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Baltic Madness - On the road again (Part II)
17 - 20 , July: Vilnius, Lithuania
So here we are the last night in Warsaw, Poland… I bought a 85 PLN bus ticket from Warsaw to Vilnius. The trip takes about nine hours. The bus leaves from Warszawa Centralna Rail Station. I recommend taking the 23:00 bus. It gets to Vilnius at 9:00 local time. If you look on the map, the distance from Warsaw to Vilnius isn’t so great, then…why does it take so long to complete this trip? Well, Poland isn’t exactly major-highway gifted. As a result, one must travel by small country roads from point A to point B. Anyway, it saves you the hostel cost for the night. If you are lucky, you get the two seats from your row to yourself, so you can stretch-out and sleep more comfortably than a one seat allocation. I still woke up with a sore neck though! So much for that… Vilnius… wow… just saying the name has a seemingly evil or dark feeling. The only thing I knew about the city was that it is the capital city of Lithuania, and in the movie The Hunt for Red October, Jack Ryan had once met the Russian submarine captain, Marko Ramius, in that city. Vilnius is a small city with a very walk-able old town section. The local currency is called the Lithuania Litai. At current exchange rates: one Litai = 2.70 SEK. Upon waking, I was expecting a bit more, but the main rail station isn’t exactly the most exciting part of the town. First tip: buy the transport tickets from the newsstands. It is 1.10 LTL from the newsstands and 1.40 LTL from the bus drivers. There are two kinds of buses: the trolley buses which are powered by the electric cables overhead thus the lead between the bus and the cable; the autobuses which are run by diesel. I never understood the concept of the trolley buses. I think they are a bit awkward. But, I guess they are more eco-friendly. One thing that the European cities do right is that they keep the new modern skyscrapers away from the old town. In many American cities, the skyscrapers are mixed in with the old-town section. London is like that as well. Well, in Vilnius they use a river to separate the old and the new. You don’t really need a guided tour for this city due to its compact size. One can’t really go wrong with whatever itinerary that he/she chooses. Vilnius is good like that. Everywhere you go, you are bound to find some really cool looking spot to photograph. That is the beauty of old European cities. It is very hard to believe that this was once part of the USSR. One of the most visible legacy of the old regime is the KGB (brrrrr) Museum. It is situated in what used to be the KGB HQ of the city. For those with a RED fetish, this is a place to visit! I have to admit, I have a minor RED fetish. (blushes) So needless to say, I was really fascinated by this institution. Like Auschwitz, there were a good deal of executions done here. The story of the oppression was quite horrifying. Many people were deported in the middle of the night without warning to Siberia. Then the Nazis came. But after the war, the REDS came back and this time made life harder than the previous occupation. It is these periods of occupation that left a real bitter aftertaste in everyone’s mouths. Well, just go there, the admission is not expensive about 4.00 LTL.
One of the coolest events that took place in recent history is the BALTIC WAY. It is a 600 km human chain going from Lithuania through Latvia and ending in Estonia. This took place on August 23, 1989. It commemorates the secret Soviet-German Pact known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. Wiki that! It could be very tough to find three countries elsewhere in the world that has such a close bond and similar experiences.
Ok enough depressing things. The town is amazing to look at. There are some highly recommended sites. The Gates of Dawn, Town Hall and Square, the Defensive wall, the President’s Palace, the Cathedral and the Bell Tower, the Europa Tower, the National Museum, Gediminas Tower, the Three Crosses…the list goes on and on. I recommend going up on Gediminas Tower. You really get a wonderful view of the old town. It was as if someone dropped a box of pastel chalk from the sky and the contents broke into a million pieces with the signature European red tile roofs. Did I mention that there is no shortage of churches in Europe? This is quite true in this city. There are churches EVERYWHERE. Because the historical city is so walk-able, one can easily go through the touristy parts of the town within a day and a half. The city has the special distinction of being the geographic center of the European continent. Another little tidbit is that it has a small “country” inside city limits. The Republic of Uzupis, is complete with its own constitution and currency. One feeling that I felt when I was in Vilnius is that it is a place that the yuppies go. It just felt so Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren like….yick!!
As far as day trips…I went to Trakkai, which features a rebuilt red brick castle in the middle of “lake country”. It is worth the trip if you have a day to relax. The nightlife is varied to each person’s tastes. You have the yuppy crowd in Prospektas, or you can have the down to earth crowd in Bixies. As far as local fare, there is the meat pockets that starts with a K? Well trust me, they are cheap and very good.
Don’t forget to try kvass. It is a old eastern European malt beverage made from rye bread. For the cost conscious, there is a supermarket called RIMI near the Town Hall. This chain will be your best friend while you are traveling through the Baltic States. The best way to go to Riga, our next stop is by bus. There are many buses a day that does the job. The cost is about 50 LTL. The journey takes about four hours. Let’s go!
20 - 23, July: Riga, Latvia
From Vilnius to Riga is about four hours. From my first impression, this city is one of those places that people come to party. Sure enough it is. It used to be a best kept secret for travelers. But word has spread fast! This is another popular Stag Party destination for the British Y chromosome sets. I was to be victimized early. I checked into my hostel. My room had eight beds. The other seven beds were occupied by a pack of Brit males. My God, they were fucking obnoxious. These people are quite ok within the UK borders, but once free from the Queen’s reins they just run amok. Upon entrance into the room, I noticed a rank stench of vomit, followed by what happens when a hurricane goes through a room. One of the members, had notified me of the fact that they were treated quite rudely by the locals. Needless to say, I didn’t have a good nights sleep. I was still bothered by the bug bites courtesy of Auschwitz. Thank God they vacated the premises by about 9 am. Prior to their exit, I slagged them off. It’s no wonder why they are scorned by the locals. Speaking of parties, STAY AWAY FROM THE STRIP JOINTS!! It’s not worth it! Well, I had a ok breakfast from RIMI. Like Vilnius, Riga is a very walk-able city. But it is about 30% bigger. There are tram lines through the city as well as buses. Transport costs about .30 LVL. The local currency is called the Lativa Lati. Current Exchange rates: 13.30 SEK = 1 LVL. Don’t let the small numbers of the prices fool you. It still can add up. Remember each LVL is equal to about one British Pound. There is a nice Central Park-like green space through the center of the old part of the city. With a little homework and the procurement of a local tourist guide, one can conduct a self-guided tour with relative ease. The old town is pretty standard of many old European old towns. Many beautiful buildings with wonderful history behind them. Oh yeah, CHURCHES and CHURCHES!!
Riga has its own Occupation museum. It looks like a big green brick near the river. There is a voluntary donation for admission. The story of the Latvian occupation is similar to the Lithuanian ones. There are many old Soviet era monuments scattered throughout the city. Keep your eyes peeled. Some of the more highly recommended sights are: the House of Blackheads, the TV tower, Vansu Tilts, the Freedom Monument, the Central Markets (old zeppelin hangars), the many churches, Riga Castle, and the Orthodox Cathedral. One of the must do’s is a walk through the Art Nuevo district starting on Elizabetes iela and K. Valdemara iela. The details on these buildings are AMAZING!! Remember that big building in Warsaw?
Riga has its own version in the Akademijas Square. I also recommend a nice walk along the river as well as a nice tram ride to the other side of the river. It is a better gauge of how the real locals live. It is kinda cool really, no to mention the many Soviet era monuments to be sighted. I got lost in Riga twice. One time was trying to find some artists colony on the north side of the town. I got grabbed by some older dude trying to help me. I soon got away. The second time was trying to find some Airplane museum. I did get to see some of the outer skirts of Riga. On one of the afternoons, the weather was nice and warm, about 21 degrees and sunny. I took full advantage of the fact that Riga was near a beach! I had spent the past year in a landlocked nation, and having grown up near the beaches in New Jersey, I was yearning for the salty smells of the beach. To get to a beach, you need to either take a train or a mini-van bus. I recommend the train. The trip takes about 40 minutes. The train is an old Soviet era relic. It felt pretty groovy to think that I was in a old commie rail vehicle. And since it was the first sunny Sunday in many weeks, the trains were packed! The beach in Jarmala was pretty fantastic. The sandy parts are quite wide. There are lounge chairs that you can rent. The beach is next to a pine forest so you wouldn’t know that there was a beach behind the tall pine trees. The houses near the beach are sooo posh!! I’d hate to know how much they cost.
Hey pervs, don’t even think about trying to find topless girls here, cos there aren’t any! But, I do have to say that the Baltic honeys are FINE! There are many connections to get back to Riga from the beaches.
As far as local cuisine is concerned, it is pretty eastern European. You can get a pretty good deal if you eat at the cafeterias in the old zeppelin hangars. Again, you can’t go wrong with RIMI. The RIMI in the Galleria has a nice pastry section.
Well, that does it for this installment of Baltic Madness: On the Road again with Paul. If you still have questions and such….WIKI IT! Next time, we will continue with two more capital cities. Tallinn in Estonia and Helsinki in Finland will be covered.
Baltic Madness - On The Road Again (PART 1)by Paul (email: pcwall23 at yahoo dot com) 2007-10-15
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Article Comments:
Danny77 says:
Thanks for great article. Just planing my trip to Riga so this info might come handy :)
October 31, 2007 - 0:54
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drokk says:
Nice article serie...looking forward to read next episode :)
October 18, 2007 - 17:44