June 24, 2013 - Tallin, Eastonia

We ventured into town this morning to find ourselves a beer and a wifi hot spot and ended up at this little place just outside of the old town area. There was a really, really drunk guy who moved our camera bag and sat down with us. Not sure what he was drinking but it was only 11 a.m. He gave us hell for playing on the Internet and not touring the town and told us multiple times how much he likes women. Needless to say, the visit to that establishment was cut way short. The waitress yelled at him but they continued to serve him and he kept moving from table to table. It's midsummer celebration all over this area and each country seems to celebrate it on a different day, we've been following it through the Baltic where every day has been a holiday since Visby.

We did a great tour today with a small group that I booked through AAA. We were joined by a family from NCL (Norwegian star I believe), what a bunch of uptight assholes, they were traveling with Mom, Dad, kids and grandparents - nobody seemed to care that though Grandpa was in great shape all the walking and cobblestones and step were a pretty hard on him. Our tour girl was a skinny blonde and she kept saying 'so, yea' during every story she was sharing. She gave us great information and neat little stories.

The tour started at the presidential home (white house) which is actually pink. The flag of the President of Estonia flies whenever the President is in Estonia, it was flying today. Behind the presidential home is Catherine's Valley which is an English garden founded by Peter the Great and contains Kadroirg Palace built in 1718 as one of the summer palaces. Unfortunately, the palace was getting a face lift and not easily viewed.

Stopped by the amphitheater where many American musicians have performed....Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and many more. Next was a stop by the Olympic village and a dip in the Baltic Sea!! The water temperature was 19 degrees centigrade, and though I only dipped my toes in, I was wading in the Baltic Sea!

Old city was definitely our favorite with many old and interesting buildings and stories. Maidens Tower next to the Dutch Kings Garden dates to the 14th Century. Naming it Maidens or Virgins tower is another example of the wacky Medieval irony because this building used to house a prison for prostitutes.

We walked up the 158 steps up the side of the cliff to visit the upper side of town where we had a fabulous view of both old and new Tallinn.

We toured numerous old churches including the cathedral of St. Mary which has an incredible display of coats of arms from the wealthy residents. Pictures were not allowed inside the churches but there were dozens of beautiful displays.

Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built by the Russians in the 1900's when they were occupying that area. This was a traditional looking onion dome church that was absolutely gilded in gold inside. What a site!

The oldest business in Tallinn is a pharmacy from 1422 and is still in business today. Nearby, tombstones from 14th and 15th century St. Catherine's Dominican Friary were on display along the one walkway. Interesting to see that rebuilding from WWII devastation is still in process throughout the Baltic region.

June 23, 2013 Riga, Latvia

Riga, founded in 1201, is the geographical center of the Baltic States.  Tourism is just now beginning to boom so it does not feel like a tourist town...where is Diamonds International?!?!.

The city of 800,000 on the Daugava River is the capital of Latvia, a country finding its place in a new world after being occupied for 50 years (1941 to 1991), first by the Nazis and then by the Soviet Union. Today, school kids are learning English as a second language instead of Russian. Most intriguing is how the city still feels like a bridge between what I would imagine the Old Soviet feels like and modern Europe. The old women were shuffling down the street, on the way to church and we stumbled upon an old man using a very crude broom to sweep the church steps - this reminded me of the Billy Joel song, Vienna.

We spent hours exploring the twisting cobblestone streets and alleyways, viewing historic buildings that have for the most part been restored from bombings during World War II. We ventured out today on our own with no tours scheduled. 

Old Riga was the Center of commerce during the middle ages. We entered Dome Square in the very middle of Old Riga. The massive 13th century red brick Dome Cathedral is situated on the square.  We also looked at House of Cats which is famous for the cat sculptures perched on the roof as well as the story that is associated with them. Not only did the beasts curse their first sculptor, he fatally fell while putting them up, but their purpose was to cause trouble. As legend has it, roughly 100 years ago, the Latvian owner of the building was excluded from the powerful Big Guild across the road by its ethnocentric German occupants. He ordered the cats to be turned around, backside up, as an insult to his enemies. They were turned around after a lengthy court battle and he was eventually admitted to the Guild.

It was an awesome day wondering through these areas. We stopped for a little wifi (and pizza and beer) at one of the beautiful sidewalk eateries. The weather was perfect for relaxing in the cafe. 

June 22, 2013 - Visby, Sweden

Visby, Sweden. Visby is the largest city on the west coast of Gotland. Gotland is situated in the middle of the Baltic Sea about 50 miles from mainland Sweden. Visby is considered the best preserved medieval town in Scandinavia with a population of 58,000 residents. You must also have a job in order to live here. If you go off to University on the mainland, you are not allowed to come back unless you have employment. Our tour guide graduated with 22 in his class in the 60's and he is the only one who currently lives in Gotland because the others could not find work.

Like all of the countries we've visited thus far, American music is played everywhere you go. Mostly Bee gees, Queen, really a 50's, 60's, 70's variety - interesting to hear these familiar songs wherever we go.

Our first stop was at Almedalen which is a park where the actual medieval sea port was once located in Visby. When Visby was a trading partner with the Hanseatic League, the harbor was the trading center of the Baltic. Today, Almedelan is a peaceful park where a little child was trying valiantly to catch herself a duck.

We drove through the beautiful countryside and made a stop at a very old church. There are many old churches in Gotland, most with a very similar history and almost all of them were Lutheran. The alter was built in 722 and the cross was created in 1200. Most churches have the original building in the center with additions in the front and back. The church cemetery had water spigots and watering cans and gardening tools scattered around so people could maintain the graves. The graves were only 50 year leases then someone else was buried in that plot. The old headstones were placed against the wall.

Next we climbed a ladder over a fence (these ladders appear everywhere) to view a boat shaped grave. Graves of the Late Bronze Age were arranged in the shape of large ships, outlined by rocks. Bodies were cremated then the bones were crushed and cleaned and place in an earthenware urn and buried either in the boat or just outside. There have been 350 graves identified in Gotland.

We ventured down to a fishing station where bygone days Gotlanders gathered during a few intense weeks in spring and autumn to catch fish. There are many poles for drying nets and the village currently is used as summer houses near the sea. There were tiny huts where the fisherman stored their tackle and equipment and sometime slept. I found the wooden roofs very interesting, they are said to last for 50 years and are a common roofing material on the island.

Hogklint nature preserve was our next stop, this is basically a beautiful cliff side location with stunning views of Visby and the shore lines. We named the one rock formation bear head because, we'll, it’s a very obvious reason.

No beers here, the locals make their own beer for their own consumption. We didn't see any pubs, but maybe we didn't walk around the port city enough, ended up with homemade ice cream instead and it was wonderful!