Week 9
Riga | 9/1
My second day in Riga commenced with a tour to the outskirts to the east of the city center. We explored the massive open market, which is centered in and around a series of 5 former-Nazi aircraft hangars that were left intact at the end of the war. You can buy pretty much anything you’d want here (Latvian Honey, smoked fish, Riga black balsam, etc.), and it’s even cheaper than the supermarket! We continued outward into a more residential area of the city, where we learned a bit more about local life for Latvians and also got to see the Latvian Academy of Sciences—a gift from Stalin that looks identical to the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. Many former Soviet satellites destroyed these structures upon independence, but Poland and Latvia did not.
After my tour, I wandered back through the market and through the town center, which was much less gothic and picturesque than old town, but also much more local and true to the city. Riga has a beautiful series of parks dividing the old town from the city center neighborhood, and I walked through these too. Would’ve been nice to take a kayak and paddle through, potentially all the way out to the river. Next time.
For sunset, I found my way up to the lookout of St. Peter’s Church (famous for the gilded rooster wind vane at the top—apparently it’s brought down for repairs every now and then and it’s tradition for important officials or figures to celebrate by riding on top of it and opening a bottle of champagne). I had a gorgeous view over the city as the sky lit up orange. I stayed a little while but then wandered back down to the Town Hall square to listen to part of a live music festival—I arrived just in time to hear the band play a song “for all the tourists here in Riga” (the only English part of their set) entitled Sausage Message (with such pithy lyrics as “do you like my message / do you like my sausage”). I’m devastated I cannot find a trace of this song on the internet; it must live only in my memory. I finished the night on a pub crawl with my hostel. I had a good time, though it wasn’t especially memorable aside from getting my ass kicked in foosball, since we went to bars where our group were pretty much the only patrons.
Vilnius | 9/2 - 9/3
Contrary to logic, I backtracked to Lithuania the next morning. The city was celebrating its annual Capital Days festival, but this was a special occurrence of the festival, as the city was celebrating its 700th anniversary. I figured it was something I shouldn’t miss given my proximity. When I arrived, I spent some time in the afternoon roaming around the festival tents on the city’s main boulevard, listening to live music and people-watching. Later on, I met up with some Lithuanian friends I had made on my prior visit, and we watched a laser show over the water in celebration of the festival (these are increasingly replacing firework celebrations in major cities, and they’re pretty cool). Afterward, we went out to a bar that played American pop hits and sang the night away.
The next morning, I had a relaxed breakfast at a picturesque cafe in old town, then wandered around the remnants of the festival along the main street once more. Lots was still going on, despite this being the final day of the festival—from sports extravaganzas (including strongman, aikido, and, of course, basketball) to live music all day, to plenty of artists selling everything from ceramics to jewelry to portraiture. I also got to witness the making of the famous Lithuanian Christmas tree cake, complete with a costumed woman rotating the rotisserie used to make it. Fun. I also paid a visit to the library and a few churches I had missed on my first visit before heading back to collect my things and hop on an overnight bus to Estonia. I had an amazing time in Lithuania; Vilnius was not my favorite of the Baltic capitals by looks, but by personality and by memories, it takes the cake.
Tallinn | 9/4 - 9/5
One overnight bus later, I woke up in Tallinn. My final Baltic capital, this city is by far the prettiest of all of them. Its incredibly well-preserved old town functions as a time machine, transporting you back into the medieval ages. I immediately headed to my hostel upon arrival and made up for some lost bus sleep on the couch in the common room, which brought me to a reasonable start of 10am.
I then headed out for a walking tour of old town, where I reunited with a bunch of friends I had made two nights before in Riga. I guess the world is smaller than you think. Estonian history is a story of conquerors—from Danes to Swedes to Germans and Soviets, the country has only had very brief spats of independence (after WWI and then after the collapse of communism in 1991). Like Lithuania, they celebrate two independence days to commemorate these occasions. There is also still a huge Russian presence in Tallinn—approximately 30% of the population is Russian-speaking, and some of them don’t even speak either Estonian or English. Imagine going into a store in the capital city of your own country and not being able to communicate with the shopkeeper. Wild. But that’s the reality for a lot of people here, especially due to the aggressive push by the Soviets to “Russify” their satellite states.
After roaming the medieval streets and seeing several churches, castle towers, and lookout platforms, I stepped outside of old town to explore the hipster neighborhood of Tellisiviki. This place is semi-industrial, with lots of restaurants in old warehouses or even converted shipping containers, and an entire market inside a train station. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed (it was a Monday), but I admired the street art and the architecture anyway. In the heart of the neighborhood, there’s even a branch of Fotografiska (I’ve only been to the one in New York). I’ll definitely be coming back to this neighborhood when I return to Tallinn.
I then went back to my hostel and joined my friends from Latvia for a dinner of pancakes (actually savory crepes) and karaoke. We even met a group of Spaniards and I got to sing a few of my favorite Spanish songs, which have been hard to come by in Eastern Europe.
Helsinki | 9/5 - 9/7
I slept in and headed first thing to the ferry station to ride over to Helsinki. This “ferry” is a veritable cruise ship—I barely even noticed when we started and stopped moving. Two and a half easy hours later, I found myself passing out on the couch of my Airbnb and waking up in the early evening, where I went to the gym and strolled around the design district and Kamppi neighborhoods.
I was surprised in the best way by Helsinki. My expectations for a Nordic capital have been set by Oslo, which didn’t really capture my fancy in terms of architectural feel. Helsinki delivers on these low expectations in heaps. The cobblestones, the elaborate granite (the local stone) buildings, the colorful paint lining each edifice—this place is really beautiful and has a historic feel that Oslo lacks. Not to mention it has the charm of Nordic society floating around the streets, and the Finns (the ones who aren’t shy) really are insanely friendly. The rumors are true.
My second day in Helsinki was more eventful. I started my day with a walking tour of the historic district and saw the main sights: the Helsinki Cathedral (which is disappointingly sparse inside because it’s a Protestant church), the old market square, and the Oodi Library. This last building is a whirlwind. Not only does it sport an elegant, Scandinavian design that suits the design-forward sensibilities of the city, but it contains much more than books. With several cafes, laser cutters, sewing machines, power tools, heavy-duty computers for use with 3-D modeling software, board games, study rooms, video game consoles, and so much more, this library offers pretty much anything you can imagine to the public for immediate use or rent (free of charge, of course—Finnish taxes at work). I spent a little while just basking in this place and exploring. I learned a couple of things as well: fun fact that it’s illegal to fly the Finnish flag from any building (except for the town hall, for extenuating reasons) except on 23 special days of the year designated as “flag days” (exceptions are also made for life events like births and marriages).
Following my library visit, I took up some of the guide’s recommendations. I also checked out the Finnish National Library (which is more disappointing by comparison with Oodi, but has more of a “Hogwarts library” feel), shopped a bit in the main market square, walked around the main campus of Helsinki University, and spent some more time around the train station (the heart of town). I then took a stroll up the west side of the city to a waterside restaurant called Cafe Regatta. Food and drink are served out of a small shack, with plenty of outdoor seating lining the waterfront and the small pier. There’s even an open fire at the center of the seating area that you can use to roast the sausages you purchase inside. It’s a beautiful little place.
Thursday began with visits to the historical landmarks around the old part of town that had closed the evening prior. This included the beautiful Orthodox cathedral (which looks like the Red Keep, especially compared to Helsinki Cathedral which resembles the Sept of Baelor), the Museum of the City of Helsinki, and a few of the side streets. In the afternoon, I took a tour of “modern Helsinki”, which discussed some of the more modern art museums, the design thinking movement, and much more.
With my tour completed, I rushed across town for my appointment at Löyly, the most famous sauna in the city (and the world). I spent a couple of hours here, trying out the various different saunas (there’s a smoky one, one that looks out onto the Baltic, a “private” one, and more), swimming in the Baltic (the water was apparently quite warm and I managed to stay in for over 10 minutes), and playing with the (harmless) jellyfish. I also made some Finnish friends—going to sauna really is a regular habit for these people, and it’s a hugely important part of their lives and culture. I’m a bit ashamed I didn’t get to try other saunas while I was here! At least now I have a compelling reason to come back (for…health purposes).
