Russia-St Petersburg

3 August- caught train from Helsinki to St Petersburg. Very easy 3 1/2 hour trip. Had to do 2 border crossings on the train- when exiting Finland and when entering Russia.. First time since Oslo when anyone was interested in our passports. Passed through some small Finnish towns but mainly just forests and some lakes. Arrived mid afternoon in St Petersburg. Hotel is huge- pretty plush and very central. Short walk to the Hermitage and across the road from St Isaacs Cathedral. Lots of very impressive buildings lining the waterways. Went for walk before dinner. Initial impressions- people standing on quayside with snakes wrapped around their necks (!) and lots of largish spoons for sale. The snakes?? There is a monument nearby of Peter the Great on horseback and the horse is stepping on a snake. I read that the horse is stepping on the Swedish empire- as represented by the snake. Monument is impressive anyway - solid marble apparently. Had light dinner at hotel cafe- stopped for a couple of beers- SA tried the local brew, first the light and then the dark. I stuck with Peroni- then too tired to move so progressed to pizza and a green salad. The green salad was a bit different- no lettuce. The green was for the cucumber accompanied by radish, tomatoes and onion. Mainly cucumber and sour cream. We also stumbled into cocktail hour so after my beer I ended up with a red cocktail- not sure what was in it but it was nice. Going to try and find more traditional restaurant tomorrow and time to study up on sights.

Helsinki

2 August- had a short bus tour this morning. Was a good way to see parts of Helsinki would not have got to. Saw 3 churches- 2 we saw yesterday and the 3rd is a modern one built into a rock. Interesting idea. Also saw a Sibelius monument- looks like organ pipes- impressive, the Olympic village from when the games were held here, basically some suburbs which was interesting as you get to see where some of the wealthier Heksinkians live. Some rather huge places. Some of the area where the docks are is being redeveloped into apartments. Went into the Russian Orthodox Church after the tour as was closed yesterday- very different to the Lutheran one unsurprisingly. Wandered around Market Square and bought some lovely fruit to eat. Was a brilliant sunny day- like a spring day in Sydney. Did a bit of shopping. Their summer sales  are on and we get the VAT refund. Scary how expensive Sydney must be when prices here do not look much more if any expensive than home- applies to both food and clothing. Very easy place to wander around. Of course we got interested as to why Finland was never part of the USSR. Probably don't know exact answer but did discover was part of Sweden at one stage, then Russia. It became independent in the 1920's like the Baltic States. Russia did try to invade in 1940 but sounds like the Finnish are scary fighters and the place is just so inhospitable weather wise that too makes it a bit hard to invade. They defeated the Russians and then had some strange cooperation arrangement with the Germans in WW2. Now have some sort of cooperative trading arrangements with Russia but is a Western nation. Very different place. SA was told about ice fishing yesterday- he found a fishing shop - in a homing pigeon sort of way he finds these shops. He is coming alone if he plans on huddling over a hole in the ice in winter here! Think maybe a step too far for him even.

Helsinki- Finland

1 August- caught a very large ferry across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki. Took approx. 2 hours. The boat had numerous food places including a formal restaurant, a supermarket, shopping and a live band. There was not much to see- Stephen unoriginally asked me what was I expecting: ' the Hanging Gardens of Babylon' ? Hah. Anyway was just a lot of water- some surprisingly shallow water it seemed. Hotel is yet again in a very good location and is comfortable- near the main square where tomorrow's tour starts . We walked around the old part of the city this afternoon. Some cute markets down near the water and saw the 2 main churches- Uspenski Catgedral which is a Russian Orthodox one and Helsinki Cathedral- White Lutheran cathedral- very plain inside but is definitely a landmark on the skyline. The area with the markets is in a square called Market Square. Walked past a yellow brick building we liked the look of but was closed. Just checked and is a 19th century Old Market Hall. It is also right near the waters edge. May go back tomorrow. Most buildings seem to date from the 19th century. Are some impressive buildings with impressive statues.. Saw the main railway station- that has huge statues outside. Very imposing looking. Lot of buildings very grey block- like looking though- quite severe looking. Lots of shops and shopping areas are very pleasant to wander around. Low key Italian meal tonight. Is summer here of course but back to wearing warmer clothes as is definitely cooler around 18 degrees. Get a city bus tour tomorrow.

Tallinn

31 July- managed to get ourselves upgraded to a suite. Only after a sleepless night however due to being on 3rd floor- highest floor in a small room with a non functioning air conditioner. We must have sounded pretty crabby last night. Forgave them no safe in the room when they said could hold valuables downstairs, forgave the lack of a little mini bar to keep water in but when aircon stopped working we did get a bit techy. We thought nothing could be done but for day 2 they offered us a bigger room with more Windows and a fan. Still no aircon but is also lower down and it is mid afternoon and feels much cooler. The bathroom even has a sauna in it- will pass on that. Had another interesting morning walking tour. The city is similar to Riga but better preserved as has never really been invaded as such- occupied but only really under attack once during WW2 by the Russians. Tour guide said this but then again when went to upper old town- were shown Russian cannons embedded in a tower. The guide was also keen to make clear that Estonia has essentially been part of Western Europe for most of its existence. Russia has not been the predominant influence. Was also keen to say how important the EU and NATO were for them- no brexit for Estonia. What else? Well Estonians while Lutherans like Latvia, are not generally religious people. They see themselves as more pragmatic or less romantic than the Latvians or Lithuanians. Also culturally their most defining feature is their language. Oh and marzipan. Most of the tourist stuff on sale is not really traditionally Estonian- definitely not the amber apparently. They don't even really have a defining food ( other than marzipan). Like the other Baltic states- was pagan until around 1200s. Still a few churches around but a number are now used for other purposes- museums and the like. A number of the old Soviet factories are being repurposed for other uses such as an art academy. The old KGB building is now luxury apartments. I liked her way of describing their history- very pragmatic. Probably a mixture of Tallinn being very used to western tourists and their proximity to Finland, but found this guide the most relatable.Its city walls and towers leave Gotlands for dead we thought- but maybe we are just getting a bit too picky- too many Unesco world heritage sites and are all starting to blur into one.

Tallinn, Estonia

30 July- caught an elevator up the top of St Johns Cathedral in Riga to get a good view of the city. Got to see how crammed in the early buildings are. Caught bus to Tallin. Very easy trip again. Got to see some of the art noveau district in Riga on the bus. Some beautiful buildings. Reasonable number of very old wooden houses too when you get further out. Border post into Estonia deserted as was the case in Katvia. Hotel is in old city again- good location. Had a light meal at one of the very many restaurants and then wandered around. It is hard not to run into historical- medieval streets and buildings. Place is full of them. It also has a largely in tact city wall- actually looks just as impressive as Gotlands. One other thing there is are lots of tourists! Not surprised as they also get the cruise ships here. Bit scary how busy it will be tomorrow as the cruise people were back on their ships by the time we walked around. Lots of Amber and linen shops- strikingly similar in that regard to Riga and Lithuania. Half day walking tour tomorrow- steeling myself for the tales of who the various invaders were at various times-assuming Russia, Sweden, Germany and perhaps Denmark in there somewhere.

Riga

29 July- busy day. Had another half day tour with a local guide. She was excellent. Started with a 10 minute summary of Latvian history which gave some context to the tour. As far as I can recall- pagan tribes until the 1200's then under German rule for some 300 years. Not predominantly Catholic like the Lithuanians but Lutheran because of the German influence. Was invaded and ruled by the Swedes at one stage and from memory when Lithuania and Poland were united they too ruled for a bit. They had Russian rule for some 200 years when Peter the Great invaded initially. There was a brief period of independence between the 2 wars but came under Russian rule again at the beginning of WW2. The Germans then broke their agreement with Russia and invaded. Apparently everyone was happy for a short while until they realised what German occupation meant. Of course there was then Soviet occupation until 1991 and now independence. There are still bullet holes in some buildings from the uprising in 1991. Very much liked Riga- prettier and more interesting we thought than Lithuania. There is still some fear about Russia returning. When buying some clothing the shop assistant asked where we were travelling to and I said Russia- she replied that she had not been to Russia but then again that it was still a bit like living in Russia in Riga. One third of their elected members of Parliament are Russian at present but they have to be Latvian citizens apparently.

We saw the Dome Cathedral . It has a beautiful organ and we finished the tour with an organ recital- heard some Bach and Widor. Was lovely. Also saw the remaining city gate called the Swedish gate- built in the 1600's during Swedish rule We also saw something called the Powder Tower which was part of the city's defences. Most of it dates from the 16th century and it has some cannon balls still embedded in the walls from Russian cannons. Also saw the House of Blackheads- nothing to do with acne but is literally to do with men with dark skins. Saw the main squares, a hideous bunker like building built by the Soviets which used to be a museum about their occupation but is now emplty while they work out what to do with it. Was also part of the Hanseatic League and was very prosperous at that time. I got the feeling it was a pretty prosperous city under the Germans at that time. Now it has about 700,000 residents in Riga so not large. Could go on and on- is basically a very pretty and interesting old town. It is of course pretty touristy- lots of restaurants. We tried a more traditional fare tonight both opting to have some pork spare ribs and potatoes. Is more expensive than Lithuania but still pretty inexpensive. Found out that the liqueur we had in shot glasses last night is a traditional Latvian drink called Black Balsam. Oh yes went to Rigas Central Market- mixture of fresh food- lots of fish, pickles, bread, cheese, meats etc and some clothing. It is unusual looking as it was originally used as military airship hangers- sa read somewhere they were old Zeppelin factories. Also is a lot of art nouveau architecture which is a style I love. Very pleasant place.

Riga- Latvia

28 July- arrived in Riga this afternoon via coach. Was a very comfortable way to get here- about 4 hours. The coach even had screens on the backs of the seats with movies , games, music etc. ended up watching Bridge of Spies- enjoyable Tom Hanks/ Spielberg production. Hotel is part of an old church- we have a very old corner heater in the room- the place is 16th/17th century. Similar to home. The hotel is also in the old city so again very convenient for sightseeing. Went for a walk after checking in and is a lovely looking old town. Found a restaurant full of locals- no tourists as far as we could tell. I had a seafood pasta dish which was the best meal I have had on the trip so far. I also inadvertently had a fair bit of alcohol. Was told it was happy hour and I should have a cocktail- I thought that meant half price so ordered some gin fruit combination. Mmm the waiter turned up with 2 shot glasses of liqueur for us plus I got 2 cocktails ( for the price of one). Pretty relaxed by the end of dinner but even so we both thought the food was excellent. There seems to be a music festival on so place is full of live bands. Great atmosphere. Half day walking tour tomorrow morning.