Riga. July 31 - August 2, 2014

Thursday, July 31st

Our GPS got a little confused and could not work out the way to Riga. But we didn't panic! Pulled out the backup paper map and headed on gut feeling and a south westerly bearing. It was not long before we found signs to confirm that we were indeed on the right route.

The border crossing from Estonia into Latvia was a breeze. In fact we passed through it at 50 kph without stopping. It is good to be inside the Schengen Area.

Once in Latvia the rain came. It has been a very long time since we have had rain quite as heavy as this; maybe the last time was during the rainy season in Malaysia. On the positive side, Sterlin got a free carwash. Fortunately once we pulled into Riga the rain vanished. We located the hotel quickly and checked into a mighty fine room.

Being hungry after the drive we headed into the Old Town for a meal and drink. Naturally the Old Town of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and quite beautiful. The pub had a "buy one and get one free" happy hour promotion on margaritas, so that seemed like the obvious choice. It rained the entire time we were in the pub (yep, the rain had returned), but the weather gods had the kindness to cancel the evening rain so we could walk around and enjoy the Old Town after dinner and drinks without getting soaked.

Thank God It's Friday!

Friday, August 1st

Relaxing day just wandering around the Old Town, twice. Did a little shopping along the way. The entire city was on Sale, so picked up some shoes for Stephen and a new fancy top for Caroline. Both a bargain.

Old Town Riga is quite beautiful and also quite different to Tallinn. The center is more compact and a little more commercial. There are lots and lots of coffee shops.

Everything is restored.

Is that a Range Rover?

View from the Hotel Bar.

Old Town Riga had a Belgian Bar. Who would've thought.

View of the river.

Old Town.

Tartu. July 30, 2014

Wednesday, July 30th

We said goodbye to Kristin, Jan and Viggo and headed off to Tartu. The drive was pleasant enough and not too long. The road was littered with speed cameras giving us a good reason not to speed.

After checking into our tiny hotel room we put on our shoes and walked the several kilometers into town. We visited the key tourist attractions before finding dinner and a few drinks. The heat wave in this region continued and meant we had another sleepless night.

Day started with a blown front light bulb. Quickly fixed.

Tartu. One of the local tourist sites.

Street Art.

Finished the day with some good Belgian beers.

Tallinn. July 28-30, 2014

Monday, July 28th

As we drove off the ferry, we appeared to be singled out for a little customs check. It was almost like they knew we were coming, with everyone else being waved through. Although the customs check was all very easy and friendly. Just showed our passport and some car papers.

It was not long before we arrived at our apartment to be greeted by Kristin, Jan and Viggo. So very nice to catch up with long-time and dear friends. A cork found its way out of a champagne bottle and we celebrated with a small drink.

The apartment was very nice with two very spacious bedrooms and a kitchen, dining and living room. Caroline got very excited about the washing machine and quickly loaded it up with clothes that had been hand washed for the last month or so. The apartment was above a cafe and we headed down for a latish lunch.

The afternoon was spent walking around the UNESCO certified Old Town and catching up with our friends. The place really looked like it hadn't changed much in several hundred years, except everything was extremely beautiful. Dinner was in: chicken and vegetables.

Friends Reunited

Walking around The Old Town.

Tuesday, July 29th

There was a bit of a heat wave going on in Tallinn (and the Baltic region in general) resulting in slightly sleepless nights due to lack of air conditioning. Presumably heat waves are not normal here.

We started the day with coffee and one of the best blueberry muffins Stephen had ever had. High accolades indeed. We returned to the Old Town and explored a little bit more. Jan had the map and was the chief navigator making sure we didn't get lost. Tallinn is truly a remarkable city. Maybe a little bit too picture postcard perfect, but maybe this was the only flaw. The locals even got dressed up in medieval costumes to hawk their wares.

We visited the local photography museum which was well worth while and provided a good history of photography in Tallinn. Also a visit to a playground was very nice - not too sure who enjoyed that better: Stephen and Jan or Viggo. But it was nice just wandering around with good friends. Dinner was in: chicken and vegetables.

The Old Town.

Art in the Playground.

City Views.

Helsinki. July 25-28, 2014

Friday, July 25th

It is good to be in Finland. Probably the easiest border crossing we had on this trip. While sitting in our car, with the engine running, we handed over our passports to the immigration officer. Thirty seconds later we got our passports back, and that was the end of the entry process. No customs, no search of the vehicle, no wandering around trying to work out what to do.

We arrived at our pre-booked hotel and soon checked in and headed to the lounge for a much needed latte. A good friend had sent replica license plates to this hotel, and these were waiting for us when we arrived. Stephen spent 30 minutes fitting the replica plates to Sterlin. Pretty sure these fakes will not be stolen. Will be interesting to see if the Police will notice that the plates are not real. The hotel agreed to waive the 24 Euro a day parking charge for us, which saved us quite a bit of money. The hotel also helped us reserve the ferry to Tallinn.

We enjoyed free drinks in the lounge before heading out for a long walk around the nearby water. We watched the sunset over the harbor, very nice.

Fake license plates arrived. Yihaaa!

Saturday, July 26th

We had a very enjoyable time walking around Helsinki. It was quite a bit quieter than we expected. Turned out there was a bit of a lull in the middle of the busy summer season with lots of locals actually headed off to their summer retreats. It was nice just relaxing and not having to do anything in particular. The late afternoon was spent relaxing.

Helsinki Harbour.

Sunday, July 27th

The main event for the day was a visit to the Sea Fortress of Suomenlinna. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site and tourist attraction. It was a beautiful day for a visit. We caught the public ferry over and back and in the middle wandered around the various islands. Finland and this fortress has been under the control of Russia and Sweden at various times.

We had lunch back at the hotel and did a few chores. The last of the bad Uzbekistan fuel was emptied out of the Jerry Cans and into Sterlin's fuel tank. Our USA sticker was added to the rear of the car near the fake license plate. We suspected that European Traffic Police are going to want to see that sticker.

In the evening we meet Mainfred and Regina in the hotel lounge. We had a very nice evening talking to them and getting their perspective on Finland and other places and events. The plan is to meet up with them again when they visit San Francisco next year.

Sea Fortress of Suomenlinna.

Beautiful day.

Some tunnels of the old sea fortress.

You don't usually see Penguins this far North.

Monday, July 28th

Up early to catch the ferry to Estonia. Sailing time was 10:30m.

Lime green ferry to Tallinn.

Sterlin in the belly of the ferry.

North to Finland. July 23-25, 2014

Wednesday, July 23rd

We left Moscow and immediately faced a traffic jam due to a small crash. Ten kms further we slowed down again due to excessive traffic. After 90 minutes we had travelled less than 10 miles. Then things got a little better as we got onto the M10 proper.

We had read on the Internet that it typically takes 12 hours to make the journey from Moscow to Saint Petersberg. Which is a very long time. So we were emotionally prepared for a long day. However at Yvshny Volochyok we got more than we bargained for with a massive traffic jam. We spent probably an hour moving very slowly in a long line of trucks before we found a clever way around the problem. As best as we could tell, there was no actual problem except too much traffic. The road was not great and the truck drivers were a little crazy. We spent over 10 hours on the road and were glad when the day's driving was over. The scenery along the way was ok, but was pretty flat and featureless. We were seeing more pine trees which was nice.

We arrived late at Velikiy Novgorod (Великий Новгород) and quickly found a hotel, The Volkhov. After 527kms (327miles) it was good to have a nice dinner and a few drinks in the MyCroft Bar, which is an English style pub. The sun stayed up late this far north which meant after dinner we still had plenty of time to visit the nice local Kremlin.

Caroline on the outside of The Kremlin

Inside the Kremlin

Thursday, July 24th

The drive north to the Finland border continued with another 328kms (204miles). We expected to find a bypass around St Petersberg but failed and ended up going straight through the center of town. Good to see St Petersberg again, but this did add an hour or so to the trip. The truck drivers were just as numerous and as bad as the previous day. We arrived at Vyborg (Выборг) at a reasonable time and soon found a hotel for the night, The Bat Hotel.

Stephen had to replace a wiper blade on Sterlin which had failed the day before. As expected, this small task ended up taking more time than expected. After the wiper blade was fixed, we had a few hours to wander around the old town. Vyborg architecture is much more Scandinavian than Soviet Russian. There was an old castle which made for a nice visit. Dinner and drinks was in the hotel.

Roman Statue?

Vyborg Town Clock

Friday, July 25th

More road works but less trucks on the road to the Finnish border.

Moscow (Москва). July 20-22, 2014

Sunday, July 20th

The short drive from Tula allowed us to enjoy the afternoon in Moscow. We headed straight to the Red Square and the Walls of the Kremlin. From here we visited Saint Basil's Cathedral before walking along the Moskva River to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. After wandering around for a few hours we headed back to our hotel for dinner and drinks.

Very glad to be in Moscow and to be acting like a tourist for a few days.

Red Square.

More of Red Square.

Outside Saint Basil's Cathedral

Inside Saint Basil's Cathedral

Stephen in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

Monday, July 21st

Being a tourist continued. After a late breakfast we headed back into town and visited the Kremlin. A little frustrating getting tickets and getting in, but once inside the walled city we had an excellent visit.  We popped into the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (circa 1508), Cathedral of the Annunciation (circa 1489) and the Cathedral of the Dormition (cira1479). All very nice. We also checked out the huge Bell and Canon, the first has never been rang and the latter has never been fired.

After doing tourist things it is always a good idea to have a latte. We went in search of a Starbucks and failed to find it. Instead we found the most expensive latte we have ever had. Two coffees, a slice of cake and a salmon crepe for a bargain basement price of USD $35. The prices of things in Moscow are a little insane. We also visited GUM shopping center.

The concierge at our Hotel gave us a list of Metro stations he recommended that we should visit. There are so many beautiful stations, we ended up just getting on trains and whenever we saw a station we liked we got off and rejoined a few trains later. We did visit all the recommended ones as well. We really enjoyed our tour of the Moscow Metro.

In the evening we walked to Buddha Bar for a drink. In good Moscow style, prices were a little high. A glass of average wine was USD $20 and a small bottle (330ml) of beer was USD $10. Yikes! The place was empty, except for the staff. Wonder why?

Cathedrals of the Kremlin

Wonderful Architecture

GUM Shopping Center

Tour of Moscow Metro

Tour of Moscow Metro

Tuesday, July 22nd

Spent the day on a walking tour around Moscow. Started with a visit to Pushkin Cafe. We popped in to check it out, but when three people open the door for you and you are greeted by two maitre d's you know the place is going to be expensive. So we just had a look around at the beautiful cafe and moved on.

Next stop was the Netherlands Embassy to see and visit the offerings placed by people to the victims of MH-17. It was a very sober visit. As part of this visit we were invited by embassy staff to sign the book of condolences, which we did. While we were there dignitaries from various nations turned up to also sign the book of condolences.

We continued strolling the streets taking in various sights. Including a good visit to The Lumiere Brothers Photogallery. Moscow is a wonderful city and we really enjoyed our short stay there.

Views.

More views during our walk

Tula (Тула). July 19, 2014

Saturday, July 14th

Day 3 of the drive to Moscow. We had a slightly shorter driving day than the previous two and were able to d a little sight-seeing. Along the way we stopped at Leo Tolstoi's residence. A rather large estate which is now open to the public. The public mainly consisted of people getting married and their friends. We arrived after the buildings had closed for the day, but still had a very nice visit strolling the grounds and seeing the grave site of Leo. Caroline's sore toe seems to be holding up as well.

Once we arrived in Tula we headed into the city center to see the Kremlin and surrounds. Unfortunately the Kremlin was under massive renovation. It was nice to get out of the car and stretch our legs again. We had no trouble finding our hotel. Dinner was in.

Hmmm, what's wrong now.

Coachman's Cabin

Leo Tolstoi's House

Church in Tula

Another dinner in. Sushi, Salami, Cheese and Wine.

Voronezh (Воронеж). July 18, 2014

Friday, July 18th

Another big driving day north along the M6 and then the M4. The scenery definitively improved with massive sunflower fields and the occasional pine forest. It really felt like we were returning to Europe. And while the road was not the best, but we averaged 70kph which was pretty good.

We arrived late at our hotel, so just checked in and relaxed. Basically spent the night watching television and the unfolding crisis around MH-17.

Sunflower fields.

Volgograd (Волгогра́д). July 17, 2014

Thursday, July 17th

We woke up to find that we still had a front license plate. It had not been stolen during the night!

Big day of driving as we head North to Moscow. This was the first day of three big driving days. The scenery along the way was a little boring, mainly consisting of grasslands and the occasional glimpse of the mighty Volga River. But he road was very good and very fast. Maybe too many trucks, but these did not slow us down too much. 

Had a little trouble finding a good rate at a hotel after checking 3 hotels. To be fair we checked the three best hotels in town. So did what most people do, sat down, had a coffee, found some internet and booked online. And we found a beauty. Very new, very modern design and reasonably priced: 'Rest House'. A little ways out of town, but no issue with a car.

Caroline managed to seriously sprain one of her toes. We were a little concerned that maybe she'd broken it. But it turned out to be a serious sprain. We iced it and elevated the foot, which was a little weird as we were in a cafe having dinner. But at the hotel we continued to apply ice. Also heard the news of MH-17 which crashed about 400 kms west of where we were. The world was a little crazy at that time.

Caroline with her sprained toe.

Caspian Sea. July 15-16, 2014.

Tuesday, July 15.

After the whole police episode was over, we drove south from Astrakhan towards the Volga Delta. Our original plan was to wing it and find someone with a boat. The receptionist at our hotel had given us a brochure with info on lodges that organize boat trips in the delta, mainly for fishing. While the police investigation was in full swing, Galimbek made a call to one of the outfits (Olga Lodge) on our behalf and thus arranged a boat transfer to to the lodge and a trip on the Delta and to the Caspian the next day. Much better than winging it!

On arrival in Karalat we looked for someone to ask directions to the small jetty used by Olga Lodge. We found 2 friendly locals who told us to follow them as they led the way in their car. Five minutes later, at 7:30pm as promised, we were greeted at the jetty by our contact form the Lodge. Twenty five minutes later we docked at the lodge where we were welcomed with vodka and caviar. The people there were told that we didn't speak Russian but with smiles and gestures all was easy enough. Dinner was served and we retired early as we had an early start the next morning.

Wednesday, July 16.

Up at 7am for 7:30 breakfast and by 8:15am we were in a long boat on the Volga Delta on our way to the Caspian Sea. The Volga River is Europe's longest and largest river and the Delta flows into the Caspian Sea. Because of the Delta and its geography the Caspian Sea does not have a coast line in that area, so the only way of getting to it is by boat via the Delta of the River. Further south the Caspian does have a coast line, but time constraints did not allow for a visit there this time.

Why were we so keen to get to the Caspian Sea? The Caspian Sea is the lowest point in Europe, so for me (Caroline) this was a big moment as it was number 6 of 7. Having been on the Caspian Sea in a boat, and, standing on solid ground at the Lodge which is situated in the Delta, I claim having reached Europe's lowest point. Hydraulically the Delta and the Caspian are linked.
More info on www.7lows.com - which will be updated when time allows.
A nice bonus was that the lotus flowers in the Delta were in bloom and that was quite the spectacular sight.

Two hours later we were back at the Lodge, where we freshened up, checked out and said goodbye to our hosts before getting back in the speed boat to the jetty were we'd parked Sterlin the night before.

Low point number 6.

Parked amidst the lotus flowers. Magic.

We headed back to Astrakhan to find a hotel. Our first choice 'Bonhotel' was full so we went to Azimut Hotel instead. We discovered that this hotel was scamming booking.com and similar sites. They advertised cut throat prices on these sites which weren't available when one walks up to the hotel without a reservation. Basically they set aside a few shitty rooms at a low price. We rocked up to the hotel to be quoted a price just above $100 and took it. While waiting for the room to be ready we noticed that the same room was on booking.com for $56. Quite a saving. We ended up booking on booking.com and getting the better rate, but it was all a little awkward. And the room we got was terrible. Oh well.