Things actually started out pretty smoothly. I had purchased all my train tickets to Riga and back in advance, had seat reservations on all the night and express trains, and had booked a place on the ferry to Stockholm as well; so while I knew there were bound to be problems somewhere along the line, it limited the possibilities somewhat. I sat with this nice woman and her daughter all the way from Mannheim to Berlin, which made the time fly by. When mom got tired of talking about her French studies in preparation for a diplomatic posting, her daughter tried to teach me card games. The conversation drifted erratically between French, German and English, so I got to demonstrate my incompetence in three languages at once. From there to Warsaw I managed to find all the right trains (eventually), but our arrival there was over an hour late and my sleeper to Vilnius had long since left. (So much for the reservation!) Then the fun began. None of the night personnel (it was around 11:30 PM) spoke any of the languages I had any familiarity with, so I was dependent on the kindness of passing strangers for assistance. And it took several, just to find the correct window on the right floor from which to get help. (You have to love Polish – seven-letter words with one vowel and two of the consonants are “z”s.) Then we discovered that the folks at Deutsche Bahn had routed me through Belarussia. Not a problem for Germans, I guess, but definitely one for me. If you’ll all look at your maps, class, you’ll notice the little arm of Belarussia that sticks out between Poland and Lithuania. Naturally, the train goes through this little arm, and naturally you need a visa, and naturally I didn’t have one. Not that I wanted one. That’s one of those places Americans aren’t real welcome right now, and just getting the visa is time-consuming and expensive (read: pay them $50.00 and still miss the train – and there’s only one a day). We figured out a way around it; but it required a new ticket, and stretched a 30-hour trip into a 44-hour marathon that included a nine-hour layover in Kaunus. But I still made it to Riga in time to catch the ferry; I just wasn’t as well rested as I’d planed.Out of misfortune, however, comes good fortune; and this was no exception. My ears caught the unmistakable sound of American being spoken on one leg of the Poland detour, and I discovered a couple of Maineians? Maineites? All right; people from the other Portland (Maine), who were likewise trying to get to Riga without going through Belarussia. They were also short on sleep, having had to keep the thieves at bay all night. International trains in and out of Warsaw are heavily targeted by bands of thieves, especially at night. They get on at one of the little stops and see how many compartments they can get into before they are noticed or the next stop. To make matters easier, once they have tried a compartment, they open the window in the outer passageway to let their friends know to move on. Problem was, the night was cold and the blankets weren’t all that thick; so Nancy or Amanda would keep getting up and closing the window. So a few minutes later, here’d come the next thief who would “accidentally” enter the wrong compartment, leave, and open the window again. Apparently, this went on for a couple of hours, after which neither one of them could sleep. Much more amusing are the trains heading into Poland. As soon as the train starts moving out of the station, the Russians start tearing the train apart, hiding bottles of vodka everywhere. Often, they will ask fellow travelers to “hold” a bottle for them until the train crosses the boarder. You are only allowed to bring one bottle into the country duty-free, and apparently it fetches quite a good price in Poland. Then, at the boarder, the Polish customs officers tear the train apart again, usually finding about two-thirds of what was hidden. (Who knows where it goes.) Once the boarder is safely crossed, the Russians will recover what’s left and be off at the next station. Anyway; after discovering that we enjoyed each other’s company during a two-hour “discussion” of America’s role in world politics with an opinionated Greek fellow, we decided to find a nice place to eat in Kaunus, enjoy our enforced stay and share guard duty on the train to Riga that night. Now Kaunus, Lithuania’s second largest city, wasn’t on my original itinerary; but it is a pretty fascinating place. It has been burned to the ground thirteen times in its brief 10-century history. This might explain why it possesses the only museum devoted to devils of which I am aware – over 2000 of them at last count. It also has other charms: a cathedral reminiscent of the Taj Mahal flanked by a 15-foot statue of a crazed naked man marking the Museum of Art, a wonderful old city center, lots of music and restaurants, and a great market. So we ended up enjoying our detour considerably, and parted ways in Riga.
Stockholm was kind of a spur of the moment lark. I had read about the ferries/cruises that crossed the Baltic back and forth between there and Riga, and thought pretty much “What the heck”. You catch the afternoon boat, sleep on board that night, wake up in Sweden, spend the day sightseeing, hop on the boat for the night and end up back in Riga next morning; all for less than the air fare. Problem was, after docking and clearing passport control, there was only about six hours to see the city before it was time to reboard. Also, being stuck on a boat with no one to talk to and nothing to do but eat, gamble or drink is not my idea of fun. (No square dancing anywhere!) However, Stockholm had several treasures to offer; chief among them the Vasa. In 1628, it was the largest ship to be built in the shipyards of Stockholm; the flagship of the Swedish fleet. On its maiden voyage, however, it unfortunately proved how primitive was the understanding at the time of the physical laws governing ballast; the first crosswind laid it on its side, and the second put her under for good. For good in this case was until 1961, when a Swedish oceanographer with a home made core sampler and lots of free time came up with a sample of black oak after twelve years of searching. This commenced one of the greatest recovery efforts in history. They had to burrow underneath it, string cables through the tunnels and lift it up between two barges. The ship was incredibly well preserved, the freshwater habitat of the Baltic proving inhospitable to the worms normally responsible for the decomposition of wrecks at sea; so they pulled it up on shore, built a building around it, and there it sits today. While visitors are not allowed onto the ship, the area surrounding the ship is full of displays, exhibits and dioramas showing everything from clothes to how little room there was below decks; and there are seven different levels from which to view the ship up close. An amazing museum - I was there for hours.
Just down the shore from there was a great Tivoli amusement park, featuring the tallest free-fall in Europe: 80 meters. Of course I had to try it. They say it took just under three seconds before the brakes kicked in; I could have sworn it was three minutes. But what a view from the top! Then, after wandering the streets a little, it was time to sail back to Riga.
Riga; what a city. I could have stayed there for the entire time and been quite happy. If you like architecture, this is your dream come true. Every corner (and not just in the old town, but the “new” city as well) held some wonderful treasure. I haven’t a clue as to what it all was called or what styles were represented, but I know I liked it. And churches – every denomination was wonderfully represented, but the Russian Orthodox were especially spectacular. It seems that they approach interior design with the idea that every member of the congregation needs their own patron saint, a bare spot is an affront to God, and colors were made to be enjoyed; so every inch of space has some icon, painting, alter, or something wonderful – usually made of gold. And somehow they make it work. The incense and the old Russian chants together with the brilliant light of the setting sun just added to the atmosphere. There was nary a hint that only ten years ago, most of them were used to store grain. Music of every kind, of course. I attended two organ concerts (on the world’s third largest organ – what a sound!), a folk festival (with dancing and costumes) and a modern improvisation with oboe and drums; having to miss the opera “Turandot” and the Latvian National Symphony do an all-American concert due to scheduling conflicts. They even have a connection to Bremen, the city in northern Germany where we play the International Music Show every year. I was walking around one of the cathedrals when, there in the square, was a statue of the Bremen Town Musicians – almost exactly like the one by the City Hall in Bremen. It turns out they are sister – cities; but still I was surprised. Antiques – lets just say it’s a good thing I’m not rich. I could have dropped quite a bundle there. Great restaurants and sidewalk cafes were everywhere, so the question of the day was always which one to try. Of course, restoration was in progress everywhere; but a cleaner, brighter, more spruced-up city I have rarely seen. And finally – I’m sorry, but I have to say this; think of me what you will. I have never seen so many beautiful women in my life. It must be something about the way the Russian, Scandinavian and Latvian mix; but whatever it is, someone could make a fortune if they could bottle it. For one of the concerts, my seat was in the front row of one of two facing sections; and one of these Baltic beauties walked in and sat in the front row of the opposite section facing me. (Did I mention that while they dress very well and with terrific style, they seldom wear very much?) I laughed out loud, much to my neighbors’ surprise, for I knew that I was never going to be able to concentrate on the music regardless of how wonderful it might be. Fortunately, she was in the wrong place and had to move; so I did manage to enjoy the concert. But what a city!
One of the things which set this trip apart from former adventures and gave me the courage to visit some places where I might otherwise have felt too uncomfortable to venture was the presence of friends I have met over the last year through the Internet. So my next stop was to see Vilnius, Lithuania with my new friend Tania as a guide. While the travel books are billing it as “the new Prague”, I thought Vilnius was quite nice of its own merit. (Of course, I haven’t been to the old Prague yet; so what do I know.) The first day there was spent wandering through more old churches, climbing more towers and enjoying more cafes and restaurants. The second was devoted to the castle at Trakai, built on three islands in a huge lake. After ogling all the artifacts, art and other wonders of the castle, we took the obligatory boat ride to fully appreciate the sunny afternoon and the fairy tale castle. This boat was a little smaller than the last one – in fact, I think it was one of the oldest row boats afloat today, captained by this old lady whose arms put mine to shame. Sure, she’s been doing it since she was twelve; but I still had to take a turn if only to prove to myself that I could still do it. I miss the sliding seat! Then we were off to Visaginas where Tania lives, a twenty-five year old city built to support the new nuclear power plant back when the Soviets occupied Lithuania. It is still about 85% Russian in population, though many are leaving these days. There is a growing nationalist sentiment in both Latvia and Lithuania, and discrimination is becoming a real problem for the occupiers who chose to remain behind. If only they could take their buildings with them! A Russian residential district is constructed like a beehive: multiple identical 8-12 story apartment buildings, all modular construction and all showing their age. Once inside a unit, they are pretty nice; but the outside looks – well, Communist. Pretty sad.
My final few days were spent back in Ogre, Latvia; where I saw the solar eclipse. We were too far north to get more than half coverage, and the clouds were not cooperative; but the few glimpses we got were impressive. I got a bigger kick out of the amazing assortment of devices which people used to view the sun: multiple sunglasses, smoked glass of every shape and size, welding goggles, pinhole cameras, the works. While I forgot to come equipped for proper eclipse viewing, I did bring a collection of things which allowed me to adjust to almost every other situation. I had my flying disk, always a big hit with kids and less inhibited adults; my recorder, great for impromptu concerts or making a few bucks at the train station; and Leaves Of Grass for those times when only a book would do. I still need to learn a few things about doing laundry on the road, though. Then it was time for another long train ride, and home. I was ready.