BalTiki Tour

Tori’s European Escapade

Summer 2012

July

7/7 – 9/7

Vilnius - Lithuania

Generally…

Vilnuis imbedded us further in WWII history with 95% of the Jewish population of the city murdered by the Nazi’s, but we weren’t long in Lithuania before you understood clearly that their history was as fraught with oppression and degradation as much, if not more from the former Soviet Union, and that this history was recent, fresh and remembered by the current generations of Lituanians, as the country only gained independence in 1991.

Storks are encouraged to nest on power lines and in other areas, as they are protected, and you cannot remove nests until the babies have left, and it makes for a very cold lead up to winter, if they picked your fireplace to nest on top of. Nests are generational, and the babies return to thier previous nests, renovate it and move in to have their own babies.

This was my first example of the decadent and austere Russian Orthodox Churches.

The town square

The old town gate

A statue outside the state funded university, that apparently is rarely seen in this condition, with students taking it upon themselves to improve the artwork with items such as underwear.

She pulled the face. This is the consequence. On the bus to Trakai 

Trakai Castle

Trakai is the home of a restored castle situated on one of many islands in Lake Galvė, originally built in the late 14th century after which it suffered damage from an invasion of the Teutonic Knight Order in 1377, after which it was repaired and extended. After its military influence faded, it fell into disrepair and was used as a short time as the summer residence for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and accents were added to the castle to make it more impressive, such as frescoes and statues. Thereafter it suffered massively, eventually being fully restored to its current state by 1961.

The KGB Headquarters in Lithuania

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania for the last time from 1944 to 1991 and during that time span the KGB responsible for upholding the communist way of life. The museum showed horrors that rivalled Auschwitz in cruelty, if not numbers. The worst was a detention chamber filled with water, and a small platform for the prisoner to stand on. The platform was large enough for two feet, but nothing else. Obviously, in the northern European conditions, the water was frigid to freezing for about 80% of the year and unsanitary for the whole of it. Prisoners would be detained in the cell until the succumbed to fatigue or illness, sometimes until death.

Shredded documents that the KGB did not manage to smuggle out of the country before the 1991 revolution.

Dad's Folklore Dinner Performance

That night we attended a folk lore dinner, where dad was challenged to a contest with an Australian.

Dad whopping David at the traditional "Hammer-in-the-nail-quickest" competition.

Preparing for the blindfolded beer drinking competition.

Gallantly (at least on the outside) congratulating David on his superior drinking skills.

Me feeling creative.

July

9/7 – 10/7

Riga - Latvia

Generally…

Riga is particularly famous for it’s incredible Art-Nouveau architecture that spans the movement comprehensively, with examples of the early detailed and decorative buildings standing beside their later counterparts that focus more on the vertical lines and utilitarian aspects of the structure. Despite its incredible examples of historical buildings, UNESCO is threatening to withdraw the centre’s protected status due to the abundance of modern structures that are being built.

An eclectic lunch stop.

The Votive Hill Of Crosses

Situated 12km north of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania, we passed the Hill of Crosses around lunchtime on our way to Latvia. The orginial reason of the hill is uncertain, but it disbelieved to have been a statement during the uprising in the early 1800's and this peaceful protest continued into the Soviet occupation, as the Russians attempted to destroy the hill several times, only to have the newly barren area covered in more crosses than before. The exact amount of crosess has not been numbered, but estimates in 2006 put it at over 100,000.

Dad and I with our crosses.

Upon arriving in Riga, we saw the town was much more of a metropolitan than Villnus, and I was also very glad that we were only staying one night as I saw the "bed" I was expected to sleep on. As you may have figured out, this first part of my trip is being generously sponsored by mother and father with the understanding that this was our only opportunity to convene, as I would not be visiting New Zealand for a long time. It is therefore understandable that when we walk into our "triple" room and always see two beds and a fold up, I get the fold up. This had not been a problem until now, with a small, wobbly bed and a paper thin excuse for a mattress.

Then Mum sat on it and broke it. Not cool.

The Nativity of Christ Cathedral in central Riga

An awesome streetside building.

The graduation project of a Fine Arts students. These were located all over the town.

Woo! Represent!

The cat doing its business on top of an art academy building. The owner built the academy opposite the academy he was fired from, and placed the cat on the tower with the, er, backside facing his previous school. After a legal tussle, the professor was reinstated, provided he turned the cat around, which he duly did.

Incredible Art Nouveau relief over a building doorway.

The oldest buildings in Riga, built in the Middle Ages.

The Open Air Museum

On our way out of Riga, we went to an open air museum, which was a novel and beautiful way to demonstrate the pagan lifestyle.

The beautiful inside of the church.

Tori’s European Escapade

Summer 2012

July

10/7 – 12/7

Tallinn and Narva - Estonia

Generally…

Tallinn is the oldest capital city in northern Europe and was known as Reval from the 13th century until the 1920s. It functions as the only port for the other landlocked Baltic states and is in a valuable position with it's proximity to Scandinavia. Due to this, the economy has historically been very good, but has suffered a steady decline in recent decades, with a large percentage of the working population leaving the country and countries exploring other means of transporting imports and exports.

On the Baltic Coast, with Tallinn in the background and Finland and Stockholm a short ferry ride away.

On the Old Town Wall.

One of the oldest and continuing pharmacies in the world - still owned and operated by the Apteek family since 1422.

The Kissing Statues. There are two - this is "Before" the other one is "After". Lets just say, I saw "After" and I'm not sure that kissing was the only thing they did.

The Russian Border

Let's just say the Russian are a dour lot. Crossing the border was an exercise in forced humility as we meekly went through the motions to get across. That being said, despite a lot of unnecessary requirements, like walking our bags over the border, rather than them staying on the bus it wasn't too painful.

Me super excited about crossing the Russian border, with both my parents unashamedly poking fun at their only child.

I think it is safe to say we are in Russia with that kind of language...

The truck queue to get into Estonia.


Russia, baby!