These rankings are based on my limited experiences.
Prettiest scenery in countryside
1. Estonia
2. Latvia
3. Lithuania
note: There's not much to choose between the three. All are strikingly beautiful.
Best drivers
1. Estonia
2. Lithuania
3. Latvia
note: Estonians are better by far. They drive slower, are more courteous, and fewer try to pass within an inch of a collision.
Most attractive women
1. Latvia
2. Lithuania
3. Estonia
Most attractive men
1. Estonia
2. Lithuania
3. Latvia
Friendliest people in the capital
1. Lithuania
2. Estonia
3. Latvia
note: Lithuania wins by a wide margin
Best Indian food
1. Latvia
2. Estonia
3. Lithuania
note: Latvia wins by far
Most Russianness
1. Latvia
2. Estonia
3. Lithuania
Most wheelchair accessible
1. Lithuania
2. Latvia
3. Estonia
Best honeymoon
1. This one
Showing posts with label Lithuania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lithuania. Show all posts
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Vilnius to Parnu
It was a long drive. Lithuania's A-2 had a big 4 lane highway with a wide divide in the middle. It was the only time I saw anything like in the Baltics. In Latvia, people passed within inches of oncoming traffic. I was nearly victimized twice by overambitious passers traveling in the opposite direction. In Latvia they also decided to gut one of the two lanes periodically so that we had to wait to take turns.
The day started with a trip to Trakai, an ancient castle on an island about 20 minutes from Vilnius. At first I tried to park on the sidewalk of a library, but an old man gestured no. So we parked closer to the castle. The castle was awesome, but the surrounding town is so touristy. It's old lady sitting in stalls selling faux souvenirs. It's paddle boat rentals. It's theme restaurants. Inside the castle, you were able to experience history for a fee. If you paid, you got to see a knight show in English.
Needless to say we took are photos of the outside of the castle and the gates. The water around the castle was amazing. We scampered back to our car and drove across the magnificent Lithuanian scenery.
We stopped at Hesburger. Then I tried to get gas. There were two pumps; both were occupied by big bad Latvian biker dudes. The biker dude that I needed to move wasn't filling up and then walked away from his motorcycle. I drove up close to that bike to see if the pump could reach my car's gas tank.
The other biker yelled something to his buddy and the buddy raced over. They asked me something in Latvian and I answered, "Yeah." Then the biker jumped on his bike and pulled forward ten feet to let me fill up my tank.
When we finally made it to Parnu. The town was empty. We walked around the deserted miniature downtown area. We ate at one of the few open restaurants. We ordered too much food and gorged ourselves until we were stuffed. We then saw the sunset at 10:45pm near Central Bridge over the Parnu River.
The day started with a trip to Trakai, an ancient castle on an island about 20 minutes from Vilnius. At first I tried to park on the sidewalk of a library, but an old man gestured no. So we parked closer to the castle. The castle was awesome, but the surrounding town is so touristy. It's old lady sitting in stalls selling faux souvenirs. It's paddle boat rentals. It's theme restaurants. Inside the castle, you were able to experience history for a fee. If you paid, you got to see a knight show in English.
Needless to say we took are photos of the outside of the castle and the gates. The water around the castle was amazing. We scampered back to our car and drove across the magnificent Lithuanian scenery.
We stopped at Hesburger. Then I tried to get gas. There were two pumps; both were occupied by big bad Latvian biker dudes. The biker dude that I needed to move wasn't filling up and then walked away from his motorcycle. I drove up close to that bike to see if the pump could reach my car's gas tank.
The other biker yelled something to his buddy and the buddy raced over. They asked me something in Latvian and I answered, "Yeah." Then the biker jumped on his bike and pulled forward ten feet to let me fill up my tank.
When we finally made it to Parnu. The town was empty. We walked around the deserted miniature downtown area. We ate at one of the few open restaurants. We ordered too much food and gorged ourselves until we were stuffed. We then saw the sunset at 10:45pm near Central Bridge over the Parnu River.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
In Vilnius
We started our day with mediocre Indian food and tucked away Jewish sites. The Jewish monuments and memorials are a bit hard to find. We saw a memorial to Gaon Elijahu Ben Shlomo Zalman and an old synagogue. The other historical sites are well signed but the Choral synagogue was the only Jewish place that had signs directing people to it.
We were looking for the Holocaust exhibition when it started to pour. It wasn't quite like a romantic movie where we were kissing in the rain. We both were trying to keep the other one dry and save the scooter and the camera. But we had different ideas about how to do that and the rain kept coming down harder.
The rain quickly quieted down, but didn't quite relent. We waited it out, and the searched the museum some more. When we found it, it occurred to us that it was Shabbat, so the museum was closed. We did get to see two monuments around the exhibition house. One was dedicated to the Dutch ambassador who saved Jews and the other was dedicated to the Japanese consulate who gave visas to Jews.
We took a break to dry off and went back out a bit later. We caught a couple of panoramic views and saw some stunning churches. We visited the faux republic of Uzupis with its ridiculous constitution. Then we had a delicious dinner.
This is a unique time in Lithuania. They've just changed over to the euro, so two currencies show up on the receipts. In all of the Baltics, restaurants have a weird portable credit card machine. There's always an awkward moment when we declare to the waiter that we're paying with a credit card. There's no place to leave a tip so it helps to have some cash.
We were looking for the Holocaust exhibition when it started to pour. It wasn't quite like a romantic movie where we were kissing in the rain. We both were trying to keep the other one dry and save the scooter and the camera. But we had different ideas about how to do that and the rain kept coming down harder.
The rain quickly quieted down, but didn't quite relent. We waited it out, and the searched the museum some more. When we found it, it occurred to us that it was Shabbat, so the museum was closed. We did get to see two monuments around the exhibition house. One was dedicated to the Dutch ambassador who saved Jews and the other was dedicated to the Japanese consulate who gave visas to Jews.
We took a break to dry off and went back out a bit later. We caught a couple of panoramic views and saw some stunning churches. We visited the faux republic of Uzupis with its ridiculous constitution. Then we had a delicious dinner.
This is a unique time in Lithuania. They've just changed over to the euro, so two currencies show up on the receipts. In all of the Baltics, restaurants have a weird portable credit card machine. There's always an awkward moment when we declare to the waiter that we're paying with a credit card. There's no place to leave a tip so it helps to have some cash.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Riga to Vilnius
On the drive out of Riga, I stopped by a gas station. The was no credit card slot on the pump, so I went in prepay. The clerk didn't speak English. I asked how do I pay for gas. He said, "No gas." I said, Petrol?" He said, "Petrol," and nodded before reconsidering and declaring, "Petrol, no!" I sneared and said that my car was right there by the pump. The clerk followed me. He motioned for the pump and I realized in Latvia you pay after you pump.
The clerk didn't like that the tube was curled so he yelled, "No!" and pointed at the twist. I untwisted the pump and a few drops of gas spurted out on him. After I finished, I paid. It cost 32 Euros for less than half a tank.
The drive through Latvia and Lithuania was filled with scenes of lush grass and trees. In Lithuania, I finally got a two lane highway with a divide between oncoming traffic.
Vilnius has proved to great so far. Its Old Town is far more accessible than those of Riga and Tallinn. Tallinn has a Medieval old town with narrow streets. Riga has Enlightenment era big squares. Vilnius has modern wide boulevards and a preponderance of cafes with outside seating. The buildings within Old Town are beautiful. We ate like royalty for a reasonable price.
The people seem to be nicer. Candace dropped her scarf twice and two Lithuanian grandmothers picked it up for her. She dropped her wallet and someone told her. She always says sorry even when someone gets in he way. In Estonia and Latvia, people ignored her; in Vilnius, someone said, "No problem at all."
We stumbled upon a concert of traditional Lithuanian music by the president's palace. People were dancing in the aisles. They all knew the steps too. The dances all involved a lot of hopping. Then we walked up to Gediminas castle. The scooter couldn't handle the cobblestones on the way, so Candace was determined to walk it, even though the way we took was very steep. I was so impressed with Candace's tenacity.
Our hotel is right outside the Gates of Dawn and is quite nice. The toilet paper is so soft. I've essentially been wiping my ass with bark for the last week plus. It's such a treat. Plus we have a fridge so we get cold drinks, a rare treat.
The clerk didn't like that the tube was curled so he yelled, "No!" and pointed at the twist. I untwisted the pump and a few drops of gas spurted out on him. After I finished, I paid. It cost 32 Euros for less than half a tank.
The drive through Latvia and Lithuania was filled with scenes of lush grass and trees. In Lithuania, I finally got a two lane highway with a divide between oncoming traffic.
Vilnius has proved to great so far. Its Old Town is far more accessible than those of Riga and Tallinn. Tallinn has a Medieval old town with narrow streets. Riga has Enlightenment era big squares. Vilnius has modern wide boulevards and a preponderance of cafes with outside seating. The buildings within Old Town are beautiful. We ate like royalty for a reasonable price.
The people seem to be nicer. Candace dropped her scarf twice and two Lithuanian grandmothers picked it up for her. She dropped her wallet and someone told her. She always says sorry even when someone gets in he way. In Estonia and Latvia, people ignored her; in Vilnius, someone said, "No problem at all."
We stumbled upon a concert of traditional Lithuanian music by the president's palace. People were dancing in the aisles. They all knew the steps too. The dances all involved a lot of hopping. Then we walked up to Gediminas castle. The scooter couldn't handle the cobblestones on the way, so Candace was determined to walk it, even though the way we took was very steep. I was so impressed with Candace's tenacity.
Our hotel is right outside the Gates of Dawn and is quite nice. The toilet paper is so soft. I've essentially been wiping my ass with bark for the last week plus. It's such a treat. Plus we have a fridge so we get cold drinks, a rare treat.
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