Dan vs. The Other Baltic States

Note: this blog post is about stuff that happened two weeks ago, but I wrote stuff down that I wanted to tell people about so I wouldn't forget it all. Unfortunately all that did was allow me to procrastinate. Here's my harrowing account of epic adventure and peril:


So two weekends ago we went on a trip to Tallinn and Riga. Riga is in Latvia (North of Lithuania) and Tallinn is in Estonia (North of Latvia). Both are the capitol cities and they both have historic Old Town areas where we spent most of our time.
We left LCC at 10:30pm on Thursday night and "slept" on the bus on the way to Tallinn. Seeing as this bus didn't have beds or bathrooms or pillows or anything remotely comfy, I didn't sleep much. Nonetheless, I was excited to be somewhere new and exciting once we arrived in Tallinn at 9am. We went to breakfast at a hotel and they had bacon! I hadn't had bacon since the summer, so that was a big deal, since it is one of my favorite food groups. Then we got some time to explore Old Town. We went to a palace with gardens and climbed up mysterious steps and posed under tunnels of flowers. There was a wedding happening, or at least a woman in a white flowy dress being escorted by guys in tuxes and people with cameras. So I guess it could have been a prom, or a music video or something, but I think it was a wedding. It was raining, but that didn't stop the nuptials or the exploring.

That night we had dinner at Olde Hanso, which is a medieval-themed restaurant. They don't use electricity in the dining area, only candles and gravity, how old-fashioned. We had a feast of all kinds of different foods that were really tasty but I don't remember what it was. There was something like sauerkraut, something else with beef, and some salmon dish too. And something like apple crisp for dessert. For entertainment, they had girls playing flute and drums and even more entertaining were the real live candles on the tables! After that I went exploring with Brock and Kevin and got some cool pictures of the city.

The next morning we went to a hotel pool that had waterslides and hot tubs! I hesitate to call it a waterpark, so it isn't confused with the American kids-screaming-running-wild-throwing-water-everywhere-extremeness of a typical waterpark in the US. This one was relaxing and calm and relatively quiet, and best of all only 105 Estonian Kroons (which may sound like alot but it actually equals about $10 American!) After the obligatory snack shopping and souvenir browsing, we boarded the bus again for the next leg of our journey.

We got to Riga at about 8pm. I'll start by saying that it's a great city, but I'll add that Saturday night is not the best time for making first impressions of a city. There were some people of, shall we say, questionable morality roaming the streets. It was a little disquieting at first, but we successfully managed to avoid the fists of drunks and the heckling of scoundrels. We saw some more cool buildings and bridges and parks, which were great but the real show was when we saw some guys playing with fire for money! They were street performers, fire-twirlers who had flaming balls on chains and hurled them around to make cool shapes!

The next morning we got a very different view of Riga. There was a stark contrast from the city in its raucous nightlife to a solemn Sunday morning. We went to an English church service in the chapel of a large Catholic church in the heart of the city. Then we walked around some of the historic building and statues and monuments, and of course we did some souvenir shopping. Then we went on a boat ride through the canals of Riga! The city is right near the Baltic coast and the canals go all around and through the city. We got some more cool pictures and great views of new and old buildings. Then it was time to head back, but not without a stop at a giant Latvian lunch place! It was this giant lodge building with all sorts of food and great Šaltibarsčai (beet soup - more on that later!). It was a great end to an awesome weekend exploring Baltic Land!

Although it was a little disappointing to return to the realm of homework and tests and waking up to do something other than eat deliciously fatty foods in a strange new city, it was a good experience to leave Klaipeda for a few days. Returning to LCC actually felt like going home. Sort of. To quote the great philosopher Little Orphan Annie, "I think I'm gonna like it here."