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The Baltics - A Chip Off The Old Soviet Bloc August, 2008 |
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Our first stop was the city of Tallinn, capital of Estonia, population 400,000, sitting proudly on the Gulf of Finland and only recently an independent country (1991). This is a really cool town with many young people, a lively and classical old town square, shiny malls, loads of outdoor cafes and a refreshing absence of drab grey government structures so prevalent in Russia and China. We stayed a little ways outside of town in a lovely Bed and Breakfast and spent our days wandering the compact and endearing downtown area. We were hoping to travel cheaply this far north of central Europe, but things are surprisingly not that cheap, so we have to save money wherever we can from here on down, utilizing cheap local buses and less frequent sit down meals. We were surprised to find so many tourists so far north – this place is off the beaten track – but it’s August, it’s Europe and everything is going to be crowded and expensive. Estonia itself is a land of
outdoor opportunities, with loads of national parks, heavily wooded
parks and a multitude of hiking and biking choices, We opted to skip Riga, the capital of Latvia, and moved on to Vilnius, population 600,000. The capital of Lithuania, it’s a little gem of a country, which pride fully came within a basket or so of upsetting our Dream Team a few years ago, plucky and refreshing and very endearing. Tossing our bags at a little hostel/guesthouse right off the square (Litinterp – highly recommended), we spent a wonderful 3 days in this charming town. We liked this town better than Tallinn, it was less geared to tourists, had a nicer Old Town (Eastern Europe’s largest), really friendly people, great restaurants and bars, wonderful churches and historical buildings and warmer weather due to the fact that’s it’s more inland. Is Riga worth a visit, I suppose so if you have the time, although for us hitting two of the three Baltic States would have to suffice this time around.
These tiny and spunky little countries are hard not to root for – after disengaging from Russia they have a fresh outlook, a young and festive population, certainly a brighter future with a seemingly highly educated group of young adults, enchanting historical sites and fun towns. All in all, if you’re looking for something a little different than the same stale old cities of Western Europe, head up here and experience freedom loving and opportunistic Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians – you’ll certainly be warmly welcomed as they are very proud to show how far they’ve advanced in such a sort amount of time. Bravo for them. Our blogs may seem to be
briefer than usual, though not intended, we just haven’t been spending
enough time in any one place to develop any Next stop is Poland, one quarter of Marge’s heritage, home to pierogis and kielbasa and hearty goulash. We’ve moved from the rice diet of Asia to the starch laden diet of Europe, with hearty beer and huge helpings. This is serious trouble for me because I love my beer and my sausage and have very little will power.
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You’ve
got to love these little underdogs, flipping off big bad Russia and
declaring their independence, thumbing their noses at the outdated
socialist model and creating and restoring traditional sovereignties.
Good things are happening in these tiny Baltic States, with a vibrancy
and happiness and pride so missing in Russia. Crossing the border into
Estonia, we were again dismissively and grumpily searched and stamped by
unhappy Russian immigration officials, then refreshingly checked and
welcomed by a very smiling and effusive Estonian worker who boarded our
bus and was so glad to see us. I’m starting to feel sorry for these poor
souls stuck inside Russia and can only hope that soon the government can
have a nationally sponsored and prescribed Prozac program to enhance
their mental well being and bring something positive into their lives. 
while everyone seems to be fit and healthy and fun loving.
Unfortunately, with a limited amount of time, we were not able to
venture far out of town, but it looks very appealing though on the cool
side. Downtown Tallinn is a cookie cutter perfect town square,
saccharine sweet and loaded with just the right combination of old
churches, bronze statues, outdoor cafes and lively beer pubs. One night
we enjoyed a couple of liters of local brew with a couple from Berlin
who were riding their motorcycles around northern Europe, well spoken
and very intrepid adventurers. Another night at the same brewery, we
shared our table with a group of tax attorneys from Russia, although we
suspected they really were Mafia lawyers – we doubt ordinary people in
Russia pay any taxes, it’s only the very wealthy. 
Just
outside of Vilnius lies the small little hamlet of Trakai, an especially
worthwhile day trip, where you have the opportunity to walk around a
couple of sparkling lakes, visit a castle nestled on an island (built
1350-1390) and visit a church of a rare Middle Eastern religious sect –
the Karaites. This small area was very, very nice and reminded me of our
cottage on English Lake where our family moved for the summer to live on
the lake. We did look at an upstairs room for rent that in hindsight
would have been a peaceful refuge for a week or so, but again our travel
compass pointed south and unlike Asia, we’re now on more of a
restrictive timeline. 
story
lines or relationships other than a one or two day stopover. We have
always tried to stay a week or so in all of our locations up to now, but
traveling in Europe has become a hodge podge helter skelter scramble to
go south with lots of competition from other travelers for the same
accommodation listings. Therefore, we’ve been spending an inordinate
amount of time researching places to go, places to sleep, best and
cheapest transport and so on. It’s all become too time consuming and as
we reflect back, things are starting to jumble together – was that
wonderful baroque church with the blue stained glass window in Tallinn
or Vilnius or Krakow – did we meet that nice couple from Australia in
Poland or Czech Republic? Maybe the end is in sight and I’m spending too
much time fretting over what I’ll do when I get back – maybe our
batteries are running on empty – maybe compared to the pleasures and
unexpected surprises of Asia, Europe seems so – well, it seems like
Europe, when you’ve seen one baroque church, you’ve seen them all, when
you’ve seen one town square, you’ve seen them all. Maybe I’m hoping to
discover something fresh that will both surprise and astonish me – like
the ruins of Angkor Wat or the Great Wall of China – but it’s not
likely. 
