Hi folks
well last night I arrived back here in Tallinn by bus. I am fair exhausted but and am off to find me a ferry to Helsinki this morning.
Well, I had a great time in St Petersburg. I saw the Hermitage as perviously mentioned, visited the Alexander Monastery, travelled the Metro and saw a few amazing churches. Also I spent a lot of time with my girlfriend who lives in St Petersburg.
The city is so busy, I was quite amazed. I had visited eight years ago and don't remember so many people on the street or fighting to get inside the packed metro system.
I did a side trip to Novgorod, a comparitively serence and calm place where people seemed much happier in general. The streets were so much quieter. I visited the kremlin there, a castle-like fortification housing ancient churches and the monument to the millenium of Russia. Outside flowed a river, with an interesting bridge, and for the first time in daylight hours the sun actually came out in Russia! I was quite amazing.
Yesterday I took the bus back here from St Petersburg, and today I will travel to Helsinki for my half day there. Tomorrow morning this time (8.20am) I will be off to London town!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
St Petersburg, Russia
Today I went to the Hermitage St Petersburg. Yes, sorry for not posting for ages but this is my first chance to use the net in a week. Anyways, I have moved from Tallinn to St Petersburg, Russia by bus last Sunday, and on Tuesday move on to Helsinki. Later in the week I should have a chance to post more extensively. It's good!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tallinn with pictures
Today I have dont some sight seeing around Tallinn. I also had some dumplings for lunch. Up on the hill that overlooks the city is Toompea, where the interesting and impressive Dome and Alexander Nevsky (pipcture) Churches stand. I was allowed inside but not to take photos. The Alexander Nevsky Church is Orthodox, and full of gold and icons. The Dome Church is white, with wooden sheilds lining the walls. Also an impressive organ.
Walking through the Old Town is great, and I think out of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn Tallinn wins the 'Best Old Town of the Baltics' award. Many little streets, Such as the pictured St Catherine's Walk, to walk around for hours and get lost in.
I took a bus out to Pirita where there is the shell of an old monastry. Very few tourists out there, whereas the old town is full of them despite the time of year. On the way back I walked a couple of kilometres to see this Soviet style park decorated gaily with concrete. Into the concrete was the imprint of hands (pictured). Nice place Tallinn...
Friday, October 19, 2007
PHOTS 07 (1)
Here are some photos ive uploaded. It was a slow process. Not sure how they will be laid out. So we have the Vasa Warship and myself from Stockholm, Sweden. St Annes Church Vilnius, the Hill of Crosses Siauliai and Trakai Castle in Lithuania. Daugava River and me in front of the Science Academy, Riga, Latvia. The Kaali Crater and a wet Kurresaare, Saaremma, Estonia. Enjoy!
Tallinn (1)
Today I arrived in sunny Tallinn. The weather was really good today actually, unfortunately yesterday it was pretty crap and rained from sun up to sun down. Then, today as I leave and am on a bus all day there is sunlight. Quite infuriating.
I had my own appartment in Kurresaare, which was brilliant. The owner came in at 3pm to add wood to this large old woodfired heater and the place kept very warm. I relaxed a fair bit, on Tuesday I went to Kaali, a small town 18km from ´Kurressare. There's a large crater there which I thought was reasonably cool. Then I had two hours before the bus back and it turned pretty damned cold. It was hard to keep the blood flowing I tells you!
Yesterday I spent a few hours (well it was raining) in the Kurresaare Castle. Nice enough, but filled with a museum that has little to do with the castle itself. There was one tower open )but you couldn't see outside) and had a small bridge across, with a twenty metre drop below. Then there was the sound of a lion roaring played to frighten the tourists. Consider me frightened!!
Tallinn looks very interesting, and I have two proper days here to explore! Maybe I can get some photos up...
I had my own appartment in Kurresaare, which was brilliant. The owner came in at 3pm to add wood to this large old woodfired heater and the place kept very warm. I relaxed a fair bit, on Tuesday I went to Kaali, a small town 18km from ´Kurressare. There's a large crater there which I thought was reasonably cool. Then I had two hours before the bus back and it turned pretty damned cold. It was hard to keep the blood flowing I tells you!
Yesterday I spent a few hours (well it was raining) in the Kurresaare Castle. Nice enough, but filled with a museum that has little to do with the castle itself. There was one tower open )but you couldn't see outside) and had a small bridge across, with a twenty metre drop below. Then there was the sound of a lion roaring played to frighten the tourists. Consider me frightened!!
Tallinn looks very interesting, and I have two proper days here to explore! Maybe I can get some photos up...
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Parnu to Kuressaare
Hi folks
I left Riga yesterday morning on the ten o'clock bus to Parnu, Estonia. Arriving there at one o'clock I soon discovered that the next bus to my destionation, Kuressare on the Estonian island of Saaremaa was not until 6.40pm. So I had an afternoon in Parnu.
It proved to be a nice little town, with an interesting modern art museum full of bs and ps. Well, what would one expect really? I walked down to the beach which, although cloudy and cold, was nice enough. Today I am off to a little village called Kaali where I will see a meterorite crater. how bout they hey?
I left Riga yesterday morning on the ten o'clock bus to Parnu, Estonia. Arriving there at one o'clock I soon discovered that the next bus to my destionation, Kuressare on the Estonian island of Saaremaa was not until 6.40pm. So I had an afternoon in Parnu.
It proved to be a nice little town, with an interesting modern art museum full of bs and ps. Well, what would one expect really? I walked down to the beach which, although cloudy and cold, was nice enough. Today I am off to a little village called Kaali where I will see a meterorite crater. how bout they hey?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Riga, Latvia
Hello Folks,
I have moved on to Riga, the Latvian capital where I am staying in a very nice and cheap hotel. Today I saw a very moving museum on the Occupation of Latvia by both the Soviets and Nazis. Yesterday it was raining all day, and i travelled here from Siauliai in Lithuania, near which stands this amazing Hill of Crosses. Thousands and thousands of crosses of all sizes placed on a hill. If i get some time i will have to put some photos up, it really was amazing.
Following Latvia's history to indepenence over the last 100 years was equally as amazing. Riga is a much bigger city than Vilnius, and at the moment colder. The wind outside is enough to freeze my hands... which it nearly did.
What else is there to tell? A few days ago i visited Trakai outside Vilnius, where an old (14th century) castle has been rebuilt. The 1960s reconstruction is not 100% authentic, but it was worth seeing and a nice day trip from Vilnius.
I have another day in Riga before heading out to the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
I have moved on to Riga, the Latvian capital where I am staying in a very nice and cheap hotel. Today I saw a very moving museum on the Occupation of Latvia by both the Soviets and Nazis. Yesterday it was raining all day, and i travelled here from Siauliai in Lithuania, near which stands this amazing Hill of Crosses. Thousands and thousands of crosses of all sizes placed on a hill. If i get some time i will have to put some photos up, it really was amazing.
Following Latvia's history to indepenence over the last 100 years was equally as amazing. Riga is a much bigger city than Vilnius, and at the moment colder. The wind outside is enough to freeze my hands... which it nearly did.
What else is there to tell? A few days ago i visited Trakai outside Vilnius, where an old (14th century) castle has been rebuilt. The 1960s reconstruction is not 100% authentic, but it was worth seeing and a nice day trip from Vilnius.
I have another day in Riga before heading out to the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Vilnius, Lithuania (1)
oK
I have given up trying to think of witty titles for now. I have had a long day filming with Siggi, my friend from Germany. It's been successful though, and the weather was quite nice. cold but plenty of blue sky.
Three large crosses live atop one of the two hills at one end of the Old Town, and they are quite magnificent. There is an old castle on the other hill, offering a good view of the Old Town and the main part of Vilnius.
I flew across on a Fokker 50, a very small passenger plane which has propellers. It was a smooth flight though, and got me safely to this town (very small for a capital) which is very nice all said. Unfortunately I had some ice cream last night which made me very sick, and I am still recovering.
I don't have much else to report, expect that i climbed both aforementioned hills today in the filming efforts. I am also enjoying how much cheaper Lithuania is compared to Sweden. More soon I presume.
Such as I took a boat trip for my final day in Stockholm around the harbour, it went over the spot the Vasa sank. Thankfully there was no repeat performance. Then I checked out the city museum which didnt have a lot on display at the moment, but was free and very interesting.
I have given up trying to think of witty titles for now. I have had a long day filming with Siggi, my friend from Germany. It's been successful though, and the weather was quite nice. cold but plenty of blue sky.
Three large crosses live atop one of the two hills at one end of the Old Town, and they are quite magnificent. There is an old castle on the other hill, offering a good view of the Old Town and the main part of Vilnius.
I flew across on a Fokker 50, a very small passenger plane which has propellers. It was a smooth flight though, and got me safely to this town (very small for a capital) which is very nice all said. Unfortunately I had some ice cream last night which made me very sick, and I am still recovering.
I don't have much else to report, expect that i climbed both aforementioned hills today in the filming efforts. I am also enjoying how much cheaper Lithuania is compared to Sweden. More soon I presume.
Such as I took a boat trip for my final day in Stockholm around the harbour, it went over the spot the Vasa sank. Thankfully there was no repeat performance. Then I checked out the city museum which didnt have a lot on display at the moment, but was free and very interesting.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Swedish Hot Dogs
Hey everyone
still in Sweden here. Everything is pretty much good I guess.
Yesterday I was straight into the site seeing by visiting the Royal Palace. I saw the changing of the guards and then hard a look at the Treasury and a few of the Royal Apartments which are converted into show rooms of a sort.
Stockholm is a very walkable city. Not too big so all is good, although my feet are taking some time to adjust to the new walking boots and are suitably sore after a days walking.
The Swedish Royal Family seem like nice enough people, and their crowns are pretty interesting all told. Some are even the Blue and Yellow of Sweden. Yes, I presume I should have written gold instead of yellow.
But its a friendly city, if rather expensive. Very really, a cheap option for food is the hot dog which one can get for 13 Kronor, about two and a hlaf aussie dollars. Otherwise I am cooking pasta and looking out for a subway else my budget will be up the spout. These hot dogs come in the worlds smallest buns. Its quite amusing really, a long sausage in a tiny roll. No, that was not meant to be rude.
Today I went to the Vasa Museum. In the early 17th century this ship, the Vasa, left Stockholm to fight against the Poles (they were at war at the time funnily enough) and it never got out of Stockholm, sinking before it had hardly moved from the place it was built. In the late 1950s it was pulled from the bottom of the sea, restored and now is the central piece in its own museum. Very nice place, worth a look if youre in town.
Then Skansen is the worlds first and biggest open air museum. Lots of little houses with people playing the roles of people from that time (various periods over the last 300 or 400 years). Saw some nice glass blowing. Also a bit of a zoo contained in this area of which the brown bears were the highlight. One just came up to the glass and walked from one end of the glass to the other and back. And he continued this on and on. Poor thing. But he was so close it was amazing.
So yeah. One more day in Stockholm and I am moving on again, to Lithuania.
still in Sweden here. Everything is pretty much good I guess.
Yesterday I was straight into the site seeing by visiting the Royal Palace. I saw the changing of the guards and then hard a look at the Treasury and a few of the Royal Apartments which are converted into show rooms of a sort.
Stockholm is a very walkable city. Not too big so all is good, although my feet are taking some time to adjust to the new walking boots and are suitably sore after a days walking.
The Swedish Royal Family seem like nice enough people, and their crowns are pretty interesting all told. Some are even the Blue and Yellow of Sweden. Yes, I presume I should have written gold instead of yellow.
But its a friendly city, if rather expensive. Very really, a cheap option for food is the hot dog which one can get for 13 Kronor, about two and a hlaf aussie dollars. Otherwise I am cooking pasta and looking out for a subway else my budget will be up the spout. These hot dogs come in the worlds smallest buns. Its quite amusing really, a long sausage in a tiny roll. No, that was not meant to be rude.
Today I went to the Vasa Museum. In the early 17th century this ship, the Vasa, left Stockholm to fight against the Poles (they were at war at the time funnily enough) and it never got out of Stockholm, sinking before it had hardly moved from the place it was built. In the late 1950s it was pulled from the bottom of the sea, restored and now is the central piece in its own museum. Very nice place, worth a look if youre in town.
Then Skansen is the worlds first and biggest open air museum. Lots of little houses with people playing the roles of people from that time (various periods over the last 300 or 400 years). Saw some nice glass blowing. Also a bit of a zoo contained in this area of which the brown bears were the highlight. One just came up to the glass and walked from one end of the glass to the other and back. And he continued this on and on. Poor thing. But he was so close it was amazing.
So yeah. One more day in Stockholm and I am moving on again, to Lithuania.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Underway
Hi Folks
Everything is coming up in an Asian language here except what I write so I hope that this posts ok.
Well, I left Melbourne this morning at 0.15 and well so far the day has gone 27 hours. That is because Sweden, where I have safely arrived, is eight hours behind Melbourne. I have never done the trip to Europe in one hit before, usually I have stopped in Asia making it much easier, but let me just say I am a little in the twilight zone here.
Malaysian Airlines are great. Great service and their pilots appear to be excellent with two of the best landings I have experienced. I arrived at Kuala Lumpur after the first flight barely alive, the red wine I had had before leaving was not my friend. I collapsed *tired* on a bench and fell asleep. It was around 6am Malaysian time. I woke up and the sun was up and it was 7.58 which was great. The second flight was good too. Views over Afghanistan were just breath taking.
I also slept enough by the time the flight was half over and was generally awake for the second six hours. Arriving in Stockholm things went pretty quickly and smoothely = thay was until I was almost out through customs and I was brought over, randomly chosen out of two entire flights, to have my bags thoroughly checked. Individual items were even xrayed. Well, after all that they found nothing and I was allowed to proceed. And I did, to the ATM machine, which registered a technical fault. I tried another with the same result. Not a good start.
I paid for the bus to the city another way and changed some aussie dollars, and after a 40 minute trip was in the city centre, five minutes walk took me to the very conviniently located City Backpackers. It is ok.... the rooms seem good at least, even if some things are sort of broken.
It is 7.27 here in the evening. In Melbourne it would be 3.27AM the next day. So yes. The twilight zone......
However we are underway!
Everything is coming up in an Asian language here except what I write so I hope that this posts ok.
Well, I left Melbourne this morning at 0.15 and well so far the day has gone 27 hours. That is because Sweden, where I have safely arrived, is eight hours behind Melbourne. I have never done the trip to Europe in one hit before, usually I have stopped in Asia making it much easier, but let me just say I am a little in the twilight zone here.
Malaysian Airlines are great. Great service and their pilots appear to be excellent with two of the best landings I have experienced. I arrived at Kuala Lumpur after the first flight barely alive, the red wine I had had before leaving was not my friend. I collapsed *tired* on a bench and fell asleep. It was around 6am Malaysian time. I woke up and the sun was up and it was 7.58 which was great. The second flight was good too. Views over Afghanistan were just breath taking.
I also slept enough by the time the flight was half over and was generally awake for the second six hours. Arriving in Stockholm things went pretty quickly and smoothely = thay was until I was almost out through customs and I was brought over, randomly chosen out of two entire flights, to have my bags thoroughly checked. Individual items were even xrayed. Well, after all that they found nothing and I was allowed to proceed. And I did, to the ATM machine, which registered a technical fault. I tried another with the same result. Not a good start.
I paid for the bus to the city another way and changed some aussie dollars, and after a 40 minute trip was in the city centre, five minutes walk took me to the very conviniently located City Backpackers. It is ok.... the rooms seem good at least, even if some things are sort of broken.
It is 7.27 here in the evening. In Melbourne it would be 3.27AM the next day. So yes. The twilight zone......
However we are underway!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
10 hours and counting
well
i have under ten hours to go
last minute things to do - finish packing and vacuum the apartment. not much else really.
Ive had a bit of a drama trying to find accommodation in Stockholm. I have no idea why in October it was almost impossible to find a hostel bed, but i could book for the 4th and 7th and not the 5th and 6th!
So after calling City Backpackers I have secured a double room for my entire daily budget for those two nights. Obviously said budget will need to be adjusted...
The wonderful land of Mali. Remember? I was on a bus from Bobo Diolousso in Burkina Faso to this country and didn't make it past the outskirts of town? Well, This time I fly in on the 5th of November. There is a lot to see in this amazing country, from the Mosque at Djenne to the Dogon Country.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/mali
And then flying over to Dakar, Senegal. Can I make it this far? Only time will tell. It was my ultimate goal on two past trips. Hopefully I make it there this time! I will try to stick to beaches in Senegal - Dakar, St Louis and a bit of a trip to Thies which is kinda inland and has a tapestry factory.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/senegal
Then I have a brief stop in Casablanca for one day and two nights, a night in London and I fly home!!!
Will I survive?
Will I catch another deadly disease?
Will I get married?
Will I become President of a relatively unknown African Country?
Only time will tell....
i have under ten hours to go
last minute things to do - finish packing and vacuum the apartment. not much else really.
Ive had a bit of a drama trying to find accommodation in Stockholm. I have no idea why in October it was almost impossible to find a hostel bed, but i could book for the 4th and 7th and not the 5th and 6th!
So after calling City Backpackers I have secured a double room for my entire daily budget for those two nights. Obviously said budget will need to be adjusted...
The wonderful land of Mali. Remember? I was on a bus from Bobo Diolousso in Burkina Faso to this country and didn't make it past the outskirts of town? Well, This time I fly in on the 5th of November. There is a lot to see in this amazing country, from the Mosque at Djenne to the Dogon Country.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/mali
And then flying over to Dakar, Senegal. Can I make it this far? Only time will tell. It was my ultimate goal on two past trips. Hopefully I make it there this time! I will try to stick to beaches in Senegal - Dakar, St Louis and a bit of a trip to Thies which is kinda inland and has a tapestry factory.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/senegal
Then I have a brief stop in Casablanca for one day and two nights, a night in London and I fly home!!!
Will I survive?
Will I catch another deadly disease?
Will I get married?
Will I become President of a relatively unknown African Country?
Only time will tell....
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