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Scandinavia and the Baltics

July - August 2023
  • Sean Plamondon
Plus scotland and Poland Read more
  • Sean Plamondon
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  • Sean PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics
    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics
    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics
    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics
    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 PlamondonSean PlamondonScandinavia and the Baltics

    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

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