As most of you have noticed, we've taken a bit of a hiatus from the blog. Mostly that was due to internet availability - our last post was from Stockholm where our hotel had a free-access computer connected to a high speed internet connection. After that, we traveled to Estonia, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulan-Bator, Beijing, and back to Hong Kong. Although we occasionally found a coffee shop with free wi-fi, after Stockholm we didn't have access to any proper computers with internet access. All we had with us was our iPod Touch, which we were able to use to check email and post facebook updates, but which couldn't be used to upload pictures or new blog posts. Now that we're back in Hong Kong (we got back on July 26), we're in a new apartment (which is so new that there's still no internet installed). We don't expect to get internet at home for another month or so, so we have to do these posts from work. We'll do our best to get caught up on our blogging, but it may take awhile.
As we traveled, we did try to document our experiences in a journal. It was a nice way to process our thoughts after a day of touring (although it took some self-discipline to write daily). Here I am writing a journal entry in "Tivoli" Amusement Park in Copenhagen. I remember this moment fondly: we'd just finished a fantastic picnic supper, and were enjoying sitting in the fresh air and listening to live music (in Danish).
Just after we finished writing that last post (on Scandinavia), we checked out of our hotel, put on our packs, and got on the Metro for the city harbor. Although we had entered Sweden on a train, we were leaving on a ferry. We had booked a "superior outside cabin" on the "M/S Victoria," a cruise-ferry that spent its life plying the waters of the Baltic Sea: from Stockholm to Tallinn, Estonia and back.
Of the three ships that we took this trip, it was the only time that we had a cabin with windows. My reasoning was that this would be the prettiest of the sea journeys.
The views from the window of our cabin were excellent, but as the window didn't open (for safety reasons, I'm sure), we decided to enjoy our self-catered dinner on the deck. We had splurged a bit at a grocery store in Stockholm - we bought smoked salmon, "kräckerbröd" (a Swedish cracker bread), cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and some pre-made profiteroles that were very good (especially when combined with those stellar Swedish strawberries!).
I (Brad) especially enjoyed the ubiquity of sparkling water in Scandinavia and Russia. Here I am washing down my salmon with some refreshing club soda. It's the most pretentious of all waters, don't you agree?
During the first several hours of our trip from Stockholm, we were struck by the similarity of the Swedish coastline to the Pacific Northwest. For those of you who have visited Puget Sound or the coast of British Columbia, Sweden will be more than a little familiar to you.
Our "cruise ferry" also had a casino and a nightclub on board. Both seemed seedy (and reeked of cigarette smoke) from the start of the trip. We decided not to hang around long enough to see if hordes of drunken holidaymakers improved the ambiance (we ran into several of these individuals the next morning, which was a little scary).
You know your music career is at its peak when you're playing on an Estonian ferry.
We arrived in Tallinn (Estonia's capital) at around 10AM, after about 16 hours at sea. We both agreed that ferries were the best way to travel. Not only do you get unlimited baggage, but your transportation costs also cover a night's lodging!
Tallinn was a pleasant surprise for both of us. We had read that it was the "best preserved medieval city in Europe." We both felt that statement to be an accurate reflection of what we found in Tallinn. We were only in the country for about 36 hours, and didn't leave the old city during that time, so we can't comment on Estonia overall. Tallinn, however, is lovely and definitely worth a couple of days (especially if you're already in the neighborhood).
I have a hard time accounting for the time we spent in Tallinn. We wandered around a lot. The old city is a maze of narrow cobblestone alleyways, and we got very enjoyably lost on more than one occasion. We found Tallinn to be more affordable than Sweden and Denmark had been, although the abundance of western tourists seemed to drive prices up (we discovered that Tallinn was on the Baltic Cruise circuit, and from about 10AM until dinnertime, the old city was filled with retirees from Canada and the US). The upside to this was that we had the city pretty much to ourselves in the mornings and evenings.
We took a walking tour of the tops of the city walls, and Emily found the medieval bathroom. I have a feeling that she wouldn't have laughed as hard if she'd known what sort of bathrooms we were to encounter in Siberia and Mongolia!
One of the great surprises of the trip was how often we found ourselves eating at McDonald's. Usually, we're fairly adventurous eaters (and we love to sample local delicacies). However, when faced with the realities of Northern European prices, McDonald's gets much more attractive. Nowhere was this more true than Moscow (where Starbucks charges over eight bucks US for a latte). Being so well-trod by cruise-ship-based-retirees who had come to set fire to their Social Security checks, Tallinn was pricey. We had to employ some of the cheap-eating tricks that we'd learned in Scandinavia: self-cater from grocery stores, fill a backpack with food at your hotel's free breakfast buffet (but make sure the waiter isn't looking), and don't be too snobby to eat from street vendors (or in a pinch: the golden arches).
After only one night in Tallinn, we set off on yet another ferry for St. Petersburg. We'll write more about that trip in our next post. If you'd like to comment on this post, here's a question for you: what's the most expensive meal you've ever had to buy? (I don't mean at a fancy restaurant on a special occasion - I'm talking about a normal meal that you knew was ludicrously overpriced but for one reason or another, you paid for it anyway) Share your stories of extortion with us!
As we traveled, we did try to document our experiences in a journal. It was a nice way to process our thoughts after a day of touring (although it took some self-discipline to write daily). Here I am writing a journal entry in "Tivoli" Amusement Park in Copenhagen. I remember this moment fondly: we'd just finished a fantastic picnic supper, and were enjoying sitting in the fresh air and listening to live music (in Danish).
Just after we finished writing that last post (on Scandinavia), we checked out of our hotel, put on our packs, and got on the Metro for the city harbor. Although we had entered Sweden on a train, we were leaving on a ferry. We had booked a "superior outside cabin" on the "M/S Victoria," a cruise-ferry that spent its life plying the waters of the Baltic Sea: from Stockholm to Tallinn, Estonia and back.
Of the three ships that we took this trip, it was the only time that we had a cabin with windows. My reasoning was that this would be the prettiest of the sea journeys.
The views from the window of our cabin were excellent, but as the window didn't open (for safety reasons, I'm sure), we decided to enjoy our self-catered dinner on the deck. We had splurged a bit at a grocery store in Stockholm - we bought smoked salmon, "kräckerbröd" (a Swedish cracker bread), cream cheese, fresh strawberries, and some pre-made profiteroles that were very good (especially when combined with those stellar Swedish strawberries!).
I (Brad) especially enjoyed the ubiquity of sparkling water in Scandinavia and Russia. Here I am washing down my salmon with some refreshing club soda. It's the most pretentious of all waters, don't you agree?
During the first several hours of our trip from Stockholm, we were struck by the similarity of the Swedish coastline to the Pacific Northwest. For those of you who have visited Puget Sound or the coast of British Columbia, Sweden will be more than a little familiar to you.
Our "cruise ferry" also had a casino and a nightclub on board. Both seemed seedy (and reeked of cigarette smoke) from the start of the trip. We decided not to hang around long enough to see if hordes of drunken holidaymakers improved the ambiance (we ran into several of these individuals the next morning, which was a little scary).
You know your music career is at its peak when you're playing on an Estonian ferry.
We arrived in Tallinn (Estonia's capital) at around 10AM, after about 16 hours at sea. We both agreed that ferries were the best way to travel. Not only do you get unlimited baggage, but your transportation costs also cover a night's lodging!
Tallinn was a pleasant surprise for both of us. We had read that it was the "best preserved medieval city in Europe." We both felt that statement to be an accurate reflection of what we found in Tallinn. We were only in the country for about 36 hours, and didn't leave the old city during that time, so we can't comment on Estonia overall. Tallinn, however, is lovely and definitely worth a couple of days (especially if you're already in the neighborhood).
I have a hard time accounting for the time we spent in Tallinn. We wandered around a lot. The old city is a maze of narrow cobblestone alleyways, and we got very enjoyably lost on more than one occasion. We found Tallinn to be more affordable than Sweden and Denmark had been, although the abundance of western tourists seemed to drive prices up (we discovered that Tallinn was on the Baltic Cruise circuit, and from about 10AM until dinnertime, the old city was filled with retirees from Canada and the US). The upside to this was that we had the city pretty much to ourselves in the mornings and evenings.
We took a walking tour of the tops of the city walls, and Emily found the medieval bathroom. I have a feeling that she wouldn't have laughed as hard if she'd known what sort of bathrooms we were to encounter in Siberia and Mongolia!
One of the great surprises of the trip was how often we found ourselves eating at McDonald's. Usually, we're fairly adventurous eaters (and we love to sample local delicacies). However, when faced with the realities of Northern European prices, McDonald's gets much more attractive. Nowhere was this more true than Moscow (where Starbucks charges over eight bucks US for a latte). Being so well-trod by cruise-ship-based-retirees who had come to set fire to their Social Security checks, Tallinn was pricey. We had to employ some of the cheap-eating tricks that we'd learned in Scandinavia: self-cater from grocery stores, fill a backpack with food at your hotel's free breakfast buffet (but make sure the waiter isn't looking), and don't be too snobby to eat from street vendors (or in a pinch: the golden arches).
After only one night in Tallinn, we set off on yet another ferry for St. Petersburg. We'll write more about that trip in our next post. If you'd like to comment on this post, here's a question for you: what's the most expensive meal you've ever had to buy? (I don't mean at a fancy restaurant on a special occasion - I'm talking about a normal meal that you knew was ludicrously overpriced but for one reason or another, you paid for it anyway) Share your stories of extortion with us!
LOVE all the pictures. Looks like you guys had a great trip. Can't wait to hear all about it soon!
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