I am traveling so I can go to Ludza in East Latvia, so I can find an ancestor’s grave, so I can go to the town my grandfather on my dad’s side’s parents were from before they came to the USA. My plan is to see various museums and sites before and after Ludza. This is a solo trip. I already bought plane tickets. So far my supposed itinerary is:
Flight leaves Detroit on a Friday late afternoon. Friday night on the plane. Arrive in Vilnius Saturday Afternoon. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights in Vilnius. Part of Tuesday in Vilnius. Late afternoon or evening bus or train to Trakai, Lithuania. Tuesday night in Trakai. Wednesday, Trakai Island castle, Karaite museum if open, whatever else, bus or train to Kaunas, Lithuania. Wednesday Thursday, and Friday nights in Kaunas. I am unsure whether I should spend a 4th night in Kaunas. That’s all I have figured out so far. I still need to fit in Riga and Ludza in the remaining 8 days Saturday, Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and my return flights leave from Riga at 6:50am on Sunday.
Have any of you seen Rundale palace in Latvia? It is worth it? It is rather close to Bauskas castle. Maybe I can see the castle if there is extra time.
Should I rent a car at the small airport in Kaunas and drive it to the airport in Riga, stopping at the palace on the way? Prices for the rental cars start at just under approximately 200 US dollars. OR should I take the buses from Kaunas to Riga and then do a separate day trip with a rental car to the palace and maybe the castle or somewhere else? Prices for the rental picking up and dropping off the same day at the airport in Riga start at about 39 US dollars. The price of the bus trip from Kaunas to Riga is approximately 35 Euros. I have rented a car 4 times in the United States and never outside the country yet.
I probably won’t see much on the day I take the bus to Riga if I take the bus. Dropping the rental car off in another country is technically allowed but it is expensive but it is technically more time efficient.
There is a train line that has a stop in Ludza and there are buses to Ludza too but there are no Bolt or Uber or other ride share drivers or taxis in Ludza. Look for “Memorial Site of 1941 Jewish Victims” near Ludza on google maps. Which would be stupider or more reason to feel guilty for doing something weird my mom wouldn’t want me to do: Rent a car and drive it to Ludza, or take the train or bus and acquiesce to skipping sites too far to walk to from the middle of Ludza?
My mom will freak out and act psychotically scared for my safety and beg me to cancel my trip, like how she acted before I went to Spain and before some other trips (I was 38 when I went to Spain in March 2022), and I will feel like I am screwing up and doing something wrong and then I will travel anyway but part of my brain will still feel like I am doing something wrong but I will sublimate it ok and still have a good trip. I will tell her about a week or less before my trip.