‘It is important that you visit Russia before Russia visits you!’

Statue of Lenin at the All Russian Exhibition Centre

Like most capital cities we had been forewarned that Moscow was different to the rest of the country: Expensive prices and unsmiling people with a haughty attitude was the warning given to us by a lot of people. We felt well prepared for this however having spent time in Laandaaaaarn (cockney for London) before we left!  In a city of 15 million people our guide explained that although Muscovites do not smile it is not due to unfriendliness, how would you feel in a hectic job following a long commute from the city outskirts in freezing temperatures?  A fair point we thought having not worked for nearly 5 months and remembering my bouts of rage in Mexico City rush hour.  She turned out to be right, as the people were overwhelming warm and helpful around the city.  With one of us reading the metro station names… ‘P, backwards N, funky star, C, box with legs, K, A , backwards R, funny 6’… and the other looking often despairingly for the station we managed to negotiate the incredibly ornate underground and spent an amazing 5 days in Russia’s gigantic capital.  

Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square

Starting out as always with a walking tour, the guide (Irena) opened by congratulating us on coming to Moscow as she told us ‘It is important that you visit Russia before Russia visits you!’  She continued with a dry sense of humour for the next three hours of a very enjoyable walk around the city centre.  Moscow is a city full of strange rumours and legends, unsurprisingly for the capital of a nation that is reported to have high levels of censorship (so say the ‘free nations’ whose press are all owned by the government and their elite friends).   Irena told us that despite these rumours, Russia did have freedom of speech telling a Russian joke that described an American and Russian having a beer.  Discussing his country the American stated that he loved American freedom of speech as he was able to criticise Obama if he so wished when stood outside of the White House.  The Russian replied that he to had freedom of speech and that he could also criticise Obama outside of the Kremlin in he wanted!  Standing in the Red Square underneath the soaring walls and towers topped with the red stars it was easy to imagine that most Russians felt a little intimidated by their strong government.  Irena said Russians found it strange that foreigners did not know the result of their presidential elections before the process had started but with 9 out of 10 Russians supporting Putin he must be doing something better than David Cameron in the eyes of the nation.  One thing that has surprised us is the number of police and military officers on the streets which are apparently present in huge numbers even when the security alert is not high.   Police lined the entrances into Red Square and were present on most street corners in Moscow but as they were mainly very young and clean shaven they were about as intimidating as Dads Army!

St Basils Cathedral

Take Off!

Moscow’s blend of heavy industry, Soviet monuments and giant roads and buildings left us in no doubt about its past but mixed among them were beautiful churches and parks that made it a very eclectic city.  Red Square is so called not because of communism or the colour of the bricks but because it means 'beautiful' in Russian.  Standing in the centre gazing at the iconic image of modern Russia, St Basils Cathedral, it was easy to see how it got its name.  The church has ten different chapels inside and it was very different to any other church we have been in before and we found it intriguing. As we got lost in the catacombs several times Hannah felt as if she was like Alice down the rabbit hole - especially as a one eyed man with metal teeth started talking to us enthusiastically in a language we couldn't understand in one of the fresco covered rooms . Set alongside the Kremlin wall in the square were the graves of former Soviet Union figures such as Stalin, Brezhnev and Yuri Gagarin as well as Lenin’s Mausoleum where we went to see the great mans preserved, wax-like body.  We spent another day walking from the square alongside the river, through a park containing hundreds of old Soviet Union monuments and a snow covered wood with friendly squirrels to the imposing Moscow State University.  Gulag prisoners constructed parts of the university which perversely later saw severe repression of the intelligentsia under Stalin.  The university was built under Stalin alongside seven other architecturally similar buildings as symbols of victory and a new era of Soviet power after WW2. The colossal ‘Seven Sisters’ skyscrapers across Moscow are visible alongside huge smoking chimneys that dominate the skyline of the city.

Dynamo Moscow v Torpedo Moscow

Model Sculpting contest round 2

One day in Moscow had to be spent exploring the Soviet history of the city so we visited the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, an outdoor area filled with different pavilions showcasing the economic (or lack of) achievements of the Soviet Union.  At the centre of the enormous grounds was The Friendship Fountain with its golden dancing maidens each dedicated to a Soviet republic.   The park came complete with speakers blaring Soviet music, full size models of Russian spaceships and a giant statue of Lenin making the afternoon one of the most bizarre of our trip.  Next to the park was the Cosmonauts Museum which sat below a 100m tall rocket blasting off from the roof!  Inside we saw Sputnik and loads of other memorabilia from the space race as well as tributes to the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin.  My highlight though were the stuffed remains of the first two dogs to survive a trip into space !!   I also cashed in a few of my hard earned brownie points from the ballet to go to an Ice hockey game between the Moscow Dynamos and the Moscow Torpedo’s.  Costing just 300 roubles each (3 pounds) the arena was only 6 months old and filled with enthusiastic fans accompanied by drums which created a fantastic atmosphere.  The match was very fast paced and following a 2-2 draw we were treated to a golden goal 20 seconds from the end of over time. We both left as new fans of the sport!  We also followed up the marzipan sculpting contest when we stumbled into a bar that gave each table in the bar four coloured pieces of plasticine to add to the floor to ceiling 'art' covered walls.  

Squirrel feeding in the park

We left Moscow on the second part of the Trans – Siberian to Yekaterinburg, a 26 hour journey covering nearly 1500 km and two time zones.  Thankfully in our cabin we made friends with three Russians with Alexei particularly keen to show us the photos of his self-made wooden home and family. Jokingly he said he has failed in his duty as a Russian male; despite building his own home and planting a tree he did not have a male heir having two young daughters with his wife. Inside the train was unbearably hot, so much so that everyone was walking around in shorts and flip flops as we passed the snow covered fields.  The train was not quite as modern as the last, with no sockets in our cabin and old leather bunks to sleep on.  We passed the time attempting to play chess (with our other new Russian friend Dimitri guiding us) and looking at the stunning scenery as we crossed wide frozen rivers and passed through huge white forests.  The lady in charge of our carriage paraded up and down with rollers in her hair and a bright fluffy dressing gown looking like she had just walked off of the set of EastEnders much to our amusement.  Despite the 'no smoking' signs, one old man kept sneaking into the toilet for a fag every 20 minutes, creeping out and standing in the corridor playing innocent despite stinking of smoke.  As the day progressed just ourselves and the master criminal remained on our carriage and by 1 am we were both relieved to have finally arrived into the capital of the Ural Mountains.

The City of Three Revolutions

It took all of about 3 minutes in St Petersburg to be impressed and we had gone the distance it took to get off the bus and walk the 100 meters to the underground.  Due to St Petersburg’s geography the underground is on average the deepest in the world and we entered into a huge domed building with bright mosaics on the walls showing Soviet military heros.  We descended for around 5 minutes, being passed by Russians aged from 8 - 80 running down the never ending escalator (points were awarded for style, speed and using no hands) before passing stations filled with marble columns and statues.  We had expected travelling around Russia to be very difficult but each sign used both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet and we made it to our hostel unscathed.  Apparently the Cyrillic alphabet only has 6 additional characters although I am convinced Russian ONLY uses these 6 characters!  Despite the alphabet Russians have been as friendly and helpful as anywhere we have travelled and have been a huge part in making our visit incredibly interesting, enjoyable and stress free.

Trying to blend in the the locals

You get what you pay for with accommodation and the 10 Euro a night room was comfy enough although the combined shower and kitchen was a design feature I had never encountered before!  Having been worried about the cold before we arrived the heat inside proved to be just as extreme as heating bills in Russia are apparently very cheap due to the reserves of natural resources in the country.  Sleeping with a window wide open as temperatures plunged into negative double figures whilst still being hot could not have been further from living in Newcastle,  where putting the heating on for an hour to warm the house up before wearing thermals indoors comes as standard!  The location was excellent though and proved to be the perfect base to explore with a short walk across the Neva River leading us straight into the heart of the city.

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood

St. Petersburg is built across the marshlands of the Neva River delta, and after Peter the Great (the city’s founder) visited Amsterdam canals with a total length of 300 kilometres with over 800 bridges were installed.  Coupled with the huge baroque buildings that line the canals and the palaces, churches and monuments, St Petersburg is as grand as any other European city that I have seen.  Visiting in winter a little imagination needed to be used to picture the vibrant colours of the buildings and parks in full splendour but in the dark (which came at 4pm) the buildings were beautifully illuminated.  On our first evening we visited the spectacular Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, a Russian-style church built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 by the Peoples Will. The church claims to have more mosaics than any other church in the world and the ornate domes and unique architecture rival the Blue Mosque for its breath taking first impression.  It is not just the iconic church though that makes St Petersburg such an enchanting city with a supporting cast of St Isaacs church, the Nevsky Prospekt and my favourite building, The Winter Palace.  

The Winter Palace

St Petersburg’s turbulent history mirrors that of Russia, which other modern city has changed its name four times!  From St Petersburg, to Petrograd, to Leningrad and back to St Petersburg the city is a focal point of History, not just for Russia but for the world in the twentieth century.  Created to reflect the importance and wealth of the Tsar for Western Europe, the city was turned upside down with the October Revolution of 1917 signalling the start of Communism for the nation.  Leningrad was also of huge significance during WW2 with the city surviving a three year siege by the Nazis before finally become the turning point of the war in Europe.  For this the Winter Palace stands out as being one of the iconic buildings of Europe.  The building itself is physically imposing and dominates the area with the gigantic Alexander Column (it apparently took 3000 men to pull the solid granite 600 ton structure upright!) standing outside.  The scene of three revolutions, standing in Palace Square and imagining the Red Guards storming the building was for me a captivating experience.  The last Tsar to use it as a full time residence was Alexander II and now the Palace is used as one of the world’s most famous museums.

The main staircase

Over 3 million exhibits; the largest collection of paintings in the world; founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 making it one of the oldest museums in the world….. it is safe to say the Hermitage deserves a mention on any visit to St Petersburg and it fully lived up to its global reputation.  Not really being an art critic (I struggled to name 8 artists playing ‘How many can you name’ the previous day) we went in and just looked at things we liked rather than spending an age looking at the most renown artists on display.   Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Raphael, Michelangelo and a lot of other artists I should probably know are all on display (Rembrandt was pretty impressive despite Hannah managing to light up the painting with the camera by mistake and getting a murderous stare from one of the room wenches hiding in the corner- yes she was mortified) but the highlight for me was just being in the building itself which alone would be enough to spend a day in marvelling at the amazingly lavish rooms.  It turned out November was a great month to visit as whole rooms and corridors were empty and we spent nearly 7 hours admiring the treasures.  My favourite area was the Ancient Egyptian room full of sarcophagus and old parchment as well as the huge 1st Century A.D. Roman copy of a Greek statue of Zeus, one of the ancient 7 wonders of the world.  Eventually we reached our limit of culture for one day and left looking for beer but it is a great excuse to go back to St Petersburg and see more of the museums riches.

The chapel in the Winter Palace

In a bid for points with Hannah we were very fortunate to get tickets to watch a performance of the Nutcracker at the world famous Mariinsky Theatre, where it first premièred in 1892.  Similar to my art knowledge the only thing I knew about ballet in advance was that there was a famous ballet dancer (sex unknown) called Nijinsky and this information came from a race horse.   Not carrying any nice clothes in our back backs we arrived alongside a glamorous audience of fur lined blonde Russians wearing some practical walking shoes, my best jeans and a porridge stained jumper.  Unperturbed we spent 30 minutes exploring the labyrinth of rooms and corridors  in search of a beer but finding only wine and caviar we waited for the doors to open.  The theatre was stunning inside and it was an incredibly rich experience sitting under the Tsars box soaking up the music and performance on stage, surrounded by the golden stalls and crystal chandeliers.  The walk back through the snow alongside the canals of St Petersburg added to the delusion of grandeur our evening had brought to us both (although this was soon gone when showering in the kitchen back at the hostel).  My initial watsapp review stated that there was a lot of ‘penis, breasts and arse on display but some canny music and prancing about’.  Although any future career as an art critic may have been crushed I stand by my initial review but the overall experience was unforgettable and worth blowing our budget on for a once in a life time opportunity!

Inside the Mariinsky Theatre

The  start of the adventure

Although we were sad to leave St Petersburg our great adventure travelling all the way to Hanoi on a train over the next 6 weeks was about to begin and we were both very excited to arrive at the train station and set off on the sleeper train to Moscow.  With our previous experiences of overnight trains in Eastern Europe we were anxious to learn our fate for the evening but as with our whole experience in Russia we need not have worried.  In second class our compartment came with a TV, WiFi, comfy beds and two lovely blonde Russian women.  The women were very friendly and one of them was a rep for a contact lens company who insisted on making us have eye drops and use moisturising wipes before going to sleep, giving us her phone number and telling us to call if we were ever lost in Moscow.  Sharing a compartment with 3 women was not all it is cracked up to be however and I spent a restless night under pressure not to snore or fart in a roasting hot cabin.  Each carriage has its own attendant and we were woken up an hour before arriving with coffee and porridge by our smiling host before heading off into the capital of the Motherland.   

The next stage of our adventure

Having travelled through 18 different countries in Europe over four months since we left our home in Mexico City both of us felt as if we were starting the second leg of our trip when we left Tallinn.  Despite everything we have seen and experienced so far I have been more excited about the next month than anything else we have so far planned on our journey.  As a History student Russia holds a strong allure and so visiting is a huge tick on my bucket list.  We were slightly apprehensive about what to expect and how we were going to deal with the new challenges about to face us (where do you start with the Cyrillic alphabet??!!) but we headed off from Tallinn with a new lease of life for travelling. 

The journey to St. Petersburg

With one final hurdle to overcome before entering Russia we crossed the Friendship Bridge in Narva and arrived at the border crossing hoping our documents were all in order.  After security had scrutinized every page of our passport and visa Russia lost all of its hard reputation when the security dog turned out to be an over enthusiastic cocker spaniel that ran around chasing its handler and madly wagging its tail rather than paying any attention to the new arrivals.  There was a real sense of adventure when we re-boarded the bus and headed off towards St Petersburg. It is impossible to avoid the overwhelming sense of history and power connected with Russia and travelling across the barren landscape, the scene of so many brutal conflicts over the past century it was hard not to imagine the hardship of life in the towns we passed through.  Music is an essential part of being on the road and listening to political songs from the 60’s by Dylan, Hendrix and Credence as we sped along led to day dreaming about the incomparable past of the nation.   Snow was already covering the ground and we passed numerous wooden houses with corrugated tin roofs, railway yards full of goods and a huge factory towering above a bleak looking forest.  It all added to the sense of intrigue and excitement as we left the countryside and suddenly the trees became an endless sea of heavy industry as we reached the outskirts of St Petersburg.

If Austin Powers did interior design...

Sunset over the concrete jungle

Tallinn was our final stop before we embarked on our journey across Russia and we consciously tried to remember to appreciate where we were rather than get carried away with the next step of our trip.  During our stay however we had to do a little bit of preparation work for the Trans - Siberian Express.  It is surprising when you are travelling just how quickly time runs away and just how much planning has to go in to try and make the most of each place you visit.  Most evenings in Tallinn (as with a lot of our stops) we spent time sorting out visa documents, making sure accommodation was booked in the right area of each city and saving seemingly countless maps to try and make life as easy as possible.  We did this in an apartment that had been designed by Austin Powers and set in a concrete jungle of bleak Soviet high rise apartment blocks.  Our pad was complete with leopard print wall paper, bright floral bedding and photos of half naked tribal women - nice!   

View from the upper town

As it turned out we did not need to worry about getting ahead of ourselves.  The historic centre of Tallinn was for me (if not Hannah) as charming and picturesque an old town as I had seen on the trip. Intertwining cobbled streets, colourful medieval buildings and imposing town walls topped by ancient church spires that sprung out above the town roofs adorned the city centre.  Tallinn was a major part of the Hanseatic group of cities in medieval Europe and the town is still divided after the merchants and artisans built a wall circling the lower section to separate themselves from the noble.   The upper section of town provides great views across the centre and contains the magnificent Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral with huge golden domes that greet you as you enter through the town walls.  The lower town is a maze of narrow streets housing countless museums, coffee shops and bars. We spent one afternoon in the old town designing marzipan sculptures as Tallinn (as well as a host of other cities) claims to have discovered the famous sweet.  After a hard fought competition my former art teacher was proved right to grade my ability as no more than very poor for 9 successive report cards.   My ship was by far the worst creation in the room and apart from Hannah I was at least 25 years older than the other people playing with marzipan.

The marzipan sculptures

KGB espionage equipment

The most interesting part of our trip was visiting the Viru KGB Museum, housed in the only hotel that was allowed to accommodate western visitors from across the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. As such the KGB had an entire floor on the top of the hotel to monitor all of the guests in the hotel and follow them when they left.   After the collapse of the Soviet Union the KGB officers based in the hotel had left quickly, leaving behind their equipment including bugging devices, old cameras, exploding purses and their radio equipment.  There was even the laminated plan of the hotel restaurant marked with an X to indicate to the waiter which table to place the bread holder that contained a listening device in! The room had been left exactly as it had been found and it was a very cool insight into the espionage that took place, as well as offering amazing views across the city and Tallinn Bay.

After a prolonged shopping trip to buy a coat and a set of hand made woollen gloves that made my hands smell like a sheep’s arse we decided to test our clothes for Russia with a long walk.  We set off through Kadriorg Park, now unfortunately minus any leaves on the trees and continued on the 6 kilometre path that ran alongside the water front.  Although not the most picturesque walk of our trip with heavy industry and freight shipping lining the horizon we did at least establish we should be fine with anything the Russian winter could throw at us.  Waking up very excited the following morning the friendly owner of our apartment, Dimitri, gave us an Estonia fridge magnet (just what every backpacker wants to carry) and a lift to the bus station to begin our journey to Russia.

The European Capital of Culture

The Central Market in Zeppelin hangers

We continued the journey north through the Baltic States into Latvia to spend some time exploring its capital, Riga.  Sitting at the crossroads of former great European powers and strategically situated for trade, Riga has been invaded by numerous rulers over the centuries.  Unsurprisingly, Latvia has a very dark history with the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact initially seeing their fledgling independence (post WW1) signed away and the nation swallowed up by the Soviet Union.   Latvia then initially welcomed the Nazi’s with some believing they would restore independence before the Red Army finally retook the Baltic lands.  The Occupation Museum was a moving tribute to those that lost their lives under the regimes with harrowing videos of interviews from survivors describing their time in the gulags when the region underwent mass deportations during the Russification of the Baltic States. The guide on the walking tour commented that joining NATO and gaining the Euro were very important to Latvia’s future security with an unpredictable neighbour putting pressure on the region and with 25% of the total population remaining Russian.  Despite all this, two decades of independence seemed to have been well spent and the nation seemed intent on promoting Latvian culture and heritage.

The Old Town, Riga

When we arrived in Riga Hannah (at least I remember it this way) was disappointed to discover that we had just missed Baltic Beauty 2015 so we set out to find James Bond as a replacement. As well as finding a showing in English the cinema was also handing out free champagne, bonus!  After this success we were ready to explore the narrow cobbled streets of the city’s old town.  Although not as impressive as Prague or Krakow the small old town has been well restored following the Soviet destruction of the city in retaliation for resisting the Red Army following the Nazi retreat.   It won the 2014 European Capital of Culture and optimism from locals under a coalition led by the leftist Green Party gave the city a positive atmosphere despite the plunging temperatures.  Just outside the centre was a huge market set in five gigantic Zeppelin Hangers that sold everything from local handicrafts to smoked eel and herring and was a great way to spend a few hours in the afternoon.

The Baltic Riviera

The following day we headed out of the city towards the Baltic's equivalent of the French Riviera and the town of Jūrmala, a short train journey away.  We arrived at the station with 3 minutes to run the length of the platform and our initial euphoria at getting on in time was quickly replaced by concern when a passenger informed us we were on the wrong train.  At that very moment the doors shut without warning and we set off in to the unknown.  Wearing a face akin to somebody that has just shit themselves in public Hannah began to panic but with detective work Sherlock Holmes would be proud of I looked at the other passenger’s attire and luggage and deduced we were on a local train rather than a long journey out of the city and sat down.     As it turned out the passenger had not understood our pronunciation of Latvian towns correctly (Jūrmala = yoor-muh-lah).   Jūrmala, is full of Russian oligarchs and subsequently it is full of shops selling the most garish fur coats. Huge new properties are sat back from the beach and so the waterfront is relatively unspoilt despite the investment.  Mixed in with the modern buildings are traditional wooden houses that look like something out of a fairy tale with bright colours and high spires adorning the individual designs.  After a long walk along the pristine beach in the sunshine we headed back to the city for our last night in Latvia before continuing our Baltic adventure in Estonia.

The Magnificent Arse End of Nowhere

The arse end of nowhere

With stage three man flu developing our trip to the Baltic Sea was a good tonic to my illness and we spent a few days enjoying the fresh sea air and breath taking walks along the Curoniun Spit.  The Curoniun Spit is a 98 km long sand dune peninsula which dates back to prehistoric times and is now covered almost entirely in pine forest.   Today, Lithuania shares the spit with the Russian-controlled Kaliningrad Region (I never knew Russia still had a region outside of its main borders in Europe).  Now a UNESCO site it is a constant battle to preserve the spit as it is threatened by the natural forces of wind and waves, as well as tourism. Numerous conservation projects are currently active and there are now established walks and cycle paths through the dunes that are closely monitored to ensure tourists are not entering the protected areas.  We stayed in the village of Nida, the metropolis of the spit home to around  1500 residents although a lot of these are only around in the summer tourist season.  We therefore entered a ghost town with very little open in the village but still managing to catch the last of the autumnal weather and forests. 

The village of  Juodkrantė 

The Witches Trail

Although based in Nida we caught the bus on our first morning up to the town of Juodkrantė on a quest to find the wild elk that roam the national park.  Described as being in the slow lane even in the summer season Juodkrantė appeared to have pulled over on to the hard shoulder and hibernated in the winter months.  Seeing around 8 people all day and with no café open in the whole town lunch was spent on a bench with a veritable feast consisting of a banana and half a Lion bar but at least there was a coffee machine outside the shop to warm us up.  We headed off for a walk through the forests on Witches’ Hill where a collection of devils, witches and other fantastical and grotesque wooden carvings from Lithuanian folklore lurk along a trail.  After a few hours walking in the deserted pine forest with no joy on my hunt we stumbled upon the beach on the far side of the spit.  Coming from the north of England most of my beach time is spent on wild dunes in the cold but here we really had discovered the definition of being in the arse end of nowhere.    Looking along the desolate dunes onto the Baltic Sea with a low, black sky seemingly encasing us we felt like we were at the ends of the earth.  We walked back through the forest to the lagoon side of the spit to catch the bus home and just when I though my search for an elk had ended in disappointment we walked past a garden with a giant elk sat watching us whilst chomping on the grass.  Whether this counts or not as wild is open for discussion but as it was undoubtedly an elk we caught the bus back to Nida happy that we had fulfilled our quest.

The foot path - or lack of

The weather was living up to it's reputation but despite the Baltic temperatures, wind and rain we explored the sand dunes around Nida the following day.  At the top of the 52 metre sand dune west of the town we were able to look out across the split and take in the forest, sand dunes and the water on either side of the spit.  It was an incredible panoramic with the lack of any human interference making the baron wilderness seem even more imposing.    We continued our walk on a path that was supposedly impossible to get lost on but we somehow ended up in the middle of the wilderness (thanks tourist information) with a maze of different ‘paths’ going in all directions.  Eventually we found our way back to the town and sheltering from the elements enjoyed the local delicacy – raw salted herring and potatoes – before catching the evening bus back to Klaipeda on the main land.  Driving in to the city we passed the Russian Embassy where hundreds of bouquets of flowers, candles and messages of condolence had been lain outside of the gates in remembrance of the victims of the plane crash over Egypt.  Klaipeda was our final stop in Lithuania before heading north and I left feeling that it had been one of my favourite nations we had visited on our trip through Europe, with its quirky culture and eclectic scenery making it one of Europe’s best known secrets.

Looking across towards Russia

Vilnius Uncovered - Water to Beer and a Tank Driving Mayor!!!

Knowing nothing about this seemingly forgotten country when we arrived Lithuania turned out to be a small but captivating nation and one that grew on us both the longer we stayed.   I was keen to learn some facts about it and some of the more quirky discoveries included:

•  Lithuania was the first nation to announce its independence from the Soviet Union.
•  ‘The Baltic Way’ was a peaceful protest against communism when 2 million people from Vilnius to Tallinn held hands and stretched 600 km across the Baltic states!
•   It has the oldest living European language and is connected with Sanskrit
•  Everyone was given a free woollen t-shirt to convert from Paganism to Christianity, a lot of people converted regularly in the winter months.
•  It used to be the biggest nation in Europe in the 1400’s before being carved up by surrounding European powers.

The centre of Vilnius

We had planned on visiting a few places in Lithuania, starting in the capital, Vilnius, before heading towards the Baltic Sea.  Vilnius was a very green city and although small (unsurprisingly for a country of just 3 million people) it had an attractive old town and it turned out to be one of the most eccentric cities we have explored. The baroque style old town is a UNESCO heritage site and with its cobbled roads, hill top views and its own breakaway state all within the city limits it proved to be an engaging start to our visit to Lithuania.  We ended up staying in a beautiful hostel called the Downtown Forest Hostel and with Dylan playing when we arrived and free coffee it provided a perfect base to explore the surrounding areas.  Winter days in Vilnius are short and the afternoons quickly fall away into darkness into an all-consuming cold so most of our exploring was done before 4 o’clock (although the city is beautifully lit up at night).   Unfortunately we arrived on a bank holiday and as the museums were shut Monday and Tuesday we decided to venture to a small village close to the city for a day trip.    Exploring the city with a local we learnt that Vilnius was not the straight laced city it appeared and that the President was not to be messed with as she holds a black belt in karate.  One former mayor of the city won an Ig Noble prize, a parody of the noble prize which aims to honour achievements that at first make people laugh and then make them think.  Annoyed at the continued abuse of the cities bike lanes HE DROVE A TANK over the top of a car parked in a bike path leading to numerous cars in the capital displaying a bumper sticker reading ‘Don’t make me get my tank’. 

The original nomad

My highlight of Vilnius was exploring the self-proclaimed republic of Užupis, established on April Fool’s day with a ‘parliament’ set in a bar (where you can get your passport stamped) complete with a president, anthem, flag and an army of 12 people.  It proudly displays its constitution in 24 different languages on a wall when entering the district.  Highlights of the constitution include: Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation: Everybody has the right to look after a dog until one of them dies: Everyone has the right to understand nothing.  Around the peculiar district are a number of unique monuments with my favourite being a statue representing Jesus as the first nomad, showing a smiling Christ with a backpack on.  The centre piece of the district is a huge column that the residents initially could not afford to place a symbol on so they placed a brightly painted egg on the top in the hope an angel would rise from it.  It did, and the monument is now the symbol of the district.  As you would expect from an eccentric Republic it has a number of amusing stories. Celebrating its creation on April Fool’s Day a miracle occurred when rather than the tap in front of the column pouring water beer suddenly flowed from it, providing everyone with free booze for the celebrations.  Without doubt this is the single greatest miracle that has occurred since Jesus turned water into wine and Nottingham Forest won the European Cup (twice).

The lake and castle at Trakai

Trakai Lake

Having seen the main city sites that were open we headed out of the city to the picturesque village of Trakai, where quaint wooden houses were set around an impressively restored red brick castle set on an Island on the lake.  The town itself is built on a thin strip of land and surrounded on both sides by water creating a very different and beautiful setting.  We had been warned before travelling that we would inevitably get tired of museums and churches at some point on our trip and the castle proved to be one such occasion.  Although it was great to explore the castle and look out across the surrounding lakes the information displayed around the castle seemed to have been written by somebody with verbal diarrhea and so we skipped past most of the over the top and repetitive signs.  Part of the reason for going to the lake was to visit the last of the Karaite people, who originate in Baghdad and study scriptures both in Hebrew and Arabic.  They were brought to originally serve as bodyguards for the Grand Duke but with only a few families remaining their traditions are growing out.  As interesting as this is they also make a Kibinai which is basically a minced pork and herb pasty.  As a connoisseur of all things pastry related we went to a beautifully restored lakeside restaurant and had the best lunch of the trip, eating a mushroom soup (made of freshly picked wild mushrooms by the owner) and a Kibinai.  Having lived almost opposite the Greggs factory in Newcastle, spent my youth in Cornwall and explored Pachuca in Mexico (the second home of Cornish pasties) I feel qualified to claim that it was the best pasty in the world.   Armed with my take away pasties we headed back to Vilnius having had a great day out in a traditional village with another strange yet amazing element to Lithuania culture discovered.

A pig in shit

The Armadillo of Europe

Early morning in the old town of Warsaw

The city of Warsaw does not conjure up images of grand European cities (in fact it probably does quite the opposite) and we arrived in the city expecting classic Soviet architecture at its best.  Granted, the outskirts of the city are a concrete jungle but we were surprised with how picturesque the reconstructed old town, sweeping parks and modern business district were.  Our first apartment was in one of the ‘traditional’ apartment blocks and despite the grey walls and seemingly endless mesh gates that divided the huge building the apartment itself was like an Ikea show room.  It seemed to sum up the stereotypical view of Poland compared to what we had experienced – crunchy on the outside yet soft on the inside (although unlike an armadillo).  We unfortunately had to move apartments and we ended up next to a 6 lane motorway and tram line as well as glowing advertising boards that meant we needed sunglasses at night. None of this made for the best sleep but we were determined to make the most of our time in Warsaw.

Lazienki Park

A lot of our time in Warsaw was spent applying for jobs for next September but we were able to go exploring getting a small feel for the city.  After the laborious task of completing application forms was completed we went for a walk around the picturesque Lazienki Park.  The entire park was carpeted in red and gold leaves and as we strolled past the baroque bath-house set in the centre of a huge pond whilst chasing the numerous red squirrels the sky went scarlet with the setting sun.  It more than made up for the day spent on a laptop and the subsequent poor excuse for a Chinese we had for dinner (a questionable choice for dinner as I am not sure the Poles are renowned for oriental cuisine).  Not wanting to waste our visit we went and had a walk in the old town early in the morning before our bus to Lithuania left.  90% of the buildings in Warsaw were destroyed in WW2 and it is a testament to the resolve of the people that it was restored to its previous appearance in just 8 years.  The guide was keen to point out the rivalry with Krakow and although the old town in Warsaw was not as picture perfect as in Krakow it was full of character and stories.  It was also very noticeable in the people and buildings that Krakow used to belong in the old Austro – Hungarian Empire (with its elegance and almost haughty attitude) whereas Warsaw was in the Old Russian Empire (more practical and tough).  The spectre of the Nazis still hangs over the city and memorials along the walls of the old Jewish ghetto and to the victims of the Warsaw uprising are prominent reminders of Poland’s ruthless history and yet highlight the progress made in the city.   

To a glamorous present from a murderous past

The Old Town, Krakow

Krakow turned out to be as great a mix of opposites as we had seen at any point on our trip.  Istanbul had provided a meeting of religions, Bulgaria had highlighted opposing ideology and in Albania we saw the huge divide in wealth capitalism had bought to the minority.  Krakow provided a contrast of emotions.  On the surface Krakow is a beautiful city with leafy parks, grand plazas and a burgeoning social life supported by boutique bars and restaurants.   The everyday enjoyment for locals and tourists alike in the city however is in stark contrast to the history of the area. With the infamous Nazi death camp, Auschwitz, on its outskirts and the desperate tales of those who having survived the Nazi genocide encountered the Soviet repression cast a shadow over Krakow through its memorials and monuments.  We met some close friends who had flown out to meet us from the UK for half term to help us with our journey (and Hannah’s sanity) and got to experience both sides to the city, enjoying the great bars and restaurants whilst spending time on harrowing visits to Auschwitz and Schindler’s Factory.

Medieval Square

Mulled wine in Singers Bar 

A lot of our time in Krakow was spent strolling the city and visiting the vast array of bars soaking up the relaxed atmosphere of the city centre.  The old town unbelievably escaped destruction in WW2 and the main square was packed with people enjoying the crisp day in Europe’s largest medieval town square.  The old town is ringed by the wonderfully named Planty, a large leafy path on the site of the former moat that protected the town walls.  We were lucky that the trees had turned golden brown and many of our memories of Poland will be of the beautiful parks and tree lined avenues that displayed a spectacular mix of autumnal colours. As its centre piece Krakow also boasts the magnificent Wawel Castle which overlooks the Vistula River, connecting the city with Warsaw. Similar to Budapest, we embarked on a series of cultural bar crawls around the old town and old Jewish quarter enjoying some of the excellent hot wine, flavoured vodka and Polish beer with our friends.   Unfortunately the city is also frqeunted by knuckle draggers from across the continent in search of cheap beer (mainly Brits) but despite a few half naked buffoons grappling in the street and communicating through loud grunts the bars were very relaxed and enjoyable.  The Jewish quarter had a mix of fantastic modern cocktail bars, traditional taverns and boutique establishments and we had a few good nights paying cards and dominoes whilst sampling Poland’s finest beers (none of which I could pronounce despite repeated instruction from my friends and bar staff). Our favourite bar was Singers Club, a small, dim and gloomy bar lit by an all-day candle vigil serving strong mulled wine and vodka which warmed us up after walking around the city.

Auschwitz

On our third day in the city we took a tour to Auschwitz – Birkenau, a name that is scorched into the mind of most Europeans as the centre of the Nazis attempt to eradicate Jews from Europe.  I had been once before but it is a place that is difficult to comprehend and remember and I wanted to go back as an adult.  The most striking thing about the museum and exhibition is the industrial nature of the genocide.  Reading about the holocaust in a History book it is sometimes hard to gain an emotional understanding as the numbers involved are overwhelming.  Nearly 1.5 million people died at Auschwitz but seeing the photos and belongings of some of the individuals murdered is far more real than an incomprehensible number.  For me the most moving element of the museum was the first half of the tour which takes in Auschwitz I and displays the rooms full of hair, glasses, suitcases and clothes turning the huge numbers into more personal stories.  3 kilometres from Auschwitz I is Birkenau, the area that housed the gas chambers built to speed up the genocide.  It struck me on both visits that the area is eerily quiet and there are still no animals or birds around the vast site.  The only sound was of the Israeli School children singing which added to the harrowing atmosphere of the area.  Despite the depressing nature of our day I think that everybody should have to experience the true horror of the Nazi holocaust as it would help stop a similar event ever from ever happening again in the future.  The following day we visited Schindler’s Factory in Krakow.  It was a fantastic museum about the impact of the Nazis on Krakow, the ghetto in the city and a tribute to Oscar Schindler who saved nearly 1200 Jewish employees in his factory.  The museum has hundreds of quotes around the wall from survivors and diaries of the time and helped to show the impact of the Nazis on ordinary Polish citizens as well as the treatment of the Jewish population during the occupation. 

'For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity
where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children,
mainly Jews, from various countries of Europe.'

Krakow was definitely one of the most interesting and beautiful cities we have visited on our trip so far and getting to spend it with friends helped us to make the most of the city.  We left Krakow sadly parting company with our friends and heading off north to Warsaw, unfortunately with a lot of planning and job application forms to complete but excited as neither of us are entirely sure what to expect as we head further north.

Below is a link to a copy of a book my friend Richard who met us in Krakow has had published called Minstrels Bargain. Please support a local author and buy his fantastic horror book!