Thursday, March 12th 2020 At the end of January we returned to the UK from our one month trip to Lapland, Finland, eastern Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. At this stage we had three cruises booked [deposits paid] as well as some rail journeys booked and paid for. For many big hotel chains you can book six to nine months in advance and if you pay in advance you can often save over 20% of the cost of the hotel booking and we had taken advantage of this discount. As the booking stage of this trip geared up during the first two weeks of February 2020 there came the announcement from China of a new virus that was starting to spread amongst humans – a new strain of coronavirus named COVID-19. It was at this stage that we were going through the process of applying for our visas to Russia, Belarus, Mongolia, China and the US. It soon became clear that travel to China in April 2020 was going to be ill-advised if not impossible. So we had to re-plan without passing through China. We could only skip China by not using the train but by flying over it! As […]
Friday, March 13th 2020 For most of his working life, and certainly for all his married life, Robert had planned that he would retire at 55. As a teacher, that should ideally coincide with the end of a term, so this would mean retiring at the end of the autumn term in December 2019. Robert had always intended that he would travel as extensively as he could with his wife, Matilda, when they retired. With this retirement date in mind, he therefore felt that 2020 was the year to plan the first really big trip for Travelling Herd. [Regular readers will be aware that he actually retired before he turned 55, but this is the reason that 2020 became such a focal point.] So as the endgame approached he looked for interesting travel opportunities. As many of you know he is keen on his train travel, so why not do the longest train journey in the world – the Trans-Siberian Railway? Research led to the travel blog of Matthew Woodward and his several trips on the Trans-Siberian. The other go-to website for world wide train travel is The Man in Seat Sixty One. There are in fact three different routes […]
Tuesday 21st January 2020 Although we had a flight to catch we wanted to pay a visit to see some of the places which had been closed the day before. We therefore walked to Halės Turgus, the oldest market in Vilnius. The exterior of the building is picturesque but the stalls were not as universally interesting as some of the markets we have visited recently. It seemed to be in the process of redevelopment as a tourist attraction, with interesting displays of local foodstuffs rubbing shoulders with people who looked as though they were selling homemade jams, woollens and second hand goods off makeshift tables. Curiously, although both Lithuania and Latvia have flourishing wool and knitting stores, we did not see any sheep in the fields during our train and coach journeys. Perhaps they are kept indoors at this time of year as the weather is expected to be much colder. From here we went to the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania which offers visitors several different colour-coded tour routes: History, Archaeology, Architecture; Reconstructed Historical Interiors; Weaponry, Everyday Life and Music as well as an exhibition centre. The Palace was originally built within the lower castle of Vilnius during the 15th […]
Sunday 19th and Monday 20th January 2020 There is currently no direct train service between Riga and Vilnius and to travel to the Lithuanian capital by train involves leaving at 07:40 and going via Daugavpils with a four and a half hour wait for the connection on to Vilnius. We would therefore expect to spend about ten hours travelling and arrive at 18:24. In a rare departure from our usual preference for train travel, Matilda persuaded Robert that the executive coach service would be a better option as it would take us direct to Vilnius in less time than we would otherwise have been waiting for our connection. She felt entirely vindicated as, after a lie in, a trip to the hotel gym and a leisurely breakfast, she settled in to the spacious, comfortable, reclining seat which was to be hers for a mere four hours. On arrival, Robert obviously felt the need to sample the local ale in a new country and we went to Variokas. The bar is located in the cellars and has a steampunk theme as well as a good selection of local craft beers and some weird bits of tat as ornamentation [see the Video […]
Saturday 18th January 2020 Today’s route first took us past the Powder Tower. Originally called the Sand Tower, this was built in 1330 as part of the city’s fortifications and defences. Over the centuries it has been rebuilt and redesigned several times, and it took on its current form in around 1650. It is a formidable defensive structure at 25.6 metres high and 14.3 metres in diameter with walls which are 3 metres thick. It takes its current name from the gunpowder which was stored there and it now houses a War Museum. Jacob’s Barracks – a row of yellow, red-roofed buildings – extends along Torna Street from the Powder Tower down towards St Jacob’s Cathedral and the River Daugava. It is the longest building in Old Riga. Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, who was the inspiration for the eponymous character in the fictional book Baron Münchausen’s Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia lived here in the mid eighteenth century. The street is now home to bars, shops and travel agents. Jacob’s Barracks were built just outside the city fortifications and now face some remains of the city walls [below] and the Swedish Gate [not pictured]. […]
Friday 17th January 2020 Riga was part of the Medieval Hanseatic League – a confederation of merchant guilds and towns which dominated maritime trade in the Baltic for three centuries. Since then, the city has been subject to Swedish, Polish, Russian Empire, Nazi and Soviet rule. As you walk around the city you get a flavour of these various historical influences, although as we were to learn during the course of our visit, not all of the buildings are as old as you might think. Our hotel was close to Rātslaukums, the Town Square, and the imposing red granite monument to the Latvian Riflemen who defended Baltic territories against the Germans during World War I. Three riflemen stand back to back, facing outwards, ready to take on all who dare challenge them. Chiselled features and powerful physiques glorifying the proletariat are a common theme in Soviet art. However, as many of the riflemen went on to become Lenin’s personal bodyguards, some Latvians see the monument as an unwelcome reminder of the old communist system and would like to have it removed. There is a retro tram which runs at weekends but even the regular trams are not exactly state of […]
Thursday 16th January 2020 Although you can get a coach between the Estonian and the Latvian capitals, there is currently no direct train link between Tallinn and Riga: services go via Valga on the border. We had to rise early [we were first down to breakfast in our hotel] to catch a train from Tallinn to Valga for the first leg of the journey. Although the man at the ticket counter had suggested we might struggle to get a seat, once we were on board, we began to wonder whether he was being ironic. The scenery was predominantly trees and woodland. At the end of WWI, Valga was the only place that was disputed between Estonia and Latvia and a British mediator was called in to settle the dispute which he did by dividing the town in two. On the Latvian side, the town is called Valka. We arrived in Valga/Valka with three hours to wait before our onwards connection to Riga so we deposited our luggage in the lockers in the spacious railway station hall and went to stroll round the town. Valga promotes itself with the slogan, “One city, two states” and this is written prominently around the […]
Wednesday 15th January 2020 We had agreed to meet for coffee at Café Maiasmokk, the oldest cafe in Estonia, which opened in the same premises in 1864: the ground floor has remained unchanged for almost a century. Maiasmokk translates as “Sweet Tooth” and is famous for the marzipan figures and sculptures which adorn its window displays. Apparently both Reval [now known as Tallinn] and Lübeck claim to be the town where marzipan was invented. You can watch the artists at work in the Marzipan Room [below right]. Prompted by a request to ask our hotel to print our flight tickets, coffee was accompanied by Robert giving an IT lesson on how to make best use of the features on an iPhone, including the Wallet. When Liz and Martin started giggling over some photo effects like two teenagers at the back of a classroom, we knew it was time to move on. From Café Maiasmokk we walked to the Niguliste Museum, a part of the Art Museum of Estonia which is housed in the thirteenth century St Nicholas Church. The exhibits are predominantly ecclesiastic art celebrating the Virgin Mary. The most famous exhibit in the museum is the Danse Macabre painted […]
Tuesday 14 January 2020 Kadriorg Palace was founded by Peter the Great in 1718 and the name means Catherine’s Valley in honour of his wife Catherine I of Russia. Designed by an Italian architect, it was drastically renovated by Tsar Nicholas I in 1827 and it is now an art museum. Although not at all on the scale of The Hermitage, you get a better flavour of the rooms as they are not overwhelmed by the art on display. The Great Hall which features Catherine’s initials and ornate stucco decoration is said to be the most intact original room to survive from Peter I’s time. We saw several school groups making use of the small oval pads which are provided so that you can lie on the (clean and highly polished) floor to appreciate the fresco on the ceiling. From the Kadriorg Palace you look down the avenue towards the seafront and the Russalka Monument, which was erected in 1902 to mark the ninth anniversary of the sinking of the Russian warship of the same name in a storm in 1893 with the loss of all on board. Walking along the seafront, we returned to town, where there was a […]
Monday 13th January 2020 We had an early start for our train journey to Tallinn. As you walk down the platform, the provodnitsa [or provodnik for male] carriage attendants] stand smartly by the entrance to the carriage under their care. Ours was a formidable looking woman who proved, unsurprisingly, to be kind and helpful. Although we were boarding the train at 06:25 it was the sleeper train from Moscow and we found we had a room with two berths, rather than seats. As we had woken early, we did find we were sleepy enough to take a power nap but were woken by our provodnitsa in time for breakfast. There is an hour’s time difference between the two countries so although theoretically we were gaining an hour in our day, the combined border controls and customs checks on each side of the border took around two hours. First, Russian passport control took our passports away then a selection of Russian Customs and Excise staff visited the compartment. One asked us to open our ruck sacks and gave these a cursory glance. Another appeared with a sniffer dog who ignored Matilda’s supply of St Petersburg and Earl Grey tea [you are […]
Sunday 12th January 2020 The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is predominantly an art gallery and includes the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage itself and the Hermitage Theatre, as well as the General Staff Wing. Something less like a small, remote dwelling for someone living in religious solitude is hard to imagine. Regular readers will know that our guide had advised us to buy tickets for the Hermitage complex from the General Staff Wing to allow us to jump the queue. However, when we tried to do this, we were told that you could not buy tickets for the whole complex from the General Staff Wing at this time of year. We are sure this would be worth it in the busy summer months however. Fortunately there were only a couple of people in front of us in the queue and we were able to go straight in, once we had deposited our coats in the cloakroom. The entrance is magnificent and sets the tone for what follows. The first exhibition rooms we entered contained a temporary display about Prince Grigory Potemkin. There are paintings, books and documents from Potemkin’s collection, but the most […]
Saturday 11th January 2020 St Petersburg was founded on 27 May 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great who had a vision, following visits to the Netherlands and Great Britain, of building Russia’s first European city. It is certainly conceived on a grand scale with wide boulevards, extravagant palaces and vast ceremonial squares. Lying on the River Neva delta, St Petersburg includes over 300 km of rivers, tributaries and canals: Peter apparently originally planned to use boats for transport in the summer months. In winter people would be able to cross the frozen river on foot or by horse and carriage. A temporary bridge would be built each summer. St Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire between 1712–1728 and again between 1732–1918: in total around 200 years. Peter II, was crowned at the age of 11, and those acting as regents for the young monarch transferred the capital from St Petersburg or Moscow from 1728 to 1732. Peter II tragically died of small pox on the day planned for his wedding and St Petersburg was subsequently reinstated as the capital of Imperial Russia. It ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Having had our training from Marina the […]
Friday 10th January 2020 Before we left the UK we had pre-booked a local guide for four hours for our first morning in St Petersburg to show us round the city – again through London-based Russian travel specialists RealRussia. This is a tactic that we like to use in countries where the languages and scripts are almost totally unfamiliar for us: walking, talking and using public transport but not entering sites helps us to get a feel for a new location. We can then decide the buildings and cultural sites that we want to visit in our own time at our own pace. In his Tour Manager role, Robert has visited many great locations but dislikes being shuffled through at the pace of the guide and prefers to be able to set his own agenda and timeframe. We met Marina in reception and explained the sort of tour we wanted. Marina was both very knowledgeable and happy to accommodate our requests and it was a pleasure to spend the morning with her walking around the sights and learning more about this fantastic city. First we asked for a lesson in using the Metro and Marina took us to buy tokens […]
Thursday 9 January 2020 We left Helsinki on the 10:00 Allegro service to St Petersburg in bright sunshine. This would have been a much better day to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress: what a difference the weather can make. Shortly after departure we were offered a choice of fish, meat or vegetarian meal, with fruit juice and either a brownie or a yoghurt [see Dish of the day]. Many people, including Robert, chose to eat this immediately but it seemed more like lunch than breakfast so Matilda saved hers for later and thought of the myriad school children on a trip who eat their packed lunch almost before the coach has passed out of the school gate. We were in first class and so could help ourselves to unlimited water, tea or coffee from a refreshment station in the middle of the carriage. The Allegro train is a purpose-built, high speed Alstrom Pendolino [tilting] train: top speed 140mph. These trains are purpose-built because they need to cope with two different voltages on the Finnish and Russian train systems, as well as the two different gauges of railway track. The journey takes 3 hours and 27 minutes and both customs checks and […]
Thursday 8 January 2020 We probably chose the worst day to visit Suomenlinna as there was driving rain and a bitterly cold wind almost strong enough to knock you over in some exposed areas – see Video of the day below. However as this would be our only opportunity this trip to visit the fortified islands, we caught the boat from the harbour past the ferry to Tallinn: Matilda was very pleased to note that we will be travelling the next leg of our journey by train. Suomenlinna was originally called Sveaborg [Swedish] or Viapori [which is apparently its phonetic equivalent in Finnish] and the signs on the quay give both Suomenlinna and Sveaborg as destinations which is potentially confusing. Suomenlinna means the Castle of Finland and the fort has been known by this name since 1918. When we disembarked there was a blue trail to follow to the King’s Gate [see feature photo], an imposing entrance which was started in 1753 to mark the place where King Adolf Frederick of Sweden’s ship was anchored when he came to inspect the building works in 1752. The boat from Helsinki leaves you at the opposite end of the island fortress to […]
Tuesday 7th January 2020 The rain and warmer temperatures had cleared the pavements of snow and ice so that it was much easier to walk about, but unfortunately the warm air had also brought with it a low mist. We were therefore pleased that we had been able to take a photo of the outside of the Uspenski Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in better light the day before [below left]. Built between 1862 and 1868, it has an imposing position on a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula close to the water. It is apparently usually closed on Mondays so this may not have been attributable to the public holiday yesterday. Looking back from Helsinki Cathedral many of the older buildings are in warm shades of yellow and ochre with just a hint of pink. The Cathedral itself was built between 1830 and 1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and prior to Finnish Independence in 1917 it was also known as St Nicholas’ Church. The green domes with golden stars are particularly striking. The Lutheran interior seems rather minimalist compared to the decorations in the Uspenski Cathedral, but it is still beautiful. Apparently […]