This morning, I woke up at 0625 in my room at the Panorama Hotel (Vilnius) and spent time reading, working puzzles and finishing Duolingo exercises. After some research online, I made reservations (via LUX Express again) to travel from Vilnius to Tallinn by bus. Sadly, there were no viable train options and airfare was much more expensive, with silly intermediate stops. On the other hand, this bus trip cost less than each of the "one city" trips I’d taken before with the bus line. However, there was no businesses class available. As I packed up my bags, I took stock of the room quality. Normally, I wouldn't care about the two twin bed setup (it was cheaper, after all) but I didn't like that there were no outlets on the "bed side" of the room. There was a big fan (in lieu of AC, apparently) that kept me from getting hot (pro) but there was also an ominous warning about not drinking the water because it is “cleansed” (con). Even though there was a breakfast buffet available, I decided not to have any food before departing the hotel (0820). With rain falling intermittently (temps in the 40s), any elaborate plans I had to explore the Lithuanian countryside were curtailed. Instead, I decided to focus on a few points of interest near the Old Town. My first stop was at The Bastion, which was located on a hill on the south end of the old city (along the wall). Even with the misty conditions, I could still see several landmarks I’d visited the previous day. A bit later, I realized I’d walked along the outer side of the Gate/Wall the day before. Following dog-walkers on a "trail" through the woods, I made my way to the southwestern side of town. I passed an "American School" and ended up in an area with cobblestones. After wandering through some quiet Vilnius neighborhood on the fringes of the city, I reached the Rasos Cemetery, which was reportedly the oldest consecrated burial site in the area. As such, it had many historic stones and buildings. Some of the most impressive, though, were related to the Polish soldiers who died fighting for/over Vilnius during the chaotic early years of Twentieth Century. In a tribute to the uncertainties about “who should own Vilnius?”, the area changed hands about half a dozen times in two years and only became truly Lithuanian after the Nazis killed three Polish guards near the start of World War II. If I read the signage correctly, the heart of the Polish national leader from this era is buried with the men. Despite Soviet attempts to bulldoze over the graves (to build a highway), the Polish and Lithuanian governments jointly honor the soldiers. This collaboration seems to require that many of the stones display a ribbon denoting the nationality of the person buried there. Also of note in the cemetery were famous statesmen and some of the patriots executed in the 1860s after trying to promote freedom. I’d already seen information about them (yesterday) at the summit of the Gedidimas Hill (where they’d been secretly buried originally). Altogether, this was a cemetery for heroes... Returning to the Old City by a similar route I'd followed earlier in the morning. Along the way, I encountered buses connected to cables (for power) and passed the American School again. Nearby, I found (at 0935) the Subacias Lookout, which allowed for a panoramic view of most of the city areas where I’d been walking yesterday. In the same area, I saw lots of "wolf looking" dogs - they seem to be quite popular. Meanwhile, I made my way back towards the southeastern side of the city. My final stop of the morning was at a covered shopping hall called the (Indoor) Hale Market, where I marveled at all the fresh meats, cheeses and fresh produce. Feeling hungry by then, I bought empanadas (1000) and then started looking (in nearby buildings) for more food. I soon called off the search, though, and ended up heading back to my hotel. By the time I reached my room, my pedometer said I'd walked four miles in two hours. Since the temperatures had risen inside the building, I spent time relaxing with the large (and hard to operate) window open. At 1045, I left the hotel for the last time and walked towards the bus station. Along the way, I broke a long-standing rule when I stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. As I've normally seen when I'm traveling overseas, the place was very crowded. Fortunately, I was able to use a kiosk to order and then ate a rather large lunch of familiar items. After that, I walked the rest of the way to the queue area for my bus. With the time I had left, I picked up snacks at a little shop inside the terminal (1120) and then walked to bus stall to wait under a roof. It was still raining and temps had dropped back into the 40s so I actually donned my coat (first time in a while that I've needed it). I was on the bus (Line 949) by 1145 and found lots of other English speakers, including two Mormon missionaries. I discovered that there actually was a business class area but saw no one sitting there when we left the main bus station. It was only then that I realized we'd be stopping in several other places along the "express" route. Before leaving Vilnius, though, we stopped at the Panorama Mall (where my original hotel had been located) and lots more people got onboard (business class filling up). Unfortunately, there were lots of sick passengers... When we got going again (1225), the bus driver read the welcome and instructions in several language and I was pleased to have an empty seat next to me. While driving towards Riga, we avoided the town of Panevezys by using the Bypass (unlike my previous visit). We reached the Latvian border at 1455 and then got stuck behind (very slow) trucks. Other buses passed ours whenever they thought they could (yikes). The rain continued throughout the drive and I passed the time by listening to music and watching movies on the bus entertainment system. We arrived in (drier) Riga at 1600 and parked at the Arrivals Area of the Main Bus Terminal soon afterwards. Almost everyone got off the bus and I watched the driver cleaning up the seats. For a moment, I thought I might be alone during the drive to Tallinn. We waited in that parking spot for about 20 minutes but then repositioned to the Departures Area. Only then did I have any indication of the timeline for the rest of our drive - a sign showed a 1640 departure. During this time, I had a chance to resolve a WiFi limitation the bus had (it wouldn't let me download apps). My phone FB app had uninstalled for some reason but I was able to restore it with a completely different WiFi (shopping district) network. Meanwhile, the bus filled up and someone sat next to me. Even worse, though, the person in front of me reclined his seat and hit my kneecaps... We departed Riga on time but then it took almost 30 minutes to get out of the city - we had to contend with traffic, construction and cobblestones. Meanwhile, it started raining again. At 1740, I ate my dinner (empanadas) and I tried to ignore the behavior of the other drivers - a Flixbus actually passed us on a narrow, two lane stretch of road (!!!). But then our driver did the same thing and I realized there was some kind of order to the chaos. The lady next to me started a phone conversation that seemed to go on and on but I resisted the urge to blurt out any comments. We crossed the Estonia border at 1835 and then started following a big line of traffic. At 1925, we stopped briefly (five minutes) at the Parnu Station but were soon heading north again. During the next leg, I made reservations for the evening (hotel) and following day (ferry). When she finally got off the phone, I ended up talking to the older lady next to me (Theodora or “Dora”). It turned out that she was a radio and TV person from Estonia. Strangely, though, she had many more stories about Vienna, Austria and "their love of funeral". She also had very strong ideas about me visiting other sites in Estonia - she explained that she grew up on a tiny peninsula on big island on west of the Estonian mainland. Much like other independence minded places I've visited, this town elected its own “King” and maintains a rather humorous relationship with the Estonian government. The bus eventually stopped at a place that the map called "Vanu" (was it a store of some kind?) on the outskirts of Tallinn. When we finally arrived at the main bus station of Tallinn (2115), it was still raining. By then, Dora had suggested we share a cab (since she lived near the port and my hotel was in that direction). However, she changed her mind when we retrieved our bags and, instead, suggested we walk "to stretch our legs after hours on the bus." I agreed with this logic and, despite the sprinkles, we walked down some side streets and alleyways. In the process, we cut off a corner of the tram route. At one point, Dora suddenly told me she had reached her home and gestured to a nearby tram stop. I said goodbye to her there and then boarded Tram 2 towards the Ferry Port. By the time I realized where I actually was, I had only gone through two stops. Fortunately, I was able to get off the tram easily and then walked to my hotel, the Park Inn (by Radisson). By 2145, I'd checked in and headed to my room. I started to think about going out again but then concluded this was a bad idea - I was tired and damp. Instead, I did some reading and Duolingo and then watched movies until bedtime (2330). It’s been a nice week of visiting Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn but the time has come for me to make my way back towards the USA. Very glad I made this trip to the Baltic States!
