Wednesday 31 October 2012

Tallinn, Estonia continued for days

Sunday Sept.16 /12

Went to the Kiek in de Kök tower/ museum.
It was built in 1475 and stands 38m high.  The walls are 4m thick and cannon balls dating back to 1577 are still embedded in its outer walls.
This museum had videos and exhibits focused on the wars of Estonia.
There were also tunnels that you could go through but all the tour groups were full for the day.



We spent the afternoon and evening watching the volleyball finals. Unfortunately Estonia placed second to the Netherlands in the finals.







Monday Sept.17/12 - Friday Sept. 21 /12

I took the day to relax. I started planning my next trip to Poland. I tried to book a bus ticket for Tuesday and it was sold out for every possible time..which was a bit odd. So I ended up booking the ticket for the Wednesday instead.

Sure enough, I woke up Tuesday morning with a very swollen, very painful index finger and another abscess on my hip. I went to the medical emergency clinic and they poked and drained the pus out of my finger and put me on another course of antibiotics.
Spent a lot of time on this couch.

Wednesday came and went. With 2 new abscesses and my finger trying to heal, I decided, with some parental influence, that it was not a good idea to continue travelling. I ended up going back to the medical emergency clinic on Friday because an abscess on my bum cheek was swollen and painful and needed draining. Luckily this provided some pain relief.



Friday night, Harry was celebrating his birthday. We went out for a nice dinner with some of his friends then went to the casino.
So here's a cultural difference for you: In Estonia, the birthday person is in charge of organising the birthday event AND is responsible for buying all of the friends food and drinks for the night. I was in shock. I couldn't even believe it.. I explained to Harry that where I'm from, usually the friends buy the birthday person the drinks.
Not the other way around :P
It was a fun night.

Saturday Sept. 22 /12
We ended up going to the Casino for a poker tournament, which was a first for me. Unfortunately, I called an all-in with an ace and king, and the other person had pair of queens. Needless to say, I lost and was out of the tournament quicker than I wanted to be.

Sunday Sept. 23/12
I was eager to try the casino poker again, so we went to another tournament.  This one was a bit bigger with 60 people.  I had learned my lesson and lasted much longer. Harry was out before me. I ended up losing still.. got like 45th place of 60.

Monday Sept. 24 /12 - Thursday Sept. 27 /12

Spent the week taking care of my skin wounds. I got into a routine.

This is a little basement cafe that had really good, cheap food. I went there nearly everyday. The waitresses knew my tea order without having to ask.

The days were getting a bit boring while Harry was at work.

Luckily my abscesses were healing and I finally booked a plane ticket to my next destinations, Croatia and Bosnia.
Unfortunately, I missed a few key countries (Poland and Hungary), but I will hopefully have time to see them after the New Year.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Back in Tallinn, Estonia

Friday Sept. 14 /12

Arrived in Tallinn very early in the morning. Harry picked me up from the bus station and carried my large backpack for me back to his place.
Harry had the day off work and we both went back to sleep for a few extra hours.

That afternoon we went to Museum of Occupation.

It opened in 2003 and is dedicated to the 1940-1991 period when the country was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, and then again by the Soviet Union.

It was full of different videos and stories about how the people in Estonia were affected and how they fought for freedom. It was pretty interesting.

There was a volleyball tournament that Estonia was competing in for the weekend. So we joined up with some of Harry's friends and watched Eesti in action. The fans were loud and cheerful.. just as they had been in the basketball game, drums and chants. They won best out 5 of games against Israel.

Afterwards, we went out to a pub/ restaurant called, Chicago, for some food and a couple drinks.


Saturday Sept. 15 /12

Continuing to explore the city of Tallinn, Harry and I went to the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Museum.

This submarine, the EML Lembit, was launched in 1936.

It was mainly used in military exercises.

When the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940, the Lembit served in the Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the Soviet Navy.

The Lembit conducted 3 attacks in WWII, torpedoing and sinking other ships in battle.
 After the war, Lembit was used as a training vessel.

In 1992 it was handed over to the Estonian Maritime Museum. It remained afloat until 2011.

Diving Depth: up to 90 meters
Speed while submerged: 8.5 knots


We got to walk through the submarine.

Saw the tiny bunk beds the marines had to sleep on.

I am in the bathroom of the submarine in this picture.



This museum was full of other exhibits as well. It had boats, guns, tanks, air crafts...

The hover craft.


Next to this museum is the Patarei prison museum.

The facility served as a prison from 1920-2002.

It was very large, dark, dirty, creepy and old looking.


Three or four levels of prison.

This level had the prison hospital

Definitely wouldn't want to get treated or work in this kind of environment.



Stingy, rusty bunkbeds.

In each cell there were 16 sleeping spaces that often had over 30 prisoners waiting for their trial.

Hundreds of prisoners were executed in this prison. Either by hanging, poison or gun shot.

The execution room was painted brown and red so the blood stains would blend in.

 The last execution took place in 1991.

It was too dark to get a picture of the execution room.

It was an eventful day.
I don't remember what we did Saturday night; only remember that I emailed my sister, wishing her a happy birthday.


Monday 22 October 2012

Vilnius, Lithuania, last days

Wednesday Sept. 13 /12



Tomas's friend, Greta, picked me up and together with the dog, we went out of Vilnius to a town called, Trakai.



The main attraction being the Trakai Peninsula Castle.

Built between 1350 - 1377 the castle was an important defence structure, protecting Trakai and Vilnius.


I explored the castle and the museums within the castle.

Takas was not allowed in so Greta took him for a walk while I explored.

After, we went for lunch at a local restaurant where I ate some traditional food. I can't remember the name of it.. but it's basically a meat stuffed pastry. It was delicious.








Thursday Sept. 14 /12

After 8 days in Lithuania, I was getting a bit bored. I had my last professional bandage change on my back. The doctor said I could now do it on my own. I bought the supplies but I struggled to reach the spot. My backpack was also too heavy to be moving on by myself... so I decided to back track to Estonia.
Harry  (previous host in Tallinn) was willing to help me clean and bandage the small hole in my back.

I spent the day packing up and Tomas took me to the bus station to catch the 10pm night bus back to Estonia.

Thursday 18 October 2012

Vilnius, Lithuania

Thursday Sept. 6 - Sunday Sept.9 /12


Did a lot of sleeping.
The pattern: Sleep, eat, antibiotics, sleep, eat, clinic for professional bandage change on my back, sleep, eat, antibiotics, sleep.

Fortunately  I had Tomas's puppy, Takas, to keep me company.
So adorable!
Except when he peed on the floor...







Monday Sept. 10 & Tuesday Sept. 11 / 12

Finally having a bit more energy, I wondered around the old town of Vilnius.. which I  quickly learned has many many churches.



St. Anne's Church - A Gothic style, Roman Catholic church built from 1495-1500.


It is quite beautiful.



This is the Cathedral square.. featuring the Vilnius Cathedral.

Originally built in the late 1200 the cathedral houses crypts and catacombs of many famous Lithuanian and Polish people.

The cathedral was restored in 1989.


Behind this beautiful site is the Gediminas tower, which used to be an entire castle, originally built in 1409.

The tower is all that remains.



It had a mini museum inside where I read about the 1989 "Baltic Way" or Chain of Freedom.
At this time, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were all Republics of the Soviet Union.

The Baltic Way was a peaceful political demonstration that involved approx. 2 million people who joined hands over a 600km span across all 3 Baltic States.

The protest drew global attention by demonstrating a desire for independence for each of the entities. It also illustrated solidarity among the three nations.
The event presented an opportunity for the Baltic activists to publicise the illegal Soviet occupation and position the question of Baltic independence not as a political matter, but as a moral issue. 6 months after the protest, Lithuania declared independence.

The view of Vilnius from the top of the tower.






This is the Angel of Užupis, which was my landmark for finding my way back to Tomas's house.

It was erected in 2002 to symbolise the revival and artistic freedom of eastern Europe.


I walked past it everyday.











Wednesday 17 October 2012

Riga, Latvia

Tuesday, September 4/12
Took the bus from Tallinn in the morning. 4.5 hours later I arrived in Riga.

I found my way to the old town and walked around, checking out the sites.

This is the House of the Blackheads. Originally built in the 14th century. Bombed by Germans in 1941 and demolished by the Soviets in 1948. Reconstructed in 1995.


I met up with my host, Walter and we went out for some dinner and a beer.
Walter lives about 20 minutes away from the city centre by tram. We made our way back to his place and I got settled. He lives in a very old house.


That evening we went on a bicycle ride to the sea. It took about 30mins biking to get there. It was beautiful. We enjoyed another beer, the sea and the sunset.









Wednesday, September 5/12

Woke up with a fever, chills and a sore throat. Managed to shower but didn't have much energy to do anything else. I ended up sleeping until 2pm then decided I should head into the town.
I took the 6pm bus to Vilnius, Lithuania. My friend Tomas (I met in Tromso, Norway) was in Lithuania on business. He picked me up from the bus station at 1030pm. I had warned him I woke up with a fever and after taking my temperature at 39.6 degrees, Tomas took me to the emergency room.
I had an abscess on my lower back, which the doctor cut open and inserted a drain into. I had blood tests and was fully checked over. I started on a 7 day course of antibiotics.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Tallinn, Estonia Day 3 - The History

Monday September 3/12

I spent the day enjoy the enjoying Tallinn's old town. There was a walking city tour that I joined. The guide was fantastic.



Most of Estonia's history has been one of occupation and domination.

St. Nicholas' Church - originally build in 13th century









First ruled by the Danish in the 13th century.
Estonia then became apart of the Swedish Empire after the Livonian war in the 16th century.
The Great Northern War (1700-1721) resulted in Estonia ceding to the Russian Empire.




This is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Built between 1894 - 1900 while Estonia was under Russian Empire.

During WWI the Russian Empire collapsed.







 Monument to the War of Independence

This monument commemorates victory in the Estonian War of Independence, which was fought from 1918-1920 in defence of Estonias sovereignty.


Unfortunately for Estonia, this period of independence was followed by the Soviet occupation in 1940 and the German occupation from 1941-1944. Then there was WWII and from 1944-1991 Estonia was re-occupied by the Soviets.

In 1991 Estonia independence was re-established.

It was a fantastic day. I met up with Harry after he was done work and we had dinner and played some pool.