Exploring LOTS of Old Towns in the Baltic

  Vilnius, Lithuania, Estonia
Friday, June 17, 2005

Sunday 12 June Tallinn (Estonia)
Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Its population is 68% Estonian, 26% Russian, and 6% various others. Tallinn (population 400,000) is its capital, and has an Unesco World Heritage-listed two-tiered Old Town, a 14th and 15th century jumble of turrets, spires and winding cobbled streets. The lower old town is still surrounded by much of its 2.5km defensive wall.
Breakfast at the hotel was pretty good. Got away about 10 to walk up through the lower town to the moral high ground, up at the Cathedral.


The lower town was practically devoid of tourists. Walked along the main road at first, past a park with interesting irises in the gardens, then cut into the old town proper to find the way up to the top. Found an internet cafe with a code word system to use as required. Buy 2 hours, have a half hour session, complicated by dual language keys, and punctuation, as shown on the keyboard, being one key out to the right.
Find an interesting stairway and passage with a lot of tourist trap shops. They have some good decorator hangings and pictures, including some chain-linked metal-plate cushions. Up at the top, we find out why there are no tourists in the lower town -they're all up here! There is one, maybe two, cruise boats full of tourists split up into groups of about 30, milling around. As a change from Russia, the churches were free to visit, so had a look in the big one, then out to the north edge of the citadel, beside the palace, to take photo of the view, and the string of tourist buses pulled up in the street below. Further east, looked at Toomkirik, the 14th century Lutheran church, with carved tomb in the floor, coats of arms on the wall, a funny enclosed pulpit, like a railway signal box, and high enclosed pews with door on the end, possibly to produce a captive audience for long sermons.


Next we go to the lookout over the town, take a video, and talk to a Swiss guy off our bus from St Petersburg. Then proceed to the east lookout, and more photos.
then we split up, as Murray decides he wants to do a very long walk around to the port, and Dianne wants to actually take it a bit easy on what we've designated as a day of rest. MP down a stairway at this point, to look at the old town from across the park and pond to the north, then to walk back along the wall to the port, then out past the abandoned power station to the old, Soviet-era marine terminal, which is now only used for helicopter and hydrofoils. The area is derelict, and deserted, so MP was very wary of running into unwelcome company. The terminal is an enormous concrete structure, half underground like a bunker, but now deserted. Even the homeless don't seem to have made any use of it. There is also a deserted fishing port, still usable in spite of decayed and collapsed concrete. A few locals are fishing in it, but otherwise the whole area is deserted.
The hotel is actually quite close, so call in to check for DP before finding her back at the internet, our meeting place, with a beer. Had ordered a cider (siida) last night, so thought another would be nice. However this was a sida, which turned out to be a beer, which Dianne hates. Look at the possibilities of internet booking Eurobus to Riga, but not enough notice. Also look at Riga Hotels, but not enough info to book ahead. In her independent walk, DP found an interesting park at the west end of the top level, so went back up to look and take photo of the impressive fortifications and narrow street at this end, then back through town to check out some of the more interesting buildings around the main square


and along the nearby streets, arches and passageways. There were some excellent buildings along Pikk Tanav, one in particular with a believable ancient Egyptian theme, and the Brotherhood of Blackheads building, dating from 1597. Use the guidebook as a source of clues to pick out the important buildings, take a while. The Oleviste Church in this street was the highest building in the world in the 13th century, but it is difficult to gauge the scale of the building until you get out into the new town and see how far it towers above the old town. MP thought that DP had climbed it on her independent wander, so didn't bother, so neither of us ended up climbing it. Further on, ran into the old wall and checked out the Fat Margaret bastion,

and the broken line monument to the 852 victims of the Estonian ferry sinking in Sept 94.
We walked north through the lower town along the line of the wall, then to Kompresor for a more modest meal of soup and bread, plus more cider.
We've decided to move on tomorrow, although we'd originally pencilled in another day, as we've seen all the interesting parts of the town. The main attraction is to sit in the nice outdoor restaurants, but you can only have so many meals or drinks, particularly if you're trying to keep costs down. Decided we would have to go to the "Bussijaam" (the bus station) to get a bus booking, so went to the tram stop where the 2 and 4 tram should stop. Can't find the timetables for these, so walk along the tram line towards the bus station, and find the tram line torn up just around the corner, so continue walking all the way. Get tickets for the 10 am Eurobus, which picks up at the "D" terminal at the harbour only a few minutes walk from our hotel. Walk back through back streets where the buildings are simpler, a lot in Soviet style, and other smaller wooden houses. Call in at a supermarket for Cold Coke, but can only get room temp. Walk all the way to the "D" terminal at the harbour, to verify there is an Eurobus Stop, but DP get sidetracked into a Hypermarket in the last 300 metres. MP confirms the pick-up point, while DP walks further around the hypermarket, then we find an acceptable bag-dragging path for the morning, through the harbourside wasteland still not rehabilitated since WW2.
Back home, we feel we will need to eat, so go out about 10.30pm to Kompressor again, but it was closed. Walk back via MacDonald, decide to get take-away, as it is now starting to rain, and we have atypically left our umbrellas behind. Sunday night is a quieter night, but it rains quite hard for a while on the thin roof. Walking Murray 25.7 kms (Dianne slightly less)
Mon 13 June Tallinn(Estonia) - Riga (Latvia)
We are able to have a leisurely start, as the bus stop is only 10 minutes away, so get in a good breakfast, have time for DP to go up to the exchange to get enough kroons to pay our bill in cash. DP checks out the sea terminal before the bus turns up on time and we get our gear checked in, get our right seat, and off through the town.
About half an hour out, the bus engine is switched off at a traffic light, and restarted. MP thinks this is unusual, so pays attention. It turns out that there is a beeper going off. They can stop it for a while by shutting down, but it returns. At the outskirts of town, we pull to the side of the road, and the driver announces that they are sending another bus, and it would take about 20 minutes.


About half an hour later another bus and recovery team arrives. We swap over, but can't find seats 19 and 20, so take the equivalent seats from the previous seating pattern. MP goes back to make sure our bags get transferred. They are in a section which is inaccessible from the safe side, so MP climbs in and pulls them through the truss to make sure they are not forgotten.
Another drive through the green countryside, with a number of storks and their nests along the way. The border crossing is in the middle of a flat plain, no big river or defining geography. Single walk-through by customs woman, no dog, bags not removed.
Latvia regained its independence from Russia in 1991, and has a population of 2.3 million, thirty percent of whom are Russian. Its capital is Riga (population 790,000), and our guide book says it is an elegant city which combines a Unesco World Heritage Old Town with Art Nouveau grandeur.
Towards Riga, we travel along the seacoast, with sandy beaches, lots of pine trees, and brownish water. There are a lot more pine trees, and a number of lakes, some with new, thatched-roof resort hotels.
In Riga itself, we seem to approach from the south, up the river. Can see a giant three-legged concrete TV tower, should be a landmark, but not on our map. Later, see bridge and the river is running the right direction, see the big shopping mall just before we swing into the bus station (Autoosta). Figure we are in the right place, as shown on our map, so head for the terminus to get some money, get a pork sandwich and look for accommodation. At tourist office we had to wait a while until an Asian tourist sorted out his missing "constellation", possibly a cruise boat he was booked on, but couldn't find, which was about to leave fairly soon. The girl who did accommodation tried the Posh Hostel, price right but no rooms. Said we would look at one or two star hotels - she didn't offer any but suggested apartments, either 50 Lats in the Old Town, or 35 in the new. Said we would look at the 50, but not available, so settled for the 35, with the owner(?) prepared to take us there. This raised a warning flag, as this generally means that the rooms are further out than they admit, but we are encouraged by the presence of a tram line close to it.
We find our host double parked right outside the big shopping centre, so get in quickly and away into fairly heavy traffic. Our host gives us a running commentary in passable English, but we would rather he paid more attention to the traffic. The number of the buildings on our street seemed to be moving very slowly toward 83, and we were into a sort of no-mans-land outside one of their two ice hockey stadiums, by the time we reached our apartment.
The building is a 4-storey walkup, probably 100 years old, not bad looking, but the entry and stairwell is strictly 3rd world -dark, grey walls, dirty, bare concrete steps, piping along the walls, ill fitting back door, making a mockery of the push button combination front door lock.
The apartment was the first on the first floor, with two locks on the door, and another door just inside. The flat itself wasn't too bad, although the bed looked a bit like a sofa bed, the shower was on a foot high pedestal for drainage, and the stove was a single gas burner. The overall conclusion was we could handle it. Couldn't do one day up front, one later, so took the risk and paid 70 lats up front, and arranged to advise him if we wanted an extra day.
After settling in, we found that the toilet was a pump type, similar to one we encountered in France a few year ago. Are used where you cannot intrude into the space below, and make a hell of a racket, a bit like an insinkerator, half pump, half grinder. When we have a shower, find another problem. The shower cabinet has been installed beside the kitchen sink, near the large window facing the street, which has no curtains or blinds, so that when you hop out of the shower, you are in full-view of the street!
Get our act together, almost forget to lock up, as we are used to self-locking hotel doors. Head across to the next street to get the #6 tram into town, paying the conductress 0.20 Lats each. We rode right into town to the terminus but stayed on, not knowing that the first stop was a long way back the way we came. Looked at the canal and park, then headed into the old town to look and take photos.


Not at first impressed, as the buildings are larger and more formal than those in Tallinn, and the straight streets are not as cute. We take a few photos before the day's "photos out the window of the bus" catches up, and we run out of power.

DP is looking for food, so we check out the prices at the sidewalk cafes. They aren't too bad, but the recommended Alus Seta restaurant is nearby, with good stroganoff and cream chicken with excellent baked potatoes, beer and cider at a reasonable price. Get one last photo out of the battery for our meal. Walk around the streets, then back home by the streets of the new town, getting supplies on the way. It is a long way, and the streets are pretty empty around our place when we get there. Get the combination lock to work second try, and glad to get up the dark stairway and into the flat without incident.


DP spends time sorting out paperwork, MP reads Dame Margot till after midnight. Walking 12 kms
Tuesday 14 June Riga (Latvia)
No alarm today, as nothing specific to do, just take it easy. Make our own breakfast from our store, plus the milk and yoghurt bought last night. Not too bad for a change, but you wouldn't want it every day. MP thinks home-made lattes are pretty flash. Decide to walk away from town for a way. Don't see much that is new, except another large church. Catch the #6 tram all the way into town, getting out at the right stop this time. Decide we want an extra day at the apartment, so, rather than lay out 5 bucks on a phone card for one local call, go to the tourist information and get them to ring. Our man, Ivor, want his extra money up front, which seem pretty pushy, but maybe it is easier to rent a semi-refurbished flat in a run-down building a long way out of town than we think. Pay up, look at the possibilities of buses to Vilnius, and end up booking the 10.10am Eurobus, on Thursday, as we looked like running out of things to do. Having determined our leaving time, went back to the tourist man to tell him we would be leaving the key with him at 9.30, then looked around the extensive markets near the bus and train station, buy tomatoes, bread and a tiny section of a salami, to the disgust/amusement of the vendor lady. Walk through the big, strangely-named Stocklands department store to the old town, catching up on the photos we missed last night,

having another good lunch at Alus Seta -another dose of baked potatoes, stroganoff, and cider.
Walked around more, until we had seen most things, with DP having a short sleep on the grass slope near the sunken cathedral while MP did a half hour walk to check out the cable-stayed bridge. Found it in need of a good descale and repaint. Caught the #11 tram home, we thought, but it did a radical left turn just before our stop, and took us a long way north before stopping. This wasn't all bad, as it took us past the market mentioned by our host on the drive to our digs. This market was more-or-less concealed behind shops and street buildings, but was also quite extensive,with open air stalls as well as large specialty halls. Didn't need anything, but now knew it was right near us, and full of goodies.
Have a domestic night in with our market-bought supplies, catching up on TV and washing.
Wednesday 15 June Riga (Latvia)
Today we decide to go to the beach, against our better judgment, as what we've seen of the Gulf of Finland doesn't look very flash, but it's supposedly a local attraction, so thought we'd better have a look. Got the tram into town, then get lost in the market area before finding the train station. Takes a while to find the right minibus station. Find that the two long lines belong to our bus routes, and takes 30 minute to get to the head of the queue, to find we are not in the queue we thought, but one that will probably have to do. Almost kept off the bus at the last minute by a born-to-rule type with three kids, who came from no-where to push in in front of us. Hard to complain when you don't know the exact circumstances, and the locals cop it. Surprised to see 10 year old girls sitting while old farts remained standing. The only view for the first 20 minutes was of the top of the bus, before getting a seat. DP spent a fair bit of time sitting on the floor so she could see.
When you are looking at the roof, it is pretty hard to see where you should be getting out, but a lot got out at what seemed to be a water park, and the next stop, actually marked on the bus stop sign, was ours, Majori.
It had a flash train station across the road, and a newly developed pedestrian precinct, and was pedaling hard along the road to resort status, with outdoor cafes, gambling casinos, souvenir shops, together with the remnants of tourism of yesteryear, with large, wooden hotels and guest houses, some nicely restored, others in a state of elegant decay. Along the edge of the strip of forest which bordered the beach were the residences of the Riga affluent class, some new, others still under construction.
The weather was fine and sunny, with only a light breeze, but we were still getting into and out of our warm coats, depending on breeze and shade, while the locals were getting round in skimpy summer outfits. The beach itself was nice enough, if you like a strip of flat sand, backed by pine forest, with kiosks, beer tents and change room, fronting a shallow, flat, tea-coloured sea, about the temperature of the local beer.


A toe dipped in was sufficient to confirm we were right in not bringing our swimmers.
Walked the beach to make sure there were no surprises, visited a loo, unusual for it's being free. It also appeared that some of the loos on the beach may have been free, but DP couldn't work out how to open them.
Took another minibus the 20kms back to town, this time going over the new bridge, and getting out at the north end of town. Had a better look at the central park and canal, which are really nice, climbing the bastion hill, checking out the freedom monument, and walking back home via the northern streets and the market, where we bought more supplies, including some pretty good cherries for 2.2 Lats, which seemed a lot, but at $A5.30 a kilo, (which is quite cheap by Australian standards) is an indication of the economical mindset you get when budget travelling.
After resting at home, we decided we were not tired or full enough, so about 9pm went looking for internet along our tram street, which we found, but decided we didn't need to use. Continued into town through the southern streets, and changed some roubles so we will have enough for another meal at Alus Seta. As is generally the case, we went to the well one time too many, and found a different menu, with the excellent baked potato off. More walking through town, then back on the tram to the apartment we are starting to get used to. We no longer freak out walking up the dark, dingy, unlit stairs to our unlit corridor and double-bolted, fort Knox door. Another good sleep as we're getting used to the bed, and MP is taking the sloping side, and it is dead quiet outside once the hoons go to bed. Walking 15kms
Thursday 16 June Riga(Latvia)- Vilnius (Lithuania)
Fairly leisurely morning. Get to tram stop only to see a plastic bag hanging on the sign, so Murray decides to walk in one stop, towing our bags, so we can catch either the 6 or 11 tram. Find it a long walk, but get the #11. Get a funny look at our bags from the conductress, but pay the same, and get out OK at the terminus. Remember to drop off the keys without incident, and look for the Eurobus sign without luck. MP rechecks with Eurobus, gets the right platform number, and told that the seat numbers of 4 and 7 are correct, and we would have no trouble swapping to get 2 together, but still no indication that we are in the right place. MP takes the opportunity to walk across into the old town to change our excess lats for Litas, but gets a total knock-back at the first exchange. Keeps going a fair distance, keeping one eye on the watch and finds a very businesslike exchange bureau which can change anything into something else, including coins and torn or soiled US dollars. Took a while to do the calculations and work out the best use of the available Lats.
We are keeping our eye out for Eurobus vehicles, but are not entirely surprised when a Tolk bus pulls into platform 2 at 10 am. There is only a driver doing all the work. Wave our tickets in front of him, and it seems OK, so check the bags and get on. With some people having Eurobus tickets, some with other tickets, some with no tickets, DP assumes that allocated eating is not on, and grabs the two front seats. Our position looks good, as one of our seats, #4 is in his "office", and we manage to retain the seats all the way, although there is little to see that is novel (still LOTS of green fields)


and there is a lot of glare from the road that you don't get from further back. The trip is incident free, no border problems, and an interesting stop just after the border at a road house which also has a rural museum and small zoo, with bears, a bison , possibly European, peacocks and ostriches. There was also an interesting collection of farm implement and horse drawn sleighs (troikas?)
Lithuania also gained its independence from the Soviets in 1991. It has a population of 3.5 million, over 80% of whom are Lithuanian. Vilnius, with a population of 600,000, is the capital, and it also has a baroque Old Town which is also a Unesco World Heritage site (if this all sounds pretty similar to the other main cities in the Baltic, it's because it IS - all very nice, but they're getting a bit repetitious),
Coming into Vilnius, there are a lot of new high rise apartments, wide streets, and trolleybus lines. Further in, we drop into the river valley, and cross the river into a long tunnel. Various people are getting out, and we try to work out where we are in relation to the old town, contemplating getting off too. Fortunately, we don't come to a decision, and hang in all the way to the bus station. We cannot get tourist info at the bus station, and are directed to the train station, where we have to sort out the various train info, external tourist info, and internal, finally getting to the girl who handles accommodation. She is quite good, and has a list of possible hotels. She recommended the Mikotel, as the most appropriate, but when it was full, tried the slightly upmarket Mikotel Comfort, which could do a twin room for 160 Litu, considerably cheaper than the 240 to 310 Litu shown on the list. We said we'd take it, paid our 6 Litu fee out of our small stash from Riga, and followed the directions given, to the hotel which was supposed to be only 200 metres away. We had 3 maps, and all conflicted. Nearly got to the right spot, then looked at street names, and went back, and ended up walking a full circle. Saw a hotel sign with a Viesbutis sign next to it. Suffered from a conflict with "vestibule" and didn't notice the Mikotel sign over the top. Asked a local woman, who pointed us over the hill and far away. Luckily we ignored her, and finally had a good look at the Mikotel pamphlet, which had the map showing both the Mikotel and Mikotel Comfort locations. We were only 100 metres out, but had walked a kilometer to find it.
The reception already had a fax from the tourist info, booked us in, could wait for money, so we went to our room, which was very nice indeed, in spite of a long hallway inside the room required because of its corner location, and the diagonal placing of the beds in the room.
Maybe the comparison with the Riga apartment helped, but we were very impressed with the standard of the room, and the pristine sheets and bed linen.
Luxuriated in our new surroundings for a while, had a good, hot, non-strange shower, then got organised to check out the town.
We had suspected that the tourist info may have been a little generous in saying the hotel was in the Old Town, but at the first intersection we found a narrow street full of old houses, and a large, old church, and the way into the old town proper. We headed downhill, past the town hall, major churches,


the main square, and into Pilles Gatve, the narrow street of restaurants and bars. The churches were particularly impressive although not in the multi-domed configuration we liked further north.

The main building material here seems to be clay bricks, and excellent decorative use was made of them. At the bottom of the hill, there was a large square and park around the main cathedral, which had an imposing, but not pretty, columned portico, and a dome at the back. They are building nearby a replica of the original Vilnius castle on a few foundations and a lot of imagination. From here we walked to the river, then back to the newly refurbished Gedimino Prospektas, a more modern street which was very well done, but so new and shiny it was too sterile. It needed more street life and outdoor cafes, not just all the big name luxury brands and stores. At this stage we are thinking of food, and hence money, but suddenly found ourselves in an ATM desert. Found a Cirrus, then a dead Visa Plus, but finally hit paydirt just short of the Savas Kampas restaurant we had chosen. Did the calculations, and decided to take out 650 litas (could have been more, as it turned out).
Decided to eat ethnic as usual, - potato pancakes with sour cream, borsch, herrings with sour cream and boiled fried potato, plus beer and cider. Not a bad combination for $A17 total. Back to our hotel for a good sleep, but a bit hot under the blanket doona. Walking 14 kms.
Friday 17 June Vilnius (Lithuania)
Breakfast is included, but nothing flash unless you really like frankfurters and ketchup on thin, hard bread, but enough to get by on. Today we are off to see the old capital at Trakai ( 28 kms away) with its spectacular castle located on an island in the lake. Find out that we get ticket on the bus, get a seat and head out through the more modern, Sovietski architecture areas. Take photos of the deteriorated condition of the tower blocks, and infrastructure.

Note that the buses, trolleys and trams here are a lot better than Russia. More green rural scenery on the way out, with a lot of purple vertically clustered flowers, possibly stocks in the fields.
Get out at the bus station. Have a look at the nearby market, and almost succumb to raspberries, but no-one is putting a price on them. Walk up the main road on the way clockwise around the peninsular, eventually finding the lakeside path, with the reeds and jetties typical of Scandinavian lakes, with colourful flat-bottomed wooden boats alongside or ashore. When we come to the narrowest part of the peninsular we can see the castle and island, and cut across to the restaurant and souvenir stall area. Take photos of the lake, castle, and a traditional flat bottomed, lug sailed barge, complete with lee boards and canvas sail.


Walk out to one bridge, across a small island, then to the bridge across to the castle. There are souvenir sellers, accordion players, and yacht spruikers laying in wait, but we avoid them, and walk clockwise around the castle, cutting through the moat between the two sections of the castle. Later we pay up and look at the castle, which has been well-restored from very little in the way of remains. There are some good photos of the ruins, and drawings of former glory. There are large tour groups in the small rooms, and it is impossible to get past them, so the visit isn't all that enjoyable, especially as there is no access to the outside of the castle for photos of the castle and lake. There appears to be a kitchen downstairs with no way to get into it, but it turns out to be a prop for a film. Later DP talks to student types delivering bags of hay to the castle, also for props.
After, we repair to the lakeside restaurant, take a seat and look at the menu, find it savage, and move to the cafe next door, run by the same outfit, but much cheaper. DP is developing a taste for the local champagne and herrings.
We walk along clockwise again. See signs for some sort of festival, which turns out to be the start of a mediaeval revival, with knaves, maids, knights and yeomen all dressed up, and colourful tents and banners, helped along by a large sound system and rock music. All this is taking place in the ruins of a castle similar to that on the island. We then walk across a floating bridge that probably predated the main bridge to the castle,



then walked back to the bus, just missing the 4 pm. Wait around for the 4.45, assuming that the subtitle d.d beside it meant working days. A flash bus with the right number turns up, unloads passengers, then disappears. While we are pondering the meaning of this, another, older bus parked in the yard starts up and swings in, also with the right number. We are outmaneuvered for the front seat by a wily boiler, but get the next row back so we can stare at the now over-familiar green landscape, but MP doesn't last all the way in, and nods off until we are right in town.
Back at the hotel, we take it easy before heading out for a feed in light rain, which causes us to hurry up indoors for another local cuisine effort. MP decides on another local beer, and because the previous one was pretty good, decides on the medium, half liter size. DP stays with the champagne. MP decides to have a go at the famous Zepelins, in the full serve size, rather than the half. Turns out you get two egg-shaped flour dough patties, about the size of a medium avocado, and the taste of half cooked bread, with a stuffing which is acceptable but not exciting.


One would have been more than enough, especially as DP wasn't much help. The beer was equally disappointing- room temperature, dark, cloudy, with a strong hops taste. MP was forced to check that this was not the "beer soup"


on the line below in the menu. Neither the beer, nor the zepelins photographed well. DP fared a bit better with her choice, but we didn't feel like tipping generously after.
After dinner, we walked to the east side of the town on the way back to the hotel, getting as far as the Old City walls


and open area beyond. The walls were occupied by groups of young people, drinking and looking for action, so we kept clear, walking up the hill, then through some pretty chancy back streets to the hotel.
Get a better night's sleep by taking the blankets out of the doona and using the bedspread as a blanket.
Walking 15.7 km
Saturday 18 June Vilnius
Nothing too strenuous on the agenda today. After breakfast, we walk to the wall we avoided last night for a better look now that it's deserted, then cut down through the town to the lower level along the Vilnia creek, then use the bridge to cross it into the Uzupis artist's independent republic, made a lot of in the guidebook, but a bit of a non-event. The borders were not, or are not manned, but the area along the creek looked a bit like the hippy areas of Chesky Kromlov, and there are a lot of abandoned courtyard areas, plus others which look like they could have squatters living there. It is pretty quiet, even for Saturday morning, so keep walking around in a big circle along Uzupio and Kriviu streets to the main road, and an unidentifiable new, institutional building, through hilly suburbs in the process of gentrification.
The main road takes us back to the river, where we walk out on the bridge to take a look at rowers training on the river. Get surprised by an aggressive beggar, but ignore him and, when we are sure he has gone, walk along the river bank to where the Vilnia creek empties into the river. There is a platform out over the river and from it we can see a couple of pump-up canoes and an inflatable catamaran with two rucksack on it. The craft seem to be rafted up, so we hang around to see what is happening. A crowd emerges from the side street, consisting of mediaeval characters, press, photographers, and strays like us. The catamaran has an Olympic flag, and a local flag and name, so we assume it is something to do with raising funds for Olympic Teams.
From here, we walk up the hill to the fort over the town, take video panoramas, then back down to walk past the cathedral to the river, then along to the bridge which has the four Sovietski groups of statues at the end - workers, students, farmers, soldiers. We then walk up to the Gedimino Prospekt mall. Take photos of the impressively restored buildings, then make our way toward the famous (?) Frank Zappa statue, but get sidetracked by very flash internet/business bureau, run by a cluey young woman who could put the photos on CD, put the photos and the diary onto the computer DP was using to internet, all for the cost of 13 Lt for about 2 hours, internet included. This was good, as we needed a rest and a loo stop. We continued on to find Frank's head on a pole in a park, then headed back to our first restaurant selection for more cider, potato pancakes, and cold beetroot soup, all carefully priced, as we paid our hotel bill in cash, and were running out of Lits, and didn't want to be stuck with too many, leaving the Baltic.
In the late evening, we walk down to the cathedral, looking for exchange on the way to increase our depleted funds. Can't find any, so after buying bread, try a new way home, down narrow streets,

through courtyards, and end up at the Macdonalds near the station, for a strawberry shake and chips, leaving just enough to get us to the airport. Get into the bread with cheese and butter left over from our breakfasts. Get to bed late with the alarm set for a departure. Walking 19 kms
Sunday 19 June Vilnius - London
Pack and breakfast, then haul bags up to the station. Wait 40 minutes for the #1 bus to arrive, get on and can't find how to pay. Think at first we should have bought tickets, but hear a coin clang on metal. An old woman up the front has put a coin into a hinged chute to pay the driver, who passes back a ticket. We do likewise, get two tickets for 2 Lits, cancel them, and settle back for the 20 minute trip to the airport, where the bus pulls right up to the terminal. Have to fight our way out past reluctant movers, and walk up the car ramp into the departures lounge which is being renovated, and looks like a construction site.
There is not much sign of BA at first, so settle down to do diary until they turn up. Book in OK, get window seats and frequent flier acknowledgement. Through security with all loose items off. MP still trips something, but is frisked and let through. A loud woman is complaining because her suitcase has a corkscrew, and will be sent to checked luggage. We do more diary, then get the bus out to the 737 plane. Look like getting away on time when the captain announces that the air traffic control computer is down at Gatwick, and there may be a 2 hour delay, but he has us in the plane in case there is a reprieve. The plane is full of young poms who have been in Vilnius for a good time, probably sex tourism, and there is a lot of banter about what one can do for 2 hours, and should they break out the rude magazines. Fortunately, we got the OK after only 15 minutes.
On the way out of Vilnius, we passed directly over the Trakai castle, but can only just see it under the plane. The countryside looked good from the air - lots of lakes and woods. We track over the land nearly all the way to the English channel, with woods and fields all the way, together with towns, making radiating patterns of fields out from them. We cross the coast over the east Anglia peninsular. Can see the shallow mud bank and trails of mud left by ships almost touching bottom. The pattern of fields is quite different over England, with jagged lines of hedge instead of straight fence lines. Can see compact towns and villages, and occasional large manor houses. The passengers applaud the rough landing, then leave their seats almost as soon as the plane leaves the runway, in true 3rd world style, and have to be ordered back to sit down.
Immigration queues are very long. We figure we are in the non-EU queue, but it is further across, with only half a dozen people, as even the non-English speaking Lithuanians are EU members. Not often we get a break like this, but still have to wait for bags. Get split up in a toilet visit, MP goes down the long ramp, can't find DP, and halfway back up when meets DP coming down.
There is another scrum at the carousel, with people crowded right up to the belt so no-one else can get a go, but our bags come out early and we pick them up from the end of the belt, and pass through customs with no obvious observation. Outside, we look for the coffee shop where we are to meet our House exchange people, but are intercepted by them. We have a short conversation, they hand over the keys and instructions, and head off to continue Father's Day celebrations.
We get £200 at the ATM, look for the bus, as it is the cheapest option, and we have plenty of time, but are told by a woman with a strong Dutch accent that all the buses are booked for today, and we should go to South Terminal for the trains. Get the shuttle to the South Terminal, and check out the departures board, to find a train leaving in 5 minutes. There is a long queue at the ticket window, so DP lines up while MP tries to work out the ticket machine. The first 4 pages on the touch screen are all the high-priced Gatwick Express, but persistence shows Southern Railway options, and we buy two tickets for a mere £9 each, leaving in 20 minutes. Downstairs to find it. The indicator board shows our train going all the way to Victoria, but the PA system is talking about a train on our platform which has problems requiring changes. A train turns up on our platform 8 minutes early. Figure this is the one they are talking about, so don't get on, but are told by someone that this is it and the electronic sign on it also shows Victoria, so hop on, only to find that there are almost no seats. MP parks in the foyer with the bags, and other large bags making it pretty cosy, while DP finds a seat for her and the two daypacks inside.
The trip is pretty smooth, AC not too cold, and by halfway, MP has a seat. Seem to pass through mainly built-up areas, but can see some gentlemen's residences back from the tracks.
At Victoria, decide that as its such a nice day (in fact it was 33 degrees, and the hottest June day since 1976, when we were also here) we will walk the 3 or 4 kms to our apartment. Use the wide passage to get the bags through, have a rest and a look around, and reorganise our gear for long distance hauling, and set off for Barbican via Buckingham Palace and the Mall. Just outside Victoria, we try to remember where we stayed just here 30 years ago, but it is a bit vague. Security around the palace is pretty low key, and no problems with baggage. Take photos, see a lot of sub-continent types in the streets and parks. It is very hot and we stick to the shade, in sharp contrast to our arrival in January 1976 when we couldn't believe how cold it was.
People are sitting in the spray from the fountains in Trafalgar Square, and we are feeling hot by the time we get to the MacDonald's on the Strand. They have run out of Strawberry Shakes, so enjoy the toilets and air conditioning, and carry on. The novelty of walking through London has worn off on DP, and she is happy to get to Charterhouse Street, only to find it is a long street, and the Square is right up the far end.
Don't have to use our key card, as there are people coming and going. Locate our studio, and move in. Check out the view from the ninth floor roof and the pool and basic gym facilities in the basement, and try to sort out the cryptic coin operation of the washing machines and dryers in the basement. Have a meal from the provisions left by our hosts.
DP takes a punt on how the laundry works (£1 per wash), and does a full wash, which dries pretty well in the record high temperatures. Couldn't wait to give our clothes a good wash in a machine, as they become quite grey after bening washed for seven weeks in hand basins.. However they come out of the machine even greyer than they went in, as unfortunately Murray's grey pants ran over everything!
Did another disassembly of doonas, and had a hot night's sleep, particularly as there is no fan of any sort in the apartment.
This is the second home exchange we've done (the first was in Raiatea, French Polynesia). The owners had stayed in our place in Balmain over twelve months ago, and it's now our turn. The apartment is in a very central position, right near Barbican tube. However there are a few things lacking which you'd normally expect in someone's home (due to the fact that it is used as a city pad, with their home in Surrey). The first thing that becomes apparent is that there is NO TABLE - not even a fold-up one. The main room is furnished with two sofas which make up into double beds, but there is nowhere for us to eat, or use as a desk. Finally solve this problem by using the ironing board with our raincoat over it. Also there is no telephone, which becomes VERY inconvenient when we find we can't send SMS's to local phones with our mobiles (can still send to Australian mobiles, wherever they are in the world). We have to resort to using a nearby public phone, which someone has obviously used to relieve themself, judging by the smell. We also find that although you can buy phonecards that cost about 3.5 pence per minute to ring Australia, or England, from a private phone, when we use them from a public phone, we are charged an additional 20p or more per minute. The apartment also has no computer or internet connection, all things you expect in a modern home. However, overall, we're happy with our swap, and definitely beats paying for accommodation.
Here endeth this stage of the journey, to be followed by 9 days of relaxing and preparing for the Silk Road.
Walking 10 kms (most of these dragging our bags!)