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Scandinavia and the Baltics
  • Sean Plamondon

Scandinavia and the Baltics

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  • Trip start
    July 12, 2023
    Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Leaving.... on a jet plane

    July 12, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    My next adventure awaits in a lot of not so warm places. Scotland is never hot. Pretty confident the arctic circle isn't either. But maybe the baltics will bring back some summer heat .. not sure but will find out soon.

    Either way, I'm super excited to start exploring castles, fjords and lots of northern medieval European cities. And as usual, taking myself to some lesser known locales.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Edinburgh Day 1

    July 13, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Crazy start to my trip!

    After meeting several nice people at the toronto airport (hi jeff and cindy!), i ran into a long time dear friend Jon who i hadn't seen in 4 years on the airplane. We switched seats and chatted the entire 7 hour flight to Scotland

    Arrived at 630am and my hotel didn't allow checkins until 3pm so i was in a bit of a bind. But Jon was going to Bev and Nick's house for his stay so i went with him. 20+ years ago i worked with Bev in an Edinburgh restaurant and part of a group trip i organized thru the middle east. And Bev and Nick visited Jon and I in 2006. Oh boy was she shocked when i arrived at her house.

    Got a bit of sleep and spent the afternoon catching up in their backyard. Then caught a train to Edinburgh and did a walkabout seeing the gorgeous medieval parts of the old town and finding all the places i used to work at and a few places i lived too. Nostalgia overload!

    I had pre-booked a pub crawl tour that started at 8pm. At 7 i was incredibly tired and almost bailed but decided to force myself to go and be social. Pub crawl had 45 people from all over the world. Met 4 aussies right away and spent the rest of the night mostly with them. One is coincidentally moving to ottawa in late August for classes at OttawaU. So glad i went. Absolute hilarious fun. What a day. Oh yes... i almost forgot. Everyone thought i was around 35. Haha (i am 51)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Edinburgh- Day 2

    July 14, 2023 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Finally a bed to sleep in. Wow i needed that. Who knew? :)

    Wandered around in the afternoon to a million spots i used to know 20 years ago. Had lunch at a restaurant i waitered at (the filling station) in a different life and then met up with my walking tour. The tour was a historical tour of the old town mixed in with beer tastings at a variety of pubs. Me and 3 americans plus Ian the tour guide. I purposely wound him up by asking his thoughts on the accuracy of Braveheart. Ohhh my god i set him off on a huge rant. If you're ever in scotland, definitely bring up braveheart semi sincerely to get hilarious reactions.

    After the tour i climbed up Jacob's ladder to Calton hill for some super cheesy touristy shots of the city and then walked an hour in a lot of rain into Leith. I was told the old port had been revitalized greatly so i wanted to see it before leaving.

    Found a brewery on the way to dry off for a bit and met Andy who was just the most friendly guy ever. Was planning to stay for 30 mins and then continue to the port but good banter turned into 2.5 hours instead.

    Andy recommended a pub at the port called Malt and Hops.... fantastic recommendation. I think i met the entire clientele of that establishment without even trying. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and hilarious. Jon insisted on giving me a scotch tasting lesson and i couldn't convince josh that he was actually a concussed Oscar Isaac. Dead ringer :)

    Excited for norway next but definitely sad to leave Scotland too. Magical place for me.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Pretty sure this is scottish sarcasm

    Paris

    July 15, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Not a great day.

    Missed my flight to oslo this morning. I thought the flight was at 11am and i casually arrived at the airport around 8:40. I got up and left before my alarm even went off.

    Then noticed at the airport my flight is actually at 930 😳

    I started scrambling to find my airline counter. Got wrong directions from one employee and later proper directions from another

    Found the counter and the guy there tells me its closed. And that its been closed since 8:50 making it sound like ages ago. I look at the time and say "dude, thats 4 minutes ago! Comon, pleeeaaase?". But no luck

    So i scrambled and found a flight to bergen norway with an overnight in paris. Not a terrible plight minus the 8 hours in the edinburgh airport. Ugh

    Finally got to my hotel in the paris latin quarter at 10pm. Walked around to some nice sights and eventually found a beer specialty place and settled in. Was totally enjoying the quiet moment and 10 minutes later a brit bachelor party crashed my table. They were all super fun actually and my night became a whole lot more lively. Perks of traveling alone sometimes

    Edit: and met a super nice parisian couple (maude and elie) after i wrote this. We talked politics for half an hour, which you would never know from our goofy pic. Wish we had met earlier but need to sleep too    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Bergen - Day 1

    July 16, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    My business class air france ticket allows me expedited security passage, lounge access and baggage priority. That last item seemed lacking when i arrived in bergen but my backpack did not 😳

    Especially problematic because i was still wearing shorts and sandals from paris weather but in bergen the temperature was 14C, and very windy and very rainy. I felt like i time traveled to November. And very unfortunately, my backpack would be enjoying paris weather without me until tuesday (two days later).

    But not much i can do. Walked from the tram station to the nearby harbour. Found the open fish market and some very pretty venues but was getting pelted with rain pretty good too. No umbrella and no rain gear, so i ducked for cover into a nearby pub.

    The bartender was really sweet and after telling him my predicament he rummaged thru lost and found and gave me an umbrella and helped me find a good restaurant for dinner too.

    After wandering the quaint streets and a quick nap, went for a traditional nordic dinner and some surprisingly excellent craft beers. Met the lovely Alejandra from mexico there and chatted away with her for quite a while. Eventually parted ways and i bounced around the harbour bars a bit until i found a cool cave bar and befriended a group of Norwegians and travellers who now live in bergen full time too. And eventually back to the hotel. Crappy start to the day but excellent finish    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
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    Bergen - Day 2

    July 17, 2023 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Headed off today on a 12 hour tour of fjords and waterfalls. This tour was almost entirely self guided. The tour company gave me a detailed list of instructions and destinations with many different types of transportations and often tight transfer windows. Its remarkable how organized, efficient and accurate this country is with its arrival and departure schedules. I usually had 5-10 minutes to transfer. Not much room for error with that but it all worked perfectly. One coach bus was 3 minutes late and the driver apologized to me several times as i boarded haha.

    My day started with a train, then a minibus, then a boat, then a coach bus, another coach bus, then a boat, then a personal driver and finished on a coach bus. I had prepaid for everything but no one ever asked me for proof of payment on all those different legs. Same for my train from the airport. 100% honour system here wow.

    Unfortunately, it was another cold, rainy day. The scenery was dramatic but low lying clouds often obscured the views sadly.

    The highlight of the day was vøringsfossen waterfall. Multiple waterfalls on different sides of a really deep gorge and dozens of different viewing platforms in some really unique spots. Luckily the clouds mostly moved out just as i arrived. Got some great pics and then a huge cloud rolled in 15 minutes later and i couldn't see anything after that. Fortunate to have that brief moment.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tromsø - day 1

    July 18, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I arrived at the airport and talked to the baggage guy there. My backpack is in apparently in bergen. Geez i hope my backpack enjoys bergen as much i did. We are on separate vacations. I literally washed my clothes in the shower with a bar of soap and dried them with a hair dryer out of desperation tedious!

    My pre booked tours all got canceled for various reasons so my trip here is a bit muted. I am 400km above the arctic circle with much less purpose and a lot of time to relax. But still in shorts haha. The mountains here are all snow capped and its pretty cold.

    I found a local brewery on the same street as my hotel and of course popped in there. I was used to paying an ungodly rate of $17 per beer here in norway so didn't even think to ask how much. My visa card registered $32 for one beer at this brewery! Geezus. I'm not easily shocked but i could have used some support at this moment.

    Left the brewery and randomly into a restaurant i found on the way. Was hanging out with the bartender when the manager came downstairs and went on a crazy rant. I made a joke about hoping to never get on her bad side. And before i knew it i was invited to join her friends in the lounge upstairs.

    So i went to that lounge and chatted with everyone - very warm and nice people. There's some stories to be told here but i will leave that out of this blog. Lets just say northern norway is a bit nuts. I did my best to watch and be supportive of everyone. Yikes!

    One of the guys (zack) invited me to go to a nearby pool hall so i happily left the drama and showed those guys how its done haha. Never lost a game. I can usually hold my own and more at pool.

    From there, me and michael from poland plus 2 new Norwegian friends found another cool wine bar to hang out in. I met a french guy who looks remarkably like Christian Bale. You decide :) will attach to the photos. And thats my day.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
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    Tromsø - Day 2

    July 19, 2023 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Slept in which was such a welcome change plus my tours all got cancelled. Semi disappointing. Kayaking under the midnight sun sounded phenomenal but the weather is so awful and i do not have the right clothes for ..... anything haha

    Had the best fish soup ever at a place on the ocean and then re-traced my steps to where i ended my night yesterday. Entertained james the bartender and lars with all my norway stories (yes there may be more layers to this onion).

    After that, randomly walked into a nice restaurant and sat down to get my bearings and i could hear someone yelling at me. It was the french christian bale (julien) working as a cook. He strongly objected to me taking his photo but too bad haha

    Finished the day back at the same pub where i started. James was gone but met some swedes and we shared hilarious stories until i tapped out early to get some much needed rest

    Ohhhh! And i got my backpack back. I literally cried at the reunion and said "whatever i did, i promise to never do it again" 😉    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
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    Helsinki - day 1

    July 20, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I was super nervous about giving the airline my backpack but was one of the first ones off the carousel. Yay!

    I took the train frim the airport and fortunately my hotel was close to the helsinki train station. Scrambled to check-in and then get to a quiet pub to video conference a lawyer back in canada to finalize the sale of an investment property. Yay no longer a landlord!!

    Then had just enough time to shower and get to a couchsurfing meetup. I was feeling pretty nervous about it but had an amazing time. Its basically an event for travellers to connect but there was tons of finns there too.

    Had a hilarious back and forth with a girl who insisted she would destroy me at pool (she didn't) and lovely rose from norway handed me a microphone to sing a duet karaoke song already in progess which i am quite sure i butchered. Followed the remaining crowd to a gay club haha and danced the night away. Crazy fun. Huge shout outs to ollie and teemu. Jay from texas/Korea to the next day... to be continued ....    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Helsinki - Day 2

    July 21, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Was originally planning to head to estonia but jay convinced me to stay one more day in helsinki. Had a blast the first night so why not

    My hotel was fully booked so i went to the Irish pub across the street to sort it out. Eddy the bartender from croatia was amazing and met guissepe who works at nearby fish restaurant. Jay joined me eventually and we went to that fish restaurant. Maybe the best seafood i ever had ... but the pricetag matched the quality

    Took a quick nap and in my wanderings found a place called bier bier. Felt compelled to try it out and met a few locals sitting next to me. Jay eventually showed up and all of us went to a poolhall... then a dance club

    Got into a bit of a disagreement with someone who kept bumping me on the dancefloor but when we stepped off to chat we were hugging minutes later like long lost friends. Europeans are a fiery bunch but incredibly passionate.

    I never actually got to see much of the city, but i am very rich in friends and experiences. Will be back!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tallinn - Day 1

    July 22, 2023 in Estonia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Hopped on a ferry to estonia. Its seriously like a cruise ship. Crazy big
    As soon as i walked in i was offered a possible upgrade to business class for 100 bucks. I agreed and had an amazing luxury meal. Far better than any airport lounge i have been to

    Got myself to the old town of tallinn. Walked all along the wall for spectacular shots. It was unbelievable i was the only person on all these streets. Found a nice terrace for a pint and met two super nice girls (renata and nadia) from estonia. We chatted for 3.5 hours and after they left i went inside the establishment and made more friends. I think they might have been russian.

    People eventually lead me to some other locales before calling it a night. Fantastic start to the baltics. Estonia is such a passionate but wonderful place to be. Witnessed a few fights. One of them, i ran to the bar and got 2 pints and gave them to the two guys and said lets all be brothers, yes? We had a good time and hugged it out. Saving the world one pint at a time haha.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tallinn - Day 2

    July 23, 2023 in Estonia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Spent the day walking around the old town. Every turn is prettier that the prior one. Wandering around aimlessly is such a nice way to pass the time and relaxing on terraces watching the world go by

    I have the craziest hotel room. Apparently i am staying in a labyrinth. Took me 20 minutes to find my way out the first time. Attaching a video of it.

    Still not very warm. Quite a bit better and sunny compared to norway but always need a jacket.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tartu

    July 25, 2023 in Estonia ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Took a train in the morning southward to pretty Tartu. Not as amazing as Tallinn but i don't think anywhere is. But very cute old town with hundreds of restaurants and terraces everywhere

    Arrived a bit on the early side and there wasn't anyone in the hotel reception for a very long time so kinda stuck with my backpack to just hangout and wait

    Eventually got in but then tons of cold rain came down. Perfect time for a nap

    Went out later, found a cool subterranean german restaurant and then another subterranean beer spot. But packed it in early. Big travel day tomorrow and I'm not even sure yet how i will get to latvia    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Unwittingly wandered across the border to see this church
    Cynthia from parisThomas from Austria

    Riga - Day 1

    July 26, 2023 in Latvia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Big travel day to reach Riga, the capital of Latvia. Caught a 1 hour train to a town just outside the Latvian border but had to wait 4 hours for my next train.

    Talked to the information kiosk and they recommended walking to the old town area and they pinpointed an area on my phone. I mistakenly went a bit beyond and was confused by a latvian flag on a building. Checked my map and sure enough i was just inside latvia haha. Walked a few blocks down the same street and i was back in estonia.. so weird. Didn't find much of interest but did find a nice restaurant.

    Back to the train station and hopped on the train finally. Met Cynthia from paris who is taking a year off work and traveling the world. She had recently gotten back from 2 months in canada.

    Once in riga, navigated to my really nice apartment rental in the old town. Then set off to explore. I was totally shocked how gorgeous this city is and i think it surpassed my opinion of tallinn. Striking baroque churches amongst beautiful buildings in a maze like atmosphere.

    Beer specialty restaurants are everywhere here. Craft beer lover's paradise. Had dinner at one and found another with a better selection. Chatted for a really long time with Thomas from Austria and then got myself to bed at a decent hour.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    There's a huge story behind this famous cat
    Toms the guideLast of original city wallBest ravioli everView from restaurantThat sign is the name of the restaurant hahaBeef dumplings

    Riga - Day 2

    July 27, 2023 in Latvia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Joined a historical walking tour late morning through the old town. Such a fascinating but sad history. They have been consistently ruled by another country (many different ones) since the 1300s and didn't have their freedom until the berlin wall came down. Toms, the tour guide was incredibly detailed about every facet of life, then until now. And he's pretty hilarious too.

    Decided to splurge a bit and went to a semi pretentious rooftop restaurant in the middle of all the church spires. Both the view and the meal were amazing. And relative to Canadian prices was still very affordable.

    Rested at my apartment for a while and then found a gastropub for some yummy dumplings and then found my way through the labyrinth to banshees where i was the night before. Chatted with the same bartender for a bit. And then researched and booked my transportation for the next morning to Lithuania. And got myself home nice and early before another travel day.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Street leading to my apartment
    It even says "touch screen" hahaSuper cozy attic apartmentGreat elevated view of the old town

    Vilnius - Day 1

    July 28, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Day started with a 930am bus to lithuania's capital that would take 4 hours. Huge confusion before boarding. My bus was at gate 2, and a bunch of us had already put our baggage under the bus and were lined up to board when a girl comes off the bus and running to the bus at gate 1, runs back to the gate 2 bus and gets the driver to open the luggage compartment and move her stuff to the gate 1 bus. There was a big conversation in front of me about it but all in latvian. The two Americans in front of me start scrambling and doing the same thing. I asked whats happening and they explained that both buses are going to vilnius and both depart at 930 and they are on the wrong bus. Turns out, i was too. Whose brilliant idea was it to schedule two buses like that? Lol. Assigned seating and both were sold out, so it was a crucial detail.

    All the seats had a screen in front of them with the company logo and the seat number on it. I sat quietly with my thoughts and playing on my phone for 2 hours when i see the guy next to me touch the screen and start watching a movie. Haha i can't believe i didn't try that all this time!! Bus was an hour late but i watched almost 2 movies the rest of the way, so it flew by.

    Finally in vilnius and finally nice warm sunny weather! This cannot be emphasized enough haha. What a cold, wet trip so far. Unable to checkin until 3pm, i found a great cafe terrace overlooking a huge plaza meters away from my hotel and enjoyed watching the swathes of people go by and the sun on my face.

    Checked into my cute attic apartment and set off to explore the nearby attractive streets. Went for quite a walk and up a funicular for great views above the city. Eventually back to a great restaurant area for food and then rained again (of course!!) as i left. Ducked into a pub and found a great local ipa and wrapped up another early night. Haven't been sleeping well and am perpetually tired. Hopefully can reverse that tonight.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Vilnius - Day 2

    July 29, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Stsrted the day with a proper scare. I visited the st johns church and at the bell tower i took glass elevator to the top. I literally had to watch the walls cuz that ride was intense. It freaked me out simething crazy. At the top, the views of the city were phenomenal but i knew i still had to go back down. I decided to force myself down the rickety old stairs similar to National Treasure. Wow that was nerve wracking. Some moved, most creaked. My heart was pounding.

    After that went to a nearby restaurant myoko 4 and ordered local delicacies of herring and beet soup. It doesn't look appetizing in the pics at all but soooo good.

    Then did a massive walkabout. I think i covered over 10km. Vilnius has amazing churches at every turn or in the horizon so i had no end to my next destination. Was a fun discovery constantly. This city is much more spread out than riga or tallinn.

    I tried to get to the beer library in the jewish quarter but it was not open until 5pm so i found a great place called senators (definitely a sign!) And walked in. Met Lithuanian lucas the bartender and we hung out and chatted for maybe 4 hours. Haven't solved world peace yet but i think we are on the right track.

    Took a nap and went back out to discover the beer library was now closed. Noooo. But met
    Mindaugas and his gf at a nearby beer garden. From there went a few more places pretty close to my hotel. Talked a ton of politics to a really nice local couple and broke the news to davidos that his taste in movies is terrible haha.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Vilnius - Day 3

    July 30, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Late morning i joined a 2.5 hour walking tour of Vilnius. Like Riga, highly informative and at the same time many sad stories. Their existence was almost entirely under polish or Russian control until the berlin wall came down. And according to my tour guide, 90-95% of jews did not survive WW2 in Lithuania.

    There's a small part of the city called Užupis that considers itself its own country. When the tour guide said they stamp passports in a nearby building she pointed to, i ran over and got an Užupis stamp haha. Its a bit of a tongue in cheek concept though. They celebrate their independence every April 1st. Which probably says enough :)

    Made some friends from france on the tour but unfortunately they were all flying later that day but they did mention something about a nearby cat cafe. So i went there and hung out with a dozen cats for a while before going for my own cat nap.

    Around 8:30 walked all over the old town for a restaurant. Lots closed because its a sunday and none of the open ones were drawing me in. Then remembered i hadn't yet visited a place called the beer library. Walked in there and while talking to the bartender about my options, met Stacey from vancouver. And she invited me to join her and her husband Daniel. I think these are the first 2 Canadians I've ran into. Chatted forever until they kicked us out because it was getting late. Finished up at the same place as the night prior and met a whole other bunch of friendly lithuanians.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    This is a recommended read

    Trakai / Kaunas / Vilnius

    July 31, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Picked up my rental car at the airport and headed off towards Trakai. I paid for the cheapest Economy car but they gave me a really nice Volkswagen SUV. That doesn't happen often. But the guy said he didn't have any other automatic transmissions so he had to give me this one. Yay.

    Rained most of the way to Trakai but cleared up beautifully just as i arrived. Trakai has a cool old castle on an island. There wasn't tons to see but its in such a pretty location and really well preserved. Went for lunch at a nearby place that some Lithuanians recommend to me from the night prior. And wow did it rain while i was eating. Speaking of which, had a really yummy lamb stew. Apparently Trakai was their first capital. This doesn't make any sense to me because its just a village.

    Just as i finished up, the rain stopped. Definite theme today :) Headed off to lithuania's second biggest city Kaunas. Made a wrong turn but somehow ended up in the old town and right into an available parking spot. I was wondering how difficult that was going to be. Apparently not difficult at all :)

    Definitely much smaller than vilnius. There's a really nice big plaza with some nice churches nearby and a wonderful long pedestrian street lined with restaurants and shops for many many blocks. Walked up and down and then sat for a beverage to relax for a bit. And then decided i better head back to vilnius before it gets dark. Navigating alone in a foreign city is challenging enough without having to deal with darkness too.

    Just before arriving in vilnius the skies poured down buckets of rain again. I had to pull over a few times. This part was tricky... how would i find parking for my vehicle in the old town? All the streets are narrow and jammed with cars. All my research on the internet resulted in everyone suggesting to just not do it. To not even bother trying haha. I pinpointed on my map a spot i thought looked like maybe my best bet two blocks from my hotel on a long straight street thats wider than most. And super luckily found a spot just as the rain stopped too. One of those days where everything works out just right.

    Noticed on the street of my hotel a placard about the jewish getto during WWII. I didn't realize i was staying in the getto area. Very sad write-up but definitely worth a read. Will post my photo of it here.

    Was supposed to meet up with stacey and Daniel again but they were too tied. As was i. Fell asleep pretty fast at 7:30pm and woke up at 1130pm. Travel day tomorrow so i took care of some bookings and went back to sleep.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Gdańsk - Day 1

    August 1, 2023 in Poland ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    Got up early and had fun navigating my rental from the old town to the airport. Flying to Gdansk with a 1 hour connection in Warsaw. My Warsaw flight was over 30 mins late. Had to sprint from one end of the terminal to the other end to just board in time. I had a perfect view of the guys loading the luggage and lets just say i wasn't at all surprised that my backpack didn't make it.

    Another gray rainy day but made the best of it and wandered dizzily through the gorgeous old town streets. Then the rain really came down in buckets for a long time. Got some traditional soup and eventually set out to find some good craft beer between rain drops.

    Landed at very hard to find spot called pub 107 with an amazing beer list. Was hard at first to meet anyone because they were all good friends. But eventually befriended 6ft7 jacob and his friend matt. They took me to another bar where we met paulina and izka. Jacob and matt went home and the girls took me to a dance club which became a much later night than i intended. But really fun. And when i got back to my hotel, my backpack had arrived yay!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Gdańsk - Day 2

    August 2, 2023 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Decided to sleep in after the late night. The restaurant i wanted to go to didn't open until 2pm so decided to ascend the 405 stairs to the st marys bell tower summit first. Then walked down the harbor front for quite a while and eventually to that restaurant finally. Had a really interesting local herring dish and then a very long and needed nap.

    Found some yummy dumplings/perogies near my hotel and sipped a few beers while catching up with friends and family back home. Missed my backpacking meetup today which is a bit too bad but needed to recharge too.

    Was soooo close to buying an amazing piece of carving artwork i found on the many street tents selling all kinds of cool stuff. But the price tag was fairly dear.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Gdańsk 2.5

    August 3, 2023 in Poland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I wrote my day 2 for gdansk as i finished my beer and was about to head to my hotel. But things took a fun turn. Thus, this 2nd entry.

    I remembered the pub next to my hotel was still open. I figured i would pop in for one more as i was planning to leave gdansk in the morning and a bit reluctant to say goodbye.

    I was standing at the bar sipping my beer and i could hear a familiar accent next to me. I asked the girl where she was from and she said texas. Soon discovered she used to travel to ottawa monthly for work. I got invited to join her and her family at their table.

    Chatted with Spring, Blake and Letisha until the place closed. I told them i know a place that is still open so off we went. At this next place befriended two germans who are cycling 2500km across europe. And also some poles. When this place closed, we decided to find one more place for dancing. My phone cell service died so i couldn't find the place i was at the night before.

    While wandering the streets, we accumulated a few more people from australia and nepal. We thought we found a place and all piled in but it was actually a gentleman's club haha. When i got in, everyone already had a huge table to my surprise. I took a quick picture of only the group and this employee came running over asking for my phone and to delete my picture. I said no thank you and they kicked me out.

    Fortunately everyone followed and the germans thanked me haha. Finally found the blues brothers bar and we were home. One of the germans bought a round. The americans bought shots and i bought the last round and then we all eventually decided to leave and get to bed.

    Made several new polish friends on the walk back. Said our goodbyes with some pics by the neptune statue outside our accomodations. And the Americans arranged a next day meetup at noon at the irish bar. Told everyone I'd likely be on a train to warsaw and the germans told me if i show up, they'd pay for everything haha.

    I don't know how many times i heard "hey Canadian, come here!!" Haha. Possibly my favourite night of the trip and it was so close to not happening    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Reunited plus blake and latishas parents
    Eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms in sauce for breakfast. Weird but really goodSo tired :)Gdansk train stationMy bullet trainMy hotel is the white building in the middleMattAntoineMaria and JakimUgh

    Warsaw - Day 1

    August 3, 2023 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Met up with the germans and americans from the prior night to watch a women's world cup game just after lunch. Had to bring my backpack with me because i was now homeless. Still wasn't sure if i should stay one more day in gdansk or make my way to warsaw.

    Ultimately figured its probably best to get moving again and caught a bullet train to warsaw. I cant believe it got me there in 2 hours. All the other trains were 3.5 to 4 hours from what i saw online.

    Checked into my hotel in really pretty castle plaza and walked around taking in the city. Everything here is much bigger in size than gdansk. Was pretty tired so i found a quiet craft beer place to relax. But matt the bartender was incredibly colorful and engaging. Met antoine from france too. We chatted for a few hours but he had an overnight bus to lithuania and had to go

    Then met lovely maria and jakim from norway. Chatted a long time and then they wanted to show me some other nearby places. Maria went to university in warsaw, so she knew some great hidden spots that i never would have found. I usually have a pretty strict rule of no shots but they were so hospitable and kind that i felt saying no wasn't really an option. Another late finish but the trip is so close to over, and I'm fortunate to meet so many nice people every day. Trying to enjoy every minute and maximize my opportunities    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Warsaw - Day 2

    August 4, 2023 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Joined an old town 2.5 hour walking tour. Very informative and excellent guide with a very dry sense of humour. It blows my mind that over 800,000 citizens of Warsaw lost their lives in world war II. Thats more than the american and british armies lost combined!

    After the tour, walked around some more to some areas the guide recommended and eventually rested at the hotel for a while. Later went to the restaurant right next to my hotel and enjoyed sipping on beers watching thousands of people stroll by. Ordered the wild boar stroganoff with mushrooms. Excellent last meal here.

    Walked around some more to the really busy bar area but ultimately too tired to stay long. And that pretty much wraps up the European part of the trip. Off to New York tomorrow    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Chris Christie
    Business class yayI want it !!Self pour bar

    New York

    August 5, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Arrived at jfk airport around 8pm after a 9 hour flight from poland. I had a business class ticket, and was able to turn my seat horizontally into a bed and get some sleep. On exiting the airplane i noticed presidential candidate Chris Christie was sitting behind me. Really wanted to engage with him but he was pretty busy chatting with others and i didn't want to bug him either.

    Quickly booked a Manhattan hotel and my taxi got me there around 9pm. Walked around a tiny bit and found a nearby place that my front desk requested.

    Then to another place where you pour your own beer. You get a special card from the cashier, load up money onto the card and then tap the card on the beer tap you want and it charges you by the ounce as you pour. Brilliant! 40 different beers/taps.

    Watched the big event boxing match there with some new friends and then called it a night. On the way back to the hotel i could smell street food being cooked from a block away. Some sort of Egyptian version of a gyro or shawarma. So good! I didn't have any American dollars on me but the guy behind me was kind enough to take my 20 euro bill and give me 10 American in return and buy my sandwich for me.    Read more

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