Advertisement
Published: August 9th 2007
Finland was to be the light at the end of our long and gloomy soviet tunnel but with only hours before we arrived there we had no bed, and the prospect of a subzero Scandinavian night under the stars threatened to put out that shimmering light. With every bed in Helsinki booked up and desperate to change our luck, we turned to Couch Surfing with immediate success thanks to our Helsitian saviour, Elli. A dense haze lifted, giving us renewed strength and the feeling that we might actually manage to circumnavigate the globe. Everything seemed easy - train announcements in English, smiling border inspection guards, clean water and free, automated map dispensers! We spent our time in the Finnish capital pleasantly wandering the streets, chowing down on deliciously expensive (for us anyway) cuisine and taking a day trip to the island fortress of Suomenlinna.
Sadly we only had a couple of days to bask in the luxury of this Scandinavian wonderland. We set off, through icebergs and the Gulf of Finland, vowing to return one day (perhaps in retirement with a healthy superannuation fund to help us along). The ferry ride to Estonia was interesting - an abundance of
duty-free booze-cruisers and 45 punishing minutes of karaoke, reminiscent of our Russian staff parties in Mongolia (A Ruuski Romp), complete with a guy with long hair and a rainbow beanie who tortured us all with his swaying song and then passed out watching the bingo numbers pop up on the telly.
The big blue Baltic skies opened up and Tallinn was bathed in a bright pure light. We managed to walk most of the tiny Old Town in the few remaining hours of daylight. Stepping into yet another Russian Orthodox Church, reasonably unremarkable on the outside, we were treated to perhaps the highlight of any of our experiences of Russian culture. The low light streamed through the lofty windows and illuminated the golden frontispiece and altar. Three priests in purple robes stood at the front with their backs to the standing congregation, singing prayers as if in conversation with the heavenly choir that sang unseen from above us, somewhere in the rays of dusty sunshine. We were mesmerised.
Despite the peace and fresh air that graces Estonia's lovely capital, we were keen to see some of the countryside, so we spent a night around Lahemaa National
Park, following winding trails through a lush mossy landscape of juniper and pine forests and white reindeer moss. We were in search of beavers, but found only naked Estonians dashing out from their lakeside sauna cabin to plunge right through a hole cut into the ice. They were unaware of our presence there in the bushes where we'd stopped for lunch, and we worked hard to muffle the crunching of our juicy grapes so that we weren't spotted.
Riga's Old Town (Latvia) is bustling and full of charm. We walked for miles (and miles and miles), discovering fascinating Art Nouveau architecture and admiring the brand new reconstructions of ancient buildings that were destroyed in the war. We dozed to the booming tones of the world's fourth largest pipe organ at the Dome Cathedral during a Bach recital. And we dipped our toes in the blisteringly cold Baltic sea on a gloriously sunny day at the beach.
Lithuania's Vilnius was not quite so charming, although not without merit. The beautiful old churches and palaces were all there, though they haven't been restored so much as in the other Baltic states. The people weren't quite so cheerful and
Reenacting a wedding photo
Slightly cooler than Avoca Beach, a lot less glam (Baltic Sea, Latvia)the supermarkets filled up with 16 year olds buying beer for their Friday night frivolities. We'd made a few Couchsurfing enquiries, but found an inexplicable number of Lithuanians professed (almost word for word) "I have many ferrets and I smoke a lot"... We stayed in a hostel.
Now for the test to see how many of you made it to the bottom of this entry. All responses will go into a lucky draw and the winner will receive a special showcase of prizes. Here it is.
Lits and Lats are:
a) Sexually transmitted diseases, endemic in the Baltic states
b) Parts of the female anatomy
c) A local delicacy of Lithuania and Latvia
d) None of the above - do some research and find out!
You can submit your entries by clicking on the "Add comment" link below the photos. Closing date Feb 30th.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.225s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 18; qc: 91; dbt: 0.0656s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Mum Close
non-member comment
Mum knows bset
As soon as I saw the photo of the toe-dipping in the Baltic, I KNEW it was a reminiscece of warmer, more glamorous events in August 2005. Keep the news coming. We love it. Love Mum C