Two different Danes in the brilliant Baltic States

You might not know where you are going on your next trip, but here is a small guide to the Baltic States, and a “short” description of how we handled the infinite amount of possible things to do. Rasmus went from boy to man and we both got 3 new countries on the experience map. Follow our journey on this blog!

Gammelt billede fra J-VM i Grækenland 2015

Gammelt billede fra J-VM i Grækenland 2015

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper class European young men

“The Grand Tour aims to develop the personality by giving the traveller insight and understanding of other cultures.” – Wikipedia

The daily schedule consisted of: me always waking up 5 minutes before the alarm and then waking Rasmus. A sightseeing tour planned in detail by Rasmus. Me walking around and pointing to every window, saying: “that looks nice” with a coffee in my hand, while Rasmus reads out loud from his book of the history/information of the place we are going to visit. Us visiting 8 different churches, museums, monuments, national goats shops, whatever, before deciding to go home. When back at the hostel, one of us always argued to go to the pub-crawl, beer-pong-tournament, late night bird spotting or whatever else might ruin our sleep. Here the reasonable person always gave in and agreed to go with the demand that we still wake up early the next morning to see the rest of the city… which we always did full of pain and regret.
There were two main things that were always discussed:

  1. If we had to choose between a history- or art museum
  2. Where we wanted to eat

I personally love art, either you understand it or you just enjoy it. Art is often more than just a painting or sculpture, and often says a lot about the time when it was made. When reading about art history you need both the history and the art. Pure history I enjoy too. Especially when visiting new countries, since I want to understand how the people and government developed. When reading history I prefer cold facts and long texts, which is often better in books. Ergo I was team art museum and Rasmus was team history museum. Often we had time for everything, since Rasmus did a very good job with the planning. In his guidebook we made it to 50 out of 50 recommended stops in every city.
I believe that one of the most important things when visiting a country is to taste their local food and products. In my family we have a tradition of always having food as the main expense, when we travel. Rasmus preferred when the food was cheap and filling. His food highlights “before seeing the light” were fast-food chains and supermarkets. I always made sure that we at least had one meal, which consisted of the national dish.
Before the trip, I do not know what we expected, but one thing is sure, I did not expect Rasmus to say this:

“I finally realize the meaning of an educational trip, after having done this trip with you, Ellen!”

This kind of perfectly describes Rasmus development regarding food!

This kind of perfectly describes Rasmus development regarding food!

I do not think he expected that either, but I hope he will continue on developing his new taste for art-history and great cuisine. Next time I will bring him on a Southern European art- and wine-tasting trip. If you also want to see the light, you can sign up for the next trip on: www.EllensCulturalCaravan.dk. “Turning boys to men”… in a non-sexual way 😉
Please note: Your cost of living might double.

A short overview of what is worth to see!
First of all we only visited capital cities, so there is still a lot to see. Second of all, everything is interesting, but I try to pinpoint the sights that really made an impact in each of the capitals. Last but not least, this is my personal opinion and I am definitely biased.


Lithuania, Vilnius:
I personally loved this city. Every time you pass a corner, you are met by amazing old buildings, especially churches. The history of Lithuania is a little bit older than the history of the other countries in the Baltic States (fewer Soviet and other occupations), and the history is really alive in the baroque style capital. Things you have to see: 1) St. Peter and St. Paul’s church, which is a beautiful catholic church. 2) The KGB museum or Museum of Genocide Victims, not sure of the name, but this place will make an impression that lasts, with its gruesome history during the Soviet occupation and the KGB cellars and execution chambers. 3) The Republic of Uzupis. It started with hipsters taking it to the next level and ended as a self-declared state with a flag, a constitution written in 23 languages, an 11-man army and an independence day the 1st of April. Rasmus and I considered asking if they needed a national chess team, since the whole point is humour. Things you should not do: go to the “Forto Dvaras” restaurant. It might sound cool, that they serve traditional Lithuanian food in a stone basement, but when we asked the waiter what she would order from the menu and she answered “nothing”, we figured that the food was not going to be the highlight of Lithuania.

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Latvia, Riga:
This city is designed for groups of young people who want to party and still experience some culture. There is a little bit of something for everyone – from big food markets to free walking tours. Unfortunately this was also the city, were we had the least amount of time, because of our chess detour to Jurmala. Things you have to see: 1) The Rock Café is the centre of Riga’s nightlife. This club is in three floors and has everything you need for a place to party. We are talking huge dance floors, live rock bands and much more. I was here twice but was not capable of taking a photo. 2) Riga central market is a gigantic market selling every fresh produce you might desire. Here you can just enjoy strolling through the cheese, fish, meat or vegetable building with something nice to eat in you hand you bought because you were not able to resist the temptations. It would definitely be a dream come true, to have a market like this in my backyard. 3) On the other side of the river there is a part of town built in the “Art Nouveau” style. Here you can enjoy the art nouveau architecture with big ornaments and other decorations while just being satisfied with experiencing a place, that most tourist probably miss out on. Things you should not do: DO NOT DRINK BALSAM. IT IS HORRIBLE.

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Tallinn, Estonia:
Welcome to wannabe-Finland. You do not understand the language, you do not find better Internet speed, but you do get to experience a combination of the modern city with big glass buildings and the cobbled roads of the old town behind the fortress walls. This city is fantastic and the list could be miles long, but I will try to restrain myself. Things you have to see: 1) The Estonian National Museum is a paradise for every slightly art-interested soul. This is the place that I made it happen… referring to Rasmus’ transformation from an uneducated boy to a man fascinated with art! This museum has great short text-explanations placed in every room, so that even the people with the minimal knowledge of art have a chance to understand the transformation from Baroque to Expressionism from Socialist realism to Post modernism and so on. 2) The “Kiek in de Kök” museum. What? Yes you read it right. This museum offers both a glance from the top of one of the artillery towers after climbing 4 floors of Estonian history and a guided tour through the bastion tunnels. It might be expensive, but it is worth it. You will laugh because of the name at least once, I promise. 3) The place where the Danish flag fell from the sky and became the first national flag in history. I am definitely biased on this one, but even though the story is not completely true it is worth knowing. Things you should not do: Bring Rasmus to a beer-pong tournament, he is not worthy of being anyone’s beer-pong buddy.

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Our trip ended with me waking in the middle of the night and realising that Rasmus is about to miss his plane… as usual. I luckily managed to wake him after several tries. Rasmus calmly looked at the clock and left the hostel as if nothing was wrong. I was really tired the next day. My trip continued to Helsinki in Finland after this, but here I met up with Nils, and we were not as ambitious with our sightseeing. Next time we decided to pick a more romantic and warmer place to visit… our next trip together is in April, and we are going to Reykjavik…

There is no place like home and yet again
I am currently home in Aalborg and calques my father’s house for some pocket money for my next trip that will start the 29th of March. I just need to stop the fire in my bank account. Luckily the rumour goes, that beer is cheaper than water in Eastern Europe.

See you next time!

See you next time!

A small Danish detour

I sat a bit restlessly on the couch and played with Google Maps because of boredom. It had been my plan to go to Nice in France from March to June and work, so that I could improve my French. Unfortunately (or luckily!?) I did not get any of the jobs for which I had applied, and I had now given up all hopes on my French plans, both in life and chess. New ideas were starting to knock on my door instead, and suddenly I realised: “I should go alone on a backpacking trip to the Baltic countries!” I eagerly told my plans to Nils, my father and some of my friends, who all seemed a little baffled and confused by my sudden urge to go to the Baltics, about which I knew nothing at all. Nils mostly worried that it would not be safe for me to go alone, but he did not have the time to join me. I called Rasmus Thøgersen, my loyal traveling partner from our trip to India, who promised to protect me in a case of emergency… by running away. Anyhow, the conversation went:

Ellen: “Will you join me on a backpacker trip to the Baltic countries!?!?”
Rasmus: ”Why would I ever go there???”

I told him to call me, if he changed his mind. I had already booked and planned everything.

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I will see you at “Jimmy Jumps House”
I arrived in Vilnius in Lithuania around 3 o’clock on the 1st of March. I stepped out of the airport, looked around, and jumped on the first bus in sight, since every sign was written in Lithuanian.

Me: “Do you go to the city centre?” Chauffeur: “Yes, yes”.

It did not go to the city centre… but a bit of walking never hurt anybody, and thanks to my GPS, I found the hostel “Jimmy Jumps House,” where Rasmus was currently staying. How would you describe this youth hostel, definitely designed to scare away anyone above the age of 30? It is hidden in a backyard in a very dubious alley. The only way to get in is to already know the password, or to be lucky that someone with a password needs to get in through the giant metal door at the same time.

At least the hostel made sure the neighbours got some sleep!

At least the hostel made sure the neighbours got some sleep!

When you walk the stairs, the walls are covered with various paintings made by backpackers throughout the years, and a broad spectrum of light chains hanging from the ceiling. When I checked in, I was asked to always leave my shoes before entering the reception, that the breakfast only consisted of 2 freshly-made waffles, and that my “room” was a 8-bed dorm which I had to share with 7 boys.

I took a deep breath and thought to myself: “this is nice, it is healthy to get out of your comfort zone… in every possible direction at once!”

The two other hostels where we stayed in Riga and Tallinn; “the Naughty Squirrel” and “the Knights House” shared the same vision. I must say that it was a really pleasant experience to stay in these youth hostels. You really get the chance to socialize with other young backpackers, and both Rasmus and I grabbed the opportunity and talked to as many people as possible from all over the world. The fact that I hardly got any sleep for 10 days, I consider a decent sacrifice.

Me in front of the St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Vilnius

Me in front of the St. Peter and St. Paul’s church in Vilnius

A Dane, an Englishman, an American and a German went to a bar…
For some reason, everyone that travels seems to be a native English speaker. The first 5 persons we meet were from the following countries: America, England and Australia. Rasmus and I agreed that that was a bit sad, as Danes are known for bragging about their English abilities, and this company made it rather difficult.
The first night, when we were ready to get out and see the town at night, the party got mixed a little and now more resembled one of those jokes starting with: “A Dane, an Englishman, an American and a German went to a bar…” and the night kind of evolved like one of the jokes would have. At least I found it extremely funny when Tom the Englishman (leader of our “pub-crawl”) got so drunk that he followed a different group of people he did not know and lost all track of us after our first bar stop, or when the Australian girl, Sara, ate her burger upside down. Most of the people do not fit the stereotypes, but sometimes I wonder; does anyone ever look at me and think: “that is so typically Danish”. Maybe they did, when I tried to translate a self-made joke from Danish to English. Or that is perhaps more typical me?

“It is funny how Tom’s name is Tom, when he is so drunk!” and that is funny because “tom” in Danish means “empty” and “drunk” in Danish is called “fuld,” which also means “full.”

Both Pedro the Portuguese and Sara from the land down under laughed, and I do not think it was only out of pity. They are both really sweet people and they got the love story of the century.

From the left: Sara, Pedro, Rasmus, Eliot and German guy???

From the left: Sara, Pedro, Rasmus, Eliot and German guy???

The show must go on!
Rasmus and I were sitting on the bus between Vilnius and Riga, when suddenly Jesper Thybo wrote a message:

“We are in Jurmala and are going to play a strong blitz-tournament. Come!”

Rasmus looked at me, with a hint of chess thirst in his eyes:

“Do you want to play blitz?”

A couple of days before we left for our trip, I actually talked to Jesper, and we both realized we were going to be near each other by coincidence. Even then we considered visiting, because Jesper was playing for his IM-norm, and a whole group of Danish players and coaches would be there. We had not discussed it further but in the bus we understood, that:

  1. Jesper had made his norm and the main tournament was finished (congratulations Jesper on your second IM-norm!)
  2. Tonight they were playing a very strong blitz-tournament, and by coincidence we would actually be able to make it to the playing hall on time
  3. Party spirit was in the air.

It took 5 seconds to find a train between Riga and Jurmala (I know Jakob Vang Glud suggested Taxi, but we tried to keep our detour in the backpacker spirit) and then we decided to go and party… I mean play some chess!
20 minutes before the start of the round, Rasmus and I walked through the door with our big backpacks, slightly dirty clothes and full fighting spirit. The round was of course 30 minutes delayed, but that gave us some time to chat with our Danish friends and make sure that we at least had a free bed to sleep in that night.
There is a lot that can be said about that night but sometimes it is better not to. Rasmus made a good effort both on and outside the board, I on the other hand need to improve everything; chess abilities, wingman skills, dance moves, you name it. I met some new people though and learned that some friends you can always count on… like my tequila buddy!
The next “morning” (after a very slow start) I finally found Rasmus and we decided to leave for Riga. The trip was made in silence until we found our hostel “the Naughty Squirrel” where a young woman received us in the reception. She insisted that we should have a welcome shot of Balsam and for the first time that day, both mine and Rasmus’ voices were strong and clear:

“NO, THANK YOU!”

nooo

Chess is a universal language, but it is better to communicate in English
The nice thing about chess is that it can be played anywhere, and suddenly a tournament just appears where you happen to be. You can almost always choose to play and meet some new chess players, if you want to. The great thing about backpacking is that you have to sleep at a place, no matter where you go. You are almost forced to meet other people, since the main point of the youth hostels are the common rooms, which are never empty. Seeing the world is one thing, talking to people from around the world makes traveling the best thing…

Unless you try to speak in French, then you just realize your French is hopeless.

To be continued!