Latvia

We had a fun visit in the beautiful city of Riga. Riga was a major center of the Hanseatic League and became very prosperous in the 13th - 15th centuries. A renewed prosperity within the urban middle class at the turn of the last century led to a burst of modern architecture in the suburbs surrounding the old town. The boulevard city that grew up in the 1900's is Art Nouveau.













While the new, turn of the century, part of the city boasted wide boulevards the old city was made up of large squares with medieval churches accessed by narrow cobblestone streets.



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Location:Riga, Latvia

Lithuania

Klaipeda is the third largest city in the tiny country of Lithuania. Lithuania has a population of only 1.2 million people.

We took a short ferry ride across the Dane River lagoon to the Curonian Spit. The Curonian Spit is home to Lithuania's national park. We traveled through a beautiful forest following the lagoon. The forest is home to many nesting cormorants and herons in addition to wild boar, elk, and deer. We visited a fantastic area called the Witches Hill. The hill is the highest point on the peninsula, some 42 meters above the lagoon. We followed a trail winding through the forest. Wood carvers and sculptors had been invited to make wood carvings depicting the myths, legends, and stories of the Lithuania. The carvings are fantastic but the stories are even better.











I wish I could share more of these fun, whimsical carvings.

The pettiness and cruelty of the current Russian government can be witnessed in this tiny country. The National Park is the pride of the Lithuanians - they have spent years planting trees and in restoration projects. Now the Russians have threatened to build a nuclear power plant on the portion of the spit within Russia. Further, Lithuania was forced to close their Chernobyl style nuclear plant in order to gain admission to the European Union. They are now dependent on Russia for electricity and natural gas. Russia has raised the prices in an attempt to control the country. For every positive step Lithuania makes, Russia attempts to knock them back.

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Location:Klaipeda, Lithuania

Poland

We started our day in Gdansk with a visit with Lech Walsea. He is a fascinating, charismatic man. An electrician who went on to organize the Solidarity movement into a political party and to become the first freely elected president of Poland since 1947. Lech spoke through an interpreter but had a great sense of humor and is a very approachable person.




The drive from the Gdansk shipyards to the old, medieval city took us through the former soviet sections of town. The streets were lined with run down drab concrete buildings with no distinguishing features other than their ugliness and graffiti. All this changed as we walked through the Green Gate, the entrance to the Old Town.


The effect of the Soviet occupation has left lasting problems for all of the Baltic States that were occupied. Much is evident in the depressing rows of concrete housing blocks but, more insidious is the damage done to the population. Two generations that have never known freedom, that struggled to make it through one more day - a day spent waiting in line for hours for even the simplest of necessities. The countries all suffer from a lack of work ethic. Entering the European Union has greatly helped the Baltic countries by opening access to aid but, the shoddy workmanship that is a holdover from Soviet days makes it impossible for them to compete.

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Location:Gdansk, Poland

Bornholm, Denmark

We sailed the short distance from Christianso to Bornholm, Denmark. Bornholm is a much larger island with about 45,000 residents. We landed on the eastern shore at the town of Allinge. Compared to Christianso, Bornholm felt like a bustling metropolis.

We took a beautiful hike along the shoreline in a light mist and heavy fog. It reminded many of Scotland or Wales. We ended our trek at the ruins of the medieval castle, Hammershus. The ruins and collapsed towers emerging from the mist made for an amazing experience.





After the long hike we returned to the village for a traditional Baltic meal:



Smoked herring and a local beer. The herring is good but boney. I learned after the fact how to pull the backbone from the flesh and remove most the bones.


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Location:Riga, Latvia

German Baltic

The Baltic Sea is an incredible mix of historic cities, rocky islands, and medieval architecture.

We departed Amsterdam in a grey fog and entered the Kiel Canal. The Kiel Canal was completed in 1895 and connects the North Sea and the Baltic Sea saving about 280 nautical miles. The Kiel Canal is the world's busiest waterway. The canal is narrow which allowed, even with the mist and fog, for easy viewing of the life along the banks.


We arrived alongside the docks in Lubeck, Germany in time for breakfast the next morning. Lubeck is the former capital of the Hanseatic League. The city was founded in the 12th century and flourished as the principal trading city for Northern Europe for the next four hundred years. The city is a beautiful, magical place. Lubeck is a World Heritage Site. All the Hanseatic cities are built on rivers, just a short distance inland from the Baltic.








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Location:Offshore Lithuania

Christianso, Denmark

We traveled north and west from Lubeck to several tiny Danish Islands just 35 miles off the Swedish coast. The first island, Christanso, is the very definition of tranquil.there are 120 residents living in small, stone fishing cottages that date back to 1684. We followed small paths and lanes all through the granite island.









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Location:Riga, Latvia

We have enjoyed our three first days in Amsterdam, one to go before we board the National Geographic Explorer and sail to the Baltic.  We arrived on a gray, drizzly, Wednesday morning and went for a long, three hour walk after checking into our hotel.  The hotel is situated in an ideal location in central Amsterdam and is in an historic building.  Our room is large and airy with huge, wood encased windows overlooking a canal (of course, everything in Amsterdam overlooks a canal).  After our initial foray we returned to the hotel for coffee and tea to warm up.  The coffee progressed to wine and beer and before you know it, it was time for a nap.  We awoke to clear blue skies and bright sunshine about 6:00 pm.  A cold breeze blowing in from the canal was floating the curtains and we decided to continue our exploration of the neighborhood on foot.  Amsterdam is a beautiful city and a great walking city but, beware, bicycles rule.  Cyclist are the top of the food chain on the Dutch streets and everyone and everything yields to them.  We saw two collisions our first day between cyclist and tourists.  For the most part, the Dutch are polite, sweet people until they mount a bicycle.  They are fearless and do not back down or yield to buses, trucks, cars, and least of all, hapless tourists. We walked for several hours before choosing a small cafe for dinner.  The sun doesn't set until well after 9:30 so we had plenty of time to wander and explore.

We slept in and woke to gray overcast skies dripping thin rain.  Our plan was to learn the train and bus system and make our way to Kuekenhof Garden.  Based on our experience from the day before, we were experts on the May weather patterns for Amsterdam and the surrounding areas - gray and drizzly in the morning with bright sunshine in the afternoon.  With this in mind, we set off for the train station in 45 degree drizzle.  An hour later, we arrived at the gardens in 48 degree rain.  Our first souvenir - rain ponchos from the gift shop.  The gardens are spectacular even in a cold rain.

We returned to Amsterdam in a strong rain, dodging trams and, more importantly, the kamikaze cyclist as we dashed several blocks from the train station to the warm, dry comfort of our hotel bar.  The third day started out as the second day ended but colder.  Rain with a strong cold breeze.  We had learned our lesson and unpacked rain gear before leaving for a day touring the city on foot.  We walked for miles and hours and had a great time.  We stood in line to see the canal house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis, the Nieuwe Kerk where all the Dutch Kings and Queens have been inaugurated (the last only three weeks ago), and finally to the Van Gogh museum.  It rained all day but this time we were prepared.  We walked close to ten miles along winding canals and brick paved streets.  At times the streets narrowed down to little more than sidewalks and then, surprisingly, open into large squares teeming with people and street performers.

Tomorrow we hope to visit the Rijks museum take a canal tour - the forecast is partly cloudy but we will have our rain gear handy.  The next post will be from aboard the National Geographic Explorer.  We depart Amsterdam for the Baltic tomorrow evening.

Back to the National Geographic Explorer

As you can see from the new trip map, we are off to the Baltic aboard the National Geographic Explorer. We finish in Copenhagen where we begin our next adventure, the fjords of Norway and the Arctic. I will post that trip map from Copenhagen. This is another challenging set of trips to pack for: the Baltic is more civilized with mild weather. The Arctic trip up to Svalbard will require us to break out our polar gear. Look for our first posts from Amsterdam sometime late next week.

I added links on the right side of the page for our trips. If you want more information or to follow our itinerary, simple click on the appropriate link.