The Baltics (does my insurance cover ostrich bites?!)

Well, now that I'm in Poland I figure I'd better give a brief Baltic update before I get too far behind.

I didn't intend to go there. The original plan was to take a boat straight from Finland to Poland, and carry on traveling. Someone on a travel message board I frequent said I should consider Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It'd be easier than taking a ferry to Poland, she said, and they really are gorgeous countries. I admit I was hesitant. Estonia, for pete's sakes?

Estonia (Tallinn)- The old town is ridiculously beautiful. It's a mediaeval town, relatively untouched by the devastation of war. It looks, quite literally, like something out of a fairy tale. All red roofs, castles, city walls and churches. I climbed what was once the tallest church spire in the world. I paid almost 10 Canadian dollars for a small Estonian flag to add to my collection (one from each country), and less than 5 for a fantastic, full meal. Mostly, I just walked around in awe.

The bus between Tallinn and Riga - The washrooms in the truck stop... well, let's just say I've peed in my first toilet-hole. Picture a permanent porta potty with nowhere to sit. Just a hole. The flies were intense.

- Upon arriving, the hostel worker insisted I have a free welcome beer. I met some American dudes, who dragged me off to some trampolines, conveniently located in the middle of a public park. At 3 in the morning. As the sun was rising. I saw a gorgeous occupation museum, which detailed the struggle of the Baltics in general (especially Latvians) under the German and Russian regimes. It's interesting to see that they welcomed the (Nazi) Germans as the lesser of 2 evils, after having been invaded by the Russians a year earlier. Also interesting - when watching a movie, it said that the Russians gave them an hour to gather their possessions before moving them to Siberia, and they could only bring a long what they could carry, I was strangely proud of the fact that I could do that. Of course, for me this is a game. For them, it was their lives.

The bus ride between Riga and Vilnius - My new camera (still working on a name.. I kind of like Sammy) almost died a tragic death. The bus stopped at a typical bus stop - small diner, washrooms, and... ostrich farm?! Of course I busted out the camera to take a few shots. I just remember thinking "Wow, fantastic shot, he's so close... okay, zoom, focus- ARGH!!!!" The argh, in case you're wondering, is when the ostrich bit my camera! Right on the lens, too. Thank goodness, everything seems to be in working order (I got a mini lens error once soon after, but but nothing bad has happened since.) Well, at least he would have gone down fighting. And I got a good picture out of it all.

Lithuania (Vilnius) stay an extra night in Riga, because I liked my hostel (6 CAD a night!) and the city. That left me with one evening and one full day in Lithuania. Luckily, I met up with a mad Aussie chick, who whisked me around the sites in record timing. We even managed a full brekkie and lunch. In that time we: hiked up a castle, saw the KGB museum (old Russian prison... very, very creepy business), 2 churches, and a gigantic market. We parted ways around 3 pm, when I darted off to see the Holocaust museum. Closed, sadly, on account of a national holiday. So I wandered around the old Ghetto, where they kept the Jews, and found the last surviving synagogue in the city. It isn't mean to be a tourist attraction, but a man let me in and let me take some pictures. As I ws leaving, I said thanks in English, and he smiled politely. Then it occurred to me he had a common language. So I said thanks in Hebrew and smiled this huge smile and replied "you're welcome."