Rebecca's Russian Adventure

The epic saga of Rebecca in foreign countries having adventures, learning Russian, and becoming a Secret Agent

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Presidential Palace

On one of our last days in Lithuania before Russia, we were leaving class when we happened upon a crowd outside the President's mansion.  The mansion is situated right across the street from the university.  We joined the crowd just in time to watch the President walk outside and deliver a speech.  She then began to sing the national songs with some school children.  Afterward she came down into the crowd and took a picture.  I was able to get in the back of the picture! Definitely a cool experience.  Not many people get a picture with a president!

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Fourth of July in Lithuania

Fourth of July is definitely one of my favorite holidays back home.  Fireworks, barbeque, and the pool, are all some of my favorite things about the holiday.  Sadly, in Lithuania, the Fourth of July is just another day.  My friend, Brittni and I decided to have some fun though and celebrate America with some milkshakes and American sodas, before heading back to prepare for our voyage to Russia.

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Exploring my Neighborhood

So one day I was very bored at my host's house.  I had finished my homework, but it was a weekday and too late to go out somewhere.  I decided that since, I hadn't actually walked around my neighborhood, I would explore the area.  I ended up walking around the apartment buildings for about 15 minutes before I saw some houses across the street behind a small forest area.  Because actually houses were a rarity where I was living, I walked over.  I began to walk through the woods, but stopped at a dead end.  I backtracked and walked along the road.  I found several more entrances but none lead where I wanted to go.  Finally I walked down below a bridge and found an interesting path. 

I walked for a while down the narrow path and finally came out in a clearing.  On either side of me were large meadows filled with flowers.  The flowers were the tallest I had ever seen.  Some were taller than I was. I continued to walk before I came upon a small, serene lake.  The view was beautiful.  I was rather surprised because I lived in a very urban area, and tucked away was this little lake oasis.  Definitely a pleasant surprise.  I stayed for a while, before heading back home to meet my host for dinner.

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Helsinki Part 2-Cruise and Bazaar

On our second day in Helsinki, we took a small boat tour around the islands.  It was beautiful, but also freezing cold.  This was in the middle of summer but probably around 40 degrees with the wind.  The cruise was great, because we got to see the outlying islands and the amazing views that come with touring the Baltic coast.

After the tour, we shopped around the bazaar that was on the coast.  They had some amazing handmade winter gear.  We also met some Finnish Peruvians.  Finland actually had the most cultural diversity out of all the places that I went.  We heard so many different languages in the city.  We also saw some churches and nice scenery as we explored.  What a beautiful city Helsinki was.

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Helsinki Part 1- Festival

For one of our long weekends, the girls of the group decided that instead of going to Poland with the boys, we wanted to go somewhere different.  And so after a search for affordable flights, we decided on Helsinki, Finland.  I have to say, we made a great decision.

Upon arrival to our hostel, we asked the secretary what they best places to go and see were.  Sadly, she informed us that we came on a bad weekend because the Mid Summer Festival was going on and that most people were out of town and the shops were closed.  The only thing really happening was a festival celebration on one of the islands.  We decided to take our chances and see what the festival was all about.

We took a bus to one of the islands that make up the city of Helsinki.  After walking across the bridge, we made our way through old ruins and homesteads on the island.  In between the sights were food stands and activities set up for the festival. 

At 10, the people gathered around the coast and watched as a huge bonfire was lit on the Baltic Sea.  After the singing of national songs, everyone went back to the forest where a dance floor was set up.  Everyone then proceded to dance.  Costumed dancers demonstrated the proper dances, but most people just danced with friends and family for fun.  The night ended with a historic national Finnish dance.  The dancing and festivities continued all night.  After dancing, we hopped on the giant swings that were set up and tried our hands at stilt walking.

We went home after several hours and the sun had still not set.  In fact, the entire weekend we were there, the sun never went down!

View of arrival in Helsinki, the city is on the coast and on several barrier islands

Part of historic structures on the island

May pole

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Pushkin House

While most know Alexander Pushkin as a Russian poet, he is also very popular and celebrated in Lithuania.  On one of our excursions we took a trip to the Pushkin House which belonged to the poet's youngest son Grigori and his wife Varvara.  The house is now a museum of sorts with artifacts belonging to Girgori as well as Alexander. 

The day we went was a day of celebration for the arts.  After touring the home, we sat outside and watched students perform music, poetry readings, and dramatic interpretations of poetry.  There was also a lake near by which we hiked around for a little while.

One of the coolest parts for me was to get to hear the history of Puhskin in Russian.  I have learned about him before in history classes, but I actually got to hear of him in the language he wrote/spoke in. 

Chapel and grave site of Gregori and Varvara

Lord's prayer in Russian

Grave of the family dog

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Trakai Part 2- Inside the Castle

So after paying our ticket fee, we were able to tour the castle on our own.  When you first walk in you enter into the courtyard.  From the courtyard you enter into smaller areas with rooms coming off the sides.  In each area there were usually 3-4 accessible levels. To go higher, you had to walk up tiny, steep staircases.  This was actually pretty scary and claustrophobic.  Each room usually had some artifacts and historical information set out like a museum so that you could learn about the history of the area. 

Pictures from the courtyard.  They had some stocks and a cage setup, so of course I took the opportunity to show off my acting skills.

The spiral staircase that led up to the next level.  Like I said, claustrophobic.

The throne room, what the local leader would have sat upon.

My best Katniss impression.  I actually wasn't half bad at shooting the bow and arrow, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Overall, our outing to Trakai was one of the most fun parts of my stay in Lithuania.  I am all about castle, and I finally got to see one! 

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Outing to Trakai Part 1- Town and Food

One of our excursions was to Trakai, but because of the fact that some of us were traveling to Russia, we were going to miss the trip.  So the girls of the group decided to take things into our own hands and make the journey ourselves.  The host brother of one of the girls offered to drive us and show us around. 

Trakai is about 30 minutes outside Vilnius.  It is famous for its lakes and the castle that sits in the middle.  The town is also famous for the Kibinai, a type of food similar to a pastie. 

My Kibinai- one was filled with pork and cheese, the other with chicken and mushrooms.  The outside tasted like a harder buttered crescent roll.  Very delicious!

On the pier in front of the castle. 

The walkway over the lake to the castle.  The castle is situated on an island in the middle of one of the lakes.  In all there are 5 lakes of varying size surrounding the area.  We also got to tour the tourist shops on the mainland and look for souvenirs.  They really play into the medieval thing, with fake swords, and bows and arrows for sale.

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Riga Leisure Time and Funny Pictures

So, Riga wasn't all tours and learning, we had some fun too!  I thought it might be fun to share some of my goofy pictures, and a couple interesting things we saw around the city!

For some reason, the weekend that we went their were tons of soldiers from all over Europe in the city.  This particular group is riding a beer bike, which is a vehicle which you pedal yourself.  You can keep drinking while riding, until you get to the point that you can't pedal anymore, that's when you have too get off.

This is just me, giving my best Stalin impression.  I think I nailed it.

Just me in my casual wear, enjoying the museum!

Well, I think that does my Latvian adventure, next up- Trakai- the famous castle in Lithuania!

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Riga- Nautical/History Museum Part 1

On our second day in Riga, we visited a museum of Naval History/Latvian History, which I found extremely interesting.  I love museums and this one had it all.  It started with more of the ancient history of the region and went forward to more modern times.  I'll let the pictures do the talking!

This is what remains of an old Viking boat.  It was huge! Behind the boat is a blown up map of Riga and the waters of the Baltic.

An ancient anchor

Severed hands from people who are no longer missing them.  Honestly, I thought this was one of the coolest parts of the museum.

This is actually a throne, as you can see the crown painted on the back of the chair.  While it is a beautiful piece of furniture, it struck me as odd.  It seems so plain, and not very ornate, which I would have expected.  Maybe royalty then were a little more practical.

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Riga Part 3 Old Town Tour- Interesting Buildings

While we are on our tour each day in Riga, we got to see and go inside many interesting buildings.  So the pictures below will be of some of the sights that we actually got to enter and look around in.

Amber store in Riga, even contained an amber museum.  The Baltic states are famous for their amber, and there are even some old legends about how the amber got there in the first place.

Old Church- the ceiling is so impressive, that there is a large mirror on the ground after walking in so that one can see the entire ceiling, as it can be impossible to see everything just by looking up.

This is the glass ceiling inside the Stock Exchange building

This was a popular chocolate store called Black Magic.  It had secret passageways and dimly lit hallways to add a spooky vibe, which wasn't hard as it was in a very old ornate building. 

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Riga- Part 2 Tour of Old Town

Continuing from before, here are some more pictures from the beautiful Riga Old Town.

This street above is famous for all of the old, beautiful buildings. They are all connected and each features different architecture

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Riga Part 1- Tour of Old Town

One of our coolest excursions was to Riga, Latvia.  Riga is the largest of the three Baltic capitals, the other two being Vilnius and Tallinn.  Riga is a port town on the Gulf of Riga which is part of the Baltic Sea.  We were there  over a weekend, so we had two days to tour and explore the city.  On both days we had a tour of Old Town, which was gorgeous! In order to not overwhelm, I plan on dividing the pictures and activities into a few posts, because there are so many awesome things that I want to show!

Where we started, the gardens in the heart of the city

Streets of Old Town

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Gogol Bordello Concert

So, I don't know how, but I completely forgot about one of the coolest things  I did on my trip.  At the beginning of our time in Vilnius, one of the other student's host told him about an awesome concert that was coming up, and that he could get us discounted tickets.  We all agreed and got tickets for Gogol Bordello.  I hadn't really heard of them before the trip, but quickly warmed up to their music.  It was strange but fun. 

Here is their most famous song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkkIwO_X4i4

Apparently they are kind of a big deal and whenever they come into town, the show is always packed.

I have to say the concert was insane.  The performances were impressive, by both Gogol Bordello and the openers, but the crowd was the best part.  Those people were crazy! I've been in some pretty intense shows, but they didn't hold a candle to these people.  Fortunately, we all came out alive! 

The openers, pictured above were Che Sudaka.  They were from several different Spanish speaking countries, which was really cool, because my Spanish skills came into play!

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I'm Back!

Now that I am back, my phone functions, I have reliable internet, and have uploaded my pictures to my computer.  I shall now proceed to tell about adventures during the second half of the trip! 

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Genocide/KGB Museum Excursion

So today, we went on an excursion to the Genocide Museum in Vilnius.  Even though it sounds morbid, and it is, I was very excited to go because of  my interest in spies and Cold War relations. 

After paying our entrance fee (3 ltl=$1.20) we headed into the exhibit.  It was really well done with artifacts, videos, and photos and chronicled the Soviet/Nazi history of Lithuania from 1940 onwards, focusing mostly on the fight to regain their freedom.  Sadly we weren't allowed to take pictures.  Moving upstairs, there was a whole room devoted to the KGB and their espionage tactics.  Again, super interesting. 

The most intense part was visiting the downstairs of the building which housed the old Soviet Prison.  The cells were tiny and it was almost impossible to imagine someone living there.  What was really scary, were the Padded Room and the Water Room.  The Padded Room was made to for people who either made too much noise with their crying, or had become too deranged from torture to put in a normal cell.  The Water Room was a room with a small raised pedestal in the middle, that was just big enough to stand on.  Guards would make a prisoner stand on the pedestal and then fill the room with ice cold water.  If the prisoner slipped they would be soaked with the water.  Keep in mind the cold winters and the fact that the prison was concrete with no heating.

Easily the most disturbing part was the Execution Room.  We had to walk down a flight of stairs onto a glass floor.  The floor was raised and see through, so that you could see the ground.  Under the glass were old prisoner belongings that were found in a prisoner burial ground.  When we finally entered the Execution Room, they had a video playing showing what actually happened to people during their execution.  I'll spare the details, but it was shocking to say the least. 

Even though it was a sad thing to witness, I think it was a very important experience.  The history is something that I feel like everyone should know and appreciate.  It is hard to imagine that this stuff happened, but it did, and we need to remember it. 

Here are the links to the museum website as well as the Wikipedia page about this period in Lithuania's history:

http://www.muziejai.lt/vilnius/genocido_auku_muziejus.en.htm#Expositions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lithuania#World_War_II_.281939.E2.80.9345.29

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Tallinn Adventures

So, at the last minute we got our second Friday off of school, so at lunch we all talked and decided to take a bus to Tallinn, Estonia and have a long weekend on the Baltic Sea!  It was an 8 hour bus ride from Vilnius to Tallinn, which seems long until you realize that in the time it would usually take me to get to the beach at home, I was in 3 different countries. 

We arrived at 6 in the morning and waited at a cafe before finding our hostel and exploring the city.  We visited a bazaar, a flea market, and saw the Prime Minister's house on the first day. 

On day 2, we trecked out to an old abandoned Soviet Prison on the coast of the Baltic Sea.  To say that this place was creepy would be an understatement.  It was not kept up, there was no tour of any kind, and there was no information of any kind.  You payed 3 Euros to enter, and then just walked around.  To be honest, I don't even know how safe it would be considered back home.  But it is easily one of the coolest things I have seen so far.  The cells were open to go inside.  Old prison debris was strewn about.  The old medical chambers still had a lot of the equipment.  It was crazy, but insanely awesome at the same time.  Also, for Walking Dead fans, it totally reminded me of the Prison.

After the prison, we walked down the coast and picnicked on the shore of the sea.  It was beautiful and the weather wasn't too cold.  All in all, a fantastic trip.  Tallinn was so tourist friendly, but also maintained its cultural history, which made for an awesome mini-vacation.