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Cassie's World Travel
Tuesday, 7 October 2003
Oct. 6th LITHUANIA
Finally, back on track, and updated! (I am writing from Krakow, Poland, but I am not done with the city yet). I did not stay the night in Tallinn. Instead I took a Eurobus the 11 hours to Vilnius, Lithuania. I also took the Eurobus 9 hours to Warsaw last night instead of staying in Vilnius. Here's what with overnight busses..................... Exactly. It was the right choice. Everyone, I mean everyone told me not to take overnight trains around the east because everyone gets robbed. The busses themselves are comfortable and heated, but if they are full (Tallinn) then it's a battle trying to sleep next to some stranger. If another passenger decides to lean -both- the chairs in front of you back all the way (Vilnius), then you are cramped and can't do anything because you don't speak her language and no one on the bus speaks yours. Needless to say, I'm sleeping well tonight! The ride from Vilnius to Warsaw became interesting at the Polish border. I think they were looking for someone. They came on the bus to stamp passports, though they had to take mine inside for a different stamp. They also asked anyone with a green bag to step out and show their bags. My backpack is green. I guess they weren't looking for me! Also, the bus got a flat tire which our driver had to change. Around Warsaw when I fully awoke in the morning I realised we still had tire trouble. The last leg was tepid, the bus shook and stumbled a fair bit. I never got a good look at the left side, but I imagine a tire was about to come off after we reached the train station. Ummm, right, this is about Vilnius! It has many things in common with Tallinn except that it is still in the throes of reconstruction. The old city is more incorporated with everything else and has more churches of all sorts. Also, everything still looks rather run-down. Lithuania is new as well, and I applaud their mere 3.5 to 1 exchange rate. At first I didn't like the city much. Still dirty to look at? But then I wandered into a church and realised what original structures look like. It was faded and old and missing bricks, but it was beautiful. I just barely made out frescoes on the walls and saw remnants of the stained glass and even could see behind the plaster at hidden alcoves beyond the great stone effigies that hang on the walls. It was fantastic seeing the original. And it shed a new light on Vilnius for me. Also, Vilnius' city legend includes an Iron Wolf who supposedly showed their first king where to build. The central white cathedral and its bell tower are immense, and Lithuania is rebuilding the lower royal palace. It should look fantastic in 2009. I ate dinner at a local pub. Lithuanian food, like all the Baltics, is about potatoes and fat. I had Borsh soup and potato pancakes with meat filling, and finished it off with a beer and cherry cake. Then I started chatting with a nice guy up from Poland visiting his new boyfriend. He convinced me to see Trakai, a town 40mins away. I took a small bus there and wandered an absolutely fabulous island of a fully restored old redstone castle. It was closed! I was gutted, as the brits say. Someday, I have to see the insides.
Oct. 5th (oops!) ESTONIA
Instead of 3 days in Helsinki and 3 in Russia I wound up spending 7 in Helsinki enjoying the comfort. It was sad leaving, but I must admit the air was very fresh Sunday morning and my feet felt good on the road. I caught a morning ferry for Tallinn, Estonia. How many of you know where Estonia is? Quick lesson, it's the northernmost Baltic country, which puts it maybe 20km south across the ocean from Finland and flat against Russia's border. From WWII until 1991 it and Latvia and Lithuania were part of Russia. Nowadays Estonia seems to be doing -very- well for itself despite the recent independence and fact it is 30 krone for 1 euro. It may have something to do with it being a favorite tour stop for Finns. I had the pleasure of walking from the international bus station (had to buy a ticket) through the "new town" into the Old Town. The transition was like stepping from a yacht in Cannes to a chinese junker. Kind of...Estonia is growing immensely with dark glass skyscrapers casting shadows over wide, clean streets and sweeping pedestrian strolls. It looks like it will be quite a metropolis someday. But then you reach the end of construction and see two fat guard towers covered with red ivy protecting a wide arch. Inside the still completely intact city walls is the Old Town, a maze of cobbled streets and clean, colorful shops, churches, homes, and more. It's untouched by war. The pharmacy even dates into the 15th century. I watched a fine sunset from the top of the hill where the fortifications of the original Danish castle still sit around the 'new' royal palace. I saw a useless little monastary (4 rooms of it) that supposedly houses a Pillar of Energy for spiritually inclined. And I learned all of Tallinn's history in a superb museum. All I didn't go to see was the large city park that houses a russian palace where the president resides. I recommend Tallinn. It's clean and comfortable, if not much cheaper than scandinavia.
Sept. 28th HELSINKI
Ahhh, arrived in Helsinki at 8:40am Sunday morning to be greeted by a very drunk but loopy happy friend I'd met in Granada, Spain. It was fantastic knowing someone there. I went straight out of hostels and cheap food and into a quiet apartment with home cooked meals and free laundry (which was desperately needed). And Timo made my stay one of the best in Europe. I didn't want to leave! I have to admit, I didn't do many touristy things. Although Timo did take me for a few walks, they always had a purpose. The first was to find the Russian Embassy and discover how long it would take to get a Visa there on the spot. 4 days if I rushed it, which would have cost a lot, and since I waited 3 days to get into the Embassy - which is open 9-12 only - I decided I didn't have time. St. Petersburg drifted back to it's mysterious, fanciful image beyond the horizon. So I learned where to buy ferry tickets to Estonia instead. I also saw both major areas for outdoor markets and Timo took me to an island a short ferry ride from Helsinki harbor where old Swedish/Russian/Finnish fortress walls still exist. He knew lots about the history and we wandered some pitch black tunnels and stared at the ocean and the old cannons and guns for a few hours. Other than that I wound up meeting most of his family and friends and simply drinking, hanging out, and having lots and lots of fun. It felt good being around local people and just relaxing instead of rushing from monument to museum to tour. I did still get a feel of Helsinki rising out of communism, what with its statues and dark red russian cathedral facing a bright white lutheran one, though is had nothing on the next cities I visited. The strangest part of the city? It's Black Death Park. It's a small green with tombstones from that era marking graves of dead inflicted with the disease. Creepy. The best part? The great memories Timo gave me, and the fact the Finn way of cheering is easy to remember in english: Get Pissed! Er... Kippis! (or however it's really spelled!).
SIDE NOTE!!
I completely forgot to mention...Apparently I look a hundred times better, cuter, more girly maybe, than I did in high school. (winks to all my hs friends!) Bloody receptionist in Aarhus made fun of my 18 year old picture on my driver's license. "Is this you??" Of course! "You look like a boy in this." Yeah, great, thanks!
Sept. 27th-28th TRAVELING...
Thus ensued a long evening of adventure. The afternoon bus on Saturday took me up to a little town called Happaranda flush against the Finnish border. It was a short 1km walk across the border to the twin town Tornio. Then I discovered the busses don't run that late from Tornio on Saturdays. There I was, staring cluelessly at finnish words on a dark billboard outside Information, getting spattered with light evening rain, when a car suddenly pulled up beside me. Three boys poked their heads out and asked if I needed help. I didn't even have to stick out my thumb! I was wary at first (3 boys vs. me?) but they weren't older than 18, so I hopped in. They drove me the 20km to Kemi and left me at the train station. Great kids! Only two knew english, but it was more than enough! So, eventually the bus (not train, the tracks were apparently broken) came and took me and lots of tired visitors and workers down to Oulu where we all caught the train to the south, away from the arctic circle. I just wanted to use this section to point out that Finnish sleeper trains are the best in Europe. Sinks in the compartments, little towels, bottled water, and only 3 beds (instead of 6). The comfort!
Sept. 26th LULEAA
Many thanks to Stefan, a man I've known now over five years and finally saw face to face up in Sweden's frigid north. The weather was still lovely, and the train ride up was gorgeous - passing aspens and pines, lakes and rapids. I recommend the north of Scandinavia and of the Baltics for anyone who likes Autumn. Luleaa is a smaller town in Sweden with still a somewhat bustling feel. All I didn't know is where they were bustling to. Stefan took good care of me and we visited quite a few coffee shops and I enjoyed the views of two lakes squishing Lulea center together (much like Madison). I spent a quiet night in a local hostel and the next day wandering before packing up for my first bus trip since Spain. Thanks again for the fun, Stefan!
Thursday, 2 October 2003
25th Sept. STOCKHOLM
Again, I must say I feel a little bad. I purposely took the 7:30am train to Stockholm so I could spend the entire day there, and leave at 8pm for an overnight train up north. I only saw the capital city for a half a day. But this time, unlike Denmark, I think I saw enough. Stockholm is beautiful, no doubts, and I could have spent more time just getting lost in some of it's neighborhoods, but I had some advice from a nice local friend and saw the best parts. At least, the tourist office agreed, so I'm content. Upon arriving in Stockholm I stored my bags at the station and jumped on a bus for an eastern island. There lay the Vasa Museum, a large building built to preserve the 1528 flagship of King Gustav Adolfus II (I think 2nd, may be wrong). The Vasa, she was called, and built to be marvelous and menacing. She had more gun turrets than any other and dozens of beautiful carvings. And she sank just a few hundred meters from port after a gust of wind tipped her over. The Vasa is one of Sweden's failure stories, but she wasn't able to be risen from her 30m tomb until about 60 years ago. Walking into the museum your first sight is this gigantic wooden ship. My first words were, "Wow." It's impressive to see. The rest of the museum is about her history and the histories of regular people of the 16th century, something not as common to learn about. After that I took the bus back to the center of town then walked south to the Gamla Stan, Stockholm's old city. The alleys were the narrowest I've seen, and it was fun to walk around. I stopped at the Royal Palace which was unfortunately already closed, but I took pictures of the swedish guards outside. The boys were funny. They must be trained not to smile because when I asked for a picture the one boy had very puffy cheeks under his low brow. Finally, at the south end of the town I found a swedish food pub and ate Swedish meatballs, which tasted exactly as I expected. I was content to leave.
24th Sept. HELSINGOR
In a split decision to see another smaller part of Denmark I chose to travel north of Copenhagen to Hamlet's city. Yep, Elsinor, or Helsingor as it is rightly spelled. It's a small town but quite rich. Every house looked well to do and the main pedestrian streets (cobblestoned!) showed off some expensive shops. Nial came with me, and after visiting Hamlet's castle and watching the jellyfish in the harbor, we found the hostel. It was a renovated 19th century manor house with many new little side buildings. I was going to travel to Sweden that evening on the ferry but decided to stay because the hostel was so nice. The receptionist wasn't as friendly, but we made do. Nial and I walked most of the town and enjoyed the architecture of some large homes, a large home that is now a museum, and some old homes that leaned steeply towards the road. Then we picked up some Danish meatballs and Danish bacon - and pasta and salad - from the grocery store and made ourselves dinner. The receptionist kicked us out at 8pm to close up. I feel bad - sort of - because we left at 6am the next morning and didn't clean up. But she wouldn't let us that night, and she didn't open until 9am! So then Nial got on a train for Hamburg, and I took my first ferry across the strait to Sweden. It was an easy ride but confusing on the other side in Helsingborg when I walked to the train station behind the harbor. Took me a few locals bothered before I found it.
22nd Sept. COPENHAGEN
And Autumn continued to follow me. It became cooler in Denmark, but no less sunny, which was fine for the capital city. Unfortunately (again) I had my first experience with not finding the hostel where the book says it should be. Nor did the phone number work. So I went to the second hostel on the list, which was friendly but more like a barracks than a dorm area. I slept in a long room of maybe 50 beds, separators between every 4. Not that I minded, I was just happy to have found the place. I'd had too many long bus rides around northwest Copenhagen. On the bright side, everyone in this part of Europe run on the Honor System. That means they don't check your tickets on public transportation. I've been a bad girl about this many times. I feel bad. I didn't see much of Copenhagen, and the small parts I saw, including the central square, the green walk along the 5 Lakes, and some residential blocks when I got lost, were all quite charming. But I drowned myself, quite happily, in Carlsberg Beer. I took a morning walk to the Brewery and wound up spending the entire afternoon there. Why? Technically I was only allowed 2 free beers. But Denmark had a sudden black out that lasted 3 hours and they let us drink for free the entire time. Apparently a nuclear plant in south Sweden suddenly clicked off, and it knocked power everywhere. So I was content to avoid the traffic jams and sit with my beers. Plus the bartender I later called K (because I can't remember his name), and a Brit named Nial became my drinking buddies, and we spent the entire night out getting drunker and drunker. Turns out Nial was staying at the same hostel, and we enjoyed a lovely hangover morning/afternoon together.
21st Sept. AARHUS
By noon I hopped off the train and set my feet on northern Danish soil. Aarhus is one of the larger cities in Denmark and on it's only mainland. I found the hostel easily, but had to wait until 4pm to check in, so out I trotted again to explore. For the second time I had to withdraw money that was not Euros. I still find the Swiss Franc the most beautiful, but Kroners aren't bad. Aarhus is a very personable city with a lot of pleasant streets and strips of park. I arrived on Sunday, so it was quiet, but people still wandered as I did. I took a bus out of town to a Prehistoric Museum. The museum had a large exhibit and a long movie about Afghanistan that was interesting (and wanted to point out how we've hurt a vibrant culture). But the point of the museum was better. At the end of the ice, copper, and iron ages you get to see a 2000 year old man, complete with red hair, preserved all this time from being buried in a peat bog. He looked like a blackened mummy. Outside the museum I looked at some reproductions of viking houses, then realized I'd left my bag inside. And they'd just locked up! AND, they needed a code to turn off the security, so I was told to come back the next morning. UGH! I didn't get to walk the "Prehistoric Path" that takes you past ancient camp sites, but the owners actually did show up and retrieved my bag for me. So the day after being stupid, I spent the morning back in Aarhus looking at the Gamle By, an old town reproduction. It was fantastic if you like learning about towns before industrialisation (which I do). I got to peek into dozens of buildings like a cartwright, blacksmith, apothecary, tailor, etc. They even offered a little horse carriage ride along the cobbled streets. I chose instead to sit on a park bench awhile and feed some geese. One of them bit me (mumble). But the weather was still gorgeous. In fact, upon walking through a park later, I smelled musty leaves and crisp air, the first signs of Autumn.
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