Rating the Baltic States

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

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.

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.

Indian Ass and Grocery Store Confrontations

We saw Riga Synagogue, an understated well-guarded building tucked in an alleyway in Old Riga. Then we had Indian food in a beautiful square under St. Peter's Lutheran church. Many Latvians are Lutherans though few attend religious services. In the Latgalia region, people tend to be Catholic. While perusing the menu at the Indian restaurant, Candace found out that the Latvian word for spicy is "ass." Google translate disagrees. It says that Latvian ass is English axis.

We then walked by the huge shopping center and a grittier part of town. On the other side of the tracks, we got close to the huge and interesting science building. We reached our destination at the plain Holocaust memorial and ruins of another synagogue.

Latvians have a resting face that often shows scorn or disdain. They are absolutely fascinated by Candace's scooter. People drive crazy, but they are respectful when they walk. A lot of people ride bikes in Riga. Across the bridge from city center is relatively undeveloped and a great real estate investment.

We went to a grocery store and were waiting in line. A guy left his basket in line and went to go grab some more items. A few shoppers stepped past in line. When it was my turn to get in front of the basket, the guy came back and barked at me in Latvian or Russian. He then slipped in front of me. He was older middle age with a bushy Stalin-like mustache. I was upset. I started speaking out loud in English about how he can't just leave his basket and do some more shopping. If that was the norm, there would be chaos. People would be leaving their empty baskets at the front of the line as soon as they entered the store. If you have more shopping to do, whether in Latvia or anywhere else, back of the line with you.

In Riga

We were far more impressed with Riga today. The partly cloudy weather helped. We took a two mile stroll in the the Old Riga passing by the funky national library and over the Daugava River.

I caught the Occupation Museum, which did mention the Holocaust but naturally downplayed Latvian collaborators and focused on Latvian victimization. We saw the Freedom Monument with two motionless guards standing underneath. We also appreciated the Batejkalns with its love lock bridge.

Next we ate a kebab place. Candace hated her falefel and hummus sandwhich. The chicken in my sandwhich was good, but I didn't like the rest of it, especially the copious amounts of cabbage. We ate at a steak house by the Riga Dome.

Candace and I vehemently disagree over the comparative accessibility of Tallinn and Riga. I think Riga is more accessible. It has some nice curbcuts and even some ramps. The rain gutter divots aren't as bad. Tallinn's accessibility is based on making things easier for bicycles.

After dinner, I saw parliament, an imposing building with drab colors. Not far away was a heavily fortified building with a camera in front the moves to watch passersby. I haven't found out what the building is yet. We also saw Riga Castle where the president lives. It was built in 1515. A fire in 2013 caused considerable damage.

Since being in Latvia I read about the eastern region of Latgalia. About 100,000 prople speak the language. In Latvia, Latgalia is officially considered a dialect of Latvia. Some people in Latgalia want more recognition for their language. But some feel Russia is hoping to foster separatist feelings within the region to create the same chaos as in Ukraine. People in Latgalia tend to sympathize with Russia more than the country on the whole.

There is a large minority of Russians in Riga and in Latvia. Cansace has tried to watch tv since we've been in Riga. She's mostly watched E and the music channel, because they're pretty much the only English channels. The are quite a few Russian ones though. We also saw the music video for the Latvian group Musiqq's song Abrakadabra and a cool Russia video centered on events in an elevator that I can't find the name of.

Tartu to Riga

We were tired after a big day yesterday. We woke up at 11am and raced to make checkout by noon. Then I saw checkout was actually at 11. The hotel was cool about it.

The drive to Riga was similar to the drive yesterday. At one point in Estonia, road construction not only had one side diverted into a lane adjacent to oncoming traffic, but actually had both directions directed into one lane!

We entered Latvia with little fanfare. I had to convince Candace that we were in Latvia. The bus stops on the side of the road in Estonia are cute little open huts. In Latvia, its a concrete slab. It my limited experience Latvians drive crazier than Estonians, but that might just be in Riga. I saw a news story mocking Estonians for being the least friendly people in the world. Latvians might give them a run for their money. But seriously, that's overstated. People aren't the friendliest, but they're not jerks either.

Driving in downtown Riga is insane! There was so much traffic at 3:30pm. We arrived at the hotel 30 minutes after the gps estimated and it was all because of traffic in Riga. We passed by haunting brown and gray buildings as rain poored down. Latvian drivers swerved into our lane only inches from us. My nerves quickly became frayed.

We found a bar and ate our only meal of the day. The bar played rather terrible music including the 1990s feminist anthem Shut Up and Sleep with Me by Germany's favorite son Sin With Sebastian and theat ode to racial tolerance, Queen of Chinatown by Amanda Lear.

The bar had a ramp and the hotel is accessible which would have made Candace ecstatic if she wasn't annoyed by the rain. The rain divots in the sidewalk were much more manageable for the scooter. Because of the rain, we had a quiet night in the hotel, which is a couple miles outside the city center.