St. Petersburg is built along a series of rivers and canals. Bridges connect all of the "islands" to each other, and every night from 1:30 am to 4:30 am, the bridges open to allow boats through. This pretty much means that if you are out partying on an island and your hotel is not located there, you either have to cab home before 1:30 or wait until after 4:30.
Friday night, our first night, 8 of us sat down to a nice dinner on a rooftop terrace around 9:30. Three hours, several bottles of wine, and a bottle of vodka later, we decided to head out to one of the trendy bars here that happens to have an equally trendy nightclub across the street. Both were, of course, not on the island we were staying on. Seeing as how we didn't even get in cabs until almost 1:00, it probably goes without saying that it was a pretty long night.
In the interest of preserving what is left of our dignity (and livers), I probably shouldn't get into too many details. I will say that while Katie and I dragged ourselves up around 1:00 to sleep walk through the Hermitage, most of the boys didn't make it out of the hotel until we repeated this whole adventure the next night (although, thankfully, on a somewhat smaller scale.). Good times in St. Petersburg. And for any guys thinking of coming - the women here are SO much better looking than the men. Stay tuned for pictures.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Helsinki
Yesterday morning we took an early ferry to Helsinki, Finland. It's a port city (and Finland's capital) with about half a million people. It definitely had a different feel than the Baltics. Although it wasn't that cold yet - everything about it felt more arctic. We had a full day and night and most major attractions were walking distance in the central city including the main cathedral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suurkirkko_Helsinki_maaliskuu_2002_IMG_0629.JPG and our personal favorite this church carved right into the rock http://www.muuka.com/finnishpumpkin/churches/helsinki/chteh/church_chteh.html.
Another highlight was the main market which was right along the water. One of our best meals at the trip was probably the fresh salmon paella we got off the street for only 5 Euros.
Night time entertainment was a bit of a bust. The frozen "Arctic Bar" that was all the talk in the tourist pamplets turned out to be more like a large walk-in freezer. Then we either went to the wrong place, or nightlife doesn't really pick up until midnight (or a bit of both) since we ended up at a pretty low-key bar before calling it a night to get some sleep before our 7am train to St. Petersburg.
The group is now up to 12 people - so unsure if I'll actually keep writing this blog since things will undoubtably be busier.
Another highlight was the main market which was right along the water. One of our best meals at the trip was probably the fresh salmon paella we got off the street for only 5 Euros.
Night time entertainment was a bit of a bust. The frozen "Arctic Bar" that was all the talk in the tourist pamplets turned out to be more like a large walk-in freezer. Then we either went to the wrong place, or nightlife doesn't really pick up until midnight (or a bit of both) since we ended up at a pretty low-key bar before calling it a night to get some sleep before our 7am train to St. Petersburg.
The group is now up to 12 people - so unsure if I'll actually keep writing this blog since things will undoubtably be busier.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Mind the 11 Month Winter
Thank God we spent the afternoon in Riga. When we arrived in Parnu (known for Estonia's most beautiful beaches and bustling nightlife) it was completely deserted. As in, we could only find one hotel that was even open. The receptionist informed us that it is only busy here July. Someone is going to have to explain to me how the "summer season business model" is sustainable if winter is 11 months long. Needless to say, we don't have much to write. The highlight of the night after dinner was teaching Katie how to drive stick around the deserted streets. Tomorrow we're off to Finland for hopefully more exciting adventures including an arctic bar and mass quantities of alcohol.
Lunch in Latvia
Our planned destination with our new set of wheels was Parnu, a popular beach town on the Southern coast of Estonia. However, once we started driving we realized that the Latvia border was only 20 minutes father away, and Riga, the capital of Latvia was only another hour and a half. Why not lunch in Latvia?
With no maps or information of any type we drove across the border. We assumed that if Riga was anything like Tallinn we could find the tourist/old town area by driving toward the steeples. Turns out Riga (which we later read is known as "the big boy of the Baltics") was a almost double the size of Tallinn and it did take us several attempts to figure out exactly where to drive. (Unfortunately, asking random people as we drove by didn't expedite the process.)
We celebrated our arrival with lunch and a beer and then set out to explore. Unlike Tallinn, the walls surrounding Riga were torn down in 1863 so the city had less of the Disney World feel and more of a Western European feel. The cobblestone streets were intertwined with the modern streets and locals were wandering around with tourists. In 4 hours we managed to secure a map and hit all of the "must sees" including a trip up the tower of the tallest church for some aerial views of the city. At first impression we both liked Riga more than Tallinn - but it's quite possible that we were influenced by the fact that it was 75 and sunny outside.
With no maps or information of any type we drove across the border. We assumed that if Riga was anything like Tallinn we could find the tourist/old town area by driving toward the steeples. Turns out Riga (which we later read is known as "the big boy of the Baltics") was a almost double the size of Tallinn and it did take us several attempts to figure out exactly where to drive. (Unfortunately, asking random people as we drove by didn't expedite the process.)
We celebrated our arrival with lunch and a beer and then set out to explore. Unlike Tallinn, the walls surrounding Riga were torn down in 1863 so the city had less of the Disney World feel and more of a Western European feel. The cobblestone streets were intertwined with the modern streets and locals were wandering around with tourists. In 4 hours we managed to secure a map and hit all of the "must sees" including a trip up the tower of the tallest church for some aerial views of the city. At first impression we both liked Riga more than Tallinn - but it's quite possible that we were influenced by the fact that it was 75 and sunny outside.
YesCar
I woke up this morning and my butt informed me that I fulfilled my biking mileage quota for 2009. We were told that to rent a car all we needed to do was walk in the souvenir shop. So we walked inside and the woman assembling trinkets pointed to a table between a couple piles of sweaters that had a phone on it. After pushing the button labeled "press here" a man came on the line an informed us that a car would be waiting outside our hotel at 9.
True to his word, YesCar was parked in the front of our hotel at 9. No passport, credit cards, or deposit required. He wrote down my name and license number and said "Now you have car. Have fun." The only scary thing was that he stayed to watch me reverse parallel park out if a space and it's been a while since I drove a stick shift.
True to his word, YesCar was parked in the front of our hotel at 9. No passport, credit cards, or deposit required. He wrote down my name and license number and said "Now you have car. Have fun." The only scary thing was that he stayed to watch me reverse parallel park out if a space and it's been a while since I drove a stick shift.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Beyond the City Walls
This morning we decided to venture outside the city walls and explore the Estonian countryside. We rented bikes for the day and took a 30 mile tour - of which 10 miles in the forest were decidedly less ideal on the ass for biking. We checked the following things off our list.
- Lahemaa National Park: Estonia's largest national park. We think it is only called a national park to trick tourists like us into visiting. It seemed no different than the rest of the countryside scattered with farms and small villages
- Estonia's largest waterfall: At 8 meters high it wasn't quite as impressive as Niagara Falls, but it was close second
- The largest manor in Estonia: Much to Katie's dismay this was enough to get me singing the Sound of Music as we ran around the house
- Boulder Counting: According to our guide book we apparently rode right by "the most beautiful group of boulders" in Estonia but we did count 2,743 along the coast
- Kasmu: "Estonia's cutest village"- more like a small grouping of 10 homes
Just when we thought we had seen it all, the clouds parted and it warmed up to a balmy 85 degrees. An oasis appeared in the middle of the forest complete with a beach, a waterside, and a flock of flying squirrels circling overhead.
A Tour of Old Town
When we landed yesterday around noon it was overcast and probably only 60 degrees out - looks like our visits to the beaches might not pan out exactly as expected. We decided against napping and powered through a day of site seeing in old town - which dates back to the 14th century and is still surrounded by much of the original defensive wall.
Wandering the winding cobblestone streets took us past numerous churches, cafes, hotels, and souvenir shops. In all honesty we both felt a little like we were walking around Epcot Center with the only locals present dressed in medieval gear working stands along the street sides. (Slightly reminiscent of Sienna for those of you who have been there.) Given that Tallinn is home to almost half of Estonia's population and it took us only about 4 hours to wander every street in Old Town, we have to assume that most of the non-tourist activity is outside the walls.
Too tired to venture out, we had our first authentic Estonian dinner. Well, the food was authentic, odd church like music played throughout the candlelit restaurant which was supposed to set a medieval atmosphere (no jousting???). The wait staff were all dressed in traditional clothes and served us a feast of wild boar, sour kraut, hearing, salmon, onion jam, berries, and some cheese like substance. Think we made it until 9pm before passing out.
Wandering the winding cobblestone streets took us past numerous churches, cafes, hotels, and souvenir shops. In all honesty we both felt a little like we were walking around Epcot Center with the only locals present dressed in medieval gear working stands along the street sides. (Slightly reminiscent of Sienna for those of you who have been there.) Given that Tallinn is home to almost half of Estonia's population and it took us only about 4 hours to wander every street in Old Town, we have to assume that most of the non-tourist activity is outside the walls.
Too tired to venture out, we had our first authentic Estonian dinner. Well, the food was authentic, odd church like music played throughout the candlelit restaurant which was supposed to set a medieval atmosphere (no jousting???). The wait staff were all dressed in traditional clothes and served us a feast of wild boar, sour kraut, hearing, salmon, onion jam, berries, and some cheese like substance. Think we made it until 9pm before passing out.
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