So, here I am back in London at the end of it all. Eastern Europe is amazing. Beautiful, interesting and fun - and that's just the people. It's hard to say I had a favourite place as I liked different places for different reasons. I guess I liked the Baltics for the women, Kiev and Budapest for stunning cities, Slovakia and Poland for the scenery, Bosnia and Serbia for surprise packages and Croatia for the partying. So it was all good.
It's amazing how easy it was to get around. Almost everywhere, anyone under 35 speaks good English. It wasn't as cheap as I'd anticipated, and at a point I abandoned my budget and decided to just enjoy it as it was a once in a lifetime experience. I don't regret it at all - money well spent. And I like to think I'll keep in touch with many people I met along the way.
The recent history of so many places was pretty humbling. Around 1989 - 1992 there was so much change all over eastern Europe. The fall of communism, the USSR and Yugoslavia were massive and I guess it's pretty amazing how quickly it all happened, and around the same time. So many new countries on the map. And the people are so outward looking and just keen to get on with their lives. Which I guess is human nature.
So, that's a wrap. I'm heading to Bangkok, Sydney, New Zealand and all over South America next. If you're interested, have a look at www.stevegoesglobal.blogspot.com from time to time.
Thanks for looking. Mind those busy roads.
Peace
Steve
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Croatia, Munich & Prague
5 September: Mostar - Dubrovnik
Sorry folks, I'm gonna be lazy now and whip through the last few days of my trip. I went to Dubrovnik and hung out there with the kiwi dude I met in Mostar for a couple of days. It's a beautiful little city and even the abundance of tourists doesn't put you off. It was super hot so I hung out at the beach for a couple of afternoons. "Beach" is a little ambitious, given it was rocks and not sand so doesn't qualify as a beach for my money. Still it was nice though and the Adriatic water was amazing.
From there I went to Split, a little up the coast. I was thinking of going to Zagreb to try and get a ticket for the Croatia v England football World Cup qualifier. But decided in the end I couldn't be arsed sitting on a bus for another 5 hours without a guarantee of getting in. Plus I didn't want to be there if the English lost and a bunch of hooligans ran around smashing up the city centre. So I went to an island just off Split called Hvar and hung out with 3 English I met on the ferry on the way over. We took a day trip the next day around some tiny islands off Hvar, which was pretty sweet. The water was amazing and the sun was shining.
From there it was back to Split for another night to get on the Sail Croatia party boat for a week. Picture the scene if you can: 44 people on the boat sailing from island to island, with a couple of mainland overnights as well. Oh and did I mention that 37 of those 44 were girls? Seriously. This is what I'm talkin' about:
But I kept myself on a leash as making a sex pest of yourself on the first couple of nights is a sure way to spend the rest of the week in isolation, so it was a nice atmosphere on the boat. I was lucky enough to have great people on my boat (there are 8 boats all going at the same time) and had a fantastic time. I like to think I'll catch up with a few of them when I move to Sydney at the end of next year (there were only 7 of us on the boat not from Australia). The only downer was the weather, which turned for pretty much the whole week. It was a shame for the people who were only on holiday for a couple of weeks. I wasn't too worried as I'd not seen any rain for several weeks and the G&Ts helped to take the edge off too....
22 September: Croatia - Munich
So after a week of little sleep and much partying it was off to Munich for Oktoberfest for, um, more of the same for 3 days. Oktoberfest is mental. But such good fun. I met up with one of the girls from the boat and while we were there we bumped into a guy she works with in Sydney. He was there seeing a few of his mates that live and work in Munich so we were well looked after.
I went to Prague after 3 nights. Well that's not strictly true - I was meant to go to Prague but fell asleep on the train leaving Munich and missed my stop to connect to Prague. So woke up at the end of the line in a place called Hof, way the hell in the north of Germany. I had to get a room there for a night and get to Prague the next day. I met up with a couple I'd met in Hvar who are studying in Prague (he's from Slovakia, she's Japanese) and they took me out with a big bunch of their mates who are also studying there. So it was another late night which was a fitting end to my Europe adventure.
Sorry folks, I'm gonna be lazy now and whip through the last few days of my trip. I went to Dubrovnik and hung out there with the kiwi dude I met in Mostar for a couple of days. It's a beautiful little city and even the abundance of tourists doesn't put you off. It was super hot so I hung out at the beach for a couple of afternoons. "Beach" is a little ambitious, given it was rocks and not sand so doesn't qualify as a beach for my money. Still it was nice though and the Adriatic water was amazing.
From there I went to Split, a little up the coast. I was thinking of going to Zagreb to try and get a ticket for the Croatia v England football World Cup qualifier. But decided in the end I couldn't be arsed sitting on a bus for another 5 hours without a guarantee of getting in. Plus I didn't want to be there if the English lost and a bunch of hooligans ran around smashing up the city centre. So I went to an island just off Split called Hvar and hung out with 3 English I met on the ferry on the way over. We took a day trip the next day around some tiny islands off Hvar, which was pretty sweet. The water was amazing and the sun was shining.
From there it was back to Split for another night to get on the Sail Croatia party boat for a week. Picture the scene if you can: 44 people on the boat sailing from island to island, with a couple of mainland overnights as well. Oh and did I mention that 37 of those 44 were girls? Seriously. This is what I'm talkin' about:
But I kept myself on a leash as making a sex pest of yourself on the first couple of nights is a sure way to spend the rest of the week in isolation, so it was a nice atmosphere on the boat. I was lucky enough to have great people on my boat (there are 8 boats all going at the same time) and had a fantastic time. I like to think I'll catch up with a few of them when I move to Sydney at the end of next year (there were only 7 of us on the boat not from Australia). The only downer was the weather, which turned for pretty much the whole week. It was a shame for the people who were only on holiday for a couple of weeks. I wasn't too worried as I'd not seen any rain for several weeks and the G&Ts helped to take the edge off too....
22 September: Croatia - Munich
So after a week of little sleep and much partying it was off to Munich for Oktoberfest for, um, more of the same for 3 days. Oktoberfest is mental. But such good fun. I met up with one of the girls from the boat and while we were there we bumped into a guy she works with in Sydney. He was there seeing a few of his mates that live and work in Munich so we were well looked after.
I went to Prague after 3 nights. Well that's not strictly true - I was meant to go to Prague but fell asleep on the train leaving Munich and missed my stop to connect to Prague. So woke up at the end of the line in a place called Hof, way the hell in the north of Germany. I had to get a room there for a night and get to Prague the next day. I met up with a couple I'd met in Hvar who are studying in Prague (he's from Slovakia, she's Japanese) and they took me out with a big bunch of their mates who are also studying there. So it was another late night which was a fitting end to my Europe adventure.
Wednesday 3 September 2008
Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia & Bosnia & Herzegovina
24 August: Zakopane - Nový Smokovec
Truth be told, it was a relief to get out of Zakopane. The setting was nice enough, shame about the town. It might once have been the cute little mountain town I was expecting, but it's now pock marked with Tesco, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and no doubt plenty of other monotonous franchises that I didn't see. Added to that it was the weekend and there was an annual folk festival, and it was hideously overrun. Under different circumstances I'd have gone to check out the festival, but the weather was atrocious and there was a "fun fair" attached to the festival. (Those things are seldom fun, and never fair, so the reasoning behind the label escapes me...)
Nový Smokovec, on the other hand, is exactly what I was after. A pretty little township placed in the middle of the Tatras, with plenty of nice trails and friendly faces. I went for a hike and checked out this wee water fall (a "watersmall"?) in the mountains and was treated to some sweet views.
In 2004 a massive windstorm swept through the area and ripped ouit big sections of forest. What's left is still worth the trip, and enough people keep coming to keep the place ticking over just fine. I coasted the 3km back to town downhill on a scooter too which was a laugh.
And I was amused at the prospect of Keith Richards leaping out from behind a tree with an axe on the back of a bad acid trip...
And another sign of the "same as a mate's name" variety. Here y'are Papey.
My hotel's one of the coolest I've stayed in too. I had trouble finding accommodation online in advance and didn't fancy spending half my budget on calls from my mobile finding somewhere, so went for something nice for a night. It still cost less than a shitty hotel in London, was touch screen this and bleeping that, had its own 2 lane bowling alley and this was the view from my window.
Tomorrow I'm heading further south to a national park which has some cool hiking trails up through ravines with plenty of waterfalls to see. No accommodation sorted so it could be interesting.
25 August: Nový Smokovec - Spišská Nová Ves
Long story short, with all my stuff it was a hassle getting a place sorted (at least without seriously pissing off the locals barging my way onto a local bus), so after much walking around I got a shitty hotel in town and got out of there with a day pack for an afternoon hike which was cool. After a couple of hours I came across a trail which had this view from the bottom....
and this was the view from the top of where I'd taken it from...
I wanted to go back the next day and do an 8 hour walk up through the spectacular ravines and waterfalls. But all the maps and literature on the area warned not to do that walk without sturdy hiking boots, as there are ladders and chains and step walks along the route. I only had trainers, and hiking boots wouldn't have fit into my budget or my backpack, so reluctantly I decided to abandon the idea and press ahead south.
26 August: Spišská Nová Ves - Budapest
Budapest was a strange kind of experience. Again I didn't really get to engage with any locals and was subsequently told by a few people that's not unusual for Budapest. The city had some really cool architecture and interesting history, so notwithstanding the reticence of the locals it's still a city well worth visiting.
The hostel wasn't overly collegiate either, people tended to do their own thing. I did meet an American girl who it turned out knew a bunch of people I knew in Baghdad from the Hash House Harriers there, so we hung out for a bit.
The tramp of the week this time I picked on account of her serenity. One of the most chilled out tramps I've seen, which takes some doing.
And more gold dust on the sign/name front. Ed, not sure if this is you or me or both?
29 August: Budapest - Belgrade
Serbia's been one of the real surprise packages of the trip so far. After Nato bombed the country only 10 years ago, I could be forgiven for thinking that the people might not be so friendly towards westerners. Not a bit of it - the folks here, like those from the Baltics, are incredibly relaxed, outward-looking and open people. On my first night I went for a wander around the city to see if I could find some good nightlife. I was amazed to stumble upon a huge open air party / festival set within the walls of a historic citadel with 2 DJs I'm into - Steve LAwler and Sasha - on the decks. I met a couplle of girls from Serbia's 2nd city, Novi Sad, and hung out with them until they had to go get their train at 7am. Belgrade's not a photogenic city, even by the locals' own admission, so I didn't feel too bad about not going on a photoshoot. The 2nd night I went out with a couple of Portuguese girls staying at the hostel but was pretty bored by the end of it, seeing as they'd picked a party boat with the world's worst form of music, R&B.
31 August: Belgrade - Novi Sad
I'd arranged with the girls from Friday that I'd come and check out their city for a night. Unfortunately my phone died in Belgrade so I had no way of contacting them. But I'd already booked a hostel so I took the train up anyway. It's smaller and more relaxed than Belgrade, but still with plenty going on if you're so inclined. I was so exhausted after Belgrade I just had a wander round to see if I'd run into the girls - always unlikely as Novi Sad's not that small. So I had some fodder and got a welcome early night.
Next day I went for a wander around Novi Sad's greatest treasure, a massive fortress. Then back at the hostel stuck my sim card in another phone and got a couple of texts from the girls so was able to meet up with them for the night. Good fun too, we took my guitar down to the beach and stayed there drinking Serbia's favourite booze - rakia, which is a local brandy - until the early hours.
The told me what it was like when Nato bombed the city. As you'd expect, it's something that still resonates clearly with them deeply. They were only young at the time and said the worst thing was hearing the bombs and not knowing if someone they knew had been killed or hurt. Not sure why Novi Sad was bombed, given Kosovo's south, not north, of Belgrade. I doubt it would have been in the papers back home either. Like Iraq 15 years later, it makes me pause for thought about the extent to which our "interventions" tend to be "humanitarian". But the Serbs don't hate America or the west, in spite of what happened. Impressively, they are able to distinguish between a country's people and the actions of its government, which is kind of ironic given the anibiliyu of many westerners I've met to do the same when considering, say, Iran.
That dark horse again in Serbia - the Cyrillic alphabet - but they also use our alphabet, particularly in the north. I've become much more comfortable with Cyrillic now, especially being able to remember what the right sound is for characters which are the same as ours. For example PECTOPAH is RESTORAN. It's easier in Serbia than it was in Kiev too because the language is similar to many surrounding countries. I've even managed to remember some of the Cyrillic characters which bear no resemblance to ours, but then when I was younger I could write in the 2 simple Japanese alphabets and when in Baghdad I was able to remember Arabic numbers, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
More gold on the sign / name as well - Bob I knew I'd come across something for you, and Nick here you are too...
3 September: Novi Sad - Sarajevo
It's an 8 hour bus trip from Novi Sad to Sarajevo. The Serbian side's pretty unremarkable, being dominated by fields of corn and sunflowers. The Bosnian side's a different story altogether, immediately snaking alongside an emerald green river, before the road diverts up a valley and across one of Bosnia's many mountain ranges. During the first valley we ran alongside another river, but unlike its neighbour this was a truly bizarre bright rust colour. Along with the Tigris, this must be a contender for the world title of Rivers You Don't Want To Swim In.
Into and across the mountains and it was a bit touch and go at times whether we would reach Sarajevo. Not because the driver was insane or the road was bad (which neither was), but because the bus struggled to make it up some parts and would occasionally shudder to a grudging halt on some of the tighter corners. No matter, it gave us time to appreciate some pretty sweet views.
Approaching and into Sarajevo, you immediately like the city. It's pretty in a way that Belgrade's not, and being set by way of small central city surrounded by residential areas on hills it reminded me a lot of Wellington. The vibrant nightlife, friendly and relaxed people and size and population were all similar too.
Imagine concentration camps, "ethnic cleansing" and thousands being forced from their homes and villages. Now imagine that it's not the 1940s but the 1990s. RightSaidFred was too sexy for his shirt and I was still at high school. It's incredible that as recently as 1994 this city was a battlefield. But sure enough, as you walk around the city you can still see the outside of several buildings bearing the scars.
When I was in Serbia, I felt cagey asking my friends about what had happened there, though they were happy to talk about it. I'm not taking my chances here. It was another kind of conflict, brutal and I think infinitely more tragic than what happened elsewhere in the region around that time. Still, people seem happy and determined to get on with life. There's no evidence of that changing anytime soon, but anything's possible in the long run. It's amazing how different religions coexist peacefully here - mainly Muslim, then Orthodox, Catholic, others and Protestants - but then so did they before the conflict. You see dozens of mosques' minarets peeping up from the city roofs in Sarajevo, and apparently Saudi Arabia has funded a rapid building (or rebuilding) of mosques across the country. Theirs is a particularly hardline branch of Islam - Wahhabi - so there's understandable concern about the risk to what is for now a generally secular and tolerant Muslim persuasion.
3 September: Sarajevo - Mostar
Last stop in Bosnia and it's half way to Dubrovnik in Croatia, so an interesting place and a good way to break up the trip. The journey down was stunning the further we got towards Mostar. The mountains are barren like desert and can't have seen any rain for a long time. But we followed the path of a stunning river. The water was amazing. See for yourself.
Mostar suffered badly during the conflict and the graveyards are full of stones bearing the tale with the same date of death for so many. This place is famous for a bridge, which was destroyed in November 1993 but rebuilt immediately after hostilities ended.
Some people jump off the bridge to entertain the tourists. A couple of English lads jumped off when I was there. I considered it for a nanosecond until I went and looked down. Not me, mate. Met up with another guy from NZ and we had a few beers and then the guy whose bar we were in got us really baked. Fun fun fun.
Truth be told, it was a relief to get out of Zakopane. The setting was nice enough, shame about the town. It might once have been the cute little mountain town I was expecting, but it's now pock marked with Tesco, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and no doubt plenty of other monotonous franchises that I didn't see. Added to that it was the weekend and there was an annual folk festival, and it was hideously overrun. Under different circumstances I'd have gone to check out the festival, but the weather was atrocious and there was a "fun fair" attached to the festival. (Those things are seldom fun, and never fair, so the reasoning behind the label escapes me...)
Nový Smokovec, on the other hand, is exactly what I was after. A pretty little township placed in the middle of the Tatras, with plenty of nice trails and friendly faces. I went for a hike and checked out this wee water fall (a "watersmall"?) in the mountains and was treated to some sweet views.
In 2004 a massive windstorm swept through the area and ripped ouit big sections of forest. What's left is still worth the trip, and enough people keep coming to keep the place ticking over just fine. I coasted the 3km back to town downhill on a scooter too which was a laugh.
And I was amused at the prospect of Keith Richards leaping out from behind a tree with an axe on the back of a bad acid trip...
And another sign of the "same as a mate's name" variety. Here y'are Papey.
My hotel's one of the coolest I've stayed in too. I had trouble finding accommodation online in advance and didn't fancy spending half my budget on calls from my mobile finding somewhere, so went for something nice for a night. It still cost less than a shitty hotel in London, was touch screen this and bleeping that, had its own 2 lane bowling alley and this was the view from my window.
Tomorrow I'm heading further south to a national park which has some cool hiking trails up through ravines with plenty of waterfalls to see. No accommodation sorted so it could be interesting.
25 August: Nový Smokovec - Spišská Nová Ves
Long story short, with all my stuff it was a hassle getting a place sorted (at least without seriously pissing off the locals barging my way onto a local bus), so after much walking around I got a shitty hotel in town and got out of there with a day pack for an afternoon hike which was cool. After a couple of hours I came across a trail which had this view from the bottom....
and this was the view from the top of where I'd taken it from...
I wanted to go back the next day and do an 8 hour walk up through the spectacular ravines and waterfalls. But all the maps and literature on the area warned not to do that walk without sturdy hiking boots, as there are ladders and chains and step walks along the route. I only had trainers, and hiking boots wouldn't have fit into my budget or my backpack, so reluctantly I decided to abandon the idea and press ahead south.
26 August: Spišská Nová Ves - Budapest
Budapest was a strange kind of experience. Again I didn't really get to engage with any locals and was subsequently told by a few people that's not unusual for Budapest. The city had some really cool architecture and interesting history, so notwithstanding the reticence of the locals it's still a city well worth visiting.
The hostel wasn't overly collegiate either, people tended to do their own thing. I did meet an American girl who it turned out knew a bunch of people I knew in Baghdad from the Hash House Harriers there, so we hung out for a bit.
The tramp of the week this time I picked on account of her serenity. One of the most chilled out tramps I've seen, which takes some doing.
And more gold dust on the sign/name front. Ed, not sure if this is you or me or both?
29 August: Budapest - Belgrade
Serbia's been one of the real surprise packages of the trip so far. After Nato bombed the country only 10 years ago, I could be forgiven for thinking that the people might not be so friendly towards westerners. Not a bit of it - the folks here, like those from the Baltics, are incredibly relaxed, outward-looking and open people. On my first night I went for a wander around the city to see if I could find some good nightlife. I was amazed to stumble upon a huge open air party / festival set within the walls of a historic citadel with 2 DJs I'm into - Steve LAwler and Sasha - on the decks. I met a couplle of girls from Serbia's 2nd city, Novi Sad, and hung out with them until they had to go get their train at 7am. Belgrade's not a photogenic city, even by the locals' own admission, so I didn't feel too bad about not going on a photoshoot. The 2nd night I went out with a couple of Portuguese girls staying at the hostel but was pretty bored by the end of it, seeing as they'd picked a party boat with the world's worst form of music, R&B.
31 August: Belgrade - Novi Sad
I'd arranged with the girls from Friday that I'd come and check out their city for a night. Unfortunately my phone died in Belgrade so I had no way of contacting them. But I'd already booked a hostel so I took the train up anyway. It's smaller and more relaxed than Belgrade, but still with plenty going on if you're so inclined. I was so exhausted after Belgrade I just had a wander round to see if I'd run into the girls - always unlikely as Novi Sad's not that small. So I had some fodder and got a welcome early night.
Next day I went for a wander around Novi Sad's greatest treasure, a massive fortress. Then back at the hostel stuck my sim card in another phone and got a couple of texts from the girls so was able to meet up with them for the night. Good fun too, we took my guitar down to the beach and stayed there drinking Serbia's favourite booze - rakia, which is a local brandy - until the early hours.
The told me what it was like when Nato bombed the city. As you'd expect, it's something that still resonates clearly with them deeply. They were only young at the time and said the worst thing was hearing the bombs and not knowing if someone they knew had been killed or hurt. Not sure why Novi Sad was bombed, given Kosovo's south, not north, of Belgrade. I doubt it would have been in the papers back home either. Like Iraq 15 years later, it makes me pause for thought about the extent to which our "interventions" tend to be "humanitarian". But the Serbs don't hate America or the west, in spite of what happened. Impressively, they are able to distinguish between a country's people and the actions of its government, which is kind of ironic given the anibiliyu of many westerners I've met to do the same when considering, say, Iran.
That dark horse again in Serbia - the Cyrillic alphabet - but they also use our alphabet, particularly in the north. I've become much more comfortable with Cyrillic now, especially being able to remember what the right sound is for characters which are the same as ours. For example PECTOPAH is RESTORAN. It's easier in Serbia than it was in Kiev too because the language is similar to many surrounding countries. I've even managed to remember some of the Cyrillic characters which bear no resemblance to ours, but then when I was younger I could write in the 2 simple Japanese alphabets and when in Baghdad I was able to remember Arabic numbers, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
More gold on the sign / name as well - Bob I knew I'd come across something for you, and Nick here you are too...
3 September: Novi Sad - Sarajevo
It's an 8 hour bus trip from Novi Sad to Sarajevo. The Serbian side's pretty unremarkable, being dominated by fields of corn and sunflowers. The Bosnian side's a different story altogether, immediately snaking alongside an emerald green river, before the road diverts up a valley and across one of Bosnia's many mountain ranges. During the first valley we ran alongside another river, but unlike its neighbour this was a truly bizarre bright rust colour. Along with the Tigris, this must be a contender for the world title of Rivers You Don't Want To Swim In.
Into and across the mountains and it was a bit touch and go at times whether we would reach Sarajevo. Not because the driver was insane or the road was bad (which neither was), but because the bus struggled to make it up some parts and would occasionally shudder to a grudging halt on some of the tighter corners. No matter, it gave us time to appreciate some pretty sweet views.
Approaching and into Sarajevo, you immediately like the city. It's pretty in a way that Belgrade's not, and being set by way of small central city surrounded by residential areas on hills it reminded me a lot of Wellington. The vibrant nightlife, friendly and relaxed people and size and population were all similar too.
Imagine concentration camps, "ethnic cleansing" and thousands being forced from their homes and villages. Now imagine that it's not the 1940s but the 1990s. RightSaidFred was too sexy for his shirt and I was still at high school. It's incredible that as recently as 1994 this city was a battlefield. But sure enough, as you walk around the city you can still see the outside of several buildings bearing the scars.
When I was in Serbia, I felt cagey asking my friends about what had happened there, though they were happy to talk about it. I'm not taking my chances here. It was another kind of conflict, brutal and I think infinitely more tragic than what happened elsewhere in the region around that time. Still, people seem happy and determined to get on with life. There's no evidence of that changing anytime soon, but anything's possible in the long run. It's amazing how different religions coexist peacefully here - mainly Muslim, then Orthodox, Catholic, others and Protestants - but then so did they before the conflict. You see dozens of mosques' minarets peeping up from the city roofs in Sarajevo, and apparently Saudi Arabia has funded a rapid building (or rebuilding) of mosques across the country. Theirs is a particularly hardline branch of Islam - Wahhabi - so there's understandable concern about the risk to what is for now a generally secular and tolerant Muslim persuasion.
3 September: Sarajevo - Mostar
Last stop in Bosnia and it's half way to Dubrovnik in Croatia, so an interesting place and a good way to break up the trip. The journey down was stunning the further we got towards Mostar. The mountains are barren like desert and can't have seen any rain for a long time. But we followed the path of a stunning river. The water was amazing. See for yourself.
Mostar suffered badly during the conflict and the graveyards are full of stones bearing the tale with the same date of death for so many. This place is famous for a bridge, which was destroyed in November 1993 but rebuilt immediately after hostilities ended.
Some people jump off the bridge to entertain the tourists. A couple of English lads jumped off when I was there. I considered it for a nanosecond until I went and looked down. Not me, mate. Met up with another guy from NZ and we had a few beers and then the guy whose bar we were in got us really baked. Fun fun fun.
Friday 15 August 2008
Poland & Kiev
11 August: Vilnius - Gdansk
I've only been in Poland for 5 hours, only one of those daylight, and it's already stealing my heart away from the Baltics. The overnight bus made a flattish "V" shape southwest out of Lithuania to Olsztyn, and then northwest to Gdasnk. I had a good feeling about Poland as soon as I entered it. The road cuts its way through forest, and I snatched glimpses of the forest in the headlights of the bus through broken, disorientating sleep and despite increasing grumpiness at the prospect of developing deep vein thrombosis. Four hours later we stopped at Olsztyn for a few minutes, and as I stepped off the bus to stretch my veal-calfised legs, I looked back east and was treated to this for a sunrise.
Finally, as if designed to break down the last of anyone's resistance, the countryside on the way back up towards the Baltic coast opens up and dares you not to be impressed. I've wanted to come to Poland for a long time, and I'm happy I finally got round to it.
12 August: Gdansk
What a difference a day makes. Gdansk is a foreboding, sinister feeling city, and I feel distinctly uneasy here. Some cities have a good feel to them, and some have a bad feel. There are varying degrees of good and bad, but they're always one or the other - they never leave me feeling totally indifferent. And Gdansk, for me, is definitely not a good city. I feel on edge here, and tomorrow I'm getting the hell out here. I don't care where, but back to nature, back through that countryside I liked so much and towards the lakes is appealing.
I can't say I've been unlucky, given this is the only unenjoyable day I've had in 4 weeks, but to an extent you make your own luck, and I have to go and seek out the good things again.
The highlight of Gdansk, for me, was seeing the world's oldest recorded evidence of a gurn. This guy looks like my mate Dave after a heavy session at DC10.
13 August: Gdansk - Mikołajki
Again, what a difference a day makes. I caught a train to Olsztyn and onward bus to the lakes. Again I was mesmerised by the countryside. The further I went, the more magnificent it became. At first it was flat, expansive plains that stretched out as far as the eye could see, and then later became more undulating. But always, always bathed in rich and vivid colours - golds, greens and countless shades of earth. It was like agriculture as visual art. And when we got closer to my destination - Mikołajki (pronounced Me-ho-why-key), the lakes and forests were unforgettable.
I arrived shortly after the sun had surrendered to an almost-full moon and went to check into the guest house I'd booked on the phone on the way. With regret, they'd had to release my room an hour earlier, as they weren't sure I was coming and I couldn't get through to them to explain I'd be later than expected. But they'd found me a room a few doors down which was the perfect size for me and a quarter of the price, so everything's worked out great. The boy's luck is back.
I went for a walk to write and have a drink, and stumbled on a great pub, with a Polish dude outside onstage with a guitar. He opened with what sounded like an Irish song, in Polish, and then moved onto more traditional but lively songs. Naturally,. I couldn't understand a word, but it's great fun to watch the locals clap and sing along. And to hear "Wild Rover" in Polish later in the night and laugh about it with the locals was an unexpected and beautiful bonus - worth coming here by itself.
14 August: Mikołajki
I woke up with a vicious hangover, having been talking late into the night with a couple of interesting and intelligent Polish girls about life. This was the view from my window this morning.
The girls are around my age, and were 9 years old when Communism collapsed here along with the wall in Berlin. They said that everything changed almost immediately and opened up. It still amazes me that this stuff happened in my lifetime.
I rented a kayak, and paddled out across the lake for a couple of hours and went for a swim to chase away the bastard behind my eyes. I also bought some gifts for my beautiful niece and nephew back in NZ and thought about my family and friends. And it occurred to me that I'm kind of representing them everywhere I go on my travels. This is what it's all about. The beautiful and interesting places are the setting, the context, but it's the interaction with people, especially local people, and the exchange of ideas and histories and cultures, and its opposite number - quiet reflection - that are the thing.
For every sunrise, there's a sunset. And this is tonight's. Shepherd's fuckin' delight, baby.
I had a fun night catching up again briefly with those 2 girls but spoke most of the time to the man mixing my cocktails. He had the 2 totally contrasting jobs of working in that bar for a few weeks and then going and working on an oil platform in the North Sea off Norway the rest of the time. What a trip!
15 August: Mikołajki - Warsaw
I've got a flight to Kiev from Warsaw tomorrow so I made the trip down today. As it happens, it's Independence Day here today so there's not much open and in any case I don't want to be running around doing lots of touristy things today. Warsaw's bloody big so it would be quite a mission. I came to an internet cafe to check a few things and update the blog, and while I've been in here there's been an awesome thunderstorm outside. So I'm sitting here, doing this, having a beer and listening to the karaoke they've got on. It's all good.
16 August: Warsaw - Kiev
It was interesting to get an aerial view of the Plish countryside on the flight to Kiev. Instead of the square shape you see in fields in many countries, the Polish apparently use long, thin, rectangular strips of land which gives the appearance of a massive wood laminate floor.
My arrival into Kiev immediately reminded me of Baghdad, with the instant heat as soon as you step from the plane to the terminal bus. At somewhere in the high 30s or low 40s, the headline temperature wasn't quite as hot as Baghdad, but the humidity made up the deficit. I've come to Kiev to meet up with a mate from my Baghdad days. He was the front man in the band I was in there, so when I saw him in the arrivals hall the Baghdad parallel was complete.
Kiev is unlike any other city I've been to. It's majestic, enormous, confusing and totally intriguing. It's as East as it gets if you're talking about Europe. Coming here with absolutely no knowledge of Russian, let alone comprehension of the Cyrillic alphabet, makes this a pretty overwhelming place. It's a little like Bangkok in terms of its size and chaos, and also the temperature for the first couple of days, although that was unusual for Kiev. But in Bangkok there are English signs everywhere so it's easy to navigate the city. Not here.
In some ways I think the Cyrillic alphabet is more confusing than, say, Arabic or Urdu. At least with those alphabets you know you've got no chance. But because some characters in the Cyrillic alphabet bear ome kind of resemblance to ours, your brain leads you up blind alleys trying to identify how words might sound. In Germany I found it easy to remember a few words, as many have been assimilated into English while others, such as numbers, are similar enough that you can work with them without too much trouble. Estonia is part of the Finno-Ugric family of languages and would be a difficult language to learn, but the alphabet is similar to ours, with a few dots and squiggles thrown into the mix. Latvian and Lithuanian are the 2 surviving Baltic branches of the Indo-European family, and again bear similarity to our alphabet with minor variations. Polish is a bit more of a curve ball, with some pronunciations being very different from what you'd expect, but again the characters themselves are broadly recognisable. With the Cyrillic alphabet, you're pretty much robbed of any such reference point.
So I was very fortunate that my friend has lived and worked in or near this region for years and is fluent in Russian to the point of it being more or less his first language. But why Russian, if we're in Ukraine? It's true that Ukrainian is the official language here, and everyone is taught in Ukrainian. Official announcements and the TV news are delivered in Ukranian. However, the vast majority of Ukrainians use Russian in everyday conversation and don't like to speak Ukrainian. There are "language police" who might check up on businesses so menus in bars and restaurants are in Ukrainian but almost everyone interacts in Russian, so they jump through the hoops that they have to jump through in order to keep the authorities happy, but in reality Russian is king.
We went to a karaoke bar one night which was one of the more unique and random experiences I've had. The songs were in Russian, so while I couldn't identify any of the songs or the words, it was an eye opener to say the least. The group on the table behind us were half singing, half slurring songs from the old gangster city of Odesa, so we were speculating as to whether they would belt out a couple of numbers and the go launder some money or something. My mate, for his part, sang a few Russian songs, very well, which went down a treat. He'd always told me in Baghdad about how he'd go to karaoke bars in Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or in the Stans and belt out songs in Russian, so it was nice to see the man in action. There were a few songs on the menu in English, so I could have got up and sang something, but I was concerned that if I did, the gangsters on the table behind might have had me "clipped" and buried in cement, so I kept my counsel and happily absorbed the experience.
The next day we went to one of several beaches lining the Dnipro River, which splits the city. I'm not sure if the sand was imported from somewhere but I assume it was. It was good too, really fine, and the water was the perfect temperature for another sweltering day. Joe's girlfriend' Natalia, was with us as well. She doesn't speak a word of English so poor Joe had to translate for 3 days, which must have been exhausting. In the 1930s Stalin engineered a mass starvation which killed thousands. A farmer would be visited by a State official, who might ask how much the farmer produced. If the farmer replied, say, 2 tonnes of whatever per year, the State official would say that the farmer had to produce 4 tonnes, of which the first 3.5 went to the State and the farmer could keep the rest. Natalia's grandmother wa around 11 years old when starvation nearly claimed her. She went blind and her skin was a dark, almost black colour from malnutrition. Her brother led her 11 kilometres to the nearest hospital, where they took her in. She survived, regained her sight and is alive and well today, as is her brother. Other family members - there were 8 siblings - didn't make it, along with so many thousands of others. Yet another tragic but fascinating personal account that's one of millions that make up the crazy history of the region.
One thing that made me laugh was the driving. There would be no point asking a cab driver to get you from A to B as fast as possible - that's the default approach. It's like being in a game of Grand Theft Auto. These guys like driving like maniacs about as much as they like vodka. And they like vodka just fine.
19 August: Kiev - Warsaw - Krakow
By the time I left Kiev, I'd become a little more comfortable with Cyrillic, and found myself able to seek out and identify a few characters. I still think it would take a good while to be anything like comfortable with the whole alphabet, and there's no doubt that learning the language would be a monumental task. I had a great time in Kiev and would recommend it to anyone, though if you can get a guide who can navigate the lingo for you it would be money well spent.
So it was in and out of Warsaw and a late evening arrival into Krakow. And straight in and out of the hostel for what turned into a late night with some people from the hostel at a good club which was underground and had lots of rooms and arches with a couple of main rooms. I knew that I would party in Krakow but it turned out to be more or less a big session. It was fun dancing on a bar until the sun came up but it's a shame too that I didn't go and see Krakow properly. It's got a nice feel to it and the people are friendly. I was keen to go to the Wieliczka salt mine nearby and would have considered Auschwitz too, but sadly got round to neither. I'll have to come back to Krakow one day and see it properly.
22 August: Krakow - Zakopane
Zakopane, nestled at the foot of the Tatra mountains, is my last stop on the way to Slovakia. I was looking forward to coming here and hoping to do some hiking in the hills, but the weather's closed in and my foot's giving me grief. Plus I've had to sort out accommodation for tomorrow in Slovakia. I'll be heading to an area of national park which is said to be spectacular, so I don't feel so bad about missing out here.
I've only been in Poland for 5 hours, only one of those daylight, and it's already stealing my heart away from the Baltics. The overnight bus made a flattish "V" shape southwest out of Lithuania to Olsztyn, and then northwest to Gdasnk. I had a good feeling about Poland as soon as I entered it. The road cuts its way through forest, and I snatched glimpses of the forest in the headlights of the bus through broken, disorientating sleep and despite increasing grumpiness at the prospect of developing deep vein thrombosis. Four hours later we stopped at Olsztyn for a few minutes, and as I stepped off the bus to stretch my veal-calfised legs, I looked back east and was treated to this for a sunrise.
Finally, as if designed to break down the last of anyone's resistance, the countryside on the way back up towards the Baltic coast opens up and dares you not to be impressed. I've wanted to come to Poland for a long time, and I'm happy I finally got round to it.
12 August: Gdansk
What a difference a day makes. Gdansk is a foreboding, sinister feeling city, and I feel distinctly uneasy here. Some cities have a good feel to them, and some have a bad feel. There are varying degrees of good and bad, but they're always one or the other - they never leave me feeling totally indifferent. And Gdansk, for me, is definitely not a good city. I feel on edge here, and tomorrow I'm getting the hell out here. I don't care where, but back to nature, back through that countryside I liked so much and towards the lakes is appealing.
I can't say I've been unlucky, given this is the only unenjoyable day I've had in 4 weeks, but to an extent you make your own luck, and I have to go and seek out the good things again.
The highlight of Gdansk, for me, was seeing the world's oldest recorded evidence of a gurn. This guy looks like my mate Dave after a heavy session at DC10.
13 August: Gdansk - Mikołajki
Again, what a difference a day makes. I caught a train to Olsztyn and onward bus to the lakes. Again I was mesmerised by the countryside. The further I went, the more magnificent it became. At first it was flat, expansive plains that stretched out as far as the eye could see, and then later became more undulating. But always, always bathed in rich and vivid colours - golds, greens and countless shades of earth. It was like agriculture as visual art. And when we got closer to my destination - Mikołajki (pronounced Me-ho-why-key), the lakes and forests were unforgettable.
I arrived shortly after the sun had surrendered to an almost-full moon and went to check into the guest house I'd booked on the phone on the way. With regret, they'd had to release my room an hour earlier, as they weren't sure I was coming and I couldn't get through to them to explain I'd be later than expected. But they'd found me a room a few doors down which was the perfect size for me and a quarter of the price, so everything's worked out great. The boy's luck is back.
I went for a walk to write and have a drink, and stumbled on a great pub, with a Polish dude outside onstage with a guitar. He opened with what sounded like an Irish song, in Polish, and then moved onto more traditional but lively songs. Naturally,. I couldn't understand a word, but it's great fun to watch the locals clap and sing along. And to hear "Wild Rover" in Polish later in the night and laugh about it with the locals was an unexpected and beautiful bonus - worth coming here by itself.
14 August: Mikołajki
I woke up with a vicious hangover, having been talking late into the night with a couple of interesting and intelligent Polish girls about life. This was the view from my window this morning.
The girls are around my age, and were 9 years old when Communism collapsed here along with the wall in Berlin. They said that everything changed almost immediately and opened up. It still amazes me that this stuff happened in my lifetime.
I rented a kayak, and paddled out across the lake for a couple of hours and went for a swim to chase away the bastard behind my eyes. I also bought some gifts for my beautiful niece and nephew back in NZ and thought about my family and friends. And it occurred to me that I'm kind of representing them everywhere I go on my travels. This is what it's all about. The beautiful and interesting places are the setting, the context, but it's the interaction with people, especially local people, and the exchange of ideas and histories and cultures, and its opposite number - quiet reflection - that are the thing.
For every sunrise, there's a sunset. And this is tonight's. Shepherd's fuckin' delight, baby.
I had a fun night catching up again briefly with those 2 girls but spoke most of the time to the man mixing my cocktails. He had the 2 totally contrasting jobs of working in that bar for a few weeks and then going and working on an oil platform in the North Sea off Norway the rest of the time. What a trip!
15 August: Mikołajki - Warsaw
I've got a flight to Kiev from Warsaw tomorrow so I made the trip down today. As it happens, it's Independence Day here today so there's not much open and in any case I don't want to be running around doing lots of touristy things today. Warsaw's bloody big so it would be quite a mission. I came to an internet cafe to check a few things and update the blog, and while I've been in here there's been an awesome thunderstorm outside. So I'm sitting here, doing this, having a beer and listening to the karaoke they've got on. It's all good.
16 August: Warsaw - Kiev
It was interesting to get an aerial view of the Plish countryside on the flight to Kiev. Instead of the square shape you see in fields in many countries, the Polish apparently use long, thin, rectangular strips of land which gives the appearance of a massive wood laminate floor.
My arrival into Kiev immediately reminded me of Baghdad, with the instant heat as soon as you step from the plane to the terminal bus. At somewhere in the high 30s or low 40s, the headline temperature wasn't quite as hot as Baghdad, but the humidity made up the deficit. I've come to Kiev to meet up with a mate from my Baghdad days. He was the front man in the band I was in there, so when I saw him in the arrivals hall the Baghdad parallel was complete.
Kiev is unlike any other city I've been to. It's majestic, enormous, confusing and totally intriguing. It's as East as it gets if you're talking about Europe. Coming here with absolutely no knowledge of Russian, let alone comprehension of the Cyrillic alphabet, makes this a pretty overwhelming place. It's a little like Bangkok in terms of its size and chaos, and also the temperature for the first couple of days, although that was unusual for Kiev. But in Bangkok there are English signs everywhere so it's easy to navigate the city. Not here.
In some ways I think the Cyrillic alphabet is more confusing than, say, Arabic or Urdu. At least with those alphabets you know you've got no chance. But because some characters in the Cyrillic alphabet bear ome kind of resemblance to ours, your brain leads you up blind alleys trying to identify how words might sound. In Germany I found it easy to remember a few words, as many have been assimilated into English while others, such as numbers, are similar enough that you can work with them without too much trouble. Estonia is part of the Finno-Ugric family of languages and would be a difficult language to learn, but the alphabet is similar to ours, with a few dots and squiggles thrown into the mix. Latvian and Lithuanian are the 2 surviving Baltic branches of the Indo-European family, and again bear similarity to our alphabet with minor variations. Polish is a bit more of a curve ball, with some pronunciations being very different from what you'd expect, but again the characters themselves are broadly recognisable. With the Cyrillic alphabet, you're pretty much robbed of any such reference point.
So I was very fortunate that my friend has lived and worked in or near this region for years and is fluent in Russian to the point of it being more or less his first language. But why Russian, if we're in Ukraine? It's true that Ukrainian is the official language here, and everyone is taught in Ukrainian. Official announcements and the TV news are delivered in Ukranian. However, the vast majority of Ukrainians use Russian in everyday conversation and don't like to speak Ukrainian. There are "language police" who might check up on businesses so menus in bars and restaurants are in Ukrainian but almost everyone interacts in Russian, so they jump through the hoops that they have to jump through in order to keep the authorities happy, but in reality Russian is king.
We went to a karaoke bar one night which was one of the more unique and random experiences I've had. The songs were in Russian, so while I couldn't identify any of the songs or the words, it was an eye opener to say the least. The group on the table behind us were half singing, half slurring songs from the old gangster city of Odesa, so we were speculating as to whether they would belt out a couple of numbers and the go launder some money or something. My mate, for his part, sang a few Russian songs, very well, which went down a treat. He'd always told me in Baghdad about how he'd go to karaoke bars in Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or in the Stans and belt out songs in Russian, so it was nice to see the man in action. There were a few songs on the menu in English, so I could have got up and sang something, but I was concerned that if I did, the gangsters on the table behind might have had me "clipped" and buried in cement, so I kept my counsel and happily absorbed the experience.
The next day we went to one of several beaches lining the Dnipro River, which splits the city. I'm not sure if the sand was imported from somewhere but I assume it was. It was good too, really fine, and the water was the perfect temperature for another sweltering day. Joe's girlfriend' Natalia, was with us as well. She doesn't speak a word of English so poor Joe had to translate for 3 days, which must have been exhausting. In the 1930s Stalin engineered a mass starvation which killed thousands. A farmer would be visited by a State official, who might ask how much the farmer produced. If the farmer replied, say, 2 tonnes of whatever per year, the State official would say that the farmer had to produce 4 tonnes, of which the first 3.5 went to the State and the farmer could keep the rest. Natalia's grandmother wa around 11 years old when starvation nearly claimed her. She went blind and her skin was a dark, almost black colour from malnutrition. Her brother led her 11 kilometres to the nearest hospital, where they took her in. She survived, regained her sight and is alive and well today, as is her brother. Other family members - there were 8 siblings - didn't make it, along with so many thousands of others. Yet another tragic but fascinating personal account that's one of millions that make up the crazy history of the region.
One thing that made me laugh was the driving. There would be no point asking a cab driver to get you from A to B as fast as possible - that's the default approach. It's like being in a game of Grand Theft Auto. These guys like driving like maniacs about as much as they like vodka. And they like vodka just fine.
19 August: Kiev - Warsaw - Krakow
By the time I left Kiev, I'd become a little more comfortable with Cyrillic, and found myself able to seek out and identify a few characters. I still think it would take a good while to be anything like comfortable with the whole alphabet, and there's no doubt that learning the language would be a monumental task. I had a great time in Kiev and would recommend it to anyone, though if you can get a guide who can navigate the lingo for you it would be money well spent.
So it was in and out of Warsaw and a late evening arrival into Krakow. And straight in and out of the hostel for what turned into a late night with some people from the hostel at a good club which was underground and had lots of rooms and arches with a couple of main rooms. I knew that I would party in Krakow but it turned out to be more or less a big session. It was fun dancing on a bar until the sun came up but it's a shame too that I didn't go and see Krakow properly. It's got a nice feel to it and the people are friendly. I was keen to go to the Wieliczka salt mine nearby and would have considered Auschwitz too, but sadly got round to neither. I'll have to come back to Krakow one day and see it properly.
22 August: Krakow - Zakopane
Zakopane, nestled at the foot of the Tatra mountains, is my last stop on the way to Slovakia. I was looking forward to coming here and hoping to do some hiking in the hills, but the weather's closed in and my foot's giving me grief. Plus I've had to sort out accommodation for tomorrow in Slovakia. I'll be heading to an area of national park which is said to be spectacular, so I don't feel so bad about missing out here.
Monday 28 July 2008
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
22 July: Berlin - Stockholm - Tallinn
Tallinn's old town is picturesque enough, if a little too touristy (posed the tourist, admitedly...). For a capital city, it's tiny. Quite a contrast after Berlin. I had a wander around for a few hours and went to the beach. I met a lesbian couple from Berlin so had a chat with them about where I'd been while I was there. I didn't try and line one up. You know what I'm talking about.
The one place I really wanted to see was the former KGB Headquarters, but I couldn't find it for love nor money. Being what it is, it may have been ironically located, maybe you had to solve a riddle of some kind to work out where it really was. If I come back after Pärnu I'll have another look.
24 July: Tallinn - Pärnu
I've thought long and hard about it, and I have to say Estonia's got the most beautiful women in any country I've been to. It takes some doing to trump Brazil, Sweden and Ibiza, but Estonia just squeaks it. 
Latvia itself is a gem. Riga was founded in 1201 because the Pope reckoned those Baltic heathens could do with some religion. It's endured centuries of occupation and colonisation by, variously, Russia, Germany, Poland and Sweden. It only declared independence in 1991, so like its neighbours it is relatively recently that it became what it is now, and the transition is still very much happening. Also, like Tallinn and other cities in the region, there is an old and new town. Although pockets of Riga's Old Town are unloved and falling apart, there's still a surprise around every corner. Even the New Town isn't all that new - much of it was taking shape by the 18th century. 
awesome. 
So tomorrow it's off to Lithuania, again to a smaller beach town before heading to the capital for the weekend. At least that's if I can get the bus. It's only around 100km away but I think getting there can be tricky sometimes. Fingers crossed I make it, but if I don't it's not the end of the world.
3 August: Liapaja - Palanga
So I didn't get off to Lithuania for another couple of days. Kind of a pain as I needed to keep moving and it's been raining a lot those extra 2 days so I couldn't even go and hang out at the beach. I met up with a guy I'd met over the weekend, a cool guy, and he drove me around the old and new parts of the city giving me a tour which was good of him. The next day I went for a big walk and checked out an old military prison which had been recommended to me by several people. It was originally a hospital on the biggest naval base the Russians had built in the Baltics at the start of the 20th century but there was a riot and the authorities had nowhere to put the offenders, so they converted the hospital into a prison. And through successive periods of Russian and Gernam occupation of Latvia, that's how the place remained. During Nazi times, alleged traitors, deserters and spies were kept there. Periodically, when enough of them had been sentenced to death by courts martial, a group would be made to kneel in the courtyard. Two rows of Nazi soldiers - one standing, the other kneeling - would shoot from 30m. The standing soldiers took the head shot, the kneeling soldiers the chest. After a while they abandoned this practice and simply shot each offender in the back of the head. Good German efficiency. (sorry.... bad taste).
The bus to Palanga, when I finally managed to catch it, was easy enough, just an hour or so and literally cheap as chips. The evening sun had resurfaced by the time I got there so the town was busy with people out enjoying it. My hotel was 3km out of town, an an area for camping and chilling, so maybe a touch further away than I'd have planned ideally but still a fantastic setting despite the lack of anywhere to eat, drink or meet people.
It's Wednesday and I came back into town for breakfast while it was overcast again, not optimistic about the prospect of getting some sun. Early afternoon turned the tables and it turned into a beautiful day, so I rented a bike and rode through a pine forest to my place and the beach. Very, very mellow. That alone made staying a little out of the action an unexpected bonus.
7 August: Palanga - Vilnius
Lithuania's capital is absolutely stunning. A beautiful old town meets the stylish new, and everywhere you turn there's another scene that takes your breath away.
It has that kind of feel like you're at home, that's sometimes found not in a country's biggest city but in 2nd cities, like maybe Melbourne. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of local people and enjoyed hanging out with them. They're fiercely proud of their country in a way I've not encountered so far on this trip. One guy I'd chatted to in the afternoon of the Friday took me to a real locals' bar so I stayed there and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I cheered when Lithuania's team came out and the locals responded by cheering on NZ. I also went to check out the Frank Zappa memorial. He's got nothing to do with Lithuania, but a group of people that totally buzzed off his music got together and made it happen. Hilarious.
There was no way I could not go to Pacha while in Vilnius, as it opened here last year. I'd been to a cocktail bar at the top of a hotel with some locals and then on to the club. Unfortunately the clubs here have a "face control" policy so they only let foreigners and only the best looking locals in, so it was a little less authentic than it might have been. Still, I had fun and spoke to some ok people.
The Saturday night and I ventured out to another club that had been recommended to me and which doesn't have a face control policy, so it was a lot of fun and again I met some really good people. Another late night so I was feeling the pace by Sunday. I sat in a cafe which is in a sort of open area just off one of the main streets, and was treated to the random sight of about 3 dozen people dancing in the swing/1930's sort of style. It was really cool to see, I have to say. They were so talented. It's not often you get entertainment this random and for free. That night I met up with a friend and we hung out the next day at a really pretty picture-postcard town called Trakai, which is situated on an amazingly calm lake. And then it was off to get the overnight bus to Poland.
The Baltics have been great. Despite the difficult histories of these countries, the people have been cool everywhere I've been and I'd have no hesitation recommending anywhere here. It's a little more expensive than I'd foreseen, and inflation is one of the biggest issues affecting all 3 countries. It's preventing them from adopting the Euro too, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I haven't been to places where the scenery is overwhelming, though it's been pleasant enough. For me, it's the people that have made the Baltics, and also the mixture of interesting old-old buildings and cities, and the interesting, if kind of harrowing histories and the fact that these countries have only been independent less than 20 years. Next up is Poland, which will be quieter for me as I need to chill for a bit, and I'm looking forward to it.
But first, it's time for Tramp of the Week! This, my friends, is technique.
I felt so bad about taking her picture that I dropped some money in her cup for services she doesn't know she's rendered.
Getting the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn was a good move. Pistol calm water and postcard coastline turned this travel from an experience into a privilege. Dusk didn't really fall until around 11, and never truly became night. It was amusing too - the Finns (the Finnish, not half of Crowded House) made a bee-line for the onboard supermarket and stocked up on booze, headed to the outdoor decks and cracked on. I was happy to have a smoke and watch the Baltic float by. I shared a cabin with 3 other guys, 2 of whom didn't speak, and the other who was a Finn but lived between his houses in Sweden and Estonia, and whose name and any other details I couldn't decipher.
Tallinn's old town is picturesque enough, if a little too touristy (posed the tourist, admitedly...). For a capital city, it's tiny. Quite a contrast after Berlin. I had a wander around for a few hours and went to the beach. I met a lesbian couple from Berlin so had a chat with them about where I'd been while I was there. I didn't try and line one up. You know what I'm talking about.
The one place I really wanted to see was the former KGB Headquarters, but I couldn't find it for love nor money. Being what it is, it may have been ironically located, maybe you had to solve a riddle of some kind to work out where it really was. If I come back after Pärnu I'll have another look.
I'm keen to get out of Tallinn before the stag parties arrive for the weekend, so I'm off to the beach.
24 July: Tallinn - Pärnu
I've thought long and hard about it, and I have to say Estonia's got the most beautiful women in any country I've been to. It takes some doing to trump Brazil, Sweden and Ibiza, but Estonia just squeaks it.
I took a cab to the bus station and was picked up by the hottest taxi driver I have ever seen. She was a bit like the taxi driver on Pulp Fiction - she drove like a maniac, was exotic, slightly mad and totally fascinating.
A 2 hour bus ride and you're in Pärnu, on the coast of south western Estonia. It's only a small place, but it's said to be the Ibiza of Estonia. People come here from all over the country to party at weekends, and a fine job they do too. It's not the 24 hour mash up that Ibiza can be, but it's great fun and it's been good to get away from the tourist trail and come to meet locals. The beach is a cracker, massive and covered with white sand, and with stunning women everywhere it doesn't take long to get jesters shoes on. I have to fight the urge to sit there taking pictures of all the women, but I've just managed it. Sorry guys.
Posing and beach volleyball are the 2 distinct but bery much related pastimes here. They do both well. Estonians are also very friendly and keen to know about other places. It's not as cheap as you might expect, though. The economy's coming along at a fair clip and prices are not actually that much less than London. It's still well worth your while to visit here. I will be a happy man if Latvia's even half this good.
Posing and beach volleyball are the 2 distinct but bery much related pastimes here. They do both well. Estonians are also very friendly and keen to know about other places. It's not as cheap as you might expect, though. The economy's coming along at a fair clip and prices are not actually that much less than London. It's still well worth your while to visit here. I will be a happy man if Latvia's even half this good.
29 July: Pärnu - Riga
You know you're living a good lifestyle if the worst thing that happens to you in a day is being "forced" to spend a few more hours at the beach. But with my intended bus full and no more for 5 hours, that was the tragedy that befell me. I met a local girl who kept me in Estonia for a day longer than anticipated too, again tough luck.
I arrived in Riga in the evening and headed out to get a feel for the city. I got talking to a dude from Stockholm who was touring with his rock band, "My Machete". An entertaining character, 46 going on 16 and still living some semblance of the dream. Being a front man for a rock band, he found it impossible not to try drawing attention to himself. When it got to throwing nuts at people on surrounding tables, I had to split in the interests of self preservation.
Latvia itself is a gem. Riga was founded in 1201 because the Pope reckoned those Baltic heathens could do with some religion. It's endured centuries of occupation and colonisation by, variously, Russia, Germany, Poland and Sweden. It only declared independence in 1991, so like its neighbours it is relatively recently that it became what it is now, and the transition is still very much happening. Also, like Tallinn and other cities in the region, there is an old and new town. Although pockets of Riga's Old Town are unloved and falling apart, there's still a surprise around every corner. Even the New Town isn't all that new - much of it was taking shape by the 18th century.
The pace of life seems really relaxed, except the maniac drivers screeching around on the cobbled streets. There are a couple of big open squareslined with cafes where you can soak up the evening sun and some cocktails and watch people wind down. This is much more like how I envisaged a Baltic capital would, and should, be.
And we have this week's Tramp of the Week. This was an easy choice, this guy totally means it. There were a couple of other contenders, but I love his style. He could be in the frame for Ace of Tramps, depending on how the competition measures up further south.
awesome. 1 August: Riga - Liepaja
I had a great time in Riga, met some nice folks at the hostel but was looking to get out of Riga for the weekend and meet some locals, and Liepaja's been the perfect place to do it. I guess you'd say it's the Latvian equivalent of Pärnu, though everyone I met here is from here and not somewhere else in Latvia. It's got a lively music scene and if I'd been here last weekend I'd have caught the biggest beach party in the Baltics. Even so, I was still lucky and coming here for the weekend was definitely the right move. There was a good beach party on Friday and I met loads of people there who I also caught up with on Saturday night at a couple of clubs. Really sound people. Again, friendly girls and I ended up staying a couple more days.
So tomorrow it's off to Lithuania, again to a smaller beach town before heading to the capital for the weekend. At least that's if I can get the bus. It's only around 100km away but I think getting there can be tricky sometimes. Fingers crossed I make it, but if I don't it's not the end of the world.
3 August: Liapaja - Palanga
So I didn't get off to Lithuania for another couple of days. Kind of a pain as I needed to keep moving and it's been raining a lot those extra 2 days so I couldn't even go and hang out at the beach. I met up with a guy I'd met over the weekend, a cool guy, and he drove me around the old and new parts of the city giving me a tour which was good of him. The next day I went for a big walk and checked out an old military prison which had been recommended to me by several people. It was originally a hospital on the biggest naval base the Russians had built in the Baltics at the start of the 20th century but there was a riot and the authorities had nowhere to put the offenders, so they converted the hospital into a prison. And through successive periods of Russian and Gernam occupation of Latvia, that's how the place remained. During Nazi times, alleged traitors, deserters and spies were kept there. Periodically, when enough of them had been sentenced to death by courts martial, a group would be made to kneel in the courtyard. Two rows of Nazi soldiers - one standing, the other kneeling - would shoot from 30m. The standing soldiers took the head shot, the kneeling soldiers the chest. After a while they abandoned this practice and simply shot each offender in the back of the head. Good German efficiency. (sorry.... bad taste).
The bus to Palanga, when I finally managed to catch it, was easy enough, just an hour or so and literally cheap as chips. The evening sun had resurfaced by the time I got there so the town was busy with people out enjoying it. My hotel was 3km out of town, an an area for camping and chilling, so maybe a touch further away than I'd have planned ideally but still a fantastic setting despite the lack of anywhere to eat, drink or meet people.
It's Wednesday and I came back into town for breakfast while it was overcast again, not optimistic about the prospect of getting some sun. Early afternoon turned the tables and it turned into a beautiful day, so I rented a bike and rode through a pine forest to my place and the beach. Very, very mellow. That alone made staying a little out of the action an unexpected bonus.
7 August: Palanga - Vilnius
Lithuania's capital is absolutely stunning. A beautiful old town meets the stylish new, and everywhere you turn there's another scene that takes your breath away.
It has that kind of feel like you're at home, that's sometimes found not in a country's biggest city but in 2nd cities, like maybe Melbourne. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of local people and enjoyed hanging out with them. They're fiercely proud of their country in a way I've not encountered so far on this trip. One guy I'd chatted to in the afternoon of the Friday took me to a real locals' bar so I stayed there and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I cheered when Lithuania's team came out and the locals responded by cheering on NZ. I also went to check out the Frank Zappa memorial. He's got nothing to do with Lithuania, but a group of people that totally buzzed off his music got together and made it happen. Hilarious.
There was no way I could not go to Pacha while in Vilnius, as it opened here last year. I'd been to a cocktail bar at the top of a hotel with some locals and then on to the club. Unfortunately the clubs here have a "face control" policy so they only let foreigners and only the best looking locals in, so it was a little less authentic than it might have been. Still, I had fun and spoke to some ok people.
The Saturday night and I ventured out to another club that had been recommended to me and which doesn't have a face control policy, so it was a lot of fun and again I met some really good people. Another late night so I was feeling the pace by Sunday. I sat in a cafe which is in a sort of open area just off one of the main streets, and was treated to the random sight of about 3 dozen people dancing in the swing/1930's sort of style. It was really cool to see, I have to say. They were so talented. It's not often you get entertainment this random and for free. That night I met up with a friend and we hung out the next day at a really pretty picture-postcard town called Trakai, which is situated on an amazingly calm lake. And then it was off to get the overnight bus to Poland.
The Baltics have been great. Despite the difficult histories of these countries, the people have been cool everywhere I've been and I'd have no hesitation recommending anywhere here. It's a little more expensive than I'd foreseen, and inflation is one of the biggest issues affecting all 3 countries. It's preventing them from adopting the Euro too, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I haven't been to places where the scenery is overwhelming, though it's been pleasant enough. For me, it's the people that have made the Baltics, and also the mixture of interesting old-old buildings and cities, and the interesting, if kind of harrowing histories and the fact that these countries have only been independent less than 20 years. Next up is Poland, which will be quieter for me as I need to chill for a bit, and I'm looking forward to it.
But first, it's time for Tramp of the Week! This, my friends, is technique.
I felt so bad about taking her picture that I dropped some money in her cup for services she doesn't know she's rendered.
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