Baltic Adventure by Land, Sea and Air, 3

LONDON, BREMEN, COPENHAGEN, STOCKHOLM, RIGA, TALLINN, HELSINKI, LÜBECK, COLOGNE

Part 3, The Former Soviet Baltic States

(see Part 1 here)

(see Part 2 here)

The Night of Three Rooms

Our hotel in Riga, the Radison Blu Latvija, was built in the Soviet era as the Intourist hotel, the only one in town where foreign visitors could stay. Two blocks from the KGB building the rooms will have been bugged and visitors could be followed and spied-upon to ensure that the Soviet state was safe from foreign interference. It had been thoroughly refurbished and the KGB has moved out, so we felt quite safe (not that our conversations would have been any risk to any state, capitalist or communist!), but there were other problems which led to an interesting start to the night! We went into our room and inserted the key card into the slot and the lights came on ... then went out fifteen seconds later. We tried it several times but could not keep the lights on, so we went to reception and they kindly allocated us another room across the corridor (I thought, if the KGB are listening, that will confuse them!).

All was well and we went off for a walk around Riga, returning later to the hotel for dinner and then retiring to our room for a shower, the clothes washing and bed. Once in bed we realised that we could not silence the air-conditioning, or so we thought, but on opening the window we then twigged that the racket was coming from outside where everyone's over-worked air-con seemed to be blowing out into the night air. We were given yet another new room, but this one was three floors higher and so we had to travel in our nightwear, carrying our luggage and our wet washing via the lift to the new floor at about half-past eleven at night, much to the amusement of other passengers in the lift. At last we could go to sleep! And there is no way the KGB would have followed all those moves ...  The view from the room in the morning sun was fantastic, across the trees in the park with the golden domes of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral beyond. We went down for our breakfast and prepared for our first day out in Riga.

Our guided tour of Riga was partly by coach and mostly on foot and began with a visit to some of the finest art nouveau architecture in Europe. This was built pre-communism as apartments for the middle classes and there are street after street of buildings too many to record. It was explained to us that during the Soviet era these apartments were further divided and shared between several families, many of whom were moved in from Russia and one of whom was probably the original owner of the flat who now became an unwilling tenant of a shared part of the same flat. Our guide said that everything was then painted in "ugly grey," "ugly green" or white. I speculated that she had missed out "ugly brown" but presumably she knows her own city!

We moved on to the city centre where we saw pre-soviet, soviet and post-soviet buildings, monuments and churches of several denominations.

Although the country's independence from Russia dates from the USSR's collapse many years ago and it has been an EU and NATO member state for almost as many years, there remains a substantial Russian-speaking population there, and anyone who attended school before independence knows the Russian language, but anyone who attended school afterwards learnt English instead.

I really enjoyed exploring Riga, a beautiful city which has been through a lot of violent history but whose recent freedom was won peacefully and whose beauty is now restored. It remains, however, on the front line where the increasingly threatening Russia faces NATO, and there were German and Dutch senior troops staying in our hotel. Everywhere we went there were Ukrainian flags alongside the Latvian and EU flags. Russian street names were being expunged and the street where the Russian embassy is located had been renamed to Ukrainian Independence Street so that all the letters to the embassy had to carry that expression! This attitude to Russia was a theme throughout our visits to Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki, all of which are capitals of nations on the NATO border with Russia and who have often suffered from their relationship with Russia in the past.

In the afternoon we set off to do our own exploring and following the recommendation of both our local guide and our Tour Manager we started at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, a repurposed soviet building which previously celebrated the USSR. What we learnt there about suppression of religion and other freedoms would apply equally in Estonia. The three Baltic states plus Finland were caught between the two empires of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia and those trying to govern the country were heroes or villains to one side or the other from week to week, as were those trying to serve in their armed forces. A lot of people died and lot were imprisoned and many were deported to Siberia, of whom some returned and some did not, but those who did came back to an unfamiliar land.

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia: the black soviet architecture was thought to be appropriate to the subject

Gluttons for punishment, we moved on to the former KGB building, now run by the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, and it was very chilling indeed. The only public entrance to the building, known locally as "The Corner House" was on a street corner not far from the Intourist Hotel, and it was in the entrance lobby that citizens could enquire about the fate of loved ones arrested by the KGB - whether they received an answer was another matter. We were taken to the reception area where detainees would be brought in via another door where their clothes would be divested of belts, laces or anything else that could be used to take their own lives and returned to them before they were taken for questioning and then improsoned in inhuman, cruel conditions I shall not describe here. You have to see the place for yourself. Do do the guided tour: the free public exhibition tells you a lot, but the experience of being in the cells makes sure you'll never forget. One did not have to be a criminal to end up here: the police and crime system was quite separate. This was a political matter, a matter of state security (as perceived by the government of the USSR). We were beginning to see that the USSR was not so much a "union" like the USA or the EU but an empire where nations were occupied and conquered rather than applying to join.

Back on the street it was sunny and hot and we put the chill and the smell of the KGB behind us as we walked back to our hotel to shower and prepare to go out for our evening meal at Domini Canes, a restaurant recommended by our Tour Manager and at which we had booked a table earlier in the day. It was here that we tried the local tipple Black Balsam. We discussed this with the waitress and ordered a blackcurrant flavoured balsam each, and she kindly brought us a shared sample of original Black Balsam to try. It was OK, actually. Probably quite good for a sore throat, too.

The following morning, Wednesday, a new month, a new capital, we moved on by road to Tallinn in Estonia, another former soviet republic which rejoiced to be an independent EU and NATO member state, yet still on the front line with Russia. The journey mostly followed the Baltic coast, but about a kilometre inland and through managed forests, so we did not see much of the sea. We stopped twice: once for a WC break at the former border post (both countries are in the Schengen area) and a meal stop in the town of Parnu, which was a charming place with a high street full of bars, cafés and restaurants. We found a small back-street café mostly frequented by local people and had a sandwich and coffee there.

Tallinn was another gorgeous city with a medieval Old Town whose walls were largely intact. There seemed to be more Ukrainian flags than Estonian in some streets.  Our hotel, the Radisson Blu Olümpia, was built when Moscow hosted the Olympic Games and the sailing events were held in Tallinn, then part of the USSR. This was in the 1970s and although it has been substantially updated since then there were photographs in the reception area of how it used to look when first opened - very reminiscent of British buildings of the same era; think Birmingham New Street railway station before its 21st century rebuild!

After finding our rooms and leaving our luggage we were met by a local guide with a coach and taken on a tour of Tallinn. It has a history as a port of the Hanseatic League and therefore ancient connections with Germany, Denmark and Sweden as well as Russia and the other Baltic states.

As usual on this trip the meal on the first evening was an included buffet dinner at the hotel and was of a pretty decent standard. The full day in Tallinn was a completely free day after the hotel breakfast and we wandered into town with a view to buying gifts to take home for those who had kindly looked after things for us while we had been away, to exploring some of the history of the city and taking coffee and marzipan at Maiasmokk Café where we had seen marzipan novelties being hand "painted" on our guided tour the day before.

We bought the gifts and while in the shop browsed among the very attractive pure wool sweaters, buying one each to take home. Trying them on was a bit of a trial in more ways than one in the heatwave Tallinn was experiencing at the time. We thought it might be wise to take these back to our hotel room rather than trail our shopping around the city for the rest of the day, after which we set out again and visited the Great Guild, now housing a Heanseatic League museum,  Maiasmokk Café where we had coffee and shared a piece of marzipan curd cake, and the Church of the Holy Spirit. The interior of this church was absolutely amazing, well worth a visit and the small fee they charge to keep numbers down, and amazing when you consider what this nation and city have been through since this ancient church was built.

Back at our hotel we went for a swim in the hotel pool, high up towards the top of the building with stunning views over the city. A fifteen metre pool, it was ideal for a relaxing swim both to make a change from all the walking we had been doing and to cool down from so much time in the sun. Taking it easy, we dined in the hotel restaurant that evening and then prepared to move on the following day. There was much more excitement to come, and our mode of travel was to change yet again: we had done rail, air and road; now we moved on to sea.

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Baltic Adventure by Land, Sea and Air, 2

London, Bremen, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Lübeck, Cologne

Part 2, Scandinavia

(see Part 1 here)

We did not need much breakfast after the previous evening’s wonderful dinner, but what we did enjoy of the hotel’s buffet breakfast was very good. Our full day in Copenhagen consisted of a city tour partly on foot and partly by coach with a good local guide, lunch at a traditional restaurant and then a boat tour of the city. The rest of the afternoon and evening was free.

The guided tour took us to Amalienborg Palace, four matching palaces arranged in a square, each with its own purpose. Like the UK, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy but less formal: the Queen walks her dogs along the riverside when in residence in the city, just as anyone else might. The soldiers keeping guard are less rigid than ours and actually look as if they are keeping watch rather than concentrating on marching in exactly the right way. The coach took us to the waterfront where we had a chance to see that statue of the Little Mermaid, a reminder of the famous Hans Christian Andersen story with has become a symbol of the city. It is a small statue on the water’s edge beneath the harbour wall and is really only easy to find because of the crowds gathering round to see it. I do not remember in being so crowded when we came about 35 years ago, but memory can play tricks. Last time I was here there were huge catamarans taking traffic to and from Malmo, across the water in Sweden, but these have now ben superseded by the Oresund Bridge which we would be taking the following day. 

We learnt about recent redevelopment in the city, including the new waste incinerator plant which provides district heating by burning the city’s waste and whose roof provides a ski slope as well as an urban garden. The city is also served by a new theatre and new national opera house on the waterside. It remains a beautiful city: wonderful Copenhagen. Our local guide showed us briefly a wonderful pre-reformation Lutheran church in the city centre which retained much more of its original style than English churches of that period which suffered during the commonwealth era. He then left us at the restaurant Pilekaelderen where the whole party enjoyed the traditional Smørrebrød lunch of local dishes served like a tapas. 

From there we walked to the trip boat pier at Nyhaven where we boarded our booked public tour boat for a tour around the harbour and the city’s canals. For me the most interesting part was through Christianshavn wher King Christian built a new part of the city based very much upon the layout and style of Amsterdam. It is quite amazing what can be done by someone with enough authority and a a strong vision of what he wants to achieve.

After the canal tour we walked slowly back to the hotel through the hot sunshine, stopping at a Lindt chocolate shop which was advertising ice-cream .... it was too hot to buy chocolate unless it is ice-cream! We ate it in the shop because the sunshine was far too hot to take it outside.

Back at the hotel we had a brief rest and then set out for an evening walk. We did not need an evening meal after all we'd enjoyed during the day, and back at our room we packed most of our things ready for the following day when our luggage would be taken separately to Stockholm while we caught our train. We made sure that we had enough in our hand luggage to see us through one night in case there were a hold-up to the main luggage.

On Thursday morning we left our luggage ready for the porter and had a big breakfast to see us through the day and set off for the station to take a train to Malmö where we were to change for a fast train onwards to Stockholm. The first train continued the tradition of late running, but this time only by four minutes, nothing like the hour-or-more delays of Germany. We had coffee at Malmö and then went to catch our train, a high-speed tilting train to Stockholm which actually departed on time. We arrived just a touch late in Stockholm and followed our Tour Manager through the complexities of Stockholm main station to emerge from a metro exit right under our hotel, the Scandic Continental. 

The hotel was an amazing building of modernist Scandinavian design right opposite the railway station. There were entrances on two levels because streets cross each other by bridge right where the hotel stands, although the entrance on the upper ground floor is currently out of use (unfortunately, as the tram stop is near that door). In our room was a coffee-table book about the design and construction of the building - unfortunately in Swedish language only, but the pictures were interesting! One of the features of the building was a diagonal split through the centre to provide an unusually shaped atrium, and with one side of the building higher than the other the lower flat roof housed an outdoor bar with stunning views over the city. We were to say in Stockholm for three nights, the longest stay of the tour, so it was worth unpacking properly at this hotel, then we had dinner as a group in the hotel restaurant. After dinner we went for a walk to explore the old town, a short walk from the hotel. This was a part of the city we would get to know reasonably well over the next couple of days.

Friday's guided tour began following the theme of transport delays with our coach stuck in queues arising from a road traffic accident, but a quick change to the schedule saw us walk to the City Hall to begin there, with the coach to collect us after that. The City Hall has to be seen to be believed and was well worth our time. A fabulous example of Swedish romantic architecture with art deco touches. Having a local guide to explain the background and the uses of the hall was brilliant. 

Moving on by coach we happened to be at the Royal Palace when the changing of the guard was due. We also saw the administrative buildings of the government and parliament.

The coach dropped as all at Djurgården where the was a huge choice of museums and different people visited different ones. We investigated the Skansen outdoor museum and decided it needed a whole day, so we bought tickets for the following day which had no included activities and would therefore allow us to see all we wished. We had a drink and a snack and by then it was time to look for the boat trip back to the Old Town. That happened to be the time when our Tour Manager was taking most of the group back with him so we travelled with them. We paid for the boat using our local travel app which we had been advised to install on our smartphones. Absolutely brilliant: saved having to queue for tickets and so easy to use.

This day was the day, the round birthday that the whole adventure was celebrating, so on our way through the Old Town we booked a table at a local restaurant that our local guide in the morning had suggested as one that served local dishes. After a shower and change of clothes we waked back to the restaurant, Kaffegillet, opposite the Cathedral, and enjoyed traditional Swedish dishes. We liked it so much that the following day, on our way back from our day at Skansen, we would return and try other Swedish dishes at the same place.

On Saturday, then, we began with a tram to Djurgården, where we spent all day at Skansen. This was a fantastic display of traditional buildings moved there from all over Sweden, as well as a zoological section full of Nordic animals. We returned by boat again and called at Kaffegillet for dinner on the way to the hotel. Time to pack ready to move on in the morning. No more trains now for some time: air, sea and road were to provide our travel for the next few moves.

Sunday was expected to be an exciting day for us, as it involved a flight, our first for many years. Given how much had changed since we last flew, it was helpful that we were with a group and our Tour Manager had all the arrangements in hand. it was unfortunate that the tour continued in the manner in which it had been progressing since Brussels, though, with the aircraft in the wrong place and take-off expected to be delayed by 100 minutes. We arrived at the airport, Stockholm Arlanda, in time for check-in at the normal time and so had almost four hours before take-off. When baggage check-in opened the queue moved at a glacial pace and by the time I got to hand in my suitcase I was already feeling the strain of standing for so long, but worse was yet to come. When we went to the security scan for ourselves and our hand-luggage we had to walk for a very considerable distance to get to the back of the queue. It was worse than the queue at St Pancras had been when we were leaving London and again the queue moved unbelievably slowly. Indeed by the time we actually reached the security scanners I realised that had the flight not been delayed we would have missed it while standing in line at security!

Is this what flying is like? Is this how "the other half" habitually travel? My knees had had more than enough standing (about three hours) and I was not expecting railway standards of legroom on the aircraft, an Airbus's 220 of Air Baltic. In spite of the enormous queues there was still enough time before departure to have a drink and a snack airside before being called to the gate. Eventually we went through and boarded the plane. It was comfortable enough for a short flight but I'd not have wanted to be going any further in a seat like that. The flight itself was smooth and quick and we were soon taxiing to the terminal at Riga. There was a little wait before our luggage appeared on the belt at baggage reclaim, and when it did the suitcases were very wet, having stood beside the plane in heavy rain before being loaded in the hold, and when we arrived at the hotel we had to dry the clothes that had been near the zips, always the weak spot in a suitcase's weatherproofing. The queues at Arlanda airport had taken approximately twice as long as the actual flight! Shall we fly again? Only if we really have to do so!

We were met at the airport by a coach which took us to the start of our next adventure, the former Soviet Republics of Latvia and Estonia and the former Russian Grand Duchy of Finland. It was to be fascinating, and I look forward to describing it in the next post.