During the last 26ish hours, I’ve moved completely out of the comfortable, cruise-ship mindset and into the free-wheeling, nomadic life of a man with no planned itinerary. Unlike the rest of this vacation, I didn’t make a single reservation for this whole coming week. Other than the destinations (Baltic Republics) and luggage I was carrying, I planned to leave everything to chance. So far, so good! While still onboard "Cinderella", I stayed on Sweden time when I awoke. As a result, it was 0615 by the time I opened my eyes and I did some reading, puzzles and Duolingo. At 0645, I headed to the breakfast buffet venue so I could get the food I'd purchased before we departed Stockholm. The venue, which had reserved eating times (mine was at 0700), already had a queue at the entrance when I arrived. Fortunately, I still managed to be near the front of the line. In the ensuing chaos, I was very glad that I'd already paid in advance because I go to walk inside immediately when the doors opened (Note: it was also cheaper to pre-pay). Even so, I still had to navigate a madhouse to reach the different parts of the buffet. All the lines procee3ded in the same direction towards the same "dead end" (where the drinks were located). As a result, people were practically pushing each other just to move around. I managed to find some familiar looking items for my meal and then moved as far away from the crowd as I could, looking for a quieter table near the bow of the ship. Fortunately, I found one and sat down with a pretty view out the window. My food tasted good and I was tempted to try to get more - unfortunately, more people had started arriving for the next (0730) seating. So, I departed (0730) and went back to my cabin to rest. I took care of some administrative items (e.g., made time change to Finland and repacked my bags). At times, I was tempted to go out of my room to explore the decks, hoping to see some views of Helsinki. However, I resisted the urge so I could avoid a scenario where I wasn't ready when the "docking" calls started. In any case, the time to exit the ship came quickly. At about 1010, I headed back to Deck 7 so I could get in line for the exit. There were other folks with the same idea but I still managed to be near the front of the queue when the exit doors opened at 1020. Along with a mass of humanity, we then had to walk through a long series of passageways and stairs/escalators. Since I'd been in the Katajonokan Terminal of Helsinki before, I went to the "Departures" area immediately after leaving the "Arrivals" area. I started checking the ferry schedule and storage options but immediately learned that there were no Viking Line departures to Tallinn until very late. With a little bit of internet research, I figured out that there were some earlier ships (with Tallink) to Estonia that departed from the West Terminal. Figuring this was a better option than staying put and waiting, I decided to try to reach the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel (where I'd stayed in April) to store one of my bags. When I checked the taxi stand, however, I ended up in a competition among the drivers. They initially started at €35 for the rather short ride but I whittled them down (by walking away from each offer until another one came along) to €20. The ride to the Radisson Blu Plaza was pretty quick because the driver used the narrow (and scary) tram track routes. We ultimately arrived at the hotel, unscathed, at 1055 and I was quickly able to drop one of my bags in their storage room. During this window, I took advantage of the hotel's WiFi and made some room reservations for a return stay at their hotel when I returned to Helsinki again (May 14 & 15). I also bought a ticket on a Tallink vessel (departing at 1330) to Tallinn. Feeling good about how the rest of the trip framework was fleshing out, I gathered up my remaining items (one backpack and my daypack) and went back outside. By then (1115), the temps were at 50 F and the sun was brightly shining overhead. I walked to Tram station and got on Tram 7. From the map I read at that stop, this tram was supposed to take me to the West Ferry Terminal. However, this ended up being a mistake because of track construction and subsequent tram rerouting. It was soon clear (from the route we'd taken and the long pause at a station that was not on the route I'd photographed) that something wasn't right. When I asked the driver about the route, he told me that all of the routes in the area had been redirected due to track construction near the West Ferry Terminal. He said I could change to another tram when we reached the Central Railway Station. I took a photo of a different map that showed the correct tram numbers and routes. When Tram 7 started moving again we passed "Three Blacksmith's" statue (I didn't know what it was at the time). Due to my tight schedule and the uncertainty of how much longer I'd need to get to the Terminal, I gave up the idea of going to Mass while in Helsinki. After riding a full circuit on Tram 7, I then had to wait for about 10 more minutes before I could switch to Tram 9T (the correct one). During this time, I had an interesting conversation with a fellow tourist who reminded me it was Mother’s Day. He said he knew I was an American - guess my "disguises" aren't very effective... I was finally headed in the right direction by noon. By that point, I had to start avoiding the use of my cell phone because the battery was getting very low. When I arrived at the West Terminal (1220), I went inside to rest until it was time to board my ferry (1255). While waiting, I met some folks from the Hudson Valley. Once I finally got onboard the Tallink “Megastar”, I bought some lunch and a local (Estonian) beer from a little market I found. Boarding closed at 1310 and the ship started moving at 1315 (15 minutes early). During our transit, I was able to use the ship's Internet and found a charging port that would work for as long as I needed it. After eating (late) lunch (1500), I went exploring around the ship. We docked in Tallinn at 1525 - while waiting to get off the ferry, I went online and bought a business class bus ticket to Riga. I quickly got off the ship after that and was waiting at the bus slot by 1540. The weather in Estonia was overcast but the clouds seemed high enough that rain was unlikely. The LUX Express Bus (Line 14) arrived shortly after I did and I met the nice bus driver. Since I was the only person trying to board the bus at the Ferry Terminal, I had my choice of seats in Business Class. At 1600, we drove to the Tallinn Bus Station and picked up many other passengers that were waiting there (1615). Even after that, the Business Class was still empty. We left downtown at 1625 and began driving across the countryside of central Estonia. The route took us on back roads, through construction, into huge farm fields and under a "big sky." I spent time watching movies but also enjoyed looking out the window. At 1810, we stopped in the town of Parnu but were on our way again within five minutes. I was able to follow our progress on a moving map on the multimedia display and, after a few hours driving across the pretty countryside of Estonia, we crossed the border into Latvia (1905). At around that time, I noticed two kinds of stork in estuaries to the west. Almost immediately after we got into the new country, the road dramatically turned into a straight and flat surface - it was almost like a train track! I started to get even better views of the Baltic Sea, including some beautiful scenes with the sun setting over the water. Recently, I received the results of a MtDNA test (it traces the genetic origins of my maternal line since this type of DNA is only passed down by the mother). From our family history, I knew my mom had roots in Scandinavia. The results, though, pointed at the eastern side of the Baltic Sea and specifically at Lithuania and Latvia. You can understand, then, how interesting it was for me to think about how, like I did in Northern Ireland, I was bringing my family’s genes back to their ancestral home... There was coffee, tea and hot chocolate available for the passengers on the bus - it took a bit of trial and error to manage the process but I eventually got myself a cup. While operating the bathroom nearby, I was struck (not for the first time) on how much we as humans take for granted while trying to do simple, daily tasks. The impact of Human Factors (e.g., side of the road for cars to drive on, directions of doors opening, buttonology on appliances, etc.) on our lives is usually invisible until we enter a new area of the planet. I'm constantly amazed at the kinds of little things that are more difficult because I've taken their counterparts at home for granted for most of my life... The bus made good progress and we arrived in the vicinity of Riga (capital of Latvia) by 2030. After entering an area of cobblestoned streets, I decided that I was ready to make a reservation at a hotel. The bus driver had mentioned that there were a few stops to choose from but I wasn't exactly sure where they each were. So, it was kind of a surprise when we reached the first opportunity to get off - fortunately, I already had a nearby hotel queued up in my Booking.com app. The stop along the "Esplanade" in Riga was close to the Riga Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral, a beautiful church with golden domes on top. After grabbing my bag (2045), I walked to the hotel, the Radisson Old Town, I'd reserved at the last moment. When I entered the lobby (2055), I realized I'd hit the jackpot - not only did I end up in a comfy room overlooking a plaza and park in Riga’s Old Town, but I met a wonderful young (25ish) young hotel clerk who had a genuine love of his city. With room key in hand, I spent 15 minutes with Vidims - he made markings on a city map that indicated his favorite examples of architecture, a muffin shop, interesting churches and tour boat service. He also told me where to go for some good local beer and described two excursions away from Riga that I “should not miss.” By the time I went to my room, I felt like the passionate love that Vidims had showed for his hometown deserved an equally passionate tourist - I resolved to visit everything he’d recommended! After my gear was stashed in my room (2145), I departed the hotel (on foot) to visit two bars Vidims had recommended. At the first one, the Kwak Inn (a sort of Belgian Beer Hall), I ordered two beers I’d been told about - they were good! The walls of the bar were covered with Charlie Chaplin movies. During the time I was there, I struck up a conversation with the (young lady) bartender and got a feel for life in Riga. Other customers came and went but, over the course of the evening, I heard some very personal perspectives of what it was like to live in the Baltic Republics. The threat of Russia, which in the minds of all the people I’ve met, has never been far enough away - it is extremely palpable. And I might never have known that fact if I hadn’t left Finland... Hoping to try one of the Latvian food specialties Vidims had mentioned, I ordered some black garlic bread (with cheese sauce) from the nice bartender. The beers I tried went well with this selection. At 2320, I decided to try to visit the other bar that had been recommended, Two More Beers, but found that it had closed already. I made my way back to my and found Vadims in the lobby when I returned. I told him about my experiences and we ended up talking about the transportation I'd used to reach Riga. It sounds like I picked the better cruise lines (Viking & Tallink) and bus line (LUX Express) - I'm glad to know this. After wrapping up our conversation, I returned to my room and surfed the Internet for a little while, finally going to bed at 0100. As I drifted off to sleep, I considered how almost every decision I've made on this "backpacking trip" so far (including the choice of ferry to start things last night) was made on the fly within minutes of the next decision. And, while there are definitely faster ways to travel between cities over here, I’ve enjoyed watching the interesting scenery go by and interacting with the locals (bonus: there has been almost no one from the Western Hemisphere nearby). I’ve been trying is to avoid using my phone for anything other than reservations (and this kind of post) but it’s been hard with everything turning digital in this part of the world. Before this week started, I might have bet against myself with no plans in advance - it feels good to have made it this far! I’ve only got about a third of the stuff I'd brought for the cruise in my backpack right now so we’ll see how things go from here...
