Frank Zappa and the Mothers had the best place around

Just in case you didn’t know, the Baltic States are (north to south) Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They are sandwiched in between the Baltic Sea and Russia. In fact, except for World War II when the Nazi’s took over, They have been under Russia’s thumb for a good chunk of the 20^th Century.

They only became sovereign countries since the USSR broke up in 1991, pretty recent history in my book. Granted, its becoming a long book. I really didn’t know what to expect when I got there. I was hoping that since I didn’t need a visa to get into them was a pretty good indication that I would be welcome.

My first stop was Tallinn Estonia. The city that is now Tallinn has been a city for almost 1000 years and been inhabited for a couple thousand more. But that is all water under the bridge. After the Russians got the boot, Estonia said to itself; “Oh Crap!!! Now what”?

Well, the Western Europeans were more than willing to help out, especially the ones looking to drink their liquor and chase their women. It wasn’t long before it became the go-to cheap weekend party place for stag parties. Hen parties too. That has wound down a bit as Tallinn isn’t all that desperate for western Europe’s drunk and horny money anymore. When I was there, it was pretty quiet. Quiet enough that even I was hoping for some excitement. I spent my time walking around the old town and enjoying the drop in prices from Scandinavia.

It is a pretty town to walk around but pretty easy to cover in a couple of days.

Like I said, It was really quiet, and still really cold. There was still snow on the ground in the shadows. The forecast wasn’t looking promising either. So I thought long and hard to figure out where to go next. A popular Beach town a few hours bus ride south came to mind and off I went. For all intents and purposes, it was still winter in Parnu with a chilly wind blowing off the freezing cold Baltic Sea.

I thought the locals would be ready to get out after being cooped up for the long cold gray winter before all the tourists started to take over. Instead, I think they just pulled the blankets a little higher and hibernated a little longer. At least until I left. Worst timing of the entire trip so far.

 

It was a rainy and cold weekend so instead of my usual walking I decided to take the opportunity to get caught up on some computer stuff. A grand productive battle against procrastination. I would be busy busy busy. That is, until the internet went out and was only intermittently available. Coffee shops here are not conducive to being remote offices for people like they are in the states so I gave up and just hung out at the grocery stores, which I kind of like to do in different countries. Hoping to see some really ugly food that the locals eat. Nothing crazy though. Just some odd versions of pickled herring. NOT delicious!!! BTW.

I got the soonest bus out of there for Riga, Lithuania just 3 hours away. I was definitely surprised by this city. It had a sizeable old city from 800 years or so. But right outside the old city boundry, the city transitions to Art Nouveau style from the late 1800’s into the 1900’s. Not the Soviet Cement block buildings that I was expecting. Instead very ornate buildings and wide streets for blocks before it gets into the boring apartment blocks. Lots of park space too. I really enjoyed strolling around. Very safe as far as I could tell. Still not much going on. Still cold and there was even a short snow squall one afternoon. They were rebuilding the café patios on the sidewalk so I think the nice weather was not far off.

 

I walked all over town but got antsy and decided to go to the nearby beach town of Jurmala. Again, not the beachiest of weather but it was a short train ride only cost a couple of Euro. I thought it would be a good way to kill an afternoon. I was glad I went. It was cold and gray but a nice little beach town. There were houses there that would rival some in the Hamptons or Malibu. I dipped my toe in the sea and then headed back. It was quiet in the daytime, but in the off season, it was definitely going to shut down after 5.

 

 

 

A quiet night back in Riga since I was leaving on the Bus for another country in the morning, Vilnuis,Lithuania. It was just a 4 hour ride but when I got off the bus, I

was wondering what I had gotten myself into. The walk to the hotel was what I was expecting from a place that was under the Russian thumb not too long ago. Crumbling buildings, seemingly being held together from the coats of graffiti paint. Lots of traffic and crowds of people just milling around. I had prepaid for the room and really had nowhere else to go so I trekked into town. Through an old arched gateway, everything opened up. A pristine old town, so clean it looked like it wasn’t all that old. Sure a close look revealed some age spots but for the most part it was beautiful and sprawling. Really nice cars, Good looking people nicely dressed. No litter. I warmed up to it immediately. I found the Hostel pretty quickly but I was staying at a satellite place a few blocks away.

Another reason for traveling off season. The satellite hostel probably had beds for 30 people and I had the whole place to myself. No trust fund babies to roll my eyes at and I didn’t have to pretend like I was interested in their privileged life stories. I did meet some US military guys in a local beer hall and we had a good chat. Which was a nice change from the usual small talk that bores me to tears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked around town a lot. My second museum foray of this trip was to the KGB museum in the building. where the Russians and Nazis tortured and killed any of the non believers through the 1900’s. The façade of the building is engraved with the names of the over 1000 people killed. So that wasn’t so cheery of an afternoon. Luckily Vilnuis has lots of sculptures and street art which I like. I smiled when I came across the bronze bust of Frank Zappa on the top of a pole in a parking lot. For no reason really, he’s Italian. 

 

 

I spent a few days roaming the back streets and just enjoying its quirkiness and was tempted to stick around since it was pretty cheap. But I saw that spring was in full bloom and warm in of all places the Ukraine so I was off.

Looking back, Vilnuis was my favorite Baltic State City. Tallinn and Riga were both good but I think that I came into Vilnuis with such low expectations that when I saw it, it automatically jumped to the top of the list.

In short, in better weather, I would highly recommend a trip to the Balkans. They are cheap, easy to get to, safe as far as I experienced and there is a lot to see. You should go.