What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

One of the un-expected rewards of this journey across the Baltics had been the abundance of green parks, nature reserves, peaceful forests, endless miles of golden sands, crystal clear rivers and lakes as well as a plethora of wild flora ad fauna. Of particular note to us was the numerous colorful fungi we discovered along our many daily walks in the Baltic woods, parks and reserves. These fungi sure gave the outward appearance of drama and invitation in their shapes, colors, textures and structures; but without exceptions, they screamed out with the warning of Do-Not-Eat-Me and of course we heeded their advice and only took close-up photos of these gorgeous-looking local residents !

Perhaps it was the glorious weather we were experiencing or it was the general cleanliness of these countries, we were greatly impressed by the beautiful and inspiring buildings and architectures all around us, framed against the back drop of the bright blue sky and open space pedestrian walkways. The majestic cathedrals, the famous art-nouveau facades of the buildings, the stylistic motif of the commercial blocks and the avant-garde sculptures were a real plus for this journey. All in all, it was a pleasure to stroll around (slowly) the winding streets, narrow alleys and quiet lanes to experience the artistic wonderment and what better past-time could we have asked for - enjoying a café noir in a side-street coffee shop overlooking these visual delights !

Compared to the gulf-facing charming seaport city of Riga, the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius exuded a metropolitan air of commerce and industry with the many high-rises which greeted our arrival with the many billboards covering the familiar brands of Microsoft, Huawei, Barclays and whats-not. But on closer encounter over the next few days, Vilnius turned out to be an extremely friendly, tranquil city with just the right amount and combination of hustle and bustle to keep us entertained without overwhelming us. We followed the gentle slope down from the train station (quaint) towards the River Neris where we rent an apartment facing the river. The owner Paul, turned up outside the Soviet era looking building (not so quaint) and we walked the four flights of stairs to reach an outstandingly furbished and homely apartment with everything that we could have asked for, including a much-missed filter coffee machine ! Not long after we unpacked our bags, we were treated with a spectacle right in front of our windows - over a dozen colorful hot air balloons taking off in turns in the glorious sunset - see for yourself in the photos below. The magical scene was complimented by the wonderfully warm weather where local residents were out and about playing beach volleyball, lazing around on the grass and having an enjoyable chit-chat over a beer or coffee.

The blue sky seemed to have accompanied us along this journey and invited us to explore the many landmarks including the Old Town with the many shops selling the famous amber stones and decorations, the Gate of Dawn, the Gediminas Tower, the Cathedral Square, the Kalnu Park lookout with the picturesque Three Crosses and we spent oodles of time exploring the nooks and crannies of the River Neris. We took an enjoyable bus ride out to the lake side town of Trakai with its famous castle and we ventured to the many hamlets of villages around the lakes; afterwards, we had a tasty salmon lunch that was joined midway by a friendly praying ginger cat (see photo) - the mascot of the restaurant ! After these weeks spent in the Baltics, we gained a good idea about the countries' psyche, beauty and landmarks and we felt rewarded and enriched by the experience of meeting the friendly peoples and having seen these lovely places.

Flying in to the capital of Latvia, Riga via Moscow was a breeze as the connection time was only an hour and a bit.  We stayed close to a number of green parks along the River Daugava and found the capital city a relaxing place to un-wind after our 12 hours' flight. Much to our pleasant surprise, the late Summer sunshine shone for us and the Gulf of Riga presented its finest cloudless blue skies for much of our stay with a whopping 26C ! Having had our hearty breakfast each morning, we ventured off to explore the beautiful Old Town dotted with stunning cathedrals along winding streets basking in the warm sunshine. Among the many landmarks where we got lost and found, were the Powder Tower, the Swedish Gate, the Freedom Monument, the Nativity Of Christ Cathedral, the cute Cat house, the House Of The Blackheads and we spent many happy hours strolling along the blue and pristine River Daugava.

Riga was a calm city running at a relaxed pace but we found on our day trips to Sigulda and Jurmala that the country side was even more relaxed ! Sigulda was a nature reserve with lots of walking trails leading to castles (Turaida, Livonian), lookout points, cascading rivers, the Gutmanis sandstone caves with the interesting rock carvings and we walked our limbs to much satisfaction and we enjoyed a deserved early dinner near the quaint Sigulda train station before heading back on the train to Riga. Now, Jurmala, a city by the Gulf of Riga, offered a different scene altogether as we were greeted with the whiff of salty air as we disembarked the train (another quaint train station). We walked down the main avenue lined with good-looking wooden villas and holiday homes, then we passed through an area densely covered with pine trees and then the welcoming sight of the blue coast of the Gulf of Riga presented itself in its full glory - white sandy beaches, relaxing beach-side cafes with soothing jazz music playing at the background as well as miles and miles of clear blue sky. After these five days in and around Riga, we felt energised to board our bus to Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania lying about 5 hours away - we were again greeted with clear cobalt blue sky on the day of our departure and we left with fond memories of the lovely city and its residents.