Week 20, 11.July.09 - 17.July.09

11.July.09
St. Petersburg, Russia
I'm sitting in the Dekabristov Park having a beer - one very cool thing about St. Pete is the tolerance of open alcohol on the streets. After a while yesterday, I felt almost out of place not carrying around a drink! I just returned from the hydrofoil trip to Petrodvorets (Peterhof), about 30k from St. Pete. Very posh atmosphere in Peterhof, something akin to the Hamptons I would say.

The fountains and gilded figures leading up to the Grand Palace were really quite spectacular.

I just bumped into the Irish guy with his Mongolian wife I had met on the Trans-Siberian -- seems they had an adventurous time on the train in 3rd class from Moscow to here; it'll be interesting for my 3rd class train ride to Latvia!

12.July.09
OK, I may admit that even 3rd class train travel may be better than bus, but not by much! I'm here at Vitebsky Station ready to depart on train #37, overnight to Riga.

The 3rd class car is very packed and the sleeping arrangements should be interesting - I gave up my assigned bottom bed to the older woman & now I'm on the side-bed in the passageway.

Last night I was able to stay up to go watch the bridges open up over the Neva river at around 01:30. It was a pretty cool site; more so for the atmosphere of the crowd (several 100's of people lining the bank) than the actual event - all the boats that passed through were small enough to have fit under the bridges while lowered!

Today I rounded off my St. Pete sightseeing with a visit to iconic St. Isaac's Cathedral,

then passed through the Admiralty Gardens over to Yusupov's Palace (site of the 1916 Rasputin poising), followed by a visit to the Russian Vodka Museum where all displays were in Russian, but who was I kidding - I went for the sampling!

For lunch went for beef stroganov - almost as good as the stuff I remember Randy making when I was a kid! Next stop was the State Russian Museum. After visiting the Hermitage I didn't think there could possibly be anymore art found in this city, but the Russian Museum had plenty of impressive works like Brullov's "The Last Days of Pompeii",

and Repin's "The State Parliament". All in all, while my vote is for Moscow, St. Pete lived up to its reputation as a great city!

13.July.09
Riga, Latvia
About to turn in here in the City Lounge Hostel in Riga - indeed, this place seems more lounge than hostel. After a few hours (hard berth + hot/stuffy + crying kid + dog barking + stops at immigration points = not many) sleep on the train last night, arrived this morning in Riga. Got checked in then walked around this smallish city, seeing the major landmarks like St. Peter's Cathedral,

Riga Castle,

Freedom monument, and photo-worthy skyline shots of other churches.

Stopped in the Dome Cathedral Museum (nice cloisters!)

and then over to the Museum of History of Riga which had very comprehensive English guidebooks (such a rarity, had to make a point to remember this!). Ate dinner at a Lido buffet-style Latvian restaurant (awesome - going there again tomorrow) before heading over to Livu Laukums Square to have some beers at the sports bar while catching some soccer game on the TV.

14.July.09
Had a nice day today checking out more of the sites in Riga - started off with a visit to St. Peter's (closed yesterday) for a nice view of the city from atop the spire.

Next I visited the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, where I spent a couple hours but could have spent much longer - extremely detailed records & accounts of.. well... the history of Latvia's occupation, for a large part of the 20th century by the Germans and Russians. Of course I learned about the WWII and the Soviet Union in school, but I really appreciate the history much more when visiting a place so directly affected. After the museum I wandered around the cobblestone streets passing nice Art Noveau buildings next to various cathedrals & landmarks, like the 1698 Swedish Gate (built to "celebrate" the Swedish occupation at the time),

and ending up at the 14th century Powder Tower housing the War Museum. Having had my fill of observing depressing sites for the day, went back to the Lido restaurant for dinner (love that place) & some drinks at Livu Laukums Square.

15.July.09
Here at the Riga bus station getting set to head over to Liepaja, along the Baltic Sea in Western Latvia. The German(?) dude sitting behind me seriously needs to shower... 3.5 hrs to deal with this??

Liepaja, Latvia
After an uneventful ride across Western Latvia, passing countless number of hay fields and the occasional windmill farm, got into Liepaja and followed this guy David that was riding on the same bus (American, not the smelly German) to a hostel he had a reservation for (as I didn't have a reservation, nor map of the city, it was an easy decision!). It is a few blocks from the beach, and fortunately have availability! After getting checked-in, went to check out the beach - really nice white powder, not really what I expected along the Baltic Sea...

OK, there are 2 girls from the Netherlands here in the hostel that are complete wackos! Them, along with virtually the rest of the hostel, are about to head out to the bars - should be an interesting night!

16.July.09
Whoa - I am feeling it today. Last night was a rough one!

Not sure exactly what time I got home this morning, but it wasn't without effort - even with a map. For some reason, the smaller towns always seem more difficult to navigate around (well, the excessive amount of alcohol probably contributed to my navigation woes). After having a great breakfast at the Pablo "Rock Cafe" (because Liepaja is the Music Capital of Latvia... doesn't everyone know that?!?),

followed the tourist guide map around the town. This place is about as quaint as quaint gets - cobbled streets, old churches, craft stores - even the sidewalk has little musical note markings to follow along the suggested tourist route (because Liepaja is the Music Capital of Latvia). Swung by the Liepaja Museum for a look at their impressive displays of, uh... tin....

Then to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, home to the world's biggest mechanical organ (fitting for Liepaja, the Music Capital of Latvia!).

Got back to the hostel and checked out the ferry schedule for tomorrow up to Saaremaa, Estonia - good thing I did, as the ferry's not running this year! But unfortunately that limits my options only to backtrack through Riga and head up overland to Estonia.

Just got back from helping (well, watching) the 2 Dutch girls set up a tent on the beach with David, following a great BBQ dinner with some equally great views of the sun setting over the Baltic.

17.July.09
Parnu, Estonia
I'm resting up before heading to check out the nightlife here in Parnu. Had uneventful bus rides today from Liepaja to Riga, then the connection bus up to Parnu... so uneventful, in fact, that we didn't even stop at the border to get stamped (reminds me of the days back in Central America...)!

Had a chance to see Tori today on a Skype call back to the state (yea!), and then just got back from a nice dinner with the Fin girl and Belgian (old) man sharing my room. Looking forward to some more beach tomorrow!