and development, BPO, ITO, as well as of the Polish media industry. The Warsaw Stock Exchange is one of the largest and most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Frontex, the European Union agency for external border security, has its headquarters in Warsaw. It has been said that Warsaw, together with Frankfurt, London, Paris and Barcelona is one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in the European Union. Warsaw has also been called “Eastern Europe’s chic cultural capital with thriving art and club scenes and serious restaurants”.
After taking a few pictures around, it was time to take rest and prepare for tomorrow to Prague.
Good Night!