I had arrived in Finland
with no particular itinerary in mind, other than
eventually making my way to Vilnius, Lithuania for my
flight back to the states at the end of my trip. I had
entertained thoughts of hanging out in Russia but it
turned out the visa issues would take too long to sort
out so after Finland I decided to head south through
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and then back to
Lithuania.
Finland
The sun literally doesn’t seem
to ever go down in Helsinki. The Scandinavian city
sits on the Finnish coast along the waters of the
Baltic Sea. Nighttime during the summer months
basically consists of an extended twilight and
although the sun does technically set around 11PM and
rises around 4 AM it never actually turns completely
dark at night. During the day the sun shines bright
and people head to outside to enjoy the fresh air.
Helsinki is clean and the people seem very pleasant.
The numerous parks in Helsinki are filled with people
on picnic blankets drinking beer and wine, strumming
guitars, and getting all the sun they can get before
the cold dark days of winter set back in.
Helsinki is full of curiosities;
one of the funniest was a seemingly spontaneous
gathering of the Helsinki Camero club in a parking lot
by a pier on the Baltic Sea. I’m not sure how so
many 70’s and 80’s era Cameros ended up in Finland
but there they were coalesced in a Helsinki parking
lot in all their splendor with some even blasting
heavy metal. Most impressive, in the true free spirit
of the Camero, was the fact that some of the Finnish
drivers were sporting very impressive mullets (you
know the haircut….business in the front and party in
the back). I counted perhaps 20 or so Cameros parked
in the weekly gathering of the Camero club but
unfortunately I did not have the foresight to tally
the number of Scanda-mullets.
Not far off the coast of Helsinki
lies a series
of small islands in the Baltic sea. One of the more
interesting of these islands is Suomenlinna, a former
naval base where Helsinki residents take a ferry over
for summer picnics and walk around the base built on 6
islands.
Parvoo is a quaint village about
an hour and a half away from Helsinki by bus. Riding
out of the city the rustic country roads of Finland
are amazing. Along the trip were endless fields of
yellow flowers with idyllic wooden houses surrounded
by woods and pastoral barns. The bucolic roads all
seem to have a bicycle lane and you would be hard
pressed to find a more pleasant way to ride a bike.
Parvoo’s residents
congregate in a delightful plaza where vendors peddle
fresh produce and flowers.
The diminutive plaza is an
ideal place for lunch or breakfast with its
outdoor cafes. A small river is fronted by a series of darkly stained wooden
boathouses. The hilly cobblestone roads make for a
enjoyable stroll. The highlight of the town is an
centuries old large cathedral that unfortunately had
recently been damaged by a fire, but even under
restoration it looked amazing.
Everyone in the town was
friendly. I was sitting on a park bench reading and I
was approached by a group of three burley drunk
vagrants. They spoke little to no English but were
hilarious and seemed to be very friendly, even offering
me some of their grain alcohol in a plastic bottle.
The alcohol seemed to be doing a decent job of providing
them hydration on a hot summer day. I snapped a few
pictures of the garrulous gang of Finnish vagabonds
and laughed it up with them. The scene was quite
amusing because they were adorned with all manner of
hardcore homemade tattoos but they rode around in a
gang of sorts on these little country bicycles that a
farmer might use to bring fruits to market. The
inebriated group rode around drunkenly with little
wicker baskets on the handlebars and rang the little
bike bells when they were passing others……. funny site.
Estonia
Just across the Baltic Sea, a
couple hours away from Helsinki by hydrofoil, lies the
beautiful city of Tallen, Estonia. As would be the
case with other Baltic towns I would visit, the city
seems to congregate on a large central plaza. Walking
from the pier, Tallen had a crumbling eastern European
feel to it until I got to the old town. I walked
around the cobblestoned old town and looked for a
large spire where my hostel was located according to
lonely planet. The medieval old town is surrounded by
high walls and replete with spires and a massive
entrance gate. Raekoja Plat is the splendorous town
center and is surrounded by a medieval town hall,
various other gothic buildings, and restaurants with
outdoor seating on the plaza. Tallen is filled with
churches and cathedrals but probably the most
impressive is the Alexander
Nevsky Cathedral, a greek orthodox catherdral capped
by a series of onion shaped cupolas.
Parnu
is a pleasant seaside town where Estonias go to enjoy
the sun and sea during the warm summer months. The
waters of the Gulf of Riga gently splash on the
expansive beaches of Parnu where throngs of Estonias
spend the day relaxing. The beach is packed as far as
you can see with beach chairs everywhere, changing
stations, kites flying overhead, and lifegaurd towers.
The brown waters aren't the most beautiful in the world
but Parnu still has a fun feel to it. The town seems
to be centered on a small prominade surrounded by
shops and cafes. I spent half an hour there watching
an old man playing vituostic melodies on his accordian
as they echoed hauntingly along a
small alley. Although he had a small cup for
donations he did not seem to be so much a street
performer as a man who just enjoyed playing music and
entertaining pedestrians as they walked around.
Latvia
I arrived in Riga, Latvia by bus
from Estonia. Riga’s Old Town is notable for its
inspiring art nouveau architecture. Strolling around
the small corridors and alleys in
Riga is charming
if nothing else for the random scenes you
encounter. There are sculpture gardens and impressive
cathedrals all around. I most enjoyed the sounds of
Riga. It is enchanting walking in an alley and hearing
ethereal melodies sung by a choir and realizing they
are resonating from the open window of a cathedral on
a random street. Elsewhere on other random corridors
the sonorous echoes of a violinist performing
under the small stone underpass of a bridge draws
small crowds. Scenes
like these are commonplace in Riga. To get a good view
of Riga I made my way to the top of a spire at St.
Peter’s Cathedral.
Jurmala is a town not too far
from Riga by train. This resort town of sorts is
notable for its attractive 4km stretch of beach and
abundant restaurants and entertainment. I spent a day
here just relaxing on the beach before heading back to
Riga.
Poland
From Riga I took an early morning
bus to Vilnius, Lithuania. Once in Lithuania I took
the next train to Warsaw, Poland. I arrived in Warsaw
around 1AM and ventured into the city to find a
hostel. The next morning I headed back to the train
station and caught a train to Krakow. After Krakow I
would later backtrack
to Warsaw
and then back to Vilnius, Lithuania at the end
of my trip.
Krakow
Every traveler who I have ever
met that has visited Krakow has waxed poet about the
wonders of the city and for a long time I have wanted
to visit. Krakow is one of the rare cities that is
heavily hyped up that ends up surpassing expectations.
The heart of Krakow is its
massive town square, the second largest in the world
after Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The square is a hive
of activity and filled with people. The inviting
aroma of Polish cuisine pervades the air. Street
performers mill about from jugglers and acrobats to
violinists and puppeteers. Everywhere you look there
is something to see. At one end of the square sits the
massive 14th century St. Mary’s
basilica with flocks of pigeons lurking in its shadow.
Krakow’s architecture is a
fascinating mishmash of renaissance, baroque, and
gothic structures. Near the town square is the Wawel
Royal Castle on a scenic hill overlooking the Vistula
River. The Kazimeirz Quarter makes for a pleasant
stroll in the old town. I stopped by an interesting
antiques market and browsed through random pictures of
people from turn of the 20th century
Krakow, I wondered what these people’s life stories
were before after these snapshots frozen in time.
Perhaps someone will go through my random pictures too
in 100 years and wonder the same thing.
Near the antiques market was a delightful
produce market. Kazimeriz has a decidedly refreshing
bohemian feel too it and all the restaurants and bars
seemed to be thoroughly unique and architecturally
interesting.
Elsewhere in Krakow there was an
outdoor photo exhibition of Krakow’s native son Pope
John Paul II. Krakow is quite proud of Pope John Paul
II and indeed his memory lives on here where every
souvenir stand hawks John Paul II pictures, key
chains, postcards, and myriad other trinkets.
About an hour away from Krakow is
Auschwitz, filled with large tour groups quietly
touring the grounds. The compound was originally
constructed as barracks for the Polish army before the
Germans invaded.
Warsaw
Yet another city yet another town
square…..Europeans are definitely onto something, if
only we had more town squares in the states.
Warsaw’s town square is probably the most colorful
of the handful of town squares I visited on this trip
with the buildings painted bright reds, pinks, blues,
and yellows. The
square was entirely rebuilt after being destroyed in
World War II. Unlike Krakow most of Warsaw was
obliterated in World War Two and much of the town was
rebuilt after the war.
The street performers were entertaining. The
most memorable was an orchestra of sorts with
10 accordion players handily performing all
accordion versions of
Pachabell’s Canon, Vivaldi’s four seasons,
and elaborate Bach fugues among other tunes.
Lithuania
I ended my trip in Lithuania.
Vilnius is another Baltic capital with the requisite
old town and cobblestone streets.
I wandered the old town visiting a number of
aging churches and cathedrals. A few cathedrals were
holding mass when I stopped in and it was interesting
to see such big cathedrals full of worshippers as most
of the cathedrals I had toured on this trip were
empty. Cathedral Square seemed to be the focal point
of Vilnius with the Vilnius Cathedral and Gedimino
Hill overlooking the square.
Trakai lies about an hour from
Vilnius by bus and makes for a interesting trip. This
small town is highlighted by the ruins of two castles
built in the 14th century. The castles are
surrounded by a number of lakes. A few of the lake
have long creaky wooden bridges traversing their
lengths . There were a few restaurants around the lake
and later
I stopped to sample some delicious Lithuanian cuisine.
