Our flight to Kyiv was at a good time (1:30pm) so we had time to sleep in and have a relaxed breakfast before packing and checking out. We took a hotel transfer for the 45 minute drive to the airport, passing by many of our favourite Minsk buildings along the way, like October and the National Library. The hotel offered us water for the ride which is easy for them but we thought a nice gesture (first time we’ve seen it).
We checked in and then went through security and immigration. The immigration officials were just as deliberate on the way out, verifying all the anti-forgery stuff on the passport, including checking every page of mine to make sure they were all there! They didn’t look at the stamps, just the page number.
We debated having a snack at the airport cause the flight was around lunch but there wasn’t much selection. Anyways we had just had a big breakfast so we weren’t even hungry.
There was a lot of rain today, but luckily it stopped when we had to board, cause we had to walk on the tarmac. No Cobus 3000s here, I guess they use the Russian equivalent for the buses that carry passengers from the terminal to the plane.
The flight took off a bit early. It was only an hour but we still got served a little Joe Louis-type snack and a tea.
We landed at 2:30pm and beating all previous records were at the hotel by 3:15pm. Yes, it took 45 minutes to get through immigration, pick up our bags, meet our driver, and get to the hotel. It helped that the airport is pretty close to town.
We decided to have a larger lunch and then a small dinner cause of the time. Just ate at the hotel top floor restaurant with a nice view of the city. We both liked the feeling of being back in a big city (Kyiv is about the same population as Toronto). Minsk is also fairly large, but Kyiv has a much denser core.
Anyways the food was good at our hotel. The rest of the afternoon we did some research on places to see in Kyiv.
Later in the evening we walked down Volodymyrska St, the main street in Kyiv. It was closed to traffic, we suspect it’s pedestrian-only on Sundays. There were thousands of people enjoying the evening with buskers along most of the route. The sun was just setting and it was quite beautiful.
Got back to the hotel, I was a bit peckish, Heather was still full from lunch, so I just went to the hotel restaurant for a quick snack. Tried salo, a popular dish/snack which is sort of a cured pork fat, served sliced with pepper and other spices. Very good with beer :)
We had an excursion to Chernobyl early the next morning so went to bed around 11ish.
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Saturday, June 08, 2019
Minsk, Belarus
We didn’t have much left on our list for Minsk as we had covered quite a bit on our first day here.
We started at the central market (Kamaroŭski Rynak). We took the subway, to use up our 72hr passes and also to check out additional subway stations. (Also it was about 5km).
The market building itself is an attraction, an old 70s structure, with the title in the cool red font that’s common here. Inside it was the usual meats, dairy, baked goods, pickled stuff and more. Just outside were the fruit and vegetable stalls. The strawberries in particular smelled amazing, but it’s one of the foods that is not a good idea to eat when travelling cause they are difficult to wash.
There was another Lido restaurant beside the market, so we decided to have lunch there. It is sort of an institution in Minsk. It was cafeteria-style where you choose what you want and pay by weight / item. We found the food a bit oily and preferred the Library restaurant to Lido.
On the walk back to subway, we passed a street stall selling kvass. We tried it in the Baltics; it has sort of a root beer / bread taste and is only slightly alcoholic (1%). Anyways there were people lining up for the stall (usually a good sign), so we did too. It was 60 kopeks for a 333ml cup (around 40 cents); it was our favourite kvass we’ve had, definitely hit the spot!
We took the subway down to the train station to check out the exterior. If we didn’t have the visa requirement to fly out, then we likely would have taken the train to Kiev. Oh well. The train station is now in a new building, but there was a nice view of the ‘gates of Minsk’, twin big old buildings across the street that frame the entrance to the city.
Walked over to the nearby Lenin Square and the statue of Lenin. Supposedly in the past you couldn’t take pics, but everyone was, and the security guy didn’t seem to care.
Next to Lenin Square is Saint Simon and Saint Helena Church, aka the red church (it’s a red colour). We stepped inside cause we were there. The church features in all the lists of things to see in Minsk, but I didn’t find it too special.
That was it for our touristing. Took the subway back to the old town and looked for souvenirs. There was a festival or celebration of some sort going on, with live folk music and dancing and lots of stalls selling food and crafts. Straw crafts are popular here, and we got a little talisman. We also bought a small talisman doll made from fabric. After we bought it, the stall owner ran after Heather and gave her a necklace talisman for free :)
We walked back towards the hotel through the side / back streets so we could have a drink at a craft beer place listed on the hotel map of things nearby. Their beer was good. I also ordered something called pig ears. I was hoping it was just lost in translation and maybe pork rinds, but it was in fact thinly sliced pickled pig ears. They were tasty but the texture is not to my liking.
We liked the beers and the rest of the menu looked good, so we booked in for dinner.
So a few hours later walked back. It seemed like we were the only tourists, which was nice. Heather had the chicken Kiev (a city early :) ) and I tried the Belarussian pork. Both were tasty. It was just the kind of low key place we were hoping for.
We started at the central market (Kamaroŭski Rynak). We took the subway, to use up our 72hr passes and also to check out additional subway stations. (Also it was about 5km).
The market building itself is an attraction, an old 70s structure, with the title in the cool red font that’s common here. Inside it was the usual meats, dairy, baked goods, pickled stuff and more. Just outside were the fruit and vegetable stalls. The strawberries in particular smelled amazing, but it’s one of the foods that is not a good idea to eat when travelling cause they are difficult to wash.
There was another Lido restaurant beside the market, so we decided to have lunch there. It is sort of an institution in Minsk. It was cafeteria-style where you choose what you want and pay by weight / item. We found the food a bit oily and preferred the Library restaurant to Lido.
On the walk back to subway, we passed a street stall selling kvass. We tried it in the Baltics; it has sort of a root beer / bread taste and is only slightly alcoholic (1%). Anyways there were people lining up for the stall (usually a good sign), so we did too. It was 60 kopeks for a 333ml cup (around 40 cents); it was our favourite kvass we’ve had, definitely hit the spot!
We took the subway down to the train station to check out the exterior. If we didn’t have the visa requirement to fly out, then we likely would have taken the train to Kiev. Oh well. The train station is now in a new building, but there was a nice view of the ‘gates of Minsk’, twin big old buildings across the street that frame the entrance to the city.
Walked over to the nearby Lenin Square and the statue of Lenin. Supposedly in the past you couldn’t take pics, but everyone was, and the security guy didn’t seem to care.
Next to Lenin Square is Saint Simon and Saint Helena Church, aka the red church (it’s a red colour). We stepped inside cause we were there. The church features in all the lists of things to see in Minsk, but I didn’t find it too special.
That was it for our touristing. Took the subway back to the old town and looked for souvenirs. There was a festival or celebration of some sort going on, with live folk music and dancing and lots of stalls selling food and crafts. Straw crafts are popular here, and we got a little talisman. We also bought a small talisman doll made from fabric. After we bought it, the stall owner ran after Heather and gave her a necklace talisman for free :)
We walked back towards the hotel through the side / back streets so we could have a drink at a craft beer place listed on the hotel map of things nearby. Their beer was good. I also ordered something called pig ears. I was hoping it was just lost in translation and maybe pork rinds, but it was in fact thinly sliced pickled pig ears. They were tasty but the texture is not to my liking.
We liked the beers and the rest of the menu looked good, so we booked in for dinner.
So a few hours later walked back. It seemed like we were the only tourists, which was nice. Heather had the chicken Kiev (a city early :) ) and I tried the Belarussian pork. Both were tasty. It was just the kind of low key place we were hoping for.
Friday, June 07, 2019
Minsk, Belarus
We had a late start to the day, taking advantage of the longer breakfast hours on the weekend. It was just as well, as the Belarusian National Arts Museum didn’t open until noon (!) I guess the arts folks aren’t morning people.
The Arts Museum was just 1km down the street from us, so we walked down. There was a 10 minute line up to buy tickets; I think the backlog from others who showed up prior to noon thinking it would be open already.
As a bonus, the museum had a special exhibition featuring Salvador Dali! We went through the Dali exhibit first. It was pretty extensive. We’ve been fortunate with the special exhibits on our recent trips, including a Picasso one in Rome.
The rest of the museum was good, although somewhat haphazardly arranged. They did have a nicely curated section on Orthodox artwork.
We debated eating lunch at the museum, but didn’t feel like local food, so decided to try out Svobody 4, about half way back to the hotel in the old town. In an odd sequence of the events, the wine bar had been recommended to us by a shop owner/photographer in Istanbul who we chatted with about travel on our last trip.
The food was really good at Svobody 4. I had a pasta with shrimp and Heather had a salmon and couscous salad. We liked it enough (and the kitchen was open late), so we made a reservation for dinner (we had tickets to see the ballet tonight).
After lunch we browsed around the craft stalls in the old town, but that was cut short when we heard a loud clap of thunder and decided to boot it back to our hotel. We needed to get back anyways to get ready for the ballet.
The skies cleared by the time we headed back out, so we just walked the 20 minutes to National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. It looked like most people either walked or took transit. There was a buzz in the air as we got closer to the theatre, similar to going to a sports event. Most people were dressed up, but there were a few in jeans so I didn’t look out of place.
We arrived at 6:40, giving us some time to look around the inside before taking our seats. They started promptly at 7pm.
Tonight’s performance was Anyuta. We both really enjoyed it; I preferred it to the opera.
Later we walked over to Svobody 4 and for food and wine. It was a great place to finish off the evening.
The Arts Museum was just 1km down the street from us, so we walked down. There was a 10 minute line up to buy tickets; I think the backlog from others who showed up prior to noon thinking it would be open already.
As a bonus, the museum had a special exhibition featuring Salvador Dali! We went through the Dali exhibit first. It was pretty extensive. We’ve been fortunate with the special exhibits on our recent trips, including a Picasso one in Rome.
The rest of the museum was good, although somewhat haphazardly arranged. They did have a nicely curated section on Orthodox artwork.
We debated eating lunch at the museum, but didn’t feel like local food, so decided to try out Svobody 4, about half way back to the hotel in the old town. In an odd sequence of the events, the wine bar had been recommended to us by a shop owner/photographer in Istanbul who we chatted with about travel on our last trip.
The food was really good at Svobody 4. I had a pasta with shrimp and Heather had a salmon and couscous salad. We liked it enough (and the kitchen was open late), so we made a reservation for dinner (we had tickets to see the ballet tonight).
After lunch we browsed around the craft stalls in the old town, but that was cut short when we heard a loud clap of thunder and decided to boot it back to our hotel. We needed to get back anyways to get ready for the ballet.
The skies cleared by the time we headed back out, so we just walked the 20 minutes to National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. It looked like most people either walked or took transit. There was a buzz in the air as we got closer to the theatre, similar to going to a sports event. Most people were dressed up, but there were a few in jeans so I didn’t look out of place.
We arrived at 6:40, giving us some time to look around the inside before taking our seats. They started promptly at 7pm.
Tonight’s performance was Anyuta. We both really enjoyed it; I preferred it to the opera.
Later we walked over to Svobody 4 and for food and wine. It was a great place to finish off the evening.
Thursday, June 06, 2019
Minsk, Belarus
We hadn’t done much (any) planning for Minsk so after a nice buffet breakfast we sketched out a bit of a plan, getting tickets for the opera, and then subway hopping to get pics of old Soviet buildings.
Minsk is a bit deceptive in that things look close but are quite far. First we walked over to the Opera and Ballet Theatre to get our tickets for the ballet for tomorrow. This looked close on the map and we could see roughly where it was from the lounge yesterday evening; but was actually a 20 minute walk.
We had tried to buy tickets over the web when we first booked the trip but had issues using our credit cards (I think the website only accepted Belarussian credit cards). Anyways the seat selection was less but we still got good seats for Anyuta (although not 5th row centre like we sat at the opera in Tashkent!). It was easy to pay in person, they even took Apple Pay.
Just down the street from our hotel, and before we got to the Opera, we passed by the KFC with a huge concrete Soviet facade. It’s one of the buildings I wanted to see here. I hadn’t googled exactly where it was, so it was lucky that it was so close.
Next we walked over to Victory Square. Took some pics, although with a cloudy background. Then we bought transit cards, with much pointing and gesturing as we didn’t speak Russian or Belarussian. At least we could somewhat read Cyrillic.
So we entered the subway. There were a couple of security people at the entrance but they pretty much ignored us once they heard us talking in English. We both had our day packs which they glanced at, but didn’t ask to look inside or anything.
The station wasn’t as photogenic as the Tashkent subway but I took some pics anyways. (The security folks didn’t mind this either).
We went five stops to Uschod. The subway was packed and I didn’t get a good look at the other stations. Uschod was pretty plain looking. Supposedly there are some great looking subway stations here, just not this one :)
We exited and walked over to the National Library of Republic of Belarus. Every blog or article I read on it mentions that the library's main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron, so consider yourself now duly informed.
I wanted to visit just to get a pic; while not of the Soviet era it’s still an unusual building. One of the blogs we read mentioned it had an observation deck, so we searched that out. The entrance is around the back side of the structure, not through the library. It cost 3.50 EUR for a ticket to the 22nd floor.
There’s a short walk up to the 23rd floor and the observation deck. The library is about 8km away from the centre of town, so there’s not much detail to be seen from the top, just a bunch of buildings in the distance.
There was a cafe on the 22nd floor so we had lunch there. It was really quite enjoyable, with cool music. We both had draniki, the national dish, which is sort of a hash brown with a topping. Heather had hers with smoked salmon, I tried it with caviar. Both were tasty.
We took the elevator back down, and then took a bunch more pics of the rhombicuboctahedron-shaped building. While we were lunching, the sky had cleared and the pics looked much better with a blue sky background.
Took the subway a couple stops back towards our hotel to Akademija, where the October theatre is. That’s another Soviet building I wanted to see. It happens to be directly opposite the Museum of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, which has a long name but also warrants a pic. It was into the sun so it didn’t work out though.
Because of the now nice weather (we took our umbrellas to start the day) we decided to walk down Prospekt Nezavisimosti the rest of the way home, about 5km. The architecture is great on this street, one of the main thoroughfares in Minsk. Along the walk we passed by Hospital No. 1 (the government buildings are all numbered here, ‘School No. 91’, or whatever), Belarusian National Technical University, Lido (where all the blogs suggest eating - we looked inside but it didn’t appeal to us), Museum of Contemporary Art, Gymnasium No.23 (I’m not making this up), Victory Monument (much better pics with the clear blue sky), Belarusian State Circus and the Labour Union Palace of Culture.
Then we turned down Lenin Street towards our hotel, passing through the very small old town.
Finally we got back to the hotel. I thought we had walked a lot but my phone said only 13.3km. Maybe cause it was in the sun it felt longer.
We had booked dinner at our hotel cause the forecast had called for rain at the time. Plus they specialize in steak, and between the ads in the elevators and the dry aging steaks in the breakfast area, I had a hankering for steak.
We thought it would be a low key affair but it turned out the restaurant is the place to be. The restaurant spills out onto the 7th floor terrace with a beautiful view of the sunset and the Svislach river which cuts through the middle of the city. There was a live jazz band which was awesome. The steak was done perfectly, which we had with a Chilean Malbec. It was a fun night.
Minsk is a bit deceptive in that things look close but are quite far. First we walked over to the Opera and Ballet Theatre to get our tickets for the ballet for tomorrow. This looked close on the map and we could see roughly where it was from the lounge yesterday evening; but was actually a 20 minute walk.
We had tried to buy tickets over the web when we first booked the trip but had issues using our credit cards (I think the website only accepted Belarussian credit cards). Anyways the seat selection was less but we still got good seats for Anyuta (although not 5th row centre like we sat at the opera in Tashkent!). It was easy to pay in person, they even took Apple Pay.
Just down the street from our hotel, and before we got to the Opera, we passed by the KFC with a huge concrete Soviet facade. It’s one of the buildings I wanted to see here. I hadn’t googled exactly where it was, so it was lucky that it was so close.
Next we walked over to Victory Square. Took some pics, although with a cloudy background. Then we bought transit cards, with much pointing and gesturing as we didn’t speak Russian or Belarussian. At least we could somewhat read Cyrillic.
So we entered the subway. There were a couple of security people at the entrance but they pretty much ignored us once they heard us talking in English. We both had our day packs which they glanced at, but didn’t ask to look inside or anything.
The station wasn’t as photogenic as the Tashkent subway but I took some pics anyways. (The security folks didn’t mind this either).
We went five stops to Uschod. The subway was packed and I didn’t get a good look at the other stations. Uschod was pretty plain looking. Supposedly there are some great looking subway stations here, just not this one :)
We exited and walked over to the National Library of Republic of Belarus. Every blog or article I read on it mentions that the library's main architectural component has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron, so consider yourself now duly informed.
I wanted to visit just to get a pic; while not of the Soviet era it’s still an unusual building. One of the blogs we read mentioned it had an observation deck, so we searched that out. The entrance is around the back side of the structure, not through the library. It cost 3.50 EUR for a ticket to the 22nd floor.
There’s a short walk up to the 23rd floor and the observation deck. The library is about 8km away from the centre of town, so there’s not much detail to be seen from the top, just a bunch of buildings in the distance.
There was a cafe on the 22nd floor so we had lunch there. It was really quite enjoyable, with cool music. We both had draniki, the national dish, which is sort of a hash brown with a topping. Heather had hers with smoked salmon, I tried it with caviar. Both were tasty.
We took the elevator back down, and then took a bunch more pics of the rhombicuboctahedron-shaped building. While we were lunching, the sky had cleared and the pics looked much better with a blue sky background.
Took the subway a couple stops back towards our hotel to Akademija, where the October theatre is. That’s another Soviet building I wanted to see. It happens to be directly opposite the Museum of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, which has a long name but also warrants a pic. It was into the sun so it didn’t work out though.
Because of the now nice weather (we took our umbrellas to start the day) we decided to walk down Prospekt Nezavisimosti the rest of the way home, about 5km. The architecture is great on this street, one of the main thoroughfares in Minsk. Along the walk we passed by Hospital No. 1 (the government buildings are all numbered here, ‘School No. 91’, or whatever), Belarusian National Technical University, Lido (where all the blogs suggest eating - we looked inside but it didn’t appeal to us), Museum of Contemporary Art, Gymnasium No.23 (I’m not making this up), Victory Monument (much better pics with the clear blue sky), Belarusian State Circus and the Labour Union Palace of Culture.
Then we turned down Lenin Street towards our hotel, passing through the very small old town.
Finally we got back to the hotel. I thought we had walked a lot but my phone said only 13.3km. Maybe cause it was in the sun it felt longer.
We had booked dinner at our hotel cause the forecast had called for rain at the time. Plus they specialize in steak, and between the ads in the elevators and the dry aging steaks in the breakfast area, I had a hankering for steak.
We thought it would be a low key affair but it turned out the restaurant is the place to be. The restaurant spills out onto the 7th floor terrace with a beautiful view of the sunset and the Svislach river which cuts through the middle of the city. There was a live jazz band which was awesome. The steak was done perfectly, which we had with a Chilean Malbec. It was a fun night.
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Minsk, Belarus
We had a late afternoon flight from Vilnius to Minsk. Vilnius International is a small airport, with only eight gates, and not much for souvenir shops or cafes. They did have free wifi though!
The flight was only 35 minutes, one of the shortest international flights I’ve taken. Belarus is another country that’s recently relaxed visa requirements and is making an effort to encourage tourism. The visa still requires you to fly in and out of Minsk, thus the short flights from Vilnius-Minsk and Kiev-Minsk, where we might otherwise have gone by land.
We were through the airport in record time, less than an hour after touching down. It was a small plane (an Embraer jet), so there weren’t many other passengers. Before we went through immigration we had to buy mandatory health insurance from a desk on the left. (4 EUR each for 4 days, and they take credit card or Euro, but no tap). They scan your passport to skim your name etc, it’s very slick and fast.
Next was through immigration. The official only asked us how long we were staying. There’s no visa fee for less than 30 days for us (and about 80 other countries). The official was very thorough in checking all the anti-forgery things on the passport, like the holograms etc, even using a mini magnifying glass. But he didn’t bother or care with any of our past visa stamps or trips. We got a stamp on the back page, just like in the old Russian days. The internet had us a bit concerned about getting through immigration but it was very fast and professional.
Our luggage came out as we arrived at the conveyor. There was only one other flight that arrived around the same time, it’s not a busy airport (I think Belarus is in the bottom ten of least-visited countries). The carts were free too!
We had arranged with the hotel for airport pick-up cause it wasn’t that much more than a taxi. Our driver was waiting with a sign with my name, and we were off to the hotel. It’s about 45 minutes from the airport to central Minsk.
We booked at the Hilton cause boutique hotels aren’t yet a thing in Minsk. By the time we checked in and cleaned up it was almost 10pm, so just ate at the hotel restaurant. There were two options, the restaurant on the 7th floor or the rooftop lounge on the 31st floor. It was a clear evening, so we opted for the lounge.
The high top tables were all reserved (on a Wednesday!) so we sat at a couch and had some munchies. I had a local draft which was good, Heather tried their cocktails which were excellent.
The flight was only 35 minutes, one of the shortest international flights I’ve taken. Belarus is another country that’s recently relaxed visa requirements and is making an effort to encourage tourism. The visa still requires you to fly in and out of Minsk, thus the short flights from Vilnius-Minsk and Kiev-Minsk, where we might otherwise have gone by land.
We were through the airport in record time, less than an hour after touching down. It was a small plane (an Embraer jet), so there weren’t many other passengers. Before we went through immigration we had to buy mandatory health insurance from a desk on the left. (4 EUR each for 4 days, and they take credit card or Euro, but no tap). They scan your passport to skim your name etc, it’s very slick and fast.
Next was through immigration. The official only asked us how long we were staying. There’s no visa fee for less than 30 days for us (and about 80 other countries). The official was very thorough in checking all the anti-forgery things on the passport, like the holograms etc, even using a mini magnifying glass. But he didn’t bother or care with any of our past visa stamps or trips. We got a stamp on the back page, just like in the old Russian days. The internet had us a bit concerned about getting through immigration but it was very fast and professional.
Our luggage came out as we arrived at the conveyor. There was only one other flight that arrived around the same time, it’s not a busy airport (I think Belarus is in the bottom ten of least-visited countries). The carts were free too!
We had arranged with the hotel for airport pick-up cause it wasn’t that much more than a taxi. Our driver was waiting with a sign with my name, and we were off to the hotel. It’s about 45 minutes from the airport to central Minsk.
We booked at the Hilton cause boutique hotels aren’t yet a thing in Minsk. By the time we checked in and cleaned up it was almost 10pm, so just ate at the hotel restaurant. There were two options, the restaurant on the 7th floor or the rooftop lounge on the 31st floor. It was a clear evening, so we opted for the lounge.
The high top tables were all reserved (on a Wednesday!) so we sat at a couch and had some munchies. I had a local draft which was good, Heather tried their cocktails which were excellent.
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
Vilnius, Lithuania
Each of the Baltic capitals is slightly different, but similar enough that we were getting restless by the time we got to Vilnius. There’s a lot of grand churches and cathedrals in Vilnius. The old town is less distinct from the city proper here as well, which has pros and cons - you feel like you’re in a city rather than a disneyfied historic centre, but it’s also less photogenic. If I had time for just one, I’d recommend going to Riga, but that’s just my preference. You can’t go wrong with any of them :)
Over our three days here we saw the main tourist sites, including about a dozen churches, went up the Bell Tower of St John’s, and walked to the top of Gediminas Castle Tower.
We did all four tours of the National Museum of Lithuania, which was very extensive and in a great setting amongst the excavated walls of the old castle. Tour I covered the history, archaeology and architecture of Lithuania. Tour II was through reconstructed rooms of the castle. That took us about two hours, after which we had lunch in the museum café. We walked quickly through Tour III (weaponry, music) and then took our time with Tour IV, a special exhibit featuring old churches from Poland and Lithuania (which were a combined country around 1700’s ???). There were very few other people. The museum path winds around like an IKEA showroom and there was a possibility we might get lost and never find the exit. In the middle of Tour II you go up to the 6th floor observation deck which has great views of the city.
We also went to a couple art galleries, including MO Museum, which was designed by architect Daniel Liebeskind.
We had booked dinner for the three evenings we were in Vilnius, although as it was Sun-Mon-Tues the restaurants were mostly empty and we didn’t need them. We had the 4-course tasting at Ertlio Namas (pretty good), a 3-course set menu at Lauro Lapas (meh), and lastly at Sonnets, (our hotel restaurant), which we really enjoyed.
The weather cooperated for us here - it was comfortable and sunny the whole time. There was a heat wave coming in when we left, with temperatures going over 30C. (We’ll get the heat in Minsk and Kiev).
We didn’t get the Vilnius Card. The 72-hour pass was 35 EUR and we spent about 20 EUR on admissions. Unless you’re speeding through everything, it would be hard to make the Vilnius Card worthwhile.
Overall we liked our time here in Vilnius. We spent more time relaxing than in the other capitals as there was less on our list to see, there’s a nice vibe here to just kick back and do nothing.
Over our three days here we saw the main tourist sites, including about a dozen churches, went up the Bell Tower of St John’s, and walked to the top of Gediminas Castle Tower.
We did all four tours of the National Museum of Lithuania, which was very extensive and in a great setting amongst the excavated walls of the old castle. Tour I covered the history, archaeology and architecture of Lithuania. Tour II was through reconstructed rooms of the castle. That took us about two hours, after which we had lunch in the museum café. We walked quickly through Tour III (weaponry, music) and then took our time with Tour IV, a special exhibit featuring old churches from Poland and Lithuania (which were a combined country around 1700’s ???). There were very few other people. The museum path winds around like an IKEA showroom and there was a possibility we might get lost and never find the exit. In the middle of Tour II you go up to the 6th floor observation deck which has great views of the city.
We also went to a couple art galleries, including MO Museum, which was designed by architect Daniel Liebeskind.
We had booked dinner for the three evenings we were in Vilnius, although as it was Sun-Mon-Tues the restaurants were mostly empty and we didn’t need them. We had the 4-course tasting at Ertlio Namas (pretty good), a 3-course set menu at Lauro Lapas (meh), and lastly at Sonnets, (our hotel restaurant), which we really enjoyed.
The weather cooperated for us here - it was comfortable and sunny the whole time. There was a heat wave coming in when we left, with temperatures going over 30C. (We’ll get the heat in Minsk and Kiev).
We didn’t get the Vilnius Card. The 72-hour pass was 35 EUR and we spent about 20 EUR on admissions. Unless you’re speeding through everything, it would be hard to make the Vilnius Card worthwhile.
Overall we liked our time here in Vilnius. We spent more time relaxing than in the other capitals as there was less on our list to see, there’s a nice vibe here to just kick back and do nothing.
Saturday, June 01, 2019
Riga to Vilnius
We were up early to meet with the Traveller Tour excursion from Riga to Vilnius. We really enjoyed their Tallinn to Riga tour and were looking forward to this one.
It’s a 12-hour excursion, from 9am to 9pm, but it doesn’t seem that long. The drive itself is only about four hours.
Traveller Tours does a great job of arranging a varied itinerary. They also give you an overview of the recent history of the country. The guides are great at explaining the culture and not just a bunch of facts about each site.
We stopped in at four sites along the drive:
* Salaspils Memorial for victims of Fascism. This was very well done
* Rundāle Palace, it’s a common day trip, lots of tour buses stop here
* Hill of Crosses, a pilgrimage site, it’s a unique site
* Kaunas, a charming town
We arrived in Vilnius around 8:30pm, and our driver very kindly dropped us all off at our hotels (we were a five minute walk from the normal drop off point, but it was nicer not to have to carry our bags).
I had researched places that had a late kitchen, and so we walked over to Cozy. Our hotel is just off one of the tourist drags which was filled with people on patios and very lively, but without the partiers more prevalent in Riga and Tallinn.
Cozy was perfect for what we were looking for - small bites, craft beer, cool music (oh yah, and cozy, haha). It was a great start to Vilnius!
It’s a 12-hour excursion, from 9am to 9pm, but it doesn’t seem that long. The drive itself is only about four hours.
Traveller Tours does a great job of arranging a varied itinerary. They also give you an overview of the recent history of the country. The guides are great at explaining the culture and not just a bunch of facts about each site.
We stopped in at four sites along the drive:
* Salaspils Memorial for victims of Fascism. This was very well done
* Rundāle Palace, it’s a common day trip, lots of tour buses stop here
* Hill of Crosses, a pilgrimage site, it’s a unique site
* Kaunas, a charming town
We arrived in Vilnius around 8:30pm, and our driver very kindly dropped us all off at our hotels (we were a five minute walk from the normal drop off point, but it was nicer not to have to carry our bags).
I had researched places that had a late kitchen, and so we walked over to Cozy. Our hotel is just off one of the tourist drags which was filled with people on patios and very lively, but without the partiers more prevalent in Riga and Tallinn.
Cozy was perfect for what we were looking for - small bites, craft beer, cool music (oh yah, and cozy, haha). It was a great start to Vilnius!
Friday, May 31, 2019
Riga, Latvia
It was another rainy day on-and-off, which didn’t matter too much as we did a bunch of indoor stuff today.
We started at the Latvian National Museum of Art, just outside the old town. It was pretty cool, I really liked the paintings that looked like a cross between Soviet propaganda posters and covers of Ayn Rand novels. There’s likely a name for the style but I don’t know what it is. As a bonus there’s a terrace on the rooftop of the museum with great views of the nearby Nativity of Christ Cathedral.
We used our rule of thumb about museum restaurants being pretty good and had lunch there. It always feels very formal eating at a museum, like I should be talking in hushed tones I'll have the daily special, please
It rained while we were eating but had stopped by the time we headed out. We didn’t do anything exciting or worth taking a pic for the rest of the day, just relaxed.
We had dinner at Muusu, about a two minute walk from the hotel. It wasn’t raining when we looked out our hotel room but was drizzling when we got to the lobby, so we took the hotel umbrellas, which were a light blue colour. (So much detail about the umbrellas! Must be foreshadowing something).
So we walked over to Muusu. We were seated in the cosy 2nd floor. I had the veal carpaccio, followed by a very good steak; Heather had a smoked duck breast and then the zander (aka pike perch). We’ve had other zander that we liked better.
It was still dusk after dinner so walked about taking some more pics. I needed a subject in one of the alleys so Heather walked down. The hotel umbrella worked well as contrast with Heather and also with the dusk sky. (tying up the umbrella story in a neat little bow). It’s my new lock screen pic.
We started at the Latvian National Museum of Art, just outside the old town. It was pretty cool, I really liked the paintings that looked like a cross between Soviet propaganda posters and covers of Ayn Rand novels. There’s likely a name for the style but I don’t know what it is. As a bonus there’s a terrace on the rooftop of the museum with great views of the nearby Nativity of Christ Cathedral.
We used our rule of thumb about museum restaurants being pretty good and had lunch there. It always feels very formal eating at a museum, like I should be talking in hushed tones I'll have the daily special, please
It rained while we were eating but had stopped by the time we headed out. We didn’t do anything exciting or worth taking a pic for the rest of the day, just relaxed.
We had dinner at Muusu, about a two minute walk from the hotel. It wasn’t raining when we looked out our hotel room but was drizzling when we got to the lobby, so we took the hotel umbrellas, which were a light blue colour. (So much detail about the umbrellas! Must be foreshadowing something).
So we walked over to Muusu. We were seated in the cosy 2nd floor. I had the veal carpaccio, followed by a very good steak; Heather had a smoked duck breast and then the zander (aka pike perch). We’ve had other zander that we liked better.
It was still dusk after dinner so walked about taking some more pics. I needed a subject in one of the alleys so Heather walked down. The hotel umbrella worked well as contrast with Heather and also with the dusk sky. (tying up the umbrella story in a neat little bow). It’s my new lock screen pic.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Riga, Latvia
Tried to do a bit more structured touristing today, going to the sites listed in the Like A Local guide that we hadn’t seen in our random walking about.
Saw the Swedish gate, Three Wall Street, and a church near the Citadel. None of these was particularly interesting to us, with the added downside of tour groups and loud guides, so we abandoned the structured plan and went back to random.
Finally got into the Riga Cathedral. They have pipe organ performance three times a day during which you can’t visit, and the first couple times we stopped by it was during a performance.
The cathedral itself was okay, the main attraction for us was the museum in the cloisters with cannons and other armoury from the 14th and 15th centuries. Actually the pipe organ was pretty cool too, maybe we should have attended a performance!
We had lunch outside the old town, at Big Bad Bagel, based on a blog recommendation. The bagels were quite tasty, as well as the fresh fruit drinks.
The Alkīmidis craft brewery was just a block away (my favourite / only-craft-brewery-I-know) so we made tracks. Along the way was MiiT Coffee, mentioned in the same blog, so stopped in there first. I found the coffee a bit bitter to my taste.
We had the tasting at Alkīmidis, I liked most of them, including their rhubarb wheat beer, which wasn’t too rhubarby. I also bought a tshirt as a souvenir.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped in at a gift shop (Elkor) just near the Freedom Monument. It was the best place for souvenirs that we’d seen. Bought a piece of amber, cause that’s what you do in Latvia. (About 90% of the world’s amber comes from the Baltics).
Took a random street back to the hotel and came across the House of the Black Heads, one of the last sites on our list for Riga. Took some pics, but planned to come by later for the dusk lighting. (At this latitude, the golden hour lasts twice as long so there’s plenty of time to take pics) (Riga is about 57*N, slightly further north than Fort McMurray in Canada).
We had dinner at Restaurant 3. We were hoping to do their 5-course but they only have a 7-course tasting menu now. So another evening of overeating... The courses at Restaurant 3 were hit-or-miss — there were three that were exceptional, a couple that we didn’t care for, and a couple that were average. They had a wine pairing and also a mixed drink pairing (haven’t seen that before). I had one and Heather the other; we both preferred the wine pairing (the mixed drinks were too sweet).
After dinner walked over to the House of the Black Heads for some pics, and then back to the hotel.
Saw the Swedish gate, Three Wall Street, and a church near the Citadel. None of these was particularly interesting to us, with the added downside of tour groups and loud guides, so we abandoned the structured plan and went back to random.
Finally got into the Riga Cathedral. They have pipe organ performance three times a day during which you can’t visit, and the first couple times we stopped by it was during a performance.
The cathedral itself was okay, the main attraction for us was the museum in the cloisters with cannons and other armoury from the 14th and 15th centuries. Actually the pipe organ was pretty cool too, maybe we should have attended a performance!
We had lunch outside the old town, at Big Bad Bagel, based on a blog recommendation. The bagels were quite tasty, as well as the fresh fruit drinks.
The Alkīmidis craft brewery was just a block away (my favourite / only-craft-brewery-I-know) so we made tracks. Along the way was MiiT Coffee, mentioned in the same blog, so stopped in there first. I found the coffee a bit bitter to my taste.
We had the tasting at Alkīmidis, I liked most of them, including their rhubarb wheat beer, which wasn’t too rhubarby. I also bought a tshirt as a souvenir.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped in at a gift shop (Elkor) just near the Freedom Monument. It was the best place for souvenirs that we’d seen. Bought a piece of amber, cause that’s what you do in Latvia. (About 90% of the world’s amber comes from the Baltics).
Took a random street back to the hotel and came across the House of the Black Heads, one of the last sites on our list for Riga. Took some pics, but planned to come by later for the dusk lighting. (At this latitude, the golden hour lasts twice as long so there’s plenty of time to take pics) (Riga is about 57*N, slightly further north than Fort McMurray in Canada).
We had dinner at Restaurant 3. We were hoping to do their 5-course but they only have a 7-course tasting menu now. So another evening of overeating... The courses at Restaurant 3 were hit-or-miss — there were three that were exceptional, a couple that we didn’t care for, and a couple that were average. They had a wine pairing and also a mixed drink pairing (haven’t seen that before). I had one and Heather the other; we both preferred the wine pairing (the mixed drinks were too sweet).
After dinner walked over to the House of the Black Heads for some pics, and then back to the hotel.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Riga, Latvia
Our hotel had a great breakfast, on the top floor of the hotel. It has a glass rooftop that let in lots of light and that helped wake us up. Our hotel is mentioned in a few blogs as a great place for brunch, and they all said to try the pancakes, so like a bunch of lemmings, that’s what we did. (Actually, we did listen to the other options and then decided on the pancakes, so maybe not so lemming-like). The pancakes were great, a nice break from standard hotel breakfasts.
It was overcast today, which I actually preferred cause it’s better for lighting. Riga’s old town is very photogenic, even more so than Tallinn. Every time you turn your head it’s another pic to take.
We just walked around randomly rather than trying to hit the main things to see. Tallinn’s old town is smallish, about 15 minute walk from one end to the other, so in a day it’s possible to just walk randomly and see about everything.
We did start by heading to the Three Brothers, which is a row of three houses, each from a different century and representing different eras in architecture. Supposedly it’s unphotographable because it’s on a narrow street and difficult to get perspective. In the morning the sun is in the wrong spot too, so it’ll be an evening pic.
Next walked out of the old town towards the Freedom Monument, a 42m tall obelisk dedicated to Latvians who lost their lives fighting for independence after WWI.
Similar to Ashgabat, the old town is surrounded by neighbourhoods that are worthwhile visiting on their own accord. So it wasn’t a big drop off walking out of the old town, although there’s definitely far less tourists.
We then walked through the surrounding park, Bastejkalns. We recognized a lot of the plants and flowers, they’re very similar to what we have back home. I guess we’re in the same Hardiness Zone. There’s been lots of rain recently and the park looked great.
Nearby is Riga Nativity of Christ Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church, so we stopped in to visit. It’s beautiful inside but no pics allowed. By my count it’s the fifth different Orthodox Church jurisdiction we’ve been to on these couple trips. (I had to look up the jurisdictions in Wikipedia).
Next went to Riga Central Market. It’s housed in four huge former zeppelin hangars. The structures are beautiful, perfect for a market.
We had lunch at the market, and then a couple local craft beers from Alkīmikis, which has its brewery very close to where we were walking earlier. Their IPA was excellent. Tried some baked goods from BakeBerry which came highly recommended from our guide from yesterday’s excursion.
Walked back to the old town and to St. Peter's Church. It’s possible to take an elevator to the viewing deck in the tower, and it didn’t look too busy, so up we went! There’s a limit of ten people in the elevator, I can see there being long line ups in busy season. We only had to wait for the 2nd group.
The view from the top is amazing, I took a million pics. I actually posted five of the pics, which is unusually high for me for a single location. It was cold with the wind (the high was about 13C today) so we went back down after about ten minutes.
We had dinner at Riits, just outside the old town. I had the shrimp and garlic appetizer, followed by grilled rack of lamb. Heather has a goat cheese salad and then the grilled pike perch (aka zander). Everything was really good. Once again we ate at a place where they were turning away walk-ins. (We’re trying to stay a week ahead for restaurant reservations). They had my favourite craft brewery from Riga (Alkīmikis) so tried their Pale Ale.
The lighting was amazing at 10pm when we left the restaurant to walk back into the old town. It’s great that the cameras on phones are so good now, because I don’t have to carry my camera around. About 25% of the pics I post are taken with my iPhone! Got my pic of the Three Brothers, not only was the lighting much better than this morning, there were also no other tourists.
It was still early for bed so we called into a patio bar for a drink, and then later headed home.
It was overcast today, which I actually preferred cause it’s better for lighting. Riga’s old town is very photogenic, even more so than Tallinn. Every time you turn your head it’s another pic to take.
We just walked around randomly rather than trying to hit the main things to see. Tallinn’s old town is smallish, about 15 minute walk from one end to the other, so in a day it’s possible to just walk randomly and see about everything.
We did start by heading to the Three Brothers, which is a row of three houses, each from a different century and representing different eras in architecture. Supposedly it’s unphotographable because it’s on a narrow street and difficult to get perspective. In the morning the sun is in the wrong spot too, so it’ll be an evening pic.
Next walked out of the old town towards the Freedom Monument, a 42m tall obelisk dedicated to Latvians who lost their lives fighting for independence after WWI.
Similar to Ashgabat, the old town is surrounded by neighbourhoods that are worthwhile visiting on their own accord. So it wasn’t a big drop off walking out of the old town, although there’s definitely far less tourists.
We then walked through the surrounding park, Bastejkalns. We recognized a lot of the plants and flowers, they’re very similar to what we have back home. I guess we’re in the same Hardiness Zone. There’s been lots of rain recently and the park looked great.
Nearby is Riga Nativity of Christ Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church, so we stopped in to visit. It’s beautiful inside but no pics allowed. By my count it’s the fifth different Orthodox Church jurisdiction we’ve been to on these couple trips. (I had to look up the jurisdictions in Wikipedia).
Next went to Riga Central Market. It’s housed in four huge former zeppelin hangars. The structures are beautiful, perfect for a market.
We had lunch at the market, and then a couple local craft beers from Alkīmikis, which has its brewery very close to where we were walking earlier. Their IPA was excellent. Tried some baked goods from BakeBerry which came highly recommended from our guide from yesterday’s excursion.
Walked back to the old town and to St. Peter's Church. It’s possible to take an elevator to the viewing deck in the tower, and it didn’t look too busy, so up we went! There’s a limit of ten people in the elevator, I can see there being long line ups in busy season. We only had to wait for the 2nd group.
The view from the top is amazing, I took a million pics. I actually posted five of the pics, which is unusually high for me for a single location. It was cold with the wind (the high was about 13C today) so we went back down after about ten minutes.
We had dinner at Riits, just outside the old town. I had the shrimp and garlic appetizer, followed by grilled rack of lamb. Heather has a goat cheese salad and then the grilled pike perch (aka zander). Everything was really good. Once again we ate at a place where they were turning away walk-ins. (We’re trying to stay a week ahead for restaurant reservations). They had my favourite craft brewery from Riga (Alkīmikis) so tried their Pale Ale.
The lighting was amazing at 10pm when we left the restaurant to walk back into the old town. It’s great that the cameras on phones are so good now, because I don’t have to carry my camera around. About 25% of the pics I post are taken with my iPhone! Got my pic of the Three Brothers, not only was the lighting much better than this morning, there were also no other tourists.
It was still early for bed so we called into a patio bar for a drink, and then later headed home.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Tallinn to Riga
We got up at 7am, two hours earlier than we’ve been starting, so that we could catch our excursion to Riga.
When I was booking the trip, I debated renting a car so that we could see more of the countries and not just the capital cities, but I didn’t want the responsibilities of a car. There’s a company that runs excursions between Tallinn and Riga (and also Riga and Vilnius) that pick you up in one city, take in the sites between the cities, and drop you off at the other. So you get day trips and transit for the price and time of one. Anyways we booked both the Tallinn to Riga and the Riga to Vilnius excursions.
Our taxi driver had some trouble trying to figure out how to get into the old city, but we got there exactly at 9am. We the last to arrive and so got the front row of the minivan, which wasn’t so bad cause we’re small people and the view was better.
Our driver / tour guide was excellent. She knew all about the history and current state of Estonia and the surrounding region. We chatted with her most of the drive. Found out some interesting local details, like that mushroom foraging is a big thing in Estonia. Everyone has their own favourite secret place in the woods.
Made a number of stops along the way, Viljandi (with a crumbling crusader castle and strawberries as the local symbol because of a painting), Valga, which sits on the border of Estonia and Latvia (with a military museum where our guide gave a moving description of Estonian history from WWI to present), hiked (in the rain) along the sandy cliffs of Sietiņiezis in Gauja National Park, walked through the medieval old town of Cēsis (our favourite of the day), and finally the bobsleigh track in Sigulda.
We arrived in the old town of Riga at 8:30pm. It makes for a long day, but it’s not that tiring because of the frequent stops.
Our hotel was a six minute walk, so we didn’t have to worry about taxis getting lost in the old town. We stayed at Le Chevalier, which a lot of the food bloggers had mentioned as either a place to stay or go for brunch. So it looks like our breakfasts will be good :)
Dropped our stuff and rushed out for a quick bite. Went to a hotel-recommended restaurant (Key to Riga) which wasn’t that great (note to self - don’t ask hotels for restaurant recommendations!). It was down the main drag which was still pretty busy for a weekday evening. We were further south, so the sun set at 9:59pm, about 15 minutes earlier than in Tallinn. After dinner we walked around the square near the restaurant and then called it a night.
When I was booking the trip, I debated renting a car so that we could see more of the countries and not just the capital cities, but I didn’t want the responsibilities of a car. There’s a company that runs excursions between Tallinn and Riga (and also Riga and Vilnius) that pick you up in one city, take in the sites between the cities, and drop you off at the other. So you get day trips and transit for the price and time of one. Anyways we booked both the Tallinn to Riga and the Riga to Vilnius excursions.
Our taxi driver had some trouble trying to figure out how to get into the old city, but we got there exactly at 9am. We the last to arrive and so got the front row of the minivan, which wasn’t so bad cause we’re small people and the view was better.
Our driver / tour guide was excellent. She knew all about the history and current state of Estonia and the surrounding region. We chatted with her most of the drive. Found out some interesting local details, like that mushroom foraging is a big thing in Estonia. Everyone has their own favourite secret place in the woods.
Made a number of stops along the way, Viljandi (with a crumbling crusader castle and strawberries as the local symbol because of a painting), Valga, which sits on the border of Estonia and Latvia (with a military museum where our guide gave a moving description of Estonian history from WWI to present), hiked (in the rain) along the sandy cliffs of Sietiņiezis in Gauja National Park, walked through the medieval old town of Cēsis (our favourite of the day), and finally the bobsleigh track in Sigulda.
We arrived in the old town of Riga at 8:30pm. It makes for a long day, but it’s not that tiring because of the frequent stops.
Our hotel was a six minute walk, so we didn’t have to worry about taxis getting lost in the old town. We stayed at Le Chevalier, which a lot of the food bloggers had mentioned as either a place to stay or go for brunch. So it looks like our breakfasts will be good :)
Dropped our stuff and rushed out for a quick bite. Went to a hotel-recommended restaurant (Key to Riga) which wasn’t that great (note to self - don’t ask hotels for restaurant recommendations!). It was down the main drag which was still pretty busy for a weekday evening. We were further south, so the sun set at 9:59pm, about 15 minutes earlier than in Tallinn. After dinner we walked around the square near the restaurant and then called it a night.
Monday, May 27, 2019
Tallinn, Estonia
The Visit Tallinn website has a page on ‘things to do on Mondays’ cause a lot is closed. We started at Kiek in de Kök Museum and Bastions, one of the few museums open on Mondays.
First we walked through the tunnels, which are a few hundred metres long. They were originally built to get around sieges and then in the 50s repurposed as bomb shelters. There were some morbid 50s-era posters with instructions on what to do in case of the city getting bombed.
Walked back to the start and then up on the wall and bastions. Some of the towers had been used as residences in the recent past, they would have been cool lofts!
Then we then walked to Kalamaja, a hip neighbourhood just outside the old town. There’s lots of high end boutique stores in old warehouses. Had lunch at a random craft beer place. All their food was gluten-free, which was common in the neighbourhood. I had a grilled fish and Heather had a hamburger, both were good. I didn’t know much about the local craft scene so they gave me a IPA by Põhjala brewery, which became my new favourite beer in Estonia.
Walked around a bit more. We had reservations at F-hoone nearby, so scouted out the location tucked away in the maze of old warehouses.
On the way back to the hotel picked up some snacks for tomorrow’s drive to Riga.
So freshened up and walked back to F-hoone in Kalamaja. Fortunately we had made reservations as the restaurant was full. The food was good - I had the steak tartare which was one of the better ones I’ve had, and Heather had the tuna tartare which was also very good. We split a couple more appetizers, which was a bit too much food. Tried a variety of beers (now that I had a favourite local craft brewery). They actually had a collaboration between Põhjala and Collective Arts (!), so I had to try it. (Collective Arts is a craft brewery from Hamilton). Anyways it was a fun evening.
First we walked through the tunnels, which are a few hundred metres long. They were originally built to get around sieges and then in the 50s repurposed as bomb shelters. There were some morbid 50s-era posters with instructions on what to do in case of the city getting bombed.
Walked back to the start and then up on the wall and bastions. Some of the towers had been used as residences in the recent past, they would have been cool lofts!
Then we then walked to Kalamaja, a hip neighbourhood just outside the old town. There’s lots of high end boutique stores in old warehouses. Had lunch at a random craft beer place. All their food was gluten-free, which was common in the neighbourhood. I had a grilled fish and Heather had a hamburger, both were good. I didn’t know much about the local craft scene so they gave me a IPA by Põhjala brewery, which became my new favourite beer in Estonia.
Walked around a bit more. We had reservations at F-hoone nearby, so scouted out the location tucked away in the maze of old warehouses.
On the way back to the hotel picked up some snacks for tomorrow’s drive to Riga.
So freshened up and walked back to F-hoone in Kalamaja. Fortunately we had made reservations as the restaurant was full. The food was good - I had the steak tartare which was one of the better ones I’ve had, and Heather had the tuna tartare which was also very good. We split a couple more appetizers, which was a bit too much food. Tried a variety of beers (now that I had a favourite local craft brewery). They actually had a collaboration between Põhjala and Collective Arts (!), so I had to try it. (Collective Arts is a craft brewery from Hamilton). Anyways it was a fun evening.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Tallinn, Estonia
It was a cold and rainy day. We had planned today for museums as most places are closed on Mondays.
The museum we most wanted to see was Vabamu (The Museum of Occupations and Freedom) which wasn’t too far from our hotel. It’s really well done with an audio tour that takes you through the recent history of Estonia. We spent almost two hours there. It’s quite moving.
From there we went to NUKU, a puppet museum. There are some interactive displays. Here’s a goofy little hand puppet show by Heather (it’s a silent show, the audio is a kid in the background).
We had lunch at a little Italian place cause we had a pizza craving. It was run by a guy from Rome who had just opened a few weeks ago. The pizzas were excellent. He gave us an amaro after, just like in Rome. It rained on and off while we were eating, so we stretched out the lunch cause it was a cosy place.
We had an early reservation for dinner at a place just north of the old city, about a half hour walk. It was still rainy and cold so decided to cancel the reservation and try for something closer.
Most food bloggers had mentioned Rataskaevu 16 but we hadn’t been able to get a booking. Apparently people book three months in advance (!). So we took our chances with a walk in. We arrived just before 8pm, and at first they said they were full, then did some internal consulting, and then they seated us. Yay!
Dinner was excellent. For appetizers I had the salmon tartare and Heather tried the artichoke and fennel salad. For mains Heather had the whitefish with lentils and vegetables; I had the steak. We had a blue cheesecake for dessert. I also tried a craft beer, an IPA by Põhjala, which was very good. All round a great meal, we were lucky to get in!
It was about 10pm and the lighting was perfect for pictures so walked around for a bit. We came across a place called DM Baar which played only Depeche Mode music, so stopped in for a couple drinks. Later we read the blurb on the outside and apparently the bar is on lists of unusual bars in the world. The band actually dropped in a couple times when they were touring through Tallinn.
The museum we most wanted to see was Vabamu (The Museum of Occupations and Freedom) which wasn’t too far from our hotel. It’s really well done with an audio tour that takes you through the recent history of Estonia. We spent almost two hours there. It’s quite moving.
From there we went to NUKU, a puppet museum. There are some interactive displays. Here’s a goofy little hand puppet show by Heather (it’s a silent show, the audio is a kid in the background).
We had lunch at a little Italian place cause we had a pizza craving. It was run by a guy from Rome who had just opened a few weeks ago. The pizzas were excellent. He gave us an amaro after, just like in Rome. It rained on and off while we were eating, so we stretched out the lunch cause it was a cosy place.
We had an early reservation for dinner at a place just north of the old city, about a half hour walk. It was still rainy and cold so decided to cancel the reservation and try for something closer.
Most food bloggers had mentioned Rataskaevu 16 but we hadn’t been able to get a booking. Apparently people book three months in advance (!). So we took our chances with a walk in. We arrived just before 8pm, and at first they said they were full, then did some internal consulting, and then they seated us. Yay!
Dinner was excellent. For appetizers I had the salmon tartare and Heather tried the artichoke and fennel salad. For mains Heather had the whitefish with lentils and vegetables; I had the steak. We had a blue cheesecake for dessert. I also tried a craft beer, an IPA by Põhjala, which was very good. All round a great meal, we were lucky to get in!
It was about 10pm and the lighting was perfect for pictures so walked around for a bit. We came across a place called DM Baar which played only Depeche Mode music, so stopped in for a couple drinks. Later we read the blurb on the outside and apparently the bar is on lists of unusual bars in the world. The band actually dropped in a couple times when they were touring through Tallinn.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Tallinn, Estonia
We both woke up around 3ish from jet lag and game 5 of the Raptors / Bucks game was on so watched the text stream for the rest of the game. Thank goodness the Leafs weren’t also still in the playoffs otherwise we wouldn’t be getting any sleep. At least now it’s only every second night or so.
Fortunately it was the weekend and breakfast was served until 11am. We got down at 10:45. I had flashbacks to first year university and rushing down to the cafeteria just before close to get breakfast.
It worked out okay as it had rained all morning and then cleared up in the afternoon.
First we walked down to the Tourist Info Centre at the heart of the old city to buy our Tallinn Cards (got 10% off with our Helsinki Cards!)
Then walked around sort of randomly, aiming for the taller buildings. The first major site we saw was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. As I was trying to take pics outside, I saw that we were right at the entrance for the Parliament Of Estonia. We then remembered that the Info folks had mentioned that the parliament buildings had an open house today, including climbing the Toompea tower. So we entered and asked around for the tower climb. We had just missed the 2pm tour and so got tickets for 2:30pm.
Used the half hour to look around the parliament. Saw their equivalent of the House of Commons. There were lots of locals visiting - it wasn’t until a couple days later when we went to Vabamu (The Museum of Occupations and Freedom) did we understand the significance of the building in their drive for democracy and independence.
So at 2:30 joined about 40 people and climbed up the tower. I suppose they group people because the spiral staircase is really narrow and this way you don’t have people going up and down at the same time.
The views from the top were pretty good. It was cloudy / hazy so not ideal for pics. It was also crowded up top. We went back down as soon as the last person in our group got up.
We were looking for a cozy place for lunch and found one near one of the viewing platforms. We both had their sausage and onions. Heather tried the mulled wine, which was alright. They had a decent-looking coffee machine so had an espresso and dessert and headed back out.
Wandered around the old city a bit more. Came across St Olaf's church, another one of the towers to climb. There was no line up so we got our tickets (free with the Tallinn card) and started climbing.
This tower was deceptively tall. Our legs were burning by the time we reached the top. It’s about the same level as the Toompea tower, but that’s located in the upper part of town and has a head start.
There were maybe 10 other people at the top, it was a good time to climb. Took lots of pictures. The sun was out but still pretty high, so the contrast between light and shadow didn’t work so great for pics. Oh well. The view was still amazing.
In our random wandering we had hit most of the viewpoints and towers, so started walking back to our hotel.
On the way we ran into Cathy and Jerry, the people who we met at dinner a couple nights ago in Helsinki. Actually they were having a drink on a patio and noticed us walking by, and Cathy ran down the street after us, yelling ‘hey guys’. I had heard her but assumed it was for us, as who do we know in Tallinn? Anyways we chatted for a bit, and arranged to meet up for dinner at 7pm.
So we rushed back to our hotel to shower and then back into the old city. This is one of the few cities we booked outside the old city, and we both agreed for future bookings to stay more central. Even though we were only a 15 minute walk it seemed quite distant.
Anyways dinner was good, and it was fun chatting with Cathy and Jerry. We were still slightly full from the previous night’s dinner!
Fortunately it was the weekend and breakfast was served until 11am. We got down at 10:45. I had flashbacks to first year university and rushing down to the cafeteria just before close to get breakfast.
It worked out okay as it had rained all morning and then cleared up in the afternoon.
First we walked down to the Tourist Info Centre at the heart of the old city to buy our Tallinn Cards (got 10% off with our Helsinki Cards!)
Then walked around sort of randomly, aiming for the taller buildings. The first major site we saw was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. As I was trying to take pics outside, I saw that we were right at the entrance for the Parliament Of Estonia. We then remembered that the Info folks had mentioned that the parliament buildings had an open house today, including climbing the Toompea tower. So we entered and asked around for the tower climb. We had just missed the 2pm tour and so got tickets for 2:30pm.
Used the half hour to look around the parliament. Saw their equivalent of the House of Commons. There were lots of locals visiting - it wasn’t until a couple days later when we went to Vabamu (The Museum of Occupations and Freedom) did we understand the significance of the building in their drive for democracy and independence.
So at 2:30 joined about 40 people and climbed up the tower. I suppose they group people because the spiral staircase is really narrow and this way you don’t have people going up and down at the same time.
The views from the top were pretty good. It was cloudy / hazy so not ideal for pics. It was also crowded up top. We went back down as soon as the last person in our group got up.
We were looking for a cozy place for lunch and found one near one of the viewing platforms. We both had their sausage and onions. Heather tried the mulled wine, which was alright. They had a decent-looking coffee machine so had an espresso and dessert and headed back out.
Wandered around the old city a bit more. Came across St Olaf's church, another one of the towers to climb. There was no line up so we got our tickets (free with the Tallinn card) and started climbing.
This tower was deceptively tall. Our legs were burning by the time we reached the top. It’s about the same level as the Toompea tower, but that’s located in the upper part of town and has a head start.
There were maybe 10 other people at the top, it was a good time to climb. Took lots of pictures. The sun was out but still pretty high, so the contrast between light and shadow didn’t work so great for pics. Oh well. The view was still amazing.
In our random wandering we had hit most of the viewpoints and towers, so started walking back to our hotel.
On the way we ran into Cathy and Jerry, the people who we met at dinner a couple nights ago in Helsinki. Actually they were having a drink on a patio and noticed us walking by, and Cathy ran down the street after us, yelling ‘hey guys’. I had heard her but assumed it was for us, as who do we know in Tallinn? Anyways we chatted for a bit, and arranged to meet up for dinner at 7pm.
So we rushed back to our hotel to shower and then back into the old city. This is one of the few cities we booked outside the old city, and we both agreed for future bookings to stay more central. Even though we were only a 15 minute walk it seemed quite distant.
Anyways dinner was good, and it was fun chatting with Cathy and Jerry. We were still slightly full from the previous night’s dinner!
Friday, May 24, 2019
Helsinki to Tallinn
The ferry to Tallinn wasn’t until 2:15pm so we had some time in the morning to visit Kiasma (Museum of Contemporary Art).
We got one last use of our Helsinki Card to enter Kiasma. We got our money’s worth for the card - it was 71 EUR for the ‘3 day adult city’, and we went to sites that would have cost 121 EUR if we paid individually. We should have just got the mobile version for 55 EUR which excludes travel cause we walked everywhere.
Anyways we both liked Kiasma.
Picked up our packs from our hotel and took a taxi to the Viking ferry. They told us to be there by 1:30pm when we bought the tickets, but it turns out they don’t let anyone board until 1:55pm.
There was a mad rush to board when the gates opened. The regulars all had their favourite seats / tables to get to, in particular those lining up for the all-you-can-eat buffets so they could maximize their eating time.
We grabbed a window table and then some food. After had a beer and caught up in my blog. Travel days like this are handy for blogging :)
The 2.5 hour ride went by very quickly. We followed the route in Google maps; it was raining / foggy most of the way and we couldn’t see anything.
It was about a 15 minute walk to get to the taxi stand, and then a flat rate 10 EUR taxi to our hotel, the Centennial, just outside the old city.
When we booked we weren’t able to get a standard double for all four nights, and had a superior double the first night. It didn’t have much feng shui. Judging by the emergency exit map, it’s just the standard double with the extra space behind the stairwell. It’s one of the few times that the superior room was a disappointment, usually there’s a huge step up. Anyways that’s for the tripadvisor review.
Our big thing today was dinner. We had booked into Restaurant Ö, one of the top restaurants in Estonia, for 8pm.
So cleaned up and walked over, about 15 minutes. We had trouble finding the place as the door isn’t clearly marked, unless you’re familiar with the restaurant logo.
It’s not a large restaurant at all, seating maybe 50. We were one of the last tables seated; most of the other groups were into their tasting menus.
There’s two options, either the 7-course tasting menu or the 11-course. The extras in the 11-course included eel, elk, and quail, and we were pretty hungry, so tried the 11-course.
Every course was amazing, definitely the best restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. My favourites included the elk, eel, and the breads, which were a course to themselves. The entire dinner took almost four hours! It was a splurge but well worth it.
We walked home, cutting through the old city. The old city has lots of character, we were looking forward to exploring it the next day.
We got one last use of our Helsinki Card to enter Kiasma. We got our money’s worth for the card - it was 71 EUR for the ‘3 day adult city’, and we went to sites that would have cost 121 EUR if we paid individually. We should have just got the mobile version for 55 EUR which excludes travel cause we walked everywhere.
Anyways we both liked Kiasma.
Picked up our packs from our hotel and took a taxi to the Viking ferry. They told us to be there by 1:30pm when we bought the tickets, but it turns out they don’t let anyone board until 1:55pm.
There was a mad rush to board when the gates opened. The regulars all had their favourite seats / tables to get to, in particular those lining up for the all-you-can-eat buffets so they could maximize their eating time.
We grabbed a window table and then some food. After had a beer and caught up in my blog. Travel days like this are handy for blogging :)
The 2.5 hour ride went by very quickly. We followed the route in Google maps; it was raining / foggy most of the way and we couldn’t see anything.
It was about a 15 minute walk to get to the taxi stand, and then a flat rate 10 EUR taxi to our hotel, the Centennial, just outside the old city.
When we booked we weren’t able to get a standard double for all four nights, and had a superior double the first night. It didn’t have much feng shui. Judging by the emergency exit map, it’s just the standard double with the extra space behind the stairwell. It’s one of the few times that the superior room was a disappointment, usually there’s a huge step up. Anyways that’s for the tripadvisor review.
Our big thing today was dinner. We had booked into Restaurant Ö, one of the top restaurants in Estonia, for 8pm.
So cleaned up and walked over, about 15 minutes. We had trouble finding the place as the door isn’t clearly marked, unless you’re familiar with the restaurant logo.
It’s not a large restaurant at all, seating maybe 50. We were one of the last tables seated; most of the other groups were into their tasting menus.
There’s two options, either the 7-course tasting menu or the 11-course. The extras in the 11-course included eel, elk, and quail, and we were pretty hungry, so tried the 11-course.
Every course was amazing, definitely the best restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. My favourites included the elk, eel, and the breads, which were a course to themselves. The entire dinner took almost four hours! It was a splurge but well worth it.
We walked home, cutting through the old city. The old city has lots of character, we were looking forward to exploring it the next day.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Helsinki, Finland
We were slow to wake up this morning, from the jet lag and fighting off a wannabe cold, plus the weather was a bit gloomier.
We made it down for breakfast about 9:30. We were able to eat before they shut down the buffet promptly at 10am.
Walked to the waterfront, the same path as yesterday, to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna, an old sea fortress and now a UNESCO site.
There was a bit of drizzle as we arrived (later the sun broke through and it turned into a really nice day).
Suomenlinna is surrounded by 6km of trails, so we started at one end and worked our way back to the ferry.
The farthest site is King’s Gate, near the old cannons guarding the south end of the island. It took us forever to find the gate itself, we walked through numerous passages and walls and dead ends. There were lots of signs pointing in the gate’s general direction, but it wasn’t clearly marked.
We also stopped into a couple a interesting museums - a submarine museum, inside an actual WWII sub (our favourite of the day), and a customs museum.
Walked back towards the ferry and called into a restaurant for lunch. It only had a buffet, so walked over to a craft brewery place near the ferry. There were a couple large groups, so it took a long time for our food to arrive.
After lunch we walked back to see some more stuff, including the Suomenlinna church and the military museum.
We were fading, so grabbed a coffee. It wasn’t our day for food orders as they forgot about our order and it took a while to get our coffee.
We caught the ferry back to the mainland. While we were at the waterfront, walked over to Viking Lines to buy our tickets for the ferry to Tallinn tomorrow (we also found we’ve been pronouncing the city incorrectly, it’s ‘taleen‘) (later in Estonia, we then realized that 'taleen' is the Finnish pronunciation, we had been pronouncing it correctly).
By now it was almost 5pm, not nearly enough time to go to Kiasma, the modern art gallery. Instead we called into the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, a private collection just down the street from our hotel. The highlight for me was Rembrandt’s Monk Reading. The museum also had a temporary exhibition on the introduction of blue pigment into art (I hadn’t realized, but it wasn’t until the 1800’s that artificial blue became widely available to artists).
We originally planned to use the sauna in our room again, but found the heat from yesterday’s sauna bad for curly hair. Heather had to add a lot of extra conditioner to rehydrate her hair this morning!
We had dinner at Juuri, recommended by just about every blog we read. I was pretty hungry, so we had the 5-course tasting menu.
I can’t remember everything we ate. Started off taking pics of each course, but forgot about half way through. It was a lot of food. The first two courses were three tapas each (called sapas here). Each sapa was the equivalent of a tasting course, so it was almost like we were having nine courses!
The food ranged from very good to excellent (we loved the pickled herring as well as the dessert), although nothing was outstanding. The only miss for us was the chicken breast (one of two mains), but maybe that’s because we get such great chicken from our butcher at home (so that any other chicken tastes bland and/or rubbery).
Chatted a bit with the neighbouring table. They sounded like foodies too, and are also going to Tallinn after Helsinki, so maybe we’ll run into them at another restaurant, on the culinary version of the gringo trail :)
We made it down for breakfast about 9:30. We were able to eat before they shut down the buffet promptly at 10am.
Walked to the waterfront, the same path as yesterday, to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna, an old sea fortress and now a UNESCO site.
There was a bit of drizzle as we arrived (later the sun broke through and it turned into a really nice day).
Suomenlinna is surrounded by 6km of trails, so we started at one end and worked our way back to the ferry.
The farthest site is King’s Gate, near the old cannons guarding the south end of the island. It took us forever to find the gate itself, we walked through numerous passages and walls and dead ends. There were lots of signs pointing in the gate’s general direction, but it wasn’t clearly marked.
We also stopped into a couple a interesting museums - a submarine museum, inside an actual WWII sub (our favourite of the day), and a customs museum.
Walked back towards the ferry and called into a restaurant for lunch. It only had a buffet, so walked over to a craft brewery place near the ferry. There were a couple large groups, so it took a long time for our food to arrive.
After lunch we walked back to see some more stuff, including the Suomenlinna church and the military museum.
We were fading, so grabbed a coffee. It wasn’t our day for food orders as they forgot about our order and it took a while to get our coffee.
We caught the ferry back to the mainland. While we were at the waterfront, walked over to Viking Lines to buy our tickets for the ferry to Tallinn tomorrow (we also found we’ve been pronouncing the city incorrectly, it’s ‘taleen‘) (later in Estonia, we then realized that 'taleen' is the Finnish pronunciation, we had been pronouncing it correctly).
By now it was almost 5pm, not nearly enough time to go to Kiasma, the modern art gallery. Instead we called into the Sinebrychoff Art Museum, a private collection just down the street from our hotel. The highlight for me was Rembrandt’s Monk Reading. The museum also had a temporary exhibition on the introduction of blue pigment into art (I hadn’t realized, but it wasn’t until the 1800’s that artificial blue became widely available to artists).
We originally planned to use the sauna in our room again, but found the heat from yesterday’s sauna bad for curly hair. Heather had to add a lot of extra conditioner to rehydrate her hair this morning!
We had dinner at Juuri, recommended by just about every blog we read. I was pretty hungry, so we had the 5-course tasting menu.
I can’t remember everything we ate. Started off taking pics of each course, but forgot about half way through. It was a lot of food. The first two courses were three tapas each (called sapas here). Each sapa was the equivalent of a tasting course, so it was almost like we were having nine courses!
The food ranged from very good to excellent (we loved the pickled herring as well as the dessert), although nothing was outstanding. The only miss for us was the chicken breast (one of two mains), but maybe that’s because we get such great chicken from our butcher at home (so that any other chicken tastes bland and/or rubbery).
Chatted a bit with the neighbouring table. They sounded like foodies too, and are also going to Tallinn after Helsinki, so maybe we’ll run into them at another restaurant, on the culinary version of the gringo trail :)
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Helsinki, Finland
Both of us woke up around 3ish from jetlag, which was about the same time as game 4 for the Raptors vs Bucks, so I followed the play-by-play online.
Breakfast was great in our hotel, which was really busy with business types having breakfast meetings (or pre-meetings).
It was a nice sunny day in Helsinki, with a high near 20C. The forecast called for clouds and rain the next couple days, so we went on a 90 minute boat cruise around the islands, included in the Helsinki Card. The scenery reminded us of being in the Muskokas. The boat cruise was a good way to orient ourselves.
Had lunch in the old market on the waterfront, which was quite tasty. Browsed the souvenir stalls and bought a couple small things for our key shelf.
We then walked over to Ateneum, Finland’s premier art gallery. It was cool, including a Van Gogh. (The museum was the world’s first to acquire a Van Gogh).
Ateneum is on a plaza across from the train station with interesting architecture. Took pics of most of the surrounding buildings, lots of Finnish art nouveau.
Got back to the hotel around 4pm. We have a sauna in our room, which is fairly common. They take their saunas very seriously here - in fact, the word “sauna” is Finnish. There’s about one sauna for every two people in Finland.
Pushed the ‘on’ button and then waited an hour for it to heat up. (There’s a little sign in the bathroom with instructions on how to use the sauna - first step, put away your cell phone). Followed the rest of the steps to have a proper Finnish sauna experience!
Tonight we had dinner reservations at Shelter, a restaurant on the waterfront close to where we were earlier this afternoon. We’re becoming quite familiar with the route from our hotel to the waterfront :)
Once again dinner was excellent, and we were glad we had a reservation. For appetizers, we had octopus with romesco sauce and white fish ceviche. For our mains, we tried the linguine with chanterelles, green apples, and pistachios and the grilled perch with roe, new potatoes, and broccolini. Everything was excellent.
We took a different route back to our hotel for variety. The sun was just setting (it was 10pm). Our walk took us past the Helsinki Cathedral, an evangelical cathedral that features prominently in skyline pics. Walked up the many stairs to the top, took a bunch of pics. Got home and crashed.
Breakfast was great in our hotel, which was really busy with business types having breakfast meetings (or pre-meetings).
It was a nice sunny day in Helsinki, with a high near 20C. The forecast called for clouds and rain the next couple days, so we went on a 90 minute boat cruise around the islands, included in the Helsinki Card. The scenery reminded us of being in the Muskokas. The boat cruise was a good way to orient ourselves.
Had lunch in the old market on the waterfront, which was quite tasty. Browsed the souvenir stalls and bought a couple small things for our key shelf.
We then walked over to Ateneum, Finland’s premier art gallery. It was cool, including a Van Gogh. (The museum was the world’s first to acquire a Van Gogh).
Ateneum is on a plaza across from the train station with interesting architecture. Took pics of most of the surrounding buildings, lots of Finnish art nouveau.
Got back to the hotel around 4pm. We have a sauna in our room, which is fairly common. They take their saunas very seriously here - in fact, the word “sauna” is Finnish. There’s about one sauna for every two people in Finland.
Pushed the ‘on’ button and then waited an hour for it to heat up. (There’s a little sign in the bathroom with instructions on how to use the sauna - first step, put away your cell phone). Followed the rest of the steps to have a proper Finnish sauna experience!
Tonight we had dinner reservations at Shelter, a restaurant on the waterfront close to where we were earlier this afternoon. We’re becoming quite familiar with the route from our hotel to the waterfront :)
Once again dinner was excellent, and we were glad we had a reservation. For appetizers, we had octopus with romesco sauce and white fish ceviche. For our mains, we tried the linguine with chanterelles, green apples, and pistachios and the grilled perch with roe, new potatoes, and broccolini. Everything was excellent.
We took a different route back to our hotel for variety. The sun was just setting (it was 10pm). Our walk took us past the Helsinki Cathedral, an evangelical cathedral that features prominently in skyline pics. Walked up the many stairs to the top, took a bunch of pics. Got home and crashed.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Toronto to Helsinki
It was easier packing for this trip as we only half-unpacked from our previous trip. We were pretty much ready to go by Sunday, in case we needed to buy anything (we left on Victoria Day and most stores were closed).
Our flight to Amsterdam left 20 minutes ahead of schedule! We also made good time crossing the Atlantic and would have arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule except we couldn’t get a landing slot and circled almost half an hour.
We got through immigration and towards our gate, when Heather realized she had forgotten her reading glasses on the plane. The KLM folks for our Helsinki flight were right on it. They called the cleaning crew and within minutes Heather’s glasses were on their way to us! Heather was pretty excited, although the lost-and-found people seemed even more enthusiastic about returning the glasses than Heather :)
The flight to Helsinki took about 2.5 hours, arriving around 6pm, and then we were on the ground for our next adventure. Everything in the airport was very organized and efficient. Got a (free) cart, got our bags, picked up our 3-day Helsinki Card, bought two train tickets, caught the “I” train to downtown, and finally grabbed a taxi to our hotel.
We had dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant, good thing because it was super busy!
When we researched Helsinki this past week, we realized It is quite the foodie town, and booked dinners for our three nights here to make sure we got into the popular places. One of the food blogs we read also had a review of Tallinn restaurants (our next stop), and we realized that it too is becoming a big food destination. We’ll be there over a weekend, so made reservations for Tallinn too. (I then got carried away and started making reservations for Riga).
Dinner was excellent at our hotel (their restaurant is called Kultá). We started with an amuse bouche of a Jerusalem artichoke soup (excellent, our favourite) and split an appetizer (an assortment of typical Finnish starters). For the mains, Heather tried the grilled Arctic char and I had reindeer two ways (grilled sirloin and salted tongue). Heather’s aperitif was also excellent, sparkling wine with cloudberry. I stuck to their craft beers on tap.
Our flight to Amsterdam left 20 minutes ahead of schedule! We also made good time crossing the Atlantic and would have arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule except we couldn’t get a landing slot and circled almost half an hour.
We got through immigration and towards our gate, when Heather realized she had forgotten her reading glasses on the plane. The KLM folks for our Helsinki flight were right on it. They called the cleaning crew and within minutes Heather’s glasses were on their way to us! Heather was pretty excited, although the lost-and-found people seemed even more enthusiastic about returning the glasses than Heather :)
The flight to Helsinki took about 2.5 hours, arriving around 6pm, and then we were on the ground for our next adventure. Everything in the airport was very organized and efficient. Got a (free) cart, got our bags, picked up our 3-day Helsinki Card, bought two train tickets, caught the “I” train to downtown, and finally grabbed a taxi to our hotel.
We had dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant, good thing because it was super busy!
When we researched Helsinki this past week, we realized It is quite the foodie town, and booked dinners for our three nights here to make sure we got into the popular places. One of the food blogs we read also had a review of Tallinn restaurants (our next stop), and we realized that it too is becoming a big food destination. We’ll be there over a weekend, so made reservations for Tallinn too. (I then got carried away and started making reservations for Riga).
Dinner was excellent at our hotel (their restaurant is called Kultá). We started with an amuse bouche of a Jerusalem artichoke soup (excellent, our favourite) and split an appetizer (an assortment of typical Finnish starters). For the mains, Heather tried the grilled Arctic char and I had reindeer two ways (grilled sirloin and salted tongue). Heather’s aperitif was also excellent, sparkling wine with cloudberry. I stuck to their craft beers on tap.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Toronto, Canada
This next trip was planned in less than a week, while we were trying to get ready for the Central Asia trip. We had booked our tickets to Istanbul in late November 2018. Later I found out that my next contract wouldn't start until July, and figured to use the extra six weeks in May / June to catch up on some DIY home projects. But then the Sunday before we left for Istanbul, Heather got an email about our KLM frequent flyer miles expiring this year. So, we had the time, and a free flight to Europe... tiling the basement floor could wait. As we once discussed with Marissa, our friend and occasional travel companion, no one ever said on their death bed, I'm glad I fixed up the backyard fence (although, I do need to fix the backyard gate before we leave).
We've talked about going to the Baltic states for a while. This is first time in a few years that I've had time off over May / June which is our preferred time to visit the area. Belarus and Ukraine are geographically close, so the trip extended south.
The Azores were more of an accidental add-on. We were looking for ways to break up the flight home, and saw a flight through Ponta Delgada direct to Toronto. I wasn't familiar with the towns in the Azores, and had to look up Ponta Delgada. It quickly evolved from a stopover to an 11-day stay on three of the islands :)
I've had to correct myself a few times when referring to Ukraine. It's Ukraine, not 'the' Ukraine. (It's okay to refer to 'the Azores' because that describes a geographical area). There's a good article here on the subject.
We've bought a guide book only for the Azores. We've found we've become less and less reliant on guide books (we didn't have one for Azerbaijan, which was I think the first country we went guidebook-less). Heather still likes them for the historical background they provide, but as far as travel advice goes, the internet's much better and current.
We've had a week back in Toronto, during which we've done a lot of laundry. I fixed up a couple things on the blog that were bothering me -- the pics now display a caption, and are sorted in reverse chronological order.
We've talked about going to the Baltic states for a while. This is first time in a few years that I've had time off over May / June which is our preferred time to visit the area. Belarus and Ukraine are geographically close, so the trip extended south.
The Azores were more of an accidental add-on. We were looking for ways to break up the flight home, and saw a flight through Ponta Delgada direct to Toronto. I wasn't familiar with the towns in the Azores, and had to look up Ponta Delgada. It quickly evolved from a stopover to an 11-day stay on three of the islands :)
I've had to correct myself a few times when referring to Ukraine. It's Ukraine, not 'the' Ukraine. (It's okay to refer to 'the Azores' because that describes a geographical area). There's a good article here on the subject.
We've bought a guide book only for the Azores. We've found we've become less and less reliant on guide books (we didn't have one for Azerbaijan, which was I think the first country we went guidebook-less). Heather still likes them for the historical background they provide, but as far as travel advice goes, the internet's much better and current.
We've had a week back in Toronto, during which we've done a lot of laundry. I fixed up a couple things on the blog that were bothering me -- the pics now display a caption, and are sorted in reverse chronological order.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Toronto, Canada
We're back home in Toronto. For some reason, this trip seemed much longer than six weeks. We've been unpacking our souvenirs and been going 'oh yeah, I forgot about that' half the time. Good thing we keep a blog, so we can remember!
There were a lot of highlights, both ones that made my Top 100 and really cool experiences.
Here's the new additions to my Top 100 list and their current rank:
17 Temple of Bacchus in the Baalbek temple complex, in Baalbek, Lebanon
21 Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
27 Darvaza gas crater, Turkmenistan
35 Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt (I saw the pyramids 25 years ago, and this was already on the list)
36 Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
45 Great Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple complex in Luxor, Egypt
51 Kalon Minaret, Bukhara, Uzbekistan
54 Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
68 Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
74 Hagia Sophia Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
77 Painted Churches in the Troodos region of Cyprus
Out of the places on this trip (Egypt, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, and Istanbul), Azerbaijan surprised me the most. There's a lot of variety in Azerbaijan (architecture new and old, mountains, old walled cities, hiking) and it's still off the radar. Uzbekistan is full of highlights in the old Silk Route cities. Turkmenistan was the least touristed, mostly because it's difficult to get a visa.
If I was planning again, I would have included going to Abu Simbel in Egypt, a couple more days in Cairo, at least a week more in Azerbaijan, and planned for a week in northern Cyprus. (The rest of Turkey and more of Istanbul were always planned to be another trip, and the other places I think we planned about the right amount of time).
There was a lot of flying on this trip, but most of the countries don't have land crossings. Istanbul made a great hub for the trip.
We have a world map in the basement where we've pinned all the places we've visited. Every time we come back from a trip we feel like we've been to a lot of places, and then after we add the pins it hardly looks like anything. It's a big world to see :)
There were a lot of highlights, both ones that made my Top 100 and really cool experiences.
Here's the new additions to my Top 100 list and their current rank:
17 Temple of Bacchus in the Baalbek temple complex, in Baalbek, Lebanon
21 Registan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
27 Darvaza gas crater, Turkmenistan
35 Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt (I saw the pyramids 25 years ago, and this was already on the list)
36 Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
45 Great Hypostyle Hall in the Karnak temple complex in Luxor, Egypt
51 Kalon Minaret, Bukhara, Uzbekistan
54 Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
68 Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
74 Hagia Sophia Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
77 Painted Churches in the Troodos region of Cyprus
Out of the places on this trip (Egypt, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, and Istanbul), Azerbaijan surprised me the most. There's a lot of variety in Azerbaijan (architecture new and old, mountains, old walled cities, hiking) and it's still off the radar. Uzbekistan is full of highlights in the old Silk Route cities. Turkmenistan was the least touristed, mostly because it's difficult to get a visa.
If I was planning again, I would have included going to Abu Simbel in Egypt, a couple more days in Cairo, at least a week more in Azerbaijan, and planned for a week in northern Cyprus. (The rest of Turkey and more of Istanbul were always planned to be another trip, and the other places I think we planned about the right amount of time).
There was a lot of flying on this trip, but most of the countries don't have land crossings. Istanbul made a great hub for the trip.
We have a world map in the basement where we've pinned all the places we've visited. Every time we come back from a trip we feel like we've been to a lot of places, and then after we add the pins it hardly looks like anything. It's a big world to see :)
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