FROM THE GATES OF DAWN TO A COMPOSER’S HEART

We've been struggling to get a good WiFi signal on sites for the last week or so and this is the first time we have been able to update the blog.

As soon as we crossed the border into Latvia we remembered how dreadful the road surfaces are there.  Fortunately we were taking a fairly short and direct route and soon found ourselves on the much better Lithuanian roads on our way to the capital – Vilnius.

Vilnius is another city that suffered a great deal in WW2 and then endured years of Soviet oppression.  It is struggling to recover but it is an uphill task.  It is very much a “lived-in” city with old apartment blocks cheek-by-jowl with countless churches and expensive clothes shops.

We entered what is left of the Old Town by the “Gates of Dawn” ...

 Vilnius - Gates of Dawn and Chapel of the Blessed Mary

... above which is a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  She looks down serenely on the town from a painting which is reputed to have worked many healing miracles.

Vilnius - Chapel of the Blessed Mary

There has been a flourishing Jewish quarter in the city for a very long time (it used to be known as the Jerusalem of the North) and during WW2 it became two enclosed ghettos housing over 40,000 people, mostly intellectuals, the sick and those unable to work.   Between 1941 and 1943 they were almost all marched 10 km out of the city to Paneriai and killed.  The Gaon house of prayer, a famous library of Strašūnas and Synagogue buildings were then destroyed during the Soviet occupation.  The place is marked by a bust of an 18^th century Jewish sage who could recite the entire Talmud (Jewish Law) by the age of six.

Vilnius - Gaon Elijahu Ben Shlomo Zalman

Not far away is the old Soviet KGB building which previously housed the German Gestapo.  It is now the Museum of Genocide Victims and the names of many of the Lithuanian people who were tortured and killed there are inscribed on the walls.

Vilnius - Museum of Genocide Victims (ex KGB Building)

Churches varied from the almost grotesquely ornate to the beautifully simple in style.  The Cathedral’s Classical design is rather unusual ...

Vilnius - The Cathedral

... and in a side chapel dedicated to St Casimir, Patron Saint of Vilnius, there were several interesting sculptures including this one ...

Vilnius - The Cathedral St Casimir's Chape

... while outside a statue of the 24^th century Grand Duke Gediminus, legendary founder of the city, stands guard.

Vilnius - Gediminas

A few kilometres from Vilnius, is the lovely little town of Trakai, now a very popular tourist destination.  The only real attraction, apart from the lakes that surround the town on three sides, is the fairytale, 15^th century, island castle.  We still can’t get used to medieval castles being built from brick!

Trakai - Island Castle

We stayed on a site right by the lake, equipped with an interesting sauna. (This area is very popular with the Finns so many of the campsites has saunas)

Trakai - Campsite Sauna

Then we were off back into Poland.  Here are some of the best main roads and motorways we have ever found in our travels but also some of the worst, pot-holed, rutted roads anywhere.  In Warsaw we stayed at a somewhat run-down city campsite from which we were able to cycle into the city centre where one of the first buildings we saw is known locally as “Stalin’s Wedding Cake” – the Palace of Culture and Science - it was a “gift” from Stalin to the Polish people. 

 Warsaw - Stalin's Wedding Cake

The clock was installed in 2000 and for two years it was the highest clock tower in the world.  For many it remains a lasting symbol of the years of Soviet oppression.

Little of the Old Town survived WW2 but some of it has been carefully restored. 

Warsaw - Old Town Square

In the centre of the Old Town Square is one of many statues of a mermaid holding a sword – a popular symbol of Warsaw.  There is a legend that she was captured by a wicked showman who thought people would pay to see her.  She was rescued by a young man and promised to return to defend the people of Warsaw whenever they were in trouble.

 Warsaw - Mermaid

Palaces have been restored ...

Warsaw - Island Palace in Lazienki Park

... and the town walls rebuilt.

Warsaw - Old Town Walls

The Polish people are deeply religious so the number and variety of churches came as no surprise.  The magnificent ceiling in St Ann’s Church was especially spectacular:

Warsaw - St Ann's Church

A poignant reminder of Nazi cruelty is a memorial to Dr Henryk Goldszmidt, a doctor, author, teacher and child-care specialist who was sent to the death camp at Treblinka and died there in 1942 with the children in his care.

Warsaw - Memorial to Dr Henryk Goldszmidt

Another remarkable memorial is to the Warsaw Uprising in 1944

Warsaw - Warsaw Uprising Memorial

With the Russian Army having reached the outskirts of Warsaw the Polish Government in Exile in London ordered the Home Army in Warsaw to rise against the Germans.  They expected the Russian Army to support them but they did not do so.  After a valiant but unequal struggle against massive German forces the Home Army were forced to surrender on 2^nd October 1944.  During the fighting about 40,000 Polish soldiers and 180,000 civilians died or were wounded.

Two of Warsaw’s most famous inhabitants were Marie Curie who discovered the radioactive elements Radium and Polonium.  Although she spent most of her life in Paris she was born in this house ...

Warsaw - Birthplace of Marie Curie

... and the composer Frederic Chopin whose memorial is in Łazienki Park. 

Warsaw - Frederik Chopin

Although Chopin also lived much of his life and died and was buried in Paris it was his wish that his heart be buried in free Poland.  His wish was carried out and his heart is buried in the Holy Cross Church here in Warsaw.

If we were disappointed by Vilnius, Warsaw exceeded our expectations.  In spite of the ever presence of police and security guards and the constant sound of police and ambulance sirens, there is a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere.  For most people here life is not yet easy but hopes are high and things do seem to be improving.

Poznan – We were told that Poznan was a very beautiful city.  There are certainly plenty of interesting sculptures, churches and other old buildings with the Old Market Square at their heart.

 Poznan - Old Market Square

The Old Market Square, surrounded by old merchants' houses, is a very lively place with street cafés and live entertainment.  Its most impressive building is the Old Town Hall ...

Poznan - Old Town Hall

... inside which is an amazing vaulted ceiling ...

Poznan - Old Town Hall

... and an interesting display of paintings, photographs and artefacts giving glimpses of life in the city in days gone by.  What do you suppose this is?  (The answer is at the end of the blog.)

 Poznan - From Display in Old Town Hall

There are also some ugly new buildings along with some well designed ones that fit into their surroundings without pretending to be something they are not.  The new Fire Station is one example, reflecting the lines of the old town walls of which very little remains. 

 Poznan - Fire Station

Here, as throughout our travels, we found monuments to those who gave their lives in the struggle for political freedom.  This monument is to those who died in demonstrations, starting in 1956, against the Communist rule.

 Poznan - June 1956 Monument

On the banks of the river we found this ...

 Poznan - TV Alfresco

... and weren’t sure if it is a modern sculpture or a regular meeting place for some of the city’s homeless people!

The old Citadel is now a public park obviously loved and well used by the local people.  A Sunday afternoon stroll there found us face-to-face with German tanks – not another invasion but an open air military museum! 

Poznań - Citadel Park Museum of Armaments

There were many other vehicles, aircraft and even some Russian rockets to be seen.

Poznań - Citadel Park Museum of Armaments

There are also many sculptures in the park.  One of the strangest is this one of 112 walking figures by Magdalena Abakanowicz.

Poznań - Citadel Park - Walking Figures

And we caught a glimpse of the local wild-life.

Poznań - Citadel Park - Red Squirrel

Poznan marked the end of our tour of the Baltic States and Poland.  It has been a fascinating journey and we have learnt a lot about the people, their history and culture as well as seeing lots of beautiful (and some ugly) sights. 

What did we enjoy most?  The glorious weather, empty roads, lovely little villages with wooden houses, interesting architecture in some of the towns, the vast range of delicious smoked fish and meats and the variety of different breads especially in Estonia.

What will we not miss?  The dreadful road surfaces in Latvia and Poland, the uncertainty of what the speed limit was in certain places and most of all, the mosquitoes!!

We are returning now to the UK to catch up with family and friends and to get the van serviced, MOT tested etc.  After Christmas we will be off again on another adventure but we have not yet decided where to go, so look out for a blog update in January. 

We hope you all have a wonderful, happy and peaceful Chistmas.

The item from the display in the Old Town Hall is an early key-less typewriter.

ELK SOUP AND SAND CAVES

Tallinn - Old Town viewed from Toompea Hill

There has been a settlement at what is now Tallinn for at least four and a half thousand years!  Like most places in the Baltic countries it has been fought over and changed hands many times.  It suffered badly in WW2 , especially with heavy Russian bombing in 1944.  It was not improved by the years of Soviet occupation when it was developed as a major industrial port and became the home for many thousands of Russians.  Since independence in 1991 much of the Old Town has been carefully restored and interestingly designed new buildings erected outside the walls.

Tallinn St Catherine's Passage in the Old Town

The Old Town is not a tourist museum but a vibrant centre with historic buildings, restaurants, Government offices and businesses existing side by side in the narrow cobbled lanes surrounded by well restored sections of the city walls.

Tallinn City Walls

Knitwear was on sale everywhere and several shops had manikins, like this one, displaying them outside their doors.

Tallinn - a typical  manikin

We had delicious elk soup and forest meat patties in a tiny cafe in a corner of the town hall.  It was rather dark being lit only by candles and had a very interesting toilet!  (Rather darker than it appears in the photo!)

Tallinn - toilet in Town Hall Cafe

Just outside the city walls is a poignant memorial called “Broken Line” commemorating one of the worst European maritime disasters – the sinking of the ferry SS Estonia on 28^th September 1994. 

Tallin - Memorial to those who died in the ferry disaster 28-09-1994

To this day nobody has been held responsible and no compensation has been paid to families of the 852 people who died.  The integrity of the enquiries that have taken place has been called into question and some evidence suggests that there may have been an explosion, possibly from the ship hitting a mine.

From Tallinn we travelled to Estonia’s second largest town Tartu.  In spite of the town’s size there is an almost intimate feel to the centre, dominated by the university which occupies many of the buildings.

Tartu University main building

The Town Hall Square ...

Tartu Town Hall Square

... has a delightful sculpture depicting two young people kissing under an umbrella in front of the Town Hall

Tartu - Lovers Kissing

And the Kivisilla Art Gallery really does lean at a very strange angle.

Tartu - Kivisilla Art Gallery!

Another interesting sculpture depicts an imaginary meeting between Oscar Wilde (1865-1900) and the Estonian writer Eduard Wilde (1865-1933) although the two never actually met.

Tartu - Two Wildes

In the building behind the sculpture a printing shop was founded by yet another Wilde – Peter Ernst Wilde - but it is now a café.

Travelling south from Tartu we visited the Piusa Sand Caves. 

Piusa Sand Caves

These underground caverns were dug out of the compressed sand by hand as the sand was mined for the glass industry from 1922 to 1966 when they started open cast mining.  The caves are now an important winter hibernation site for 3000 bats of five species, at least one of which is endangered.

And from there we continued south along the deserted roads into Latvia.

The road south

THE END OF THE LINE

Crossing into Estonia we found the main roads to be mostly excellent with relatively smooth tarmac while the side roads were surfaced with limestone grit that sent up clouds of white dust as vehicles travelled along them.  Not that we saw many vehicles outside of the towns – we once saw two cars and a tractor at the same time!  We had not realised how much of these lands would be forested but we drove for days through endless pine, spruce, silver birch and the occasional oak or rowan. 

We crossed over to the island of Muhu on a smart little double ended ferry that could be sailed either “forwards” or “backwards”

Virtsu - Muhu Ferry

and then crossed to the much larger island of Saaremaa on a 2.5 km long causeway.  Saaremaa is a holiday destination much loved by Estonians but fortunately the main holiday season had ended and the sites were all nearly empty.  The only town of any size was Kuressaare with an impressive fort built on an artificial island. 

Kuressaare Castle

Touring Saaremaa, we came across many small villages with beautifully kept wooden houses.  In one – Kihelkonna – the bell tower of the church is about 100 metres from the church (across a road and somebody’s house and garden!)  Built in 1638 it is unique in Estonia and the bell is now rung automatically at 12 noon each day.

Kihelkonna Church and Bell Tower

On the north-west coast we found limestone cliffs about two metres high.

Limestone Cliffs

The highest apparently rise to 21 metres which is very unusual here as cliffs do not feature on the coast of any of these countries.  Further west hundreds of cairns have been built from the flat stones on the sea-shore.

Limestone Cairns

Some of the old windmills have been restored – this one is a typical design ...

Typical Saaremaa Windmill

... while others have found a new lease of life depicting two characters from local legend known as “Mama"

Mama

… and “Papa”.

Papa

Estonia is more densely covered in meteorite craters than anywhere else in the world.  The largest such crater in Europe is here at Kaali where a meteorite landed more than 3500 years ago.  Disintegrating as it did so it formed nine craters the largest of which is 110 metres wide and 16 metres deep.

Kaali Meteorite Crater

Heading for Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, we spent a night at Haapsalu, now a pleasant sea-side resort.  At the end of the railway line from St Petersburg which closed in 1995, the station (now a railway museum) had a 216 metre long covered platform – the longest in the Russian Empire. 

Haapsalu Station Railway Museum

At the end of the 19^th century it was a spar town famous for its curative mud and very popular with the Russian gentry including the composer Tchaikovsky and the Russian Royal Family.  One of the spar halls still remains unaltered and now houses a restaurant.

Haapsalu Spar Hall

And so to Tallinn, the oldest capital city in Northern Europe … but that will have to wait till next time.