Northern Europe Travel Diary Part One

16.12. 20:12
My time in Vilnius was short, but even though I was lacking sleep after my adventurous arrival, I walked to explore the city centre after work. It’s a lovely little place with beautiful buildings.

As my accommodation was quite a distance outside the centre and I didn’t have much time, I used public transport. They had an app to buy tickets and get routes, which made it very easy. The next day, I wanted to see the Museum of Occupation and Freedom Fights before I left. It was very interesting and I would urge anyone to visit it if you go to Vilnius. It is a former KGB headquarters and prison and gives a lot of information. They also put a display Putin in one of the cells.

Afterwards, I started the drive to Latvia and was curious about what the border would be like. I definitely expected a quick process as it was European Union now, but I was still surprised. There wasn’t any border at all. There was just a sign next to the street saying ‘Latvia’. The only other time I had a crossing like this was when I drove from Slovenia to Hungary. I got a bit sad, to be honest, because I realised that this was my second to last border crossing by car. And while the end of my road trip might come closer, I feel like my journey is just beginning.

Yesterday, I woke up on Riga, Latvia, and didn’t have to work. So right after breakfast, I made my way to the city centre. Although it was a 45-minute walk, I was glad I didn’t take public transport because I stumbled across a few interesting things. I walked through a beautiful park and later passed another park, in which people were cross-country skiing.

This was so weird to be because in Austria I’ve only seen cross-country skiing in skiing areas, which are mostly in the mountains and never in a city centre. On the other side, there was the Riga football school and a match going on. The interesting part about it was that they played outside. The synthetic turf was surrounded by metres of snow. It looked funny. In Austria, we only play football inside during winter. Then, I crossed a bridge with a breathtaking view before arriving at my first stop, the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation.

Yesterday, when I looked up museums, I was already surprised how many there were in Riga. This one had three floors and was mainly about the restoration of old collections. It wasn’t what I expected, but I was already confused because there were three history museums. The second one was the Latvian War Museum, and this one exceeded my expectations. It was huge and had a lot to offer. The cellar was devoted to medical staff and tools during war, while the rest of the floors were divided into different eras. It explained a lot about Latvias history and I was very surprised to learn that this country has been occupied till 1990. It also had a very thorough explanation of the First World War. But what left the biggest impression on me were the words they chose on the explanations. There were a few sentences that left a mark because I really feel them:

‘(…) it was important not to lose humanity and not to become an insensitive, narrow-minded war machine.’

‘Can the ambitions and interests of political elites justify millions of destroyed and lost lives?’

‘Only by remembering the heavy price we paid for losing our liberty, we can retain a sense of its true value. Let’s cherish and keep this in our minds because the things we take for granted are most threatened.’

I want to congratulate the person responsible for these writings. There’s nothing to add, because they say everything.

I spent a lot of time at these museums, and I don’t know why, but my feet started shaking, as they usually only do, when I take a very challenging hike. So, instead of going to the third museum, I went back to the accommodation. I did a few more stops, though, and knew I had another full day left to explore Riga.

21.12. 10:43
It’s been a while. Right now, I’m sitting in the airport lounge in Tallin, one of the perks of my Diner’s Club credit card.

I’ve been busy in the past few days, but I only have one more day of work tomorrow before having two weeks off over the Christmas period. Riga has made an impression on me. On my last day there, I just took a walk and had a pretty quiet day that was very needed after all my border adventures. On Monday, I had to work and afterwards drove to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The border experience was nice. Again, there was only a sign next to the street, letting you know that now you’re in a different country. On this road trip, I noticed a few benefits of the European Union, and quick and easy borders are one of them. One thing that worried me a little was my car. I needed to get rid of it before my flight to Norway. I already researched a few car dealers before my arrival. Tuesday, before work, I drove to the first one, but they told me that they only buy Estonian cars. I didn’t have too much time before work, so before I would drive to every dealer, I decided to go back to my accommodation and call them. Another perk of being in the European Union is that phone calls are the same price as at home. I called the second dealer, and he thought I was a scammer and hung up the phone. The third one, though, was very nice and told me to come by after work. I did, and they looked at everything and told me they would call me later to give me a price. They did, but they informed me that they needed a document which I left home and to keep the registration document I had with me. I knew I usually needed that to unregister my car in Austria, so I called my insurance guy. He said we could work something out, so I called my sister to look for the other document at home. I asked the dealer if it was ok to send it via mail, and he agreed. I was supposed to come the following day after work, which would also be my last night in Estonia. I didn’t expect for everything to take so much time and was a little sad that I hadn’t really seen anything yet. I wanted to make the most of my time, so although it was already evening, I decided to walk into the city centre. I did not regret it. At one point, I came to a viewing point, and the view at night was absolutely incredible.

Knowing that the sea was right there as well increased my wish to see it during daylight. So, I came back the following morning before work. I also walked to a smaller viewing point right at the sea and loved it there.

It wasn’t as cold in Estonia as I thought it would be, which gave me a good feeling for Iceland. After work, it was time to sell my car, but I couldn’t find the registration document I had with me anymore. I looked everywhere but it was gone. It made me a bit anxious, but I was hoping for the best and drove to the dealer anyway. He did make a copy the day before, but he told me that he needed it and asked if I could get another one. Again, I called my insurance guy, and what can I say other than he is a life saver. He told me he would get me a new one and send it via mail as well. With all the document trouble, the dealer and I agreed that he would transfer the money when he receives the documents. We really got along well and talked a lot about life. When I told him that I’m about to move to Spain, he told me that he lived there during the winter and only was in Estonia for three weeks. What a coincidence! We made a contract, and then I took down my plates and went to a post office to send them to Austria. I was so relieved, my car was gone. Probably a little bit sentimental as well because it brought me safely through all the countries. Now, my journey continues via plane.