Discover The Baltics: Kaipeda to Kaunas, then onto Vilnius

 

Travelling from Kaipeda to Kaunas, yesterday included a one-hour guided tour of the Cold War Museum in Plokstine, a former Soviet Union ballistic missile base. The tour took us into one of the silos where the nuclear missile would have been stored, as well as the control room and living quarters, to get a feel for life on site.

An hour and a quarters drive later, we stopped for lunch at a little café stop on the main dual carriageway en route to Kaunas. It was £3 for a bowl of hot, spicy soup and a cup of coffee, plus a large Lion Bar from the neighbouring petrol station. It was raining and very cold, the worst weather we'd experienced since we'd been here. Not only that, but it was another hour and a half from there to Kaunas to check into the hotel.

4.30-6.00pm was a walking tour of the town which included the Presidential Palace, Vilnius St (the main street), Kaunas Parochial Archcathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, the outside of the Thunder House, Town Hall and the Lithuanian Cross Crucifix with the sun and saint of Lithuania, Kaunas Castle and St Georges Church with Bernadine Monastery.

Tired, cold, hungry, and it started peeing it down, so we headed for dinner with Andrew and Helen at 'Avilys'. They made their own beer on the premises – unfiltered and unpasteurised, flavoured with honey and in a medieval cellar. One beer, like a hot toddy, comprised honey beer with extra honey and lemon heated up. As the Baltics countries appear to eat a lot of port and I hadn't tried any since I'd been here, I had a pork steak with roasted veggies (parsnip, pepper, courgette, garlic, onion) and baked spuds with a tomato-honey sauce, similar to a salsa, It was followed by a lemon pudding, pretty much the only thing on the menu without nuts but absolutely delicious.

Today it was onto Vilnius via Pažaislis Monastery and Church and Trakai Island Castle. The monastery and church were on the Kaunas Lagoon and formed the largest monastery complex in Lithuania. It is revered as one of the finest examples of Italian baroque-style architecture in Northern Europe, apparently, but I was 'churched out' and the free time would have been better spent at the next stop. Plus, it was cold.

Trakai Island Castle in the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a restored 14^th Century castle situated on a small island in the middle of a lake. Although we had rain, and it was still a bit chilly, the weather improved. We had a tour round the castle, then some free time to explore and grab lunch – which today was a "Klevinas" – a pork mince pastry though there wasn't much filling, so it wasn't very filling. It was named after a small tribe of people that date from Mesopotamian times and, although few and not all in Lithuania, still exist today. Not sure how complimentary being the same name as a disappointing pie is. Then it was back on the bus for our final stop of Vilnius.

After checking in and waiting out a hail storm, we wandered into the city. Although we had no set plans, our wanderings did take us past the Cathedral Basilica in Cathedral Square, the official start of the old city. In the same square was the Clock Tower. The lower part comprised one of the old watch towers from the original town wall that had been built on later to create a tall tower that resembled a lighthouse and looked a bit lost in the middle of the city. There was a statue of the founder of Vilnius, the first Grand Duke.

We found a chocolate shop-cafe that had an amazing display: a scene from a lounge made completely out of chocolate. Here we sampled an assortment of drinks and cakes. I had a ginger tea with lemon plus an 'Orange Drop Cake', Sharon had the same cake and a hot chocolate while Andy opted for a Chocolate and Brandy cake with a frothy latte.

There were some nice buildings including churches in our meander and long detour back to the hotel via some souvenir shops. There was the Iron Wolf statue by the hotel, which was from a medieval legend of the founding of Vilnius, the capital city of the old Grand Duchy of Lithuania and modern Republic of Lithuania.

We rounded the day off with a Lithuanian style Chinese including noodles with vegetables, rice, battered chicken, duck and local beer. Again. Of course. We washed it down with a beer from the hotel bar; we felt it had been a busy evening, and we'd earnt it.

Discover The Baltics: Latvia to Lithuania

Our journey from Latvia to Lithuania started with a visit to the 'Versaille' of the Baltics; Rundale Palace, designed for the Duke of Courland in the 18^th Century by the same architect who designed the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

After lunch, we crossed the border at Eleja into Lithuania. Our first stop was the 'Hill of Crosses', a remembrance for all those people who are 'missing' whether deported to Siberia or possibly murdered but never seen again. There we had an impromptu and unusual chat with a Franciscan monk before the long drive to Klaipeda. During the orientation walking tour of the town, we visited the harbour and old town.

We had dinner on the Restoranas "Meridianas", a restaurant on a former sailing training ship, moored at the quay of the River Dangė. It served European cuisine with Mediterranean highlights, to "emphasise the maritime identity of the port city". I had Zander fillet with purple sprouting, asparagus, carrots and local beer.

After dinner, we went up to the 12^th floor of the 2^nd building of the Amberton Hotel (we were staying in the 1^st building) for a drink and dessert and views over Klapeida. Apart from the dinner experience, we weren't too taken with the city; there were holes in the pavements, things broken in the room and dodgy lifts.

However, it was the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Curonian Spit, and that was a completely different kettle of fish. The national park is a spit of land 90km long. 50Km of it is in Lithuania whilst the remaining 40km is in Kaliningrad (Russian province formerly East Prussia). It separates the freshwater Curonian lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The lagoon is 93km long varying in width from 390m in Lithuania to 46km in Kaliningrad and ranges from 400m wide at its narrowest point on the Kaliningrad side to 4km wide at its widest point; the ferry journey is across the narrowest point.

The first stop was at the Hill of Witches; an ancient parabolic dune covered with century old pines to its 42m summit. There were lots of wooden sculptures alongside the path carved by Lithuanian artists since 1979: good on one side and bad on the other. The figures represented characters from regional folklore and included The Story-Teller, Health Chair, The Happy Fisherman, their version of George and the Dragon, Lucifer and the Gates of Hell and the card players. We had a walk along the seafront, past the cormorant colony and over towards Parnidis Dune and the Sundial, a viewpoint to the Great Dune, the second highest in Europe. Lunch was at 'Tik Pas Jona', eating smoked fish: half a butterflied mackerel and half a seabass, as fresh as anything and exceptionally tasty.

In the afternoon, we took a boat trip on the lagoon to look at Parnidis Dune and the Great Dune from the water. We could see the border with Kaliningrad marked by poles in the dunes, buoys at sea and patrolled on either side by Lithuanian and Russian Coast Guards respectively. On the way back to Kalipeda, I had another dip in the Baltic Sea, and we stopped at an Amber Museum.

Discover The Baltics: Riga, Latvia

Yesterday, the first of two days in Riga started with a walking tour so we could orientate ourselves. We learnt that Latvia is the middle-sized of the three Baltic States. The whole country has a population of 2 million, of which 1 million are squeezed into Riga (similar population size to the Birmingham City Area). In twenty-five years, they have lost 300,000 people (about the same as the population of Shropshire). Its language, Latvian, is more closely related to Lithuanian, although it shares more history with Estonia. The population largely consists of 45% Russian and 55% Latvian. Tourism makes up 60% of its industries along with pharmaceuticals, textiles, Air Baltic, wood and agriculture. Its flag is red, white and red, and it has 500 miles of coastline along the Baltic Sea.

We saw a lot of points of interest on the tour, but I shall only mention some of the key highlights here. City Hall Square has a building named 'Blackheads House'; the house is decorated with several features such as the Blackheaded man – from where it gets its name; statues of George and the Dragon, King Arthur and mythical gods plus an Astronomical Clock. Riga Town Hall can also be found here. The Bremen Town Musicians Statue consists of animals from Brothers Grimm standing on top of each other. Rub each one and your wish will come true in a year (donkey), month (dog), week (cat) and day (rooster). Suffice to say I couldn't reach the rooster, so nothing was happening that day!

We saw the small and large Guild Halls. Opposite them is the 'Cat House', so-called because of the statues of cats on the roof. Cats were considered important as they kept rats down, so the statues were symbols of protection. The story goes that the owner of the house was a Latvian Merchant. When he was refused entry to the Guild for not being German, he turned the cats' tail ends towards the Guild Halls; the cats' tails are upright!

Riga Cathedral (Dome) and Dome Square are located in the very centre of the Old Town, and Dome Square is also the largest. Seven streets flow into it like seven arteries. The square has a marked point where you can stand and see all three golden cockerels on top of Old Town's churches. The 'Three Brothers' are the oldest residential stone buildings in the city and represent different stages in the architectural development of Riga, from medieval to baroque. From there, our tour took us past St. James's Cathedral and the Parliament building, the Swedish Gate, Jacob's Barracks and Powder Tower (where the Cat House could be seen again) and onward into the Art Nouveaux Quarter.

The lunch stop was at the 'Flying Frog' for a seafood tagliatelle or chicken pasta dish followed by ice cream with fruit and caramel sauce or green tea mint chocolate cake, accompanied by mocktails.

The Jewish Community side of the Esplanade is dedicated to the Nazi and Soviet occupations and the reigns of terror. The exhibits display the atrocities committed and the systematic attempted destruction of the nation's sovereignty. The Freedom Monument, on the other hand, honours soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence and symbolizes freedom, independence, and sovereignty. At 42.7 metres high, it is made up of 13 sculptural groups on four levels, which depict Latvian history and culture.

We ate at the Rock Cafe. Fried potato cakes with smoked salmon and dill sauce for me and beef with gnocchi for Andy. We rounded the night off with a drink in the bar with some of our fellow travellers.

Today in Riga didn't actually start in Riga but at the largest seaside and spa resort in the Baltics; Jurmala. The wooden art nouveaux buildings were used by Soviet Generals and officials during the occupation; the area was forbidden to locals to stop any escaping, and the beach was raked regularly to spot footprints. Today, this is a very expensive area to buy a property. We had a stroll through the main street and I had a paddle in the very cold Baltic Sea, but it wasn't really beach weather, so we headed back to Riga again.

Back in Riga, we went straight to the Central Markets and wandered round all the fish, vegetable, meat, spices and bread stalls, before ending up in the food court for lunch. Some of the options included Chinese style chicken garlic noodles, fried potatoes with meat in tomato sauce with cheese, a buckwheat and mushroom veggie dish or salad.

Our next stop was the National Library of Latvia, where you could buy a drink and cake. We attempted to get a view from the roof where it is said to be is the only free amazing viewpoint of Riga but you could only do that with a tour guide, so we had to content ourselves with a reasonable view from 6^th floor.

This prompted us to head for the Radisson Blu Hotel Skyline Bar, which we did via Castle Square with Riga Castle, now used for government work and a souvenir shop with the option of an alcohol tasting of their national liquor 'Balsam' in various flavours including original, blackcurrant and cherry plus rum and vodka. This had warmed us up nicely for the Skybar on the 26^th floor, with panoramic views across the city and it's cocktails. One sampled the 'Lover's Clock', a cocktail comprising cabernet sauvignon Merlot and blackcurrant balsam; rather like a mulled wine (but not hot). When in Rome... or Riga in this case!

We had dinner at 'Brevings' in a side street just off Dome Square; half beef and half venison burgers, to soak up the alcohol. The meal was about E12 each, so pretty reasonable.

Discover The Baltics: Tallinn to Tartu, then onwards to Riga (Latvia)

 

Yesterday morning, we left Tallinn and headed to Tartu. After a 1-hour drive, we arrived at Lahemaa National Park, where we had a tour of an old manor house at Palmse and old fishermen's huts in Altja. Here I also dipped my toes into the Baltic Sea, which was rather like dipping your toes into an ice bath.

Lunch was at a cafeteria and consisted of chicken schnitzel, roast potatoes and coleslaw, followed by a magnum caramel ice cream. Despite the name (and the temperature of the sea), they were having unseasonably warm weather.

Another two-hour drive bought us to Tartu, Estonia's second-largest city. On arrival, we were taken on a guided walking tour. Starting at Victory Bridge, we were taken round various key highlights of the town. These included the bronze pig at the Market Hall, the Leaning House (so-called because well it was leaning), the Town Hall Square with it's 'Kissing Students' Statue' then past the University of Tartu up to Toome Hill. Toome Hill had several points of interest. It is the site of the Old Observatory (Tartu Meridian), the Old Maternity Hospital, the Angel & Devil's Bridges and a ruin of a Cathedral as well as several monuments. Most interesting of all was standing on the roof of the Gunpowder Cellar, now in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest single storey pub in the world. So, naturally, one couldn't turn down the opportunity to actually go into the said pub to sample food and a tiny beer. The beer in question was 'Red House Beer' which was sweet but strong. I had salmon chowder in a bread bowl accompanied by their take on garlic bread.

There ended our taster of Estonia. Today, we crossed the border in Latvia around 10am at Valga/Valka on our way to Riga.

Our first stop was the old town of Cesis situated on the Gauja River. Our walk round the town included the hunched monk and the KGB Office. Tradition has it that you should rub the hunched monk's lantern to see the future and rub the knob of his walking stick for good luck. Well, when in Cesis! Then, we had a very good tour of a medieval castle, known as The Fortress of Livonia, a partly preserved fortification which had been knocked down and rebuilt in various forms.

After lunch in another cafeteria of salmon, mash and veg, we were taken on a guided walk of Gauja National Park and visited Turaida Castle. There was a monument to the 'Rose of Turaida' (Latvia's equivalent of Romeo and Juliet) and a garden of folk song. We also visited the lucky Gutmanis Cave, where reputedly bathing in the spring brings long life – I dipped my feet in for luck. Besides, they were hot in my boots and the spring waters were cooling.

Finally, it was onto Riga and in the evening we had dinner at 'Savour'. I opted for the traditional lightly salted herring with potatoes and cream cheese, whereas Andy tried the traditional sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes.

Discover The Baltics: Estonia and Tallinn - Guided Walking Tour, Pharmacy, Mini Beers and History

 The official day two of the tour started with a guided walking tour of the Old Town. We learnt that Estonia has a population of 1.4 million (only slightly more than the population of the Birmingham city area, at 1.15 million). Estonia's language is most closely related to Finnish, but it shares a similar history with Latvia. Its flag is blue, black and white.

Our tour took in the Viru Gates, Katarina Kaik, Vene (Russian) Street, the Town Hall Square, Town Hall Pharmacy, Saiakang (or Bread) Passage, a coffee stop at a Marzipan Shop/café before heading up to Castle Square and Alesander Nevsky Cathedral via Pikk Jalg again. Once there, we saw more than we had the previous day – we were shown the Dome Church (St. Mary the Virgin), the Finnish Embassy, the yellow Government House and other viewpoints. The Finnish Embassy had a very narrow frontage, but we were told was very wide and long behind; this was from the days when there was a tax on frontages. We descended back into the Lower Town via The Short Leg (Luhike Jalg) to St Nicholas Church, then past the 'Cat's Well' to the Town Hall Square. We all stood on the Compass Stone and made a wish, as per the tradition here.

The rest of the day was free time, so our first stop was the Town Hall Pharmacy, where we could have a proper look around. It is one of the oldest continuously running pharmacies in Europe. As long ago as 1422 patients could buy burnt bees, dried bats and bits of snake and hedgehog to cure their ills, whilst those that were fit could drink a glass of spiced wine to help them stay that way. Part of the shop is also a museum with old medical instruments and "medicinal ingredients" such as the bat, snake and hedgehog.

Lunch was beer and burger flights at the "Mini Burger Factory"; here three different mini burgers were paired with three different mini (200cl) beers: pale, medium and dark. It was very nice and while the burgers were mini, it was an incredibly filling lunch for only E8 each.

From there, it was a short hop, skip and a jump to the Estonia History Museum in the medieval Guild Hall built 1407-1410. The permanent exhibition entitled "Spirit of Survival – 11,000 years of Estonian History" was to cover 11,000 years of Estonia's history, which it did in a fashion, but we were both disappointed as it didn't seem very in-depth or chronological, repeating some things and skipping on others.

So, it was onto the very dark historical KGB Prison Cells Museum. This former house of horrors was the KGB HQ, hidden behind the unsuspecting facade of Pagari 1, making this a symbol of former Soviet oppression in Estonia. In the basement, suspected enemies of the state were prisoned in tiny (and I mean tiny) cells, sometimes apparently up to 18 people at a time and interrogated/tortured before being executed or sent to Siberian Labour Camps. More than 75,000 Estonians (about 20% of the population) were either murdered, imprisoned or deported between June 17^th 1940 and as recently as August 20^th 1991, less than thirty years ago. It was interesting but absolutely terrifying.

Needing some fresh air after that brush with history, we headed for the harbour, passing Fat Margaret's Tower (Paks Margareta). This was originally constructed in the 14^th Century as a tower of the great coastal gate. With 5m thick walls and a 82m diameter, it was used to provide a formidable defence against invaders from the sea. It was very close to the harbour, but with silting, the harbour is now further away and mainly home to ferry terminals. We did stop for a well needed cuppa in 'The Seven Seas' Café. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the 'Kalen' chocolate shop to buy some Estonian chocolate (well, it was rude not to!).

Our dinner that evening was at 'Kulose Notsu Korts', an Estonia country restaurant. I had moose and wild mushroom stew with vegetables while Andy had roast pork, sauerkraut and potatoes, both washed down with honey beer.

Discover The Baltics: Estonia and Tallinn - walking and viewpoints

 

Today was the official start day of the tour. Finding our way back past the "Hell Hunt" pub, we followed 'Pikk' (street) until we reached the Great Guild Hall. Here we ventured through the "Borsi Passage", aka The Path of History; the history of Estonia is written on slabs along the street with key dates and events of Tallinn's history.

From there it was a steep climb up 'Pikk Jalg' also known as The Long Leg Gate; this was originally built to allow a direct connection between Toompea Hill and the harbour. It was suitable for riders and horse-drawn carts. Toompea Hill was home to the gentry that lorded over the countryside. The gate was governed by the Lower Town, the other part of Old Town, which was a separate political entity with rights as an autonomous town.

Having climbed 'Pikk Jalg', we found ourselves on Castle Square (Lossi Plats), the birthplace of Tallinn, where knights built a fortress in 1229 called Toompea Castle, now the seat of the Estonian Government. Also located here is the Alesander Nevsky Cathedral, the 19^th Century symbol of the Tsar's power in Estonia.

Wandering round, we passed The Short Leg Gate, which was (and still is) pedestrian-only access between Toompea and the Lower Town. This gate was run by Baltic Germans. Ethnic Estonians were considered to be second-class citizens, but many peasants escaped from the surrounding area to the city, where they at least became free.

We stopped at various viewpoints before dropping down to walk round the Old Town Walls above Schnell Park, following the path to Linda's Hill Park on the embankment of the former Swedish Bastion; this is where commoration events of the victims of mass repressions of Soviet power are organised and there is a memorial to the Declaration of State Sovereignty (20^th August 1991).

We continued onto the Hill of the Harju Gates on the embankment of the former Inger Bastion – in 1889, Charles Leroux started his flight on a hot air balloon from here. Descending the "Mayor's Staircase", steps decorated with eight ornamented vases, we reached "Freedom (or Liberty) Square" where the victory column of the War of Independence stands.

Passing the site of the Harju Gates, where some of the original tower can be seen under a glass casing on the street and the rest of the site is marked out in different colour brickwork on the street, we headed to a vaulted basement off Rulltli to have lunch in "Porgu". Antipasti consisting of smoked ham, pickled herring, salami, marinated mushrooms, bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese, dried tomatoes, pickled gherkins and croutons was served with their version of garlic bread; the ultimate Estonian beer/bar snack. Black rye bread with garlic on is toasted and then served with garlic butter on the side. We accompanied this with a sample of a honey beer for me and IPA for Andy.

To finish our walk, we visited the 'Cat's Well' mentioned previously and via the Town Hall Square down St Catherine's Passage, a small alleyway adjacent to the remains of St. Catherine's Friary, used by locals during busy tourist times. On the way we saw the medieval marketplace, the Town Hall dating from 1404, 'Old Thomas' the weather vane and a circular stone in the centre of Tallinn from which the tops of Tallinn's five most famous spires can be seen, before following the Old City Walls back to the hotel.

We met up with the group (there were twenty of us) and the guide for the briefing meeting and introductions before heading out for dinner at a fun but obviously touristy (and therefore expensive) medieval-themed restaurant called "Peppersack" located in a 15^th Century merchant's house. Towards the end of the meal was a theatrical sword flight. The food was nice: I had a steak which was beautifully cooked melt-in-the-mouth, but there wasn't much of it, and it was pricey to boot. We popped back to the "Hell Hunt" for a nightcap.

Discover The Baltics: Estonia and Tallinn - cats, birds (cockerels), sheep and the "Hell Hunt"

 

The Baltics or Baltic States are geopolitical terms used to group the three Northern European sovereign states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

To be honest, I had few preconceptions of these countries. When I was growing up, I remember them being behind the Iron Curtain, and it's only fairly recently in historical terms that they gained their independence. So, it was out of curiosity perhaps that this was our chosen trip.

On arrival from the UK, we found ourselves in a small but refreshingly pleasant airport. Our tour was starting in Estonia, the smallest of the three countries with an area of 45,227km2, 4000 miles of coastline and included 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea.

We met our first couple of the trip, who'd had the same idea as us to arrive a day early. We were transferred to the hotel, which was quite luxurious from first appearances. Our room was reasonably big with a nice ensuite but unfortunately, as we were gasping for a cuppa by now, had no tea or coffee making facilities.

We went for a wander round Tallinn, Estonia's capital and largest city, with a population of 420,000. The Old Town, framed by old city walls, was only a stone's throw from the hotel. We entered through the main gates up to the Town Hall Square, then located the "Hell Hunt" pub (means 'Gentle Wolf') which had been recommended to us. The old town of cobbled streets and narrow alleyways retained a very medieval feel to it, but with a modern twist.

There was a connection here with cats, birds (cockerels) and sheep which we wanted to find out more about. Plus, it was known for its amber. We did learn that the cats' thing was probably due to the story of the 'Cat's Well'.

The wheel well on the corner of Dunkri was one of the main sources of water for the Tallinners. According to local legend, an evil spirit was believed to reside in the well and needed animal sacrifices so that the well wouldn't run dry. Some sheep and cattle carcasses were thrown down the well, but the main victims were stray cats who were tossed, sometimes live, down the well. The practice became so common that it became known as 'Cat's Well'. The town wells never ran dry, but the water quality wouldn't have been the best either. Today the water is much safer and the cats of the Old Town no longer live in fear!

Dating back to the 13^th Century, the Old Town with its winding, cobbled streets, half-hidden lanes, courtyards, spired churches and old merchant homes of the medieval capital is the main draw here. The initial walkabout had given us a plan for the official first day of the tour, which was mostly free time to explore here.

It was getting chilly, so we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothing before heading off to the "Hell Hunt" for tea. Having been up some fifteen hours by this stage and not having had a proper meal, we were both in need of some sustenance.

The "Hell Hunt" pub had its own craft beers, which we sampled (well, it was rude not to). I had a big bowl of crispy potatoes with mince and cheese followed by an Irish coffee, the latter which tasted more like a drop of coffee in a glass of whiskey. Andy had pike perch fillet with fried potatoes and some green stuff, possibly mashed asparagus, plus apple pie for dessert. We took a long wander back through the Old Town via Tammsaare Park to the hotel for a good night's sleep!