Flashback Series: The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour

May-June 2014

My mom and Brent arrived in Moscow just as I was about to finish my 9 month teaching contract. The weather was beautiful, and I was happy to show my city off in all its glory. My mom had visited Moscow nearly 30 years before, and she noticed how much it had changed from its Communist days. 

Inside the Kremlin

Boat trip on the Moscow River

Showing off my place of residence

Highlights of their visit include a trip to the Kremlin, walks down Arbat Street and central Moscow, and a company sponsored boat trip down the Moscow River. They visited my school, met some of my students and coworkers, met some of my friends, and toured my apartment. From there, Mom and Brent went ahead to St. Petersburg while I finished up my last day and evening at school and in Moscow. After finishing my last classes and saying goodbye, then completing our tradition of Friday night pizza and beer at the pizza place down the road, I said goodbye to my friends and roommate, (below) and Kitty, of course, and headed to the train station for my sleeper train to St. Petersburg. As I said before, Moscow was good to me, and I was a little sad to leave, yet very much looking forward to what was to come. 

Last night in Moscow - finishing it off right..

Saying goodbye to Teresa

The Hermitage 

Now my summer travels had officially begun. I made my way to Mom and Brent’s hotel (luxury, especially compared to my previous night’s train sleeper) and dropped off my things as we began our explorations. Mom had also been to St. Petersburg during her previous trip, but she hadn’t been able to visit the Hermitage Museum, a big highlight of the city. We spent most of the day there, plus ate delicious Russian food, walked around the city, and met up with Teresa, my previous St. Petersburg host – it was lovely to see her again and to introduce Mom and Brent. We also visited the Peter and Paul Fortress, the first structure built in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, which became the “Russian Bastille” in the 19^th century. This was a chilly, rainy, hungry day for us all, as you can see.

Somebody was hungry.

From St. Petersburg I finally said my goodbyes to Russia, with hopes to come back someday. Our next adventure was through the Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia, and a stop in Helsinki, Finland. 

 Riga, Latvia

Old Town Riga

The Baltic States have changed hands several times in their history, but they remain fiercely independent and resilient. After the fall of Communism in the 1990s, these little countries have tried their best to retain culture and traditions. Our hotel had a lovely view of the capital city Riga, just across the bridge. Our days were spent walking, touring museums, eating lovely food, and even attending an organ concert at one of the churches. We also always had a supply of sweets, thanks to the shop that Brent went back to twice to stock us up on travel treats.

View of Riga

Art Nouveau

 Riga has a surprisingly impressive display of Art Nouveau buildings, built in the end of the 19^th century, which were delightful to walk around and look at. We also looked at the Freedom Monument, built to commemorate their freedom from the Soviet Union, and the lovely city park just next to the monument. Poor Latvia has been though quite a history, which we learned while visiting the Museum of the Occupation. From the Soviets to the Nazis, Latvia spent many years living under someone else’s rules, but they managed to stay strong and eventually gain back independence.

City Park

After two days in Riga we boarded a bus to take us a few hours across the countryside to cross over into Estonia, which quite honestly didn’t look any different. Mom decided to mark the change by pointing out that we were now looking at “Estonian birds” as opposed to “Latvian birds,” even though they were definitely the same kind of bird. Thanks for keeping us on track Mom! 

 Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia

Our time in Tallinn was spent similarly to Riga, with a beautiful Old Town (one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the world) to wander around, take pictures of, visit museums in, and of course, eat delicious food in.

We learned more about the history of Tallinn at the National History museum, which was very well done and interesting. Brent and I also visited a museum that chronicled the history of the Hanseatic League, “a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns. It dominated Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400-1800) along the coast of Northern Europe.” (Wikipedia). The days of labor guilds, with merchants and apprentices and crafts evoked a sense of the medieval era that can still be felt while wandering Tallinn’s cobblestone streets.

Medieval Old Town

When in Tallinn...

However, this magical feeling was quite rudely interrupted by the sounds of Harley Davidson motorcycles and the sounds of large, drunk, motorbike men (and women) throughout our time there. We happened to be in Tallinn at the same time as some kind of motorcycle convention or tour or trip – we’re not sure exactly what, but we are sure that we would like to avoid such experiences in the future. I’m sure they were perfectly nice people, but it really did affect the charming atmosphere to have loudly drunken people roaming the streets and dominating the outdoor cafes. (Fun fact: I didn’t know it at the time, but I was to encounter the same group of people on my ferry from Helsinki to Sweden – bonus!) Thankfully, there were areas of the city we could escape and continue to enjoy in peace and quiet. Mom was after a certain kind of Baltic yarn during our trip, as well as inspect the local knitted handiwork of the local women. I made away with a pair of beautiful wool knitted mittens, which have been much appreciated in the past two winters since their purchase. 

 Helsinki, Finland

Lutheran Cathedral

Last but not least, we hopped a ferry in Tallinn in order to cross international waters to the port city of Helsinki, Finland. Finland is, interestingly, not Scandinavian nor Baltic nor Russian. It is uniquely Finnish, with an ancient language and culture. We got just a taste of the city during our two days there, but we stayed in a wonderful hotel with a full European breakfast (meat, cheese, bread, fruits, smoked fish, pastries, basically everything good in this world) that was so delicious I was delighted to be able to eat my first breakfast when it opened, sit and drink coffee all morning, and go back for round two just before it closed. It also had a sauna, which I partook in just to say I did – it wasn’t the traditional run outside and roll around in the snow type sauna, but I still enjoyed it anyway. 

Brazilian Samba...in Finland

Botanical Gardens

We walked around the city – on our first stop at the stunningly gorgeous Lutheran Cathedral we discovered there was a Brazilian samba festival happening, which was highly entertaining to watch. We also visited the nearby botanical gardens and waterfront.

Goodbye Finland!

Finland Port

Finally, it was time to say goodbye. It had been a wonderful trip with Mom and Brent, but it was time for me to travel solo again for a little while. I had plans to return to Minnesota before starting my job in New York City, so it wouldn’t be long before I saw them again. I must also give them a shout out for very kindly taking a large load of my things from living in Russia home with them – it was a kindness much appreciated, as I left Finland with a backpack and a shoulder bag, just the way I liked it. 

Next up: Adventures in Scandinavia!