Hello, My Faithful
Readers
August 4, 2018
Volume 2, Number 09
(Part 1 of 2)
I was not able to do a
July blog as I was traveling, as you may remember, from Estonia to Prague.
Overall, it was a great trip. 14 days of travel through Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (High Tatras Mountains) and finishing in Prague.
Be warned; this is
Part 1 of 2 as I have a lot to write about. It was a very active tour and I am
long winded (or heavy typing fingers) in the processing of all of the
adventures and knowledge. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I like telling. J
I really like to blog
about my travel for a couple of reasons.
That is, I get to live again the agony and the ecstasy of travel (of course I say that tongue and
cheek); as well as organize my thoughts and digest all that is witnessed and
shared throughout the journey. I say agony because this trip was considered
“Adventure Travel”. That is what they call traveling in Eastern Europe –
Adventure. As if I didn’t know that living here in Georgia (the country) is an
Adventure. I will go into specifics as I move through the countries; but just
in general a couple of items.
First, we traveled via
public transportation…trams, buses, cabs (at times) and the really big bus when
traveling between countries. Since we didn’t have (as most trips usually have)
a private van/bus for the tour group we ended up dragging our luggage from the
hotel to the various pickup points. This was not easy at times due to distance,
weather and also trying to get on during rush hour with the vehicle already
filled with locals.
Second, most of the hotels
were 2 star at best. None of the hotels had air conditioning and let me tell
you it was HOT, HOT, HOT. Some hotels provided fans; most did not. A couple of
hotels didn’t have elevators; so dragging luggage up to the room was a joy.
Third, because the
windows had to remain open; and mostly we stayed near bus or train stations;
the noise was terrible. The “chalk on blackboard” sounds of the trolley cars
running right outside your window. The good news was that transportation
stopped around mid-night; but, the dragging of luggage sounds over cobblestones
continued throughout the night.
There were 16 of us in
the group and what nice people. Everyone was very respectful and for the most
part was on time for tours and other arrangements.
Ok, the tour begins….I
always go to the initial city the day before the tour begins. It is a habit now
and a good way for me to be rested and aware before the tour starts.
We began in Estonia (Tallinn), which is the
capital. The hotel was marginal at best. The only meal that was part of the
tour was breakfast; and at this hotel breakfast was meager. But, remember the
tour is not about food (for me at least); but they say breakfast is the best
part of the day; but not in Tallinn.
Tallinn is located on
the Gulf of Finland and you can see the ferries taking people and cars across.
The old city is listed as a UNESCO heritage site; with lots of cobblestones;
shops and restaurants. The city is very big on ice cream shops. I had pizza and
beer at an outside café (lots of outside cafes). I watched tourists and locals strolling; some
with dogs and many with baby carriages. The old town felt like a medieval
village. It was a beautiful night and pleasant to be outside with a nice
breeze. I could hear and see the seagulls.
However, I found the
country (or it felt to me) like a flat line. There did not seem to be much
animation in the people. I like to watch how people travel through space and
here it seemed that robotic (maybe too strong a word) but I hope you can get a
sense of what I was watching. Possibly because we were near the train and bus
station there were many homeless men and most were drinking or already
drunk.
Oh well, Estonia which
has more women than men; receives more tourist each year than its total population;
has a high literacy rate (99.8%) and founders of skyping (dubbed the silicon
valley of Europe). They vote on line (the first to do that in a digital
society); and it’s the worlds least religious country. It currency is
the Euro and was a former part of the Soviet Union. All these great attributes;
and yet it was not to my liking. Oh Well…..
The tour schedule
allowed (2) days in one city (with the exception of the High Tatras Mountain).
This was a good thing as it allowed hand washing and drying of clothing as the
tour continued.
The next destination
was Riga, Latvia – and I
really liked Latvia. This country does have a reputation of its citizens not
being friendly. However, I really didn’t find any evidence (although I heard
from the group that the waitress at one of the restaurants was not very
professional and didn’t treat the group well.
We traveled (4-1/2)
hours by bus from Estonia to Riga dragging our luggage behind us. All the buses
have a bathroom as well as a FREE coffee machine. The bus was very comfortable;
much better than many of the buses that I have been on to travel between cities
in the States. Once again we stayed very near the train and bus station; but,
the noise was not as disruptive.
One really sad piece of
history is noted in the link below. It seems that the Salaspils concentration
camp (along with other duties within the camp) was used to house children (In
Latvia). It is told that the children were used as blood donors for the Nazi
army. There is a memorial dedicated; I choose not to go as we were going to
Auschwitz and Birkenau. I could not handle more than that.
We did a walking tour
of the “Old Town” once we were settled into the hotel. Riga is really lovely;
but it was HOT, HOT, HOT. The “Old Town” is big (Also a UNESCO World Heritage
Site). It has with lots of stores, restaurants, outdoor cafes, and churches. St.
Peter’s (A Gothic Church) is said to be 800 years old. “Paris of the East” is a
label attached to this area.
“Old Town” had a
wonderful exhibit of plastic, life size bears that represented a country in the
world. I could not find the “why” this was done; but it was really wonderful
looking at all the Bears in a row with their hands up (like they were being
arrested). I found Georgia (the country) and my friend sent me the Bear (who
looked like the Statue of Liberty) that represented the USA. It was a treat
visually to see this.
The next day I went to
the beach, Jurmala. I traveled by boat
from Riga (2-1/2 Hours). It was a relief from the heat. Jurmala is an upscale
resort/seashore town. The beaches are free; however, some portions of the beach
are restricted for the hotels. Jurmala does not have a boardwalk (so to speak);
but, they do have a walk-way in the middle of the city that kind of doubles as
a boardwalk. The area is “old world” with quaint shops. If I closed my eyes I
would think I was in one of the New Jersey beach shore towns.
I had lunch on the terrace of the Baltic Beach
Hotel. What a fabulous place. The language was Russian all around me; however,
the music being piped into the hotel was American Pop Music. I had beer and
seafood and enjoyed looking at the Gulf of Riga (which to me looked like the
ocean as no land was visible as far as my eye could see).
I stayed the day and
it was wonderful and cool; almost, as the day wore on, I could have used a
sweater. I took the train home which was 25 minutes. It was packed; barely got
a seat. It was a fairly old train, no air conditioning so with the windows open
the noise made conversation not possible. I say this as so many people
(including Georgians) think I am Russian. My grandparents were Russian/Poles;
so it is probably in my Genes someplace. I note this as so often, and on the
train and also Old Town Squares I often am approached by someone speaking
something other than English. It is very curious. J
We begin to make our
way to our next port of call, Vilnius,
Lithuania. Once again, after another 4-1/2 hour bus ride (basically the
same as coming into Riga) we arrived. The hotel was very near the bus and train
station; and as an added treat we had a McDonald’s right across the street. The
hotel was the best so far. I actually was given a table fan. This was good news
as it was still HOT, HOT.
We walked to the “Old
Town” and did the tour. There is only (1) gate left in which to enter the area.
(This is the only surviving gate of the first
original five gates in the city wall that was built between 1503 and 1522.
Again, there are lots of stores, restaurants
and churches.
We did tour one of the Catholic Churches and
later in the day, as I was leaving the area, I heard beautiful singing. As I
entered I realized there was a mass going on. As a “Recovering Catholic” I
decided to stay. The ritual of the mass is still present as it just cannot be
erased from the memory of times past.
Once done, I treated myself to the cheese
store. I’ve never heard of this cheese. It tastes like parmesan cheese; only
better. The cheese is named “Dziuga”. The woman who ran the store was generous
as placing all kinds of samples on the counter and not really watching how much
was eaten. She just kept re-filling the bowls. It was organized according to
how many months the cheese was aged – from 12 months to 36 months (in a variety
to ageing in-between. So, I liked the 12month the best; however, I am told that
the longer it is aged the better it is. So, that tells you I am not very
sophisticated when it comes to the finer things in cheese.
I also discovered Starka 5
in Vilnius, as well as the Original Starka. I have no idea what it is other
than what is on the web site. Only one thing is true and that is I LIKED IT. I
wonder if I can get this in the States J
Starka is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made
from fermented rye mash. Traditionally Starka is made from natural rye spirit and aged in oak barrels
with ...
Alcohol by volume:
40 - 50%
The buildings in Vilnius must be in muted
colors like brown, cream, soft yellow, etc.. No loud colors are allowed. Also,
you will never see the end of a street as all the streets are curved. It is
really interesting to see this color and curve thing together. Very peaceful.
Another outing included visiting the KGB
Museum; which was originally called The Museum of Genocide Victims. It was very
gruesome and I certainly didn’t spend a lot of time reading all the documents
posted in the museum. I know we have to remember; so as not to repeat – but,
then I think and read that this type of horror is still going on in the world.
There is a mural (picture below) on the outside
wall of a restaurant in the former “Red Light District” in Vilnius. It was done
in 2016 and it depicts Trump and Putin in an intimate pose with a cigarette. This
was the first time I’ve seen it; however, there was and is lots of information
on the internet if you are interested. The below link shows them kissing; so I
am not sure what was first (the kiss or the cigarette) or what was altered. In
my opinion, both are Street Art.
Throughout the former
soviet countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuanian there are many memorial
honoring this Chain of Freedom Event. I’ve copied a small portion (below) from
the web site just to introduce it. However, lots more information is available
on the web site.
The Baltic Way or Baltic Chain (also Chain
of Freedom;[1] Estonian: Balti kett, Latvian: Baltijas ceļš, Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias, Russian: Балтийский путь) was a peaceful political
demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people
joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi)
across the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, considered at the time
to be constituent
republics of the Soviet Union.
Part 1 will end here (3
more countries to go) outlining just some of the happenings during the trip.
Just more general information to each:
-1,300 miles or 2000
Kilometer was traveled from Estonia to Prague.
-All the cities had a
McDonald
-All the cities had an
“Old City” and a Central Square
-All the cities had
basically the same clothing/jewelry stores
-All the cities had
tourist coming out of the woodwork; to the point that you were elbowing each
other trying to walk.
A final thought – If
you close your eyes and turn around; it may be difficult to realize just what
city you are in. They all seem so homogenized. Of course, each has a charm all
its own; but at a quick glance (even now in this writing) I am having
difficulty separating which pictures are from which city.
The world is getting
smaller and smaller.
Catherine Lawrence,
August 4, 2018
Vilnius, Lithuania - Main square in the Old City
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