Tallinn

The tour of the old town was impressive. Our guide Nikolai walked us through the town giving history and shopping tips throughout the old town. The town is divided into two parts. The upper and lower. The upper part on top of the hill was home to the royalty, parliament, churches and people with money. The lower part of the town was home to the markets, shops and workers. Today, a few more shops were open so the rest of the morning was spent shopping for souvenirs and eating pancakes.

In the afternoon I went on the 'optional' tour of the baroque style Kadriorg Palace to see the art collection. The palace was ordered to be built by Peter the Great so I guess that one would expect a pretty good collection. After the palace we went for a tour of some other sights in Tallinn including a destroyed nunnery and the Olympic sailing village. I also got to stand on a beach on the shores of the Baltic sea.

Riga to Tallinn

It was a 9am departure from the hotel this morning. From there we drove to Irnagii and crossed the border into Estonia. Lunch was included and taken in a quiet village called Parnu. The village wasn’t that small but it was certainly quiet. The streets were empty and the shops were closed. We wandered around for a little while but with nothing open it was just really a village, as we arrived back to were the bus was going to be I saw that most were waiting there and obviously had the same idea.

The hotel we were staying at this evening was called the Kreutzwald Hotel Tallinn. It was a nice little hotel although I didn’t stay in it for long. As soon as the bags had been delivered I went for a wander into the city. The old town was about a kilometer from the hotel and up a reasonable steep hill. As the old town is sat on top of a hill (and snakes its way down wards). It was overcast but wasn’t raining so I thought I’d make the best of the goodish weather and have a look. Even though the place was pretty quiet the old medieval buildings were impressive as always and the views of the surrounding city from the little lookout spots. The skyline was full of old roofs, church steeples and tower blocks. But, to have a closer look, that would have to wait until tomorrow.

Riga

Riga is a beautiful old town with many art nouveau buildings. We had a tour of some of these buildings and heard a bit of what makes a building art nouveau as opposed to something else. The morning was spent looking around the city and the afternoon spent on an ‘optional’ tour of the Ethnographical Museum. We had a tour guide taking us around the different houses in the museum. He also told us a bit of the history of the time when Latvia was under the control of communist Russia. It was quite interesting and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Vilnius to Riga

We left our hotel and drove northwards towards Latvia. Our first stop was just over the border at the Palace of Rundale. This palace was the former summer residence of the Duke of Courland (one of the areas of the Baltics) and was designed by the same guy who did the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The tour of the palace revealed many amazing rooms with decadent wallpaper, floorboards and trim. You had to pay to get into the gardens so afterwards I strolled around the front (also nice) and watched the ducks on the canal that ran through the property.

Upon reaching Riga, the grand capital of Latvia, we drove through amazing buildings, past triumphant squares and stunning boulevards we pulled up in front of our hotel (the Raddison Latvia). It was a very nice hotel and the rooms were modern (if a bit small). After seeing all the splendour that surrounding me I automatically made a priority list. First, laundry; second, drinks in the bar and thirdly, dinner. I found the Laundromat a short distance from the hotel and managed to get what I wanted to accomplish across to the attendant though sign language and a smattering of Latvian that I had read in my guidebook. She answered me in broken English so I can only assume it was that my newness tot he language was obvious.

Vilnius

The next day we went to explore the town. It was full of old buildings and churches. We had a couple of hours to look around the city. I explored many of the churches in town but there were still many more that I didn’t get the chance to have a look at. I also spent a bit of my time in the main square listening to some musical acts on stage. They had all kinds of music playing from rock and acoustic to classical and even opera. The crowds walked my, some stopped. By the time I had to leave to catch the bus a small crowd was now watching the performances.

I’d decided to go on the optional tour to Trakai Castle that afternoon. Trakai is a small, traditional, red brick castle that sits on a small island in the middle of a lake about half an hour outside the city. The castle was originally built by one of the first kings of the region. Since that time it has been destroyed and rebuilt to what it is today. I was told that many films have been shot there including Robin Hood (which version though I’m not too sure). The whole place was very touristy although there wasn’t much to the castle itself. There were a couple of rooms which had been done up with the history of the castle and informative panels about certain sections. We had a local guide this time who took us through the castle. She was a good guide whose commentary wasn’t as dry as everyone elses. She was also the first local tour guide that liked to take questions. We hadn’t see that in any of the three countries we’d been in so far so it was a nice change.

That night I also attended the ‘optional’ dinner excursion. The tour guide described the restaurant as a ‘folk law dinner’ although there was very little folk law and the dinner wasn’t up to much either. We had our orders taken on the bus a day or so before. I decided to order the fillet of cod served on a bed of mashed potatoes and a traditional salad. In the end what I was given was fish and chips. It wasn’t a pleasant evening that I had invisaged. The staff were rude and unfriendly and the people doing the entertaining, singing and playing traditional instruments appeared bored. This carried on throughout the evening. Even with the coffee after dinner no milk was served. I asked a waiter for it who replied “in a minute" in an exasperated tone. The milk never arrived and after the reaction I received from asking the first time, I did not want to ask again. It was interesting to note that the tour guide and driver were treated differently to the paying customers with the staff being friendly and, I noted, they got milk with their coffee. We were rushed through the meal, in and out with a three-course meal plus coffee in an hour and a half. The consensus among those people on the tour said that the meal was disappointing and staff were solemn unsmiling and rude. When this information was relayed to our tour guide she replied much the same as before. That it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. Apparently it was even too much to listen to the issues the people had with their meal. Even though all who attended (apart from the tour guide and driver) paid 60 euros for the meal. The rest of the evening was spent in the hotel bar with the others who attended the meal. The meal was crap but afterwards was a nice way to spend the rest of the evening.

Warsaw to Vilnius

In my true wussy sense I woke up this morning with a slight headache. I put it down to a bug that I’d picked up in the long hours I’d spent on the bus and not the beer I’d drank the previous night. It was another early morning and a drive that took pretty much the whole day. Today we were heading from Warsaw to Vilnius in Lithuania. After a quick stop in Augestow for lunch we continued driving arriving into the capital city just as it was getting dark. From the bus, the city seemed like many other I had been to. Some posh areas, some looking derelict. Some fancy restaurants lining the streets, some people (quite a few actually) digging through rubbish bins.

The hotel was called the Hotel Gratis and was situated a little way from the centre of town. It was a nice big room however and that was good as I was sharing again with Merv. Due to the late arrival, dinner was served at the hotel and consisted of Borsch (a beetroot soup) and fish (covered in a suspect looking whitish green sauce).

Poznan to Warsaw

It was an early start the next day and we drove for several hours before stopping at a McDonalds for lunch. I had a wrap with bacon, mushrooms and other miscellaneous substances. Early afternoon we arrived in the city of Warsaw. Our hotel, the MDM, was in the business centre of town (about half an hours walk to the old town). I had a new roommate, Michael (Merv had his own room). He was a big improvement and I noted was neat, tidy and put a towel on the bathroom floor when using the shower.

In the afternoon I went on the ‘optional’ tour of the rebuilt medieval city. After the war the whole area was rebuilt to look like it had before (although I’m guessing with proper electrical wiring and sewerage system). It looked impressive. Even though we were shown pictures of the ruined buildings taken after bombing raids by the Germans, it was hard to believe that the rebuilt versions were the same ones. It was very impressive. For the rest of the afternoon we were left to explore the town. Looking into the many souvenir stores, churches, cafes and other touristy places.

That evening I met up with some of the others on the tour for drinks and dinner. After plowing my way through one and a half litres of beer (in one glass!) I retired to my room and fell asleep listing, not to snoring or farting, but to accordion music being played on the street outside.

Berlin

I got a glimpse into what makes a tour director after the ‘optional’ tour around Berlin (which I did not attend). Some of the people who took the tour did not think it was worthwhile and not worth the money they paid as it didn’t stop at some of the most famous sights. Our director turned around and said that it was impossible to please everyone and that there was nothing she could do. There was no sympathetic ear or reason for that particular route. Needless to say, most people did not find it a satisfactory answer to their concerns. To me however, it spoke volumes about our tour guide and set the tone for dealing with any other ‘issues’ that people may have while they were on the tour or about any of the other ‘optional’ excursions.

After a morning in Berlin we spent the rest of the day driving to Poznan in Poland. Poland is a funny place. Throughout the rural areas there were hundreds of signs for Night Clubs and tequila. These glitzy signs are usually outside what look to be very low socio-economic towns and villages that look like they haven’t changed for centuries. What was also an eye opener was the number of women standing on the quiet country roads in the middle of nowhere dressed up like 80’s hookers with fluro faux-feather boas and knee-high boots.

Although Poland at first thought to be a ‘first world country’ it was interesting to note that the water in the country, and indeed all of the Baltic countries, is unsuitable for drinking. All tourists are warned not to drink the water. This was noted in tourist information at hotels throughout the trip until we reached Finland. Despite having to wait for half an hour to check in, not being able to move in the lobby due to a conference, or use the lift, or (for some reason) the stairs, I had my own room. It was bliss! I did my laundry in the sink and let hung it out to dry throughout the bathroom. After that I went to the shopping centre nearby to try and find a UK to Europe adapter for my camera plug. It was not a fruitful quest.

The Tour Begins

The cycling world championship was being held in Copenhagen that weekend that I arrived. It was therefore not a real surprise to see the Astanda team sitting down to breakfast in the dining room. I wouldn’t have known who they were if I hadn’t seen the team jerseys. They looked relaxed and didn’t seem to be the least put out that they were served up pasta for breakfast. I guess they had a long way to ride that day and so they needed all the energy they could get. Me on the other hand, only had to get on the bus, so I had the full cooked breakfast, with cereal and yoghurt on the side. As I sat eating I was amazed to hear my roommate start telling me about his prostate, the trouble, timing and frequency of his urination and going through a blow-by-blow account of how a prostate should be checked, not something you want to hear about, especially over breakfast and especially when you’re eating sausages! I was glad when it was time to board the bus. I’d met the tour guide, Giovanna, that morning and she told me which bus was ours (three were leaving from the hotel that morning). I chose a seat next to a window and sat down.

My tour group consisted of about 24 people. Most were retired although plenty weren’t. It was a mix of American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean and a couple of New Zealanders. Most of them were pleasant enough to talk to and most of them I did. The morning’s itinerary was for a tour of Copenhagen and the drive Berlin (via the ferry). The start of the tour was all right. As the ‘included’ local tour guide was telling us all about Copenhagen we wound our way through the streets to the Palaces. These were the same palaces I had seen the day before on my walk around the city. I would therefore have much preferred to have watched the start of the cycling championship which were passing on the street between the palaces and the church. We missed it by a couple of minutes. We then had half an hour to look around (distances being such that you could walk to the bus and browse in the opposite souvenir shop in that time, but not see any of the other sights that the city had to offer). From there the bus moved on and drove us around to the parliament where we had an hour to look around. Unfortunately it was early on a Sunday morning and so only a bakery and a coffee shop were open in that area. Instead I wandered away to the canal and whiled my time away watching the ducks (Mallards). Soon enough it was time for the bus to pick us up again and take us to Berlin in Germany.

Ferries in Europe are big and this one was no exception. Our bus drove into the massive hold of the ferry and four more could have been fit in behind it. There were eight lanes of traffic inside the ferry as well as a large middle section. Upstairs there were three main decks and an outside viewing area, two restaurants, a bar and large duty free shop. It was a short trip across the sea and a short time (just enough for lunch and a chance to admire the view), the boat was pulling up at the harbour in Germany. The bus drove straight to Berlin where we would spend the night.

Our hotel was of the Best Western variety, however when we arrived it was dark and so dinner was the only plan. A group of us went to a local beer garden for tea. I can fully appreciate why tourists get such a bad wrap in countries like Germany. Our group just barged in and automatically started talking to the waitress in English with no attempt made to speak German or even say anything in German. Some of the older guys in the group then started taking photos of the young, pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed waitresses. They didn’t really appreciate this and so told them. This did not appear to have any effect on the two guys who finished taking their photos. The next thing that would give tourists, and particularly Australians, a bad name happened next. One of the other guys, an Australian started having an argument with one of the waitresses (who could speak English) about they type of glass for his beer. He wanted on without a stem (remaking loudly that it would make him look like a poof) and wanted a normal looking glass. At this point, I just shook my head, picked up my glass (with a stem) and walked outside. I didn’t sleep much that night, being kept awake by my roommates nocturnal trumpeting. Apparently though, as he remarked to the whole group upon me coming down to breakfast, I kept him up all night with my snoring. I know the truth, I’m not sure my roommate does.

To Copenhagen

Security is a pain. It is not because you have to line up for ages, have your bags x-rayed and then given a ‘pat down’ by some random member of staff. It is because of the rude and ignorant staff. Now, another security measure is that you can liquids of up to 100 mL on as hand luggage. This liquid for some reason must be stored in a clear plastic bag. Why? How does the clear plastic bag help security? How does putting your liquid in a plastic bag make the flight safer? I don’t get it. I don’t’ think the person who came up with the idea even thought it through! I had a tube of toothpaste. One tube. Purchased a matter of hours ago. This had to be put in a plastic bag to be x-rayed. Outside the bag it was a security threat. Inside it was safe. What is worse is that I had to pay £1 to purchase a bag! If something is a security threat and you want to make people believe it, then you don’t make they pay for a bag for one tube of toothpaste. Then it just looks like a money making scheme. What is worse is that the rude lady security guard, on an obvious power trip, could not tell me how putting my toothpaste in a plastic bag makes it safer than not having the plastic bag. 48p for a tube of toothpaste which ended up costing me double that to take it on the plane. That is why I hate security. I can see where the idea comes from and I understand. But doing things like that is just dopey as it takes away all the credibility of the policy. I can fully understand why people get annoyed with these dickheads who force you to follow these pointless rules. The worse thing is that they don’t even bother to find out why they are being told to enforce it. It shows that there is something seriously wrong with the security systems and agencies in this country.

Anyway, rant over. I boarded my flight after telling the security guard what I thought of their rules, only leaving when I saw her colleagues starting eye me suspiciously. The flight was uneventful and I arrived at the airport and, after a quick consult of my iphone map, I walked to my hotel. This was the first ‘day’ of the tour. I walked into the hotel lobby and tried to check into my room. Apparently they only have one key for each room and my roommate was already up there. I wandered up as the lady at reception phoned up to let my roommate know that I was coming up.

When I knocked on the door my roommate opened it. I’m not sure if he expected me. He said that he had received the phone call but, as he answered the door in his underpants, I don’t know… I found out quickly though that he was a bogan, and that explained everything. I guess the main hint was that he introduced himself to me saying, and I quote. “I fart and I snore”. He then proceeded to get undressed and change right in front of me while still talking and repacking his bag. This was a man that I hadn’t even met for two minutes and already he was making the single supplement of $1500 sound a very good idea. Still, I decided to make the best of it and just ignore the whole first impression. After meeting the rest of the group the next day, I couldn’t help thinking why the tour couple didn’t pair me with someone closer to my own age instead of the 50 year old light and curtain salesman that they did. After dumping my bags and freshening up I left the room and caught the train into the centre of Copenhagen. I’d arranged to meet Lewis, Naomi and Edie in the city. They were arriving around 2 pm and so I had a little time to see the sights. I wandered past the Royal Palaces, fortresses, harbours, monuments and lots of other sights that the city had to offer. While waiting I spent a bit of time by the fortress moat, watching the ducks swim by. It was quite relaxing. As the time to meet drew nearer I wandered back to the centre and found my way to the mall and to the prearranged meeting spot (with a lot of help from my iphone).

It was good to meet Lewis and Naomi. They came around the corner and seemed to appear out of the crowds pushing Edie in her stroller. I couldn’t believe how big Edie had grown. When I saw her just over a year before she was tiny. I could hold her in one arm then but now, it took two. She was smiling and happy. I’d like to think that it was to see me but probably just because she was in a new place and getting to go for a ride in her pram. After they checked into their hotel we wandered back into town and saw a few more of the sights. We went to check out the Little Mermaid statue and Nyman Harbour, both of which are very famous in the city. We ended up having dinner in a restaurant on one side of the harbour. It was a nice evening. I’d missed the first day of my tour but couldn’t be happier that I did.