Tag: Baltics

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The Baltics: Stockholm

Once we disembarked from the overnight ferry from Helsinki, we set off to explore Stockholm. Sweden has been populated since about 12,000 BC with Stockholm showing evidence of people from roughly 8,000 BC on. The Viking Age included the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes from the 8th to 11th centuries. They were a busy bunch – exploring, raiding, settling – all over the place. The majority of the examples of Viking writing – Rune Stones – can be found in Sweden.

Although we drove all over town looking at everything, our first actual stop was City Hall. The building is not terribly old, having been built in 1907. However, its claim to fame is that the Nobel Prize banquet is held in the Golden Hall. Even though the photo I have included in this post is a tad fuzzy, it does show the extent of the gold mosaics the best of the photos I took while there.

Our next stop was to drop off anybody who wasn’t interested in seeing the Vasa Museum so they could roam around at leisure before rejoining the rest of the group after lunch for a walking tour of the Old Town. We arrived at Palace Square just in time to see the Changing of the Guard. I managed some decent video of it, but just one photo.

The Vasa Museum was amazing! I have mentioned in past posts that I love ships and have some ship captain ancestors. The Vasa is the most magnificent shipwreck I have ever seen. It is the only nearly intact 17th century ship in the world. As a royal warship, it was extremely ornate and large. It seems that its size was its downfall.

It was built in 1628 and capsized, with all hands, on its maiden voyage, while still in the Stockholm harbor. Some of the crew managed to swim to shore, but about 30 didn’t. In the 1960s, the ship was discovered, raised, reassembled and put on display in a museum built especially for it.

Because the Baltic is cold, it doesn’t have as many of the little creatures that tend to destroy wood, clothing, and even human remains. So they found the ship very close to entirely intact. They also found lots of clothing, dishes, pots & pans, games, weapons, cannons, ammunition, sails, chests, barrels, and even some food and skeletons.

Very intricately carved, the ship would have been quite colorfully painted. They had a model on display, painted in the colors that they thought would have adorned the ship. But I liked looking at the real thing the best. There were several levels of walkways around the ship, so it could be seen from all angles. It was possible to see it from underneath as well.

I spent as much time as I could exploring the ship and its contents which were on display with it. I had lunch at a cafeteria within the museum (so I wouldn’t need to leave until I absolutely had to) and picked up a couple books about the ship before Andrej practically pried me away to rejoin the rest of the group at the Royal Palace.

Kronor Castle, which was built on the site in the 13th century, burned down in 1697. The new palace was built in the Rococo style in the 1720s. We didn’t have time to take a guided tour of the palace before joining our local guide for our walking tour of the Old Town. Having to choose between the Vasa and the palace, the Vasa had won out for me.

The Old Town had medieval foundations from the 13th century, but the majority of the town had burned down in the 17th century and was rebuilt. They built upon the old foundations, so the town still had very narrow streets. The most narrow was a series of rather steep steps (included in a photo here).

We went inside of a very beautiful old church with lots of highly polished dark wood, gold gilding, and paintings. Along the street outside, were several buildings that managed to salvage their original medieval doors. Most of them were still private homes, but here and there was a pub or restaurant or antique shop (with weapons, chain mail, and helmets). What I thought was incredible though, was old cannons and rune stones at the corner of some of the buildings (a photo of one is included).

Before ending the tour, we had some cake and hot chocolate (or coffee or tea) at a restaurant in a medieval cellar. The building had begun as a monastery and later became a prison after the 16th century dissolution of the monasteries.

The next day I flew home from Stockholm by way of Newark, New Jersey.

Next time —a wonderful 2013 tour of the Western US National Parks.

  • Stockholm Harbor
  • Stockholm
  • City Hall
  • The Golden Hall
  • Royal Palace
  • Changing of the Guard
  • The Vasa
  • The bow and bowsprit
  • The forecastle
  • Starboard
  • The gun ports
  • Port
  • Stern
  • Looking up at the masts
  • Some contents with ship in the background
  • Old Town with Church Steeple
  • Interior of church
  • Medieval street
  • More of the Old Town
  • Old cannon and rune stone
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Baltics 2012: Finland

The country we now know as Finland has been inhabited since the end of the last Ice Age, which was about 9000 BC. The 12th and 13th centuries saw a lot of crusades by the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians to the various “pagan” tribes that lived in Finland. Ultimately it was the Swedes that conquered and colonized the region. Finland became part of Sweden. In the 18th century, due to wars between Sweden and Russia (with Finland lying between them), Finland ended up as part of Russia. They didn’t become independent until during World War I.

The northernmost province of Finland is called Lapland. Most of the population there consists of the Sami People, who inhabit large areas of northern Norway, Sweden and a Russian peninsula as well. In addition to fur trading, coastal fishing, and sheep herding, a major profession of the Sami is reindeer herding (which is legally reserved exclusively for them in most regions of the four countries they inhabit).

Helsinki was founded by King Gustav I of Sweden as a trading town in 1550. During the plague of 1710, the vast majority of the population died. It wasn’t until Finland became part of the Russian Empire and Helsinki was made the capitol of Finland, that the city began to thrive again.

After driving past the harbor, our first stop was at the Olympic Stadium from the 1952 Summer Olympics. Next, we visited the Sibelius Memorial. Jean Sibelius was a composer most famous for his seven symphonies and a piece titled “Finlandia”. I thought his memorial was very pretty. The wind also blew through the pipes of the memorial and so created some lovely music of its own.

Temple Church was chiseled out of stone and is partially underground. Someone was playing the organ when we arrived and the place was filled with music.

Senate Square included the Finnish Parliament, the President’s Residence, Helsinki Cathedral, and a statue of Alexander II. He was the Russian Czar who was blown to bits in St Petersburg. We had our group photo taken in front of the statue (I’m just behind the lady in the red jacket on the front row). During our free time, Heike had other plans, so Debbie and I toured the interior of the Lutheran Cathedral.

We also joined up with a British couple, Linda and Nigel, and took a harbor tour by boat. Every house we saw had a sauna house down by the water. Some of the saunas were small and simple; others were quite elaborate. The photo I included here, is of a middle class sauna.

There were several tall-masted schooners in the harbor. One had a pirate theme and was apparently being used as a party vessel. I caught a pretty decent photo of Uspenski Cathedral, which is a Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Finland, from the tour boat.

Back at the harbor, Debbie and I had reindeer sausages. Mine is on the right with lingonberries, ketchup, mustard and onions.

We rejoined the rest of the group at 3:45pm to board the overnight ferry to Stockholm. After leaving the port, Heike and I explored the ship and had a pint in the pub. Debbie was my roommate for the ferry. Heike was rooming with two women. The cabins were really tiny.

Debbie, Heike and I had dinner together at the 8pm buffet. Although the other two made an occasional venture to some of the other areas, after getting some shrimp salad in the Salad Market, I pretty much stayed in the Seafood Market, dining on salmon mousse, caviar (two kinds), smoked salmon, and herring. I did get some chocolate mousse for dessert in the Dessert Market. They had all the wine you could drink too.

The weather began to act up as we were having dinner and the crossing ended up being pretty darn rough. Andrej said it was the worst of the 35 times he has done it. The seas were choppy with lots of wind and rain. We were tossed around in our beds during the night, making it somewhat difficult to sleep.

Maybe it was the seafood, but Debbie, Heike and I seemed to be among the few who weren’t seasick the next morning at breakfast. After breakfast, Andrej had us all meet him in a special spot with our cases and he led us to where we were the first people to get off the ship. We thought that was a pretty good perk.

Next time – Stockholm, Sweden.

  • Helsinki Harbor
  • Olympic Stadium
  • Sibelius Memorial
  • Temple Church
  • Interior of Temple Church
  • Helsinki Cathedral & Statue of Alexander II
  • Our Tour Group
  • A Harbor Tour Boat
  • A Private Sauna
  • A Two-Masted Schooner
  • Uspenski Cathedral
  • Harbor Food
  • Reindeer Sausage with Lingonberries
  • Our Overnight Ferry to Sweden
  • Onboard Our Ferry
  • Looking from the Ship down to the Helsinki Port
  • Slipping out of the Harbor
  • Caviar & Other Seafood
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The Baltics 2012: Estonia

We arrived in Parnu, Estonia by lunchtime. We had lunch together at a restaurant in the Old Town with a set menu – soup, main course, and dessert. It was quite good. Parnu is on a bay of the Gulf of Livonia in the Baltic Sea. The Old Town gave us some beautiful buildings to look at as we walked off that large lunch.

The town was founded circa 1251 by a bishop, destroyed around 1600, and then was rebuilt. It changed hands several times between the Poles, Lithuanians, Swedes and Russians, until becoming part of the newly formed country of Estonia after World War I. Like Latvia, Estonia was occupied by the Soviets, then the Nazis, then the Soviets again during World War II, ending up under Soviet rule after the war.

Parnu is mainly a resort town and vacation spot for Estonians, Finns, Russians, and Swedes. Its location provides beaches, water sports, and a very well laid out Old Town with loads of restaurants and hotels.

We arrived in Tallinn early evening. With civilization dating back 5,000 years, Tallinn itself was founded as a town in 1248 by the Danes. Estonia overall was civilized as far back as 9,000 years. Tallinn was also part of the Hanseatic League. Tallinn has never been raised or pillaged, but was bombed by the Soviets near the end of World War II. Despite that, most of the Medieval Old Town is intact and is considered to be the best preserved medieval architecture in Europe. As such, it is a World Heritage site.

Information Technology is a thriving industry in Estonia. Skype originated in Tallinn. The hotel had computers in the rooms, so I could send emails to folks back home. This was before I had a smartphone with internet capabilities (I got one of those in February of 2013).

We went into the Old Town (which wasn’t too far from our hotel) for a “Medieval Dinner”. The only thing that was Medieval about the dinner was the building, which was 14th century. The Old Town is mainly pedestrian only, so we walked in from where the tour coach dropped us off and did a little bit of a tour before reaching the building where the dinner was being held by seeing the 13th century St Nicholas Church and the Town Hall Square.

The Town Hall dates to the 13th century with its tower dating to the 17th century. It is the oldest town hall in the Baltics or Scandinavia and the last surviving Gothic Town Hall in Northern Europe. It has the coolest painted dragon gargoyles up near the roof (which you can see in the photo I have included). The square was originally the market square of the town and now has loads of restaurants. They also have a wonderful Christmas Market there every year. The restaurant we were visiting was in the cellar of one of the buildings on the square.

On our way back to the tour coach (which had moved elsewhere and parked after dropping us off) after dinner, we looked at some Medieval foundations viewable through glass windows in the street, and the Square of Freedom.

The following day, we started at the Upper Town (also known as Toompea). Toompea Castle is now used as government buildings, including Parliament. The population of Tallinn was a little over 50% ethnic Estonian and roughly 37% ethnic Russian with the rest of the people being a mixture of several different ethnic groups. There was a lovely Russian Orthodox church called the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the Upper Town. It was built in the 1890s when Tallinn was part of the Russian Empire. The nearby Dome Church, was built by the Danes in the 13th century and is the oldest church in Tallinn.

After visiting another amber shop (which had some earrings in gold, instead of the silver everyone else had), we went to a viewing area to see the Lower Town (called All-linn) below. We could also see out to the Baltic. Several ferries traveled back and forth daily from Tallinn to Helsinki, Finland – mostly bringing folks from Helsinki for the day as prices were much lower in Estonia than Finland. A certain amount of Estonians would travel to Helsinki in the morning for their jobs as salaries were higher in Finland.

We could also see the spire of St Olaf’s Cathedral. Although built in the 12th century, the church burnt down several times over the centuries, so it isn’t at all original to the 12th century any more. Otherwise it would have had the title of the oldest church in Tallinn instead of the Dome Church.

From Toompea, we took a long, steep cobbled road (named Pikk Jalg) down into the All-linn. When we arrived at the Town Hall Square, we met up with our local guide, Nikoli. His mother was ethnic Estonian, while his father was ethnic Russian. He was adorable and took a liking to me. Actually lots of tour guides do because I am always so interested in what they are talking about and usually have a pretty good understanding of the history of the place already. I also don’t give them much difficulty about anything. So I’m easy to deal with.

Just like Dubrovnik, Croatia, who claimed that they had the oldest pharmacy/ chemist/ apothecary in the world, Tallinn made the same claim regarding a building they had in their Town Hall Square. Actually they were both beat by the 12th century pharmacy in Florence, Italy.

Nikoli gave us a walking tour of the Lower Town, which included a very lovely, but small luxury hotel with a Presidential Suite (and balcony). Then he led us into one of my favorite places in Tallinn – St Catherine’s Passage. We entered through a deep arch from behind St Catherine’s Church, which had been built 700 years ago. On one side of the passage had once been a monastery. Several Medieval gravestones were mounted on the wall on that side. The buildings on the other side had been turned into shops, bars and restaurants.

At the other end of the passage, was a narrow street between the city walls and some lovely Medieval houses. The round Helleman Tower was just outside of the passage. A little further along was an even older square tower. At this point, the walls had a covered, timber-framed top. One could walk along the top of the wall largely out of the elements.

When we reached the Viru Gates (which were also original), that was the end of the tour. Most of the group was staying in the area to have some lunch and then would join Nikoli for an optional tour of Tallinn’s Russian Museum. I wasn’t interested in the museum as we have a great Russian Museum in Minneapolis not far from my house. Heike also wasn’t interested in the museum, so we got on the tour coach, which was parked just beyond the Viru Gates and rode back to the hotel. We had lunch there, and then went for a walk in the general neighborhood of the hotel. Nikoli seemed disappointed that we weren’t joining him for the museum tour, but I’m sure he survived.

Next time – adventures in crossing the border into Russia (where they were still acting like they were the Soviet Union) and St Petersburg.

  • Parnu
  • Church in Parnu
  • Tallinn Town Hall
  • Street behind Town Hall at night
  • Monument in Square of Freedom
  • Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
  • View of Lower Town from Upper Town
  • Lower Town
  • Walking down Pikk Jalg
  • St Catherine’s Passage with gravestones on left
  • Further down St Catherine’s Passage
  • Helleman Tower on City Wall
  • A little further along City Wall
  • Restaurants just inside Viru Gates
  • Viru Gates
  • Estonian castle on border with Russia
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The Baltics: Latvia

Ever since one of my brothers married a lovely lady whose parents had fled Latvia during World War II as the Soviets were returning, I had wanted to visit Latvia. The tour I took in 2012 to the Baltics allowed me to do just that.

My sister-in-law’s family was part of a Latvian community here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis & St Paul, so we had the pleasure of meeting and becoming familiar and friendly with several other people of Latvian heritage. Along with that, we had been able to take part in some wonderful meals with some traditional Latvian foods. So I was not a complete novice on this trip when it came to Latvian cuisine and was looking forward to having some great culinary experiences.

Not too long after crossing the border from Lithuania to Latvia, we came upon Rundale Palace, where we had lunch and a tour. It was a large, beautiful place and had been designed by the same architect who designed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. It was begun in 1736 for the Duke of Courland.

In the 1790s, the area was absorbed into the Russian Empire and Catherine the Great gave the palace to the younger brother of one of her favorite lovers. When he died, his widow remarried and the palace passed to her new husband’s family.

Rundale Palace suffered quite a bit of damage during the 1919 Latvian War of Independence and then became a school for several years. In the 1960s, a local historical society acquired the palace and started restoring it in 1972. They did a great job. It is an absolute treasure house. They let visitors take photos inside, so I took a ton of them. Just a tiny sampling is shown here.

On to Riga, where we spent the night at a Radisson Blu. Across the street from the hotel was Pareizticigo Katedrale, a Russian Orthodox cathedral. We were on our own for dinner that night. So some of us walked over to the cathedral, which is Nativity of Christ Cathedral in English. It was built in the late 19th century. During the Soviet Occupation after World War II, it was converted into a planetarium. Since the Soviet Dissolution in 1991, it has been restored to its past glory.

We walked around the area to explore the neighborhood. There was a victory monument – the Freedom Monument, built to commemorate the 1919 Latvian War of Independence – a short distance from the cathedral. There was also a large park by the monument. We found that we were actually walking distance to both the Old Town and the diplomatic district where most of the embassies were located and nearly all of the buildings were in the Art Nouveau style.

Since we had eaten a fairly large meal for lunch, we decided to pick up some lighter fare for dinner. We had a lot to see and do the next day, so we were all of a mind to eat lightly and turn in early.

Riga was founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1201. During its history, it has been part of the Holy Roman Empire, the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth, and both the Swedish and Russian Empires. During the Middle Ages, it was also part of the Hanseatic League. This was a group of merchant cities on the Baltic which were very prosperous.

After the 1919 Latvian War of Independence, Latvia managed to remain on its own until World War II, when it was taken over by the Soviets and tens of thousands of its citizens (mostly male) were either executed or deported to Siberia. Then the Nazis took over and conscripted most of the remaining men into their army. As the Soviets were returning in 1944, many of the Latvians who were part of the Twin Cities group with whom my family interacted fled. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to flee from my home.

The next morning after breakfast, we set out to take a look at all of the gorgeous Art Nouveau buildings and embassies. The French and Russian embassies were closest to the hotel. Riga has the largest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in the world.

We watched the Changing of the Guards at the Freedom Monument and walked through the park to the Old Town, passing the National Opera House on the way. Suddenly we left a combination of the 21st, 20th and 19th centuries and found ourselves in a mostly medieval era.

The first part of the Old Town that we encountered was a tower and barracks used by the military back in the Middle Ages. The Powder Tower is now used as a military museum. The barracks have been converted into homes. The Swede Gate, which is one of the original gates, was built into the city wall in the 1600s to provide better access to the barracks.

Within the city walls was the Latvian Parliament and a nearby church with a memorial to the barricades that existed in 1991 when Latvia was trying to separate from the Soviet Union. The church, named St James’ Cathedral, was built in the 13th century.

Outside of the trio of 17th century houses called the Three Brothers, a couple of men were playing a tuba and a French horn. One of the houses was originally built in 1490, but was refurbished in the 17th century when the other two houses were built. The middle house, which is the fanciest of the three, has the date 1646 on it. The legend is that they were built for three brothers and have always been called the Three Brothers throughout the centuries.

Riga Castle is the third structure to have that name and was built over the remains of an earlier castle back in the 17th century. It is currently the residence of the President of Latvia. Here and there around the Old Town are bits and pieces of earlier castles.

The Doma Baznica (Basilica Dome) is the oldest church in Latvia and also in the Baltics. It was built beginning in 1211. Several roosters are mounted on the spires of the cathedral and are considered to be symbols of Latvia. The main tower of the cathedral was in scaffolding to clean it when we were there.

The cathedral was next to a large square with some beautiful houses on it. A short distance away were several guild houses. Within a convent courtyard, was a white building that had been part of the original Riga Castle.

We came across St Peter’s Basilica with the tallest tower in Riga. Originally built in 1209 as a small church, St Peter’s was completely renovated in the 15th century.

The Town Square was very medieval with statues of knights and of St George slaying the dragon. The jewel of the square was the Melngalvju Nama or House of the Blackheads. Although the date on the building is 1334, the building was totally destroyed during World War II and had to be completely reconstructed.

The Blackheads were a society of banquet caterers to the upper classes. They chose as their patron saint St Maurice, who was traditionally depicted as a black soldier in knight’s armor.

After some of us went for a late lunch at a self-service called Lido about two blocks from the hotel, we took the tour coach out to the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum. They had a roadside inn, a peasant homestead, a windmill, a church, and several other homesteads from various parts of Latvia dating to the 18th and 19th centuries.

I love visiting these types of museums since they preserve a way of life that pretty much no longer exists in these countries. When the Soviets took over, they mostly moved everyone out of their small farms in the country into apartment blocks in cities and towns and put them to work in factories. I especially loved seeing the interior of a very small, plain church. The interior was beautifully painted and had some wonderful carved pieces – altar, pulpit, pews.

That night we had dinner at a restaurant called La Boheme, which was a short walk from the hotel. The dinner was delicious and we were serenaded by Latvian folk music. It was pouring rain on the way over to the restaurant, but it was done when we needed to return to the hotel.

On our way to Estonia the next day, we had a morning break in Sigulda. There were two castles close to one another there. One had been built in the 13th century and the other in the 19th century. The older castle was in the process of being restored after sitting in a ruined state for a few centuries. We could only see a little of it as most of it was a construction zone. The newer castle wasn’t open to the public, so we walked around in the gardens outside.

Next time — Estonia with its authentically medieval Old Town in Tallinn, which wasn’t destroyed by bombs during World War II.

  • Rundale Palace
  • A bedroom
  • Another room
  • Freedom Monument
  • View from hotel
  • Cathedral near hotel
  • Cathedral interior
  • Art Nouveau building
  • Riga Old Town
  • The Three Brothers
  • Beautiful houses
  • House of the Blackheads
  • A Latvian homestead
  • Another homestead
  • A windmill
  • Interior of church
  • New Sigulda Castle
  • Old Sigulda Castle
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The Baltics: Lithuania

Once we crossed the border from Poland to Lithuania, we were officially in one of the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia). We had skirted around a tip of Belarus. Andrej told us that Belarus was not part of the European Union and had a pretty intense and expensive process for entry. So we waved as we went by.

Amber was an extremely valuable commodity throughout most of the history of the Baltic States. This made the area very wealthy and very desirable for conquer by others. In the 13th century, Lithuania formed the Kingdom of Lithuania and became the largest state in Europe by the 14th century as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were the territories of the Grand Duchy. In the 16th century, Lithuania and Poland formed a Commonwealth that was dismantled in the 18th century.

During World War II, all three Baltic States changed hands between the Soviet Republic and Nazi Germany several times and become part of the Soviet Union after the war. Lithuania declared its independence in 1990 – a year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. At one point, the Soviets rolled into Vilnius (the capitol city) in tanks, shooting and crushing unarmed Lithuanians.

According to legend, in the 14th century, Grand Duke Gediminas was out hunting near the Vilnia River and had a dream about a wolf howling up on a nearby hill. The dream was interpreted as meaning that he should create his new capitol at that location. So he built a castle and created the city of Vilnius.

Our first visit was to the Church of St Peter & St Paul, which was a 17th century Baroque masterpiece with an amazing chandelier shaped like a boat. This represented St Peter as a fisherman. The altar was missing. It was moved to another church and ended up being destroyed while in its new location. It was never replaced.

On our way from the Church of St Peter & St Paul to the Gate of Dawn, we passed the Hill of Crosses. Andrej told us that the first people to try to convert the pagans to Christianity were executed on that hill. Once the Lithuanians were Christianized, they began to place crosses there. During the Soviet Occupation, the number of crosses began to surge. So now, thousands (over 100,000 have been estimated) of crosses are clustered on the hill.

We entered one part of the town through the Gate of Dawn, built in the 16th century. Above the gate is the chapel of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, which contains an icon of the Virgin Mary that is said to have miraculous powers. Visitors weren’t allowed, but I was able to zoom in with my camera and get a fairly decent photo of the icon through the window.

Not far from there was a beautiful peach-colored church built in the 17th century and dedicated to St Casimir. We walked as far as the Town Hall and then headed back to the Gate of Dawn to get on the tour coach to visit the castle that Grand Duke Gediminas built. It looked very modern and had a very interesting and modern-looking statue of Gediminas himself. The castle was white with black trim and the statue was black.

On the same square as the castle was the Cathedral and a tower that we came back to after lunch to visit. In the meantime, we went to the Presidential Palace and by the University.

Heike, Debbie and I decided to have lunch at a traditional Lithuanian restaurant that wasn’t too far from the Cathedral Square. It was very old and very cozy. The food was homemade and delicious.

Back at the Cathedral, the main attraction was the chapel dedicated to St Casimir. It was gorgeous, with loads of marble and eight statues of rulers of Lithuania plated in silver. It also contained St Casimir’s tomb, which had a marble altar with a silver sarcophagus on the wall above.

On Lake Galve outside of Vilnius was Trakai Castle. This was the residence of the Dukes of Lithuania prior to Duke Gediminas moving the capitol to Vilnius. It covers an entire island on the lake. After a guided tour, we had loads of free time to explore. Although built on an island, the castle was a sprawling place with several courtyards and buildings. It was built in a combination of stone and brick. Parts had been rebuilt over the centuries after various battles and after World War II. As we were leaving, a storm was gathering and I managed to get a pretty good shot of a sailboat going by with the castle silhouetted against the darkening sky.

Back in Vilnius, we went to a Lithuanian Dinner and Folklore Show that night. It was a very good meal, but not much of a show. The building it was in was quite old, so had a great atmosphere.

I was really looking forward to heading to Latvia the next day as the parents of one of my sisters-in-law were from Latvia.

  • Church of St Peter & St Paul
  • Church Interior
  • Boat Chandelier
  • Hill of Crosses
  • Gate of Dawn
  • Icon in Chapel
  • Church of St Casimir
  • Vilnius Town Hall
  • Gediminas Castle
  • Presidential Palace
  • Restaurant for Lunch
  • Vilnius Cathedral
  • Tomb of St Casimir
  • Trakai Castle
  • Part of Trakai Castle
  • Another Part of Trakai Castle
  • Inner Courtyard
  • A Drawbridge and Gate
  • A Storm Coming Up at Trakai Castle
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The Baltics: Poland Revisited

When Mom and I visited Poland as part of a tour of Central Europe in 2008, we had lunch in Poznan before heading on to Warsaw. On the 2012 tour of the Baltic Region, our group had an overnight in Poznan. After dinner, Andrej guided those who wanted to go on a walk into the City Center of the Old Town. It was starting to get dark, but I managed to get some decent photos before it got too dark.

Existing for several centuries before the Christianization of Poland in Poznan in 966, Poznan is considered to be the oldest city in Poland and was a stronghold of the Polan tribes. It was the Polans who formed what became the Polish state.

Although a tad fuzzy, I liked the way the Statue of Neptune was silhouetted against the sky in the photo I took of it. The Town Hall dates to the 13th century and was used as the town hall all the way to the 1930s. It is now a museum. The town square in front of the Town Hall is pedestrian only and has loads of outdoor seating for the various restaurants lining the square. Mom and I ate at a restaurant in a red building on the square when we were there four years earlier (you can see the red building in the included photo). That trip had taken place in March, so we didn’t sit outside.

Heike wanted to visit the camera shop in the shopping mall by our hotel, Stary Brower, so we decided to head back that way before the place closed for the night. Most of the rest of the group stayed in the square for a drink or two. We took a wrong turn at one point, but were set right by a young man who spoke English. We had been told by Andrej that those who were younger than 30 most likely spoke English, while those older than 30 most likely would not.

We made it to the camera shop while it was still open. The fellow at the counter was under 30, which made us happy. He was waiting on an older couple from France, who did not speak Polish. The shopkeeper spoke both Polish and English, but not French. I had taken French in high school and understood some of what the couple was saying. With a combination of the couple’s French, my attempts to translate what I could understand into English, and a lot of hand signals, nods or shaking heads, we finally got them what they wanted. Hugs all around before they left the shop.

After getting Heike what she was looking for, we headed back to the hotel and stopped off at the bar there for a drink before bed. So we had a little adventure and still got a nightcap.

The next day, we arrived in Warsaw around lunch time and were given some free time to get settled into the hotel and have lunch before heading out on a tour of the city. Heike (from Perth, Australia), Debbie (from Reading, England), Charmaine (from Vancouver, Canada), and I had made plans to go to a traditional Polish restaurant situated on the ground floor of the building in which our hotel was located for dinner, so I went for a relatively light lunch with a salmon and avocado sandwich in a restaurant inside of the hotel.

After lunch, we were taken around to see the sights of Warsaw: the Palace of Culture and Science (built in 1955 by the Communists); a Statue of native son Copernicus; the church with the heart of another native son, Chopin; the house where Chopin lived; and the Presidential Palace before we got to the Old Town (Stare Miastro in Polish). That was when we got off the tour coach at the Palace Square and began our walking tour.

Mom and I had taken a tour of the Royal Castle when we were there together, so I didn’t feel too disappointed that we didn’t have time (with just an afternoon to see Warsaw) to tour it on this trip. Normally I would take any chance I could to tour any castle or palace I encounter. This particular castle was originally built in the 14th century as a Ducal Palace, becoming the Royal Castle for the Kings of Poland in the 1600s. It was pretty much destroyed during World War II and was reconstructed after the war. Most of the contents of the castle had been saved and hidden away by the citizens of Warsaw. So, although the building itself is a reconstruction, the contents are original.

At the center of the square is Zygmunt’s Column, which was erected by King Wladyslaw IV in 1644 to honor his father, King Sigismund III Vasa. We walked from there past the Cathedral of St John to the Market Square.

The last time I had been in the market square, it had been very cold and had snowed the night before. The Mermaid of Warsaw had been under repair and enclosed in a wooden case. This time, there were cafes on the square and the Mermaid (which has a fountain at her base) was in her glory. We were shown a film in one of the buildings on the square about Warsaw’s destruction and reconstruction.

We were taken to an amber shop and then given some free time. Since I love amber (which is prominent in the Baltic region), I did buy some jewelry. Then I had plenty of time to roam around the square, where I also picked up a Polish dagger and a small knight in armor (who stands on a table in the corner of the bedroom I use as my library – I have always wanted a suit of armor in the corner of a library).

On our way back to the hotel, we passed by the Tomb of the Unknowns. Then Heike, Debbie, Charmaine and I met up just outside of U Szwejka for our authentic Polish dinner. If we had been aware of the size of the meal, we probably would have ordered two meals and split them. But we ordered four meals, consisting of a half of a baked duck, baked apples, beets, coleslaw, and stuffing. The photo included here is from the restaurant’s website, since I didn’t have my camera with me. The platter in the photo looks small than what I remember. The platter was more the size of a platter that would be used for the turkey at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. The beers were also gigantic. One glass was nearly the size of a pitcher at most places. I was relieved that dessert was not included. If it had been, I might have exploded.

We waddled out of the place about an hour and a half after we were seated. We had taken our time to get through it all. Instead of immediately going back to the hotel next door, we took a walk to settle all of that food down in our stomachs. Despite being full to brimming with food, we stopped in at a grocers and picked up some supplies for the next couple of days.

Our last stop in Poland was the town of Augustow, where we stopped for lunch. Heike, Charmaine and I wanted a relatively light lunch after the prior night’s dinner, so we stopped in at a cafeteria, where we could see what we were getting and just get small amounts. I tried a Kratocze, which was a potato dumpling with a minced meat filling. It came with a small side of coleslaw. I selected a fruit drink that ended up being quite thick and very, very sweet (which I couldn’t tell before drinking it). I left most of it behind. We found Debbie after lunch and explored some of the town before we needed to leave. There was a small park with a statue of the founding king (Sigismund II Augustus) and a war memorial.

Next time – Lithuania.

  • Neptune Statue in Poznan
  • Poznan Town Hall
  • Town Square of Poznan
  • Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science
  • Warsaw Palace Square
  • Zygmunt’s Column in Warsaw
  • Warsaw’s Market Square
  • The Mermaid of Warsaw
  • An Amber Shop
  • Barbican and City Walls
  • Hotel with restaurant on ground floor
  • Traditional baked duck dinner
  • Statue of founding king of Augustow
  • War Memorial in Augustow
  • Augustow
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The Baltics: Berlin, Germany Revisited

I had been to Germany and Poland on a previous 2008 tour of Central Europe with my mom. Both countries were included in the 2012 tour that I took to the Baltic Region, so I had the chance to visit them for a second time. We took a ferry from Gadser, Denmark to Rostock, Germany, and then drove to Berlin, where we spent the night in a hotel in the former West Berlin.

On the 2008 trip, we had spent several days in Germany touring all over the country. This time, we had just one full day in Berlin. We picked up our local guide across from the zoo and headed out for a guided tour, starting at Potsdamer Platz, which has the largest concentration of newer skycrapers (and corporate headquarters) in the city.

Our first actual stop was at the Topographie of Terror, which had not yet existed in 2008 (opened in 2010) and was located on the former site of the torture chambers of the Gestopo, next to a still standing section of the Berlin Wall. It has displays regarding the horrors of Nazi rule.

Our next stop was Checkpoint Charlie – the US manned crossing between East Berlin and West Berlin. In 1961, there had been a very tense standoff between US tanks and Soviet tanks. The US Attorney General at the time was Robert Kennedy. He and a KGB guy managed to talk it out and de-escalate, despite both sides having about 10 tanks each pointed at the other side.

Then we went to the Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) and explored that. It is located on what had been a “killing zone” of the Berlin Wall and is near both the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building). Although it is right in the middle of the city, when you are walking around among the slabs, the large blocks muffle a lot of the surrounding sound and it seems very quiet and peaceful.

Our next visit was to the square containing the German Dome, French Dome and Theatre, before we drove by the Ephraim Palace and the Town Hall on our way to Museum Island. The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dome) was next to the Altes Museum. The Cathedral was originally built in the 15th century, but this version was finished in 1905. Sometime when I have more free time in Berlin, I want to spend a day on Museum Island. It has some amazing museums with some incredible art and historic objects. One of the pieces in the Neues Museum is the very famous bust of Nefertiti.

After leaving Museum Island, we saw the Kronprinzenpalais, which was the Crown Prince of Germany’s palace in the 18th century. For a while, it was used as an annex of the National Gallery and is now used for exhibitions.

A very short distance away is the Opera House on Bebelplatz. This was the main site of the Nazi Book Burnings in the 1930s. There is a memorial on Bebelplatz set into the square.

The first time I had been to the Brandenburg Gate, it had been snowing (we were there in March, not one of our best decisions). This time it was early September and a beautiful day. The gate had been built in the 18th century to represent peace. It was later used as one of the symbols of the Nazi party and was also a symbol of Berlin during the Cold War. Although it survived the bombings of World War II, it was pockmarked in several places.

The Reichstag was built in 1894 and was destroyed by fire in 1933. It didn’t get fully restored until after the reunification in 1990. The decision was made to reconstruct the dome out of glass, which not only provides a lot of natural light to the parliament below, but also allows visitors to have some spectacular views from the ramps and platforms inside.

We went by the President’s Palace, Schloss Bellevue, on our way back to the zoo, where we were dropping off our local guide as well as being released for lunch and some free time. Heike and I found a place to eat nearby. We also briefly stopped in at a souvenir shop where I bought a small piece of the Berlin Wall.

We wanted to explore the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, which had been severely bombed during World War II and left as it was as a memorial. Built in the 1890s, what remains of the interior is pretty cool. It is very traditional in style – kind of a Victorian era version of a medieval style church. It is quite a contrast to the new church that was built in four buildings surrounding the old church and connecting to it. The new church is mainly of glass and very, very modern. We both thought it was quite beautiful.

After visiting the church, we returned to the zoo to see some of the animals. There was a baby elephant which was quite fun to watch as he or she was really adorable. We also spent some time with some llamas before we needed to join back up with our group to head to Poland.

Next time – revisiting Poland with new adventures in a couple of places I have been before.

  • Topographie of Terror
  • Berlin Wall
  • Checkpoint Charlie
  • Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
  • Berliner Dome
  • Opera House on Bebelplatz
  • Brandenburg Gate
  • Reichstag
  • Another view of Reichstag
  • Schloss Bellevue
  • Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche
  • Inside Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche
  • More of Interior
  • Interior of New Part
  • Entrance to Zoo
  • Piece of Berlin Wall (with little piece of plastic on it to protect it)
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The Baltics: Denmark

In the fall of 2012, I took a tour to the Baltics. Although the Baltic States are officially Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the Baltic Region also includes Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, and Sweden, which all rim the Baltic Sea. Nine countries; nine languages; nine cultures; and seven currencies (not all were using the Euro). I had been to Germany and Poland before, but not to any of the other countries.

I flew from Minneapolis to Toronto and from there to Copenhagen. It was kind of a misty day. There was a grocers near the hotel, so I bought some food for lunch. The entire group would be getting together to meet each other and then have dinner at 6:30pm. There were about 22 people. Only a couple of us were from the US, the rest were from Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Right away, I met a woman named Heike, who had been born in Germany, but had moved to Australia when she was a child. We immediately hit it off and are still friends. Our Tour Director, Andrej, was originally from Russia. He had managed to leave Russia while it was still under official Communist control and eventually made a new life for himself in the US after spending a few years in some of the other countries we were about to visit. He was a very interesting person to talk with about all sorts of things.

Officially the Kingdom of Denmark, Denmark was once ruled together with Norway and Sweden. Its people have been referred to a Jutes and Vikings (along with Norway) as well as Danes. Copenhagen had originally been a Viking fishing village (beginning in the 10th century) before becoming the capitol of Denmark in the 15th century. I have both Viking and specifically Danish ancestry, so was very happy to be in Denmark.

The next morning, we began our tour of Copenhagen at the Borsen (built in the 1600s), which was the old stock exchange. It is currently used as the Danish Chamber of Commerce. I thought it was a very unique looking building. It was along the waterfront, with gables that looked similar to some I have seen in the Netherlands and a steeple with entwined dragon’s tails.

Nearby, on its own little island, is Christiansborg Palace, which was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier castle. It is the home of the Danish Parliament, Prime Minister’s Offices and Supreme Court, as well as several Royal Reception Rooms (including a Throne Room), a library, the Palace Chapel, and the Royal Stables.

On our way from this area to a 17th century waterfront called Nyhavn, we passed by a statue of a knight on horseback that I really liked and managed to get a pretty good photo of as we passed. Nyhavn was a colorful area with restaurants and townhouses and loads of boats. Some of the boats were an older type called “lantern boats”.

At the mouth of the harbor is the famous Little Mermaid statue. Unveiled in 1913, the face of the statue was based on a Danish ballerina who portrayed the Little Mermaid in a ballet based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson.

Amalienborg Palace is the home of the Danish Royal Family. They moved there from Christiansborg Palace after Christiansborg suffered a severe fire. It is really four identical palaces situated around a courtyard. We watched a changing of the guard ceremony, which I managed to video as well as photograph. I enjoyed watching the lead guard yelling at tourists to “get out of the way” (in English) as they performed their maneuvers.

The Royal Life Guards march from the nearby Rosenborg Palace (which dates from 1606) in order to have the changing of the guard ceremony. The palace was built in the Dutch Renaissance style and was used as a royal residence until around 1710. This palace still contains the crown jewels. The photo I took as we went by is a little off kilter and fuzzy, but still gives an idea of what the palace looks like.

We also saw the Opera House, a copy of Michelangelo’s statue of David, the 1626 Kastellet military buildings, and the 1740 marble Fredericks Kirke. Then we had our lunch stop by the Tivoli Gardens. This was a large, famous, 19th century amusement park in the heart of the city. Its many rides include four roller coasters.

After lunch, I visited the City Hall Square where I watched some musicians and took photos of the surrounding buildings. I also visited the Radhus (city hall). It was built very much like a palace. Just outside was a statue of Hans Christian Anderson. His lap was highly polished due to all the children who climb up on it. Just across the street in my photo of the statue is the Tivoli Gardens.

Once we left Copenhagen, we drove through the countryside of Denmark to cross the border into Germany.

Next time –Germany & Poland revisited.

  • The Borsen
  • Christiansborg Palace
  • Another view of Christiansborg Palace
  • The square in front of the palace
  • My knight
  • Nyhavn
  • A lantern boat on the right
  • More of Nyhavn
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Amalienborg Palace
  • Another part of Amalienborg Palace
  • Changing of the Guard
  • Rosenborg Palace
  • Tivoli Gardens
  • Radhus
  • Courtyard of Radhus
  • Hans Christian Anderson statue