Our train journey from Warsaw northwards had been ‘odd’ in that we started with an electric engine, stopped near the border to change to a diesel engine, then once in Lithuania, we stopped again at a station a little further on, to change to a different train altogether due to differences in rail gauges.
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Rob and other passengers waiting, waiting |
All the passengers grabbed their luggage, climbed down onto the snow covered platform, stood waiting until the new train arrived to take us to our destination of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Very different!
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The Lithuanian train arrives |
Welcome to ‘The Baltics’ and the first country we’re visiting, the other two countries being Latvia and Estonia.
The term ‘Baltic’ primarily relates to the Baltic Sea that these 3 countries border and the term "Baltic states" for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania became established after World War I when these countries emerged as independent nations from the Russian Empire.
Trip overall map of our travel through the Baltic states & explanations is shown below and all the travel between each state was by train.
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| We trained from Warsaw to Vilnius near Belarus border then via Riga in Latvia before finishing in Tallinn, Estonia |
In each of these 3 countries there are historical similarities for all of them in that they:
- have been invaded and occupied by generally the same countries of Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Russia and Germany.
- each country suffered terrible losses of civilian lives during WWII at the hands of both the Nazi Germans & Russians, especially jewish citizens of each country.
- during WWII, due to either German or Russia, large proportions of each of the cities buildings we visited were destroyed and had to be reconstructed.
- each country gained their independence from the then Soviet Union from 1990-1991 with Soviet Union formally recognising their independence from September 6, 1991.
We enjoy train travel and by using trains we get to see more of the countryside, the smaller villages and towns we passed and a lot of snow.
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| Some of the countryside looked quite beautiful with snow covering |
Vilnius - Lithuania
Let's start with where we roamed throughout the city of Vilnius.
Let's start with where we roamed throughout the city of Vilnius.
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| Vilnius was a very good walking city |
Now a little background and history for you. Vilnius is regarded as the wealthier of the 3 States and during WWII, ~40,000 Jews were executed with bullets to the back of their heads in the Ponary Forest, outside the city centre.
When the Germans first arrived, the Lithuanians first welcomed them because they had been under oppressive Soviet rule but it didn’t last long.
Vilnius, despite plenty of reconstruction, retains an older country feel to it. There are no trams at all within the city but there are plenty of buses, so we walked everywhere which was made a little harder either due to snow or the slush of melting snow.
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| An older part of Vilnius |
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| City view from a higher vantage point |
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| Older style building in the city |
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| Nice walking down some of the alleys and the city was gearing up for Christmas |
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| Part of the city's early defence structures |
We did learn that dragging suitcases, through slushy snow makes it harder and gives you a new clean up task when you reach your accomodation, to save dark muddy water dripping on the floor.
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| Walking around meant dealing with snow or icy surfaces |
There are a LOT of churches across the Baltic States and we had our fair share of them in Vilnius, with many of them being extremely ornate inside.
One in particular garnered our attention, St. Annes Church made using 33 varieties of clay bricks and built around the 1500s in a Gothic Style.
One in particular garnered our attention, St. Annes Church made using 33 varieties of clay bricks and built around the 1500s in a Gothic Style.
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| St. Annes Church was quite exquisite to look at with the snow |
When Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte saw the church during his visit in 1812, he allegedly was so taken by its beauty, that he wanted to take it back to Paris in the palm of his hand.
Other notable experiences in Vilnius was a visit via funicular to the Gediminas Castle Tower, the last remaining part of the upper castle. The upper castle had been used to try and fend off attacks during the 14th and 15th centuries. The tower itself is a museum and contained a number of old artefacts.
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| The Gediminas Castle Tower |
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| 400-500 year old crossbow in the tower |
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| View to the city of Vilnius from the tower |
There is also a more modern part of the town which has grown through the influence of more bohemian style artists. We ventured into this, with quirky style houses and some unique objects to be seen like a mermaid in the wall, where it is believed if you look into her eyes, you will not want to leave.
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| The mermaid in the bohemian quarter |
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| One of the houses in the bohemian quarter |
Luckily for us, the city was gearing up for the start of their Xmas market season, which officially started on the last night we were there with the lighting of the Xmas tree.
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| City was nicely lit up for Christmas |
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| People heading to the main Christmas market areas of the city |
The city was buzzing with markets located in 2 areas and many other buildings also lit up with additional lights glowing throughout, adding to the feel of the city.
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| The locals came out for the start of the markets |
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| The main square where the markets were set up |
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| The Town Hall of Vilnius |
The number of people roaming the streets had increased considerably and we certainly enjoyed some of the local food and of course, nice warm mulled wine and/or beer with temperatures holding at around -3C.
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| You do what you have to do... nice warm mulled wine! |
There are many more photos if you click on the link below.
Riga - Latvia
It was a 4hr train trip from Vilnius to Riga, a smaller town of 600+k population and about 1/3rd of the countries entire population. Our initial reactions to Riga were not positive as we walked from the central station to our accomodation near the old town and then to a supermarket near the much larger public market and food halls.
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| Our walking trail around Riga, Latvia |
The very large and high food hall buildings were once used to store Zeppelin airships.
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| Part of the food market now located inside an old Zepplin hanger |
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| There are large street stalls outside the food markets |
The area was grimy and dishevelled looking, but over the next 3 days in the city, our views changed.
We were soon out and about in yet another city with many, many churches, one especially, the St. Peter’s Church which dominates the skyline with its prominent tower, which we learnt has an elevator that goes nearly to the top, so we visited to get views of the city skyline.
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| St, Peters Church and its unique tower |
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| City view from St. Peters Church and the 4 large curved roofs are the former Zepplin hangers |
Inside the RIGA Cathedral is an organ regarded as one of the world's most valuable and significantly historical organs and was once the largest organ in the world and was certainly very beautiful. Walking through its cloisters was like walking through a medieval museum with stuff scattered everywhere.
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| A very stunning organ |
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| The cloisters of Riga Cathedral |
Walking through the UNESCO listed old town was a treat, with cobblestone roadways and many famous older buildings like the Blackheads building, the Three Brothers Houses, the oldest complex in Riga dating from the late 15th century to the late 17th.
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| The very old Three Brothers Houses of Riga |
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| The Blackheads Buildings in Riga built in 1334 for meetings held by merchants and the Brotherhood |
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| Cobblestone paths next to old Swedish built city wall in 1698 and sculpture of the ghost who haunts them |
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| Narrow cobblestone lane within Riga old town |
Dom Square is where the Christmas Markets were being held and where we visited twice at night, to eat and have more warming mulled wine… yep, we were enjoying them.
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| Christmas markets of Riga |
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| Christmas market entrance in Dom Square |
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| Mulled wine is VERY popular at all the Christmas markets |
These Christmas Markets were the only ones using fires to cook all sorts of traditional food which was delicious. For a smaller city, these markets were buzzing with fun and energy.
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| Cooking great food the old fashioned way at the Christmas markets in Riga |
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| It tasted very good also |
As we continued through the numerous narrow lanes we found other sites like the Swedish Gate and walls, built in 1698 by Sweden when they ruled Lithuania and the Powder Tower, originally built in 1330 as part of Riga's defensive wall system but became the Powder Tower in the 17th century, when gunpowder was stored there.
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| The small arch opening is the Swedish Gate circa 1698 |
It was destroyed during a Swedish attack in 1621 and rebuilt in 1650. Cannonballs from an old war are still embedded in its walls.
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| The Powder Tower and look closely the cannon balls are still stuck in the bricks |
No visit to Riga is complete without walking through and admiring the Art Nouveau architecture, especially adorning 2 streets outside old town. There was an economic boom in Latvia between 1904-1914 which stimulated the building of ~800 of this type of building, making it a world hotspot for this style and they were certainly unique and very decorative.
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| A row of Art Nouveau buildings in just one street |
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| Three examples above of individual Art Nouveau architecture |
Two other important locations we visited were the Freedom Monument, a large tower in the centre of Riga, unveiled in 1935 to recognise the people who have died defending the country.
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| Freedom Monument |
On top of the tower is a 9 mtr. copper statue of a women the locals call Milda and below, the tower is guarded by soldiers of the armed services who solemnly perform a changing of the guard on the hour.
With the markets underway, the city and certainly spruced itself up and at night important locations like the Riga Town Hall Square certainly stood out.
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| Certainly a great view at night |
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| The Town Hall building is behind the Christmas tree |
We have learnt and written much about the impact of WWII on the Jews, so in Riga we visited a Jewish Riga Ghetto & Holocaust Museum and it was very sobering when you learn more of what happened in and to Latvia.
Three things stood out here which were the long Wall of Names, listing all the 70,000 Latvian Jews who were victims of the Holocaust, an original timber ghetto house showing the cramped conditions people had to live in.
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| The wall with names and photos of 70,000 Jews murdered near Riga |
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| It was a one way ticket for them from elsewhere |
Finally, there was one of the rail carriages, actually cattle carriage, used to transport 100 people at a time and overall, up to 25,000 ‘Reich Jews’ from Germany who were subsequently murdered in Riga’s nearby forests of Rumbula and Bikernieki.
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| They brought Jews from other cities to Riga in cattle carriages |
At the end of our time in and around Riga we had both warmed to it, learned much and had enjoyed our time there.
CLICK HERE for more photos of Riga
Tallinn - Estonia
The train from Riga to Tallinn was a longer journey of ~6hrs and involved a train change at the border town of Valga… no snow on platforms or delays. Our accomodation was a few hundred metres from the station, very close to the old town of Tallinn and opposite a fabulous food hall and large supermarket.
Tallinn - Estonia
The train from Riga to Tallinn was a longer journey of ~6hrs and involved a train change at the border town of Valga… no snow on platforms or delays. Our accomodation was a few hundred metres from the station, very close to the old town of Tallinn and opposite a fabulous food hall and large supermarket.
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| Entrance into the great food hall right next to our apartment |
Below is where we walked throughout Tallinn and it really is a very good city for walking.
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| We covered both the Upper and Lower parts of Tallinn |
Tallinn naturally felt the impacts of WWII but thankfully many of the old buildings and fortifications were left in intact with most damage occurring at the hands of Soviet bombing of civilian areas, who occupied Estonia before the war.
5,100 mainly civilian buildings were destroyed and by the end of the war, when the Soviets returned, almost every Jew had been killed and Tallinn’s population had reduced by 25% due to people being removed by the Soviets or escaping to other countries.
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| Decorations in park next to Palace |
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| Part of the medieval old town next to the walls of Tallinn |
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| Very old door of the Brotherhood of Blackheads |
There is no love lost by Estonia towards Russia as was evident when walking past the Russian Embassy, with a constant Estonian police guard outside and fences in front of the embassy with strong messages relating to the war in Ukraine.
There are upper and lower sections of Tallinn, the upper being where the wealthy lived over the years. In the lower area the commoners lived but now, all of it is yet another great walking city. It becomes quickly evident that Tallinn used to be a walled city.
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| Orthodox church in the Upper area of Tallinn |
The walls started being built from 1216, were originally 4kms long but now there is around 1.85kms of them left. There were 45-46 towers built, many having names like Fat Margret, Tall Hermann where the national flag is raised each day, and now there are ~26 towers left and some ancient gates.
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| Part of city wall and tower |
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| Part of wall and a city gate in Tallinn |
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| Different city gate and towers leading into Tallinn Old Town |
As we walked the streets or visited various squares, the architecture of the old buildings in the old town, in the main had a very different look to those we saw in the other Baltic cities. The decorative facades had gone and the buildings looked more like buildings we have seen in Scandinavian countries.
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| The architecture doesn't have as much facade style decoration |
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| There are lovely differences in buildings throughout Tallinn |
Yes there was yet another Christmas Market, but this one was surprisingly small and way more intimate, located in the square out front of the original Town Hall.
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| Church in background with different style buildings in front |
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| Christmas markets in Town Hall square |
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| People enjoying the Tallinn Christmas markets |
There were a reasonable number of churches but, many were closed and some of the orthodox churches you could enter did not allow photographs… so there is a church reprieve for you all.
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| You could usually see a church somewhere in Tallinn |
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| But no church here at major street intersection |
As an example of old buildings, we visited the old Town Hall Pharmacy (Raeapteek) which is the oldest pharmacy in Europe, still operating continuously in the same building since 1422.
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| The oldest continuously operating chemist in Europe |
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| Some of the pharmacy's original implements |
Below you will see from other photos, many of the other lovely old buildings and laneways which still exist in this beautiful city.
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| Ice skating anyone |
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| Christmas decorations in the city |
We were taken by a ride service (Bolt) very early in the morning to reach our next destination and our older Estonian driver was very interested in where we were from and asked about our dangerous animals (spiders, snakes & sharks). One of his first questions of us was, “why are you visiting Estonia, its so f***ing cold?’.
The next part of this lengthy trip will be something quite different for us than the norm, so we look forward to sharing this with you in our next post.
