Posts/Entries
All posts/entries, for now, from over two decades of global travel. And a few colourful tags, too.
Trakai, Lithuania
Excerpt test from Trakai, Lithuania.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic state of Lithuania, is different. Very different. There seems to be a bizarre, anything goes mentality wafting through the air here, something that goes hand in hand with the the very bohemian, almost gypsy look & feel of the...
Church of the Holy Spirit, Vilnius, Lithuania
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, the largest of the three Baltic states in Eastern Europe. A city of gypsies, bohemian types & general misfits, there's a definite & bizarre anything goes mentality wafting through the air at any given time. One guidebook...
Riga, Latvia
My Baltic shuffle continues. Yesterday Tallinn in Estonia, today Riga in Latvia, & tomorrow Vilnius in Lithuania. This, Riga, is the largest city in the region, the capital of the country some say is the only truly Baltic country of the three official Baltic...
House Of The Blackheads, Riga, Latvia
Riga is the capital of the small Baltic country of Latvia in Eastern Europe. It's the largest city in the Baltic States & is a major shipping centre sitting, as it does, at the south end of the Gulf of Riga, on the mouth of the Daugava River. Founded in 1201 by...
Tallinn, Estonia
I'll freely admit I knew very little of what to expect from Tallinn, the capital of the Baltic State of Estonia. However, I now know that it is a charming little European capital with a stunning UNESCO protected medieval Old Town. While all three of the Baltic State...
Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn is a port city on the Gulf of Finland, the capital and largest city of the small Baltic country of Estonia. The city was built on a vantage point at the opening of the Gulf of Finland and over the years it has, due to its key port position, incited the attacks...
Helsinki, Finland (2006)
That was quick. My first visit to Helsinki, the comatosed cafe-culture capital of Finland, has come & gone, just like that. It could only be classed as a fleeting visit. Five hours in total I spent in the city between disembarking the overnight bus from Saint...
Saint Petersburg, Russia (2006)
Oh boy. Saint Petersburg is a little different, a very noticeable diversion from the Russian city norm. Whereas the rest of them, in comparison, are full of dull, grey unimaginative structures (run-of-the-mill Soviet architecture), Saint Petersburg is a fairy tale...
Moscow, Russia (2006)
I'm on a tare. I arrived in Moscow only 8 days (7 nights) after crossing the Russian/Mongolian border some 5,500 kilometres to the east of here. Of the 7 nights that have passed since entering Russia I have spent all but 3 of them sleeping on trains. That fact goes...
Tobolsk, Siberian Russia
I disembarked the eastbound train from Irkutsk in Tyumen, about a 2-day, 1,800-kilometre train ride shy of Moscow. I got off there as Tyumen, the administrative capital of the Tyumen Oblast (province), is the nearest rail stop to Tobolsk, a 4 hour bus ride north. Why?...
Platskartny, Trans-Siberian, Russia || Riding The Rails
The initial shock upon boarding a Russian 3rd class (Platskartny) carriage in Irkutsk a few days ago died off quickly enough. However, the stuffiness, lack of privacy & general discomfort compared to the higher, 2nd (Kupé) class of Russian train travel was...
Lake Baikal, Siberian Russia
OK so, let's get a few facts about UNESCO listed Lake Baikal, a 40-50 minute bus ride from Irkutsk, out of the way. For starters it straddles a continental rift (a crack in the earth's skin) making it, at almost 1,700 metres, the deepest lake in the world. At a mere...
Irkutsk, Siberian Russia (2006)
OK. Russia. For real. It felt weird to be here having just stepped of a train from Mongolia, somewhere obviously Asian. That's a weird statement I know but Russia feels anything but Asian even if it is only a 20-hour train ride away, a short distance in the grand...