Apparently Jeremy is bad for blogging. Hearts of Iron 4 came out while we were in Vilnius so there's been a lot of that plus TV shows he brought me in our downtime instead of this. Also road trip means no long train and bus rides. But here's some things I remember.
Prague 5 days
Krakow 1 week
Stopover in Warsaw 2 nights
"Flight" to Vilnius
Vilnius 1 week
Bus to Riga
Riga 3 days
Road trip begins
Ethnographic park
Small ruins up to Gaujas national park
We went along the river to a little ruin, but it was so little, the remains of a wall that J cancelled our plans to do the next, yet smaller one down the line and instead we torched straight up to Sigulda, in the Gaujas national park. We stayed at a roadside motel, which was tots on the highway but charmingly backed by the river, and had a dinner that was all grey peas and globs of mayonaisse. I liked the salad and it was so local, lunch this day was also a grey pea pile at another tots local place but it was cool all these places no one spoke a word of english and you had to get by, it was like getting off the tourist track for real and we were the literal only people at the ruins.
Gaujas national park 3 nights
So first day when we arrived we went to the Sigulda castle ruins, there's a pretty manor house which is now gov offices and the ruins behind them, and they were pretty well developed, tower you could climb, half fallen castle walls, and fantastic views over the river valley to Turaida castle on the other side.
Second day we woke up feeling really lazy and spent all morning playing computer games. We were between canoeing down the river or walking this loop J devised, and we picked the loop and then there was no start time so we totally played til we got hungry which was like 3 pm. But then there we were in town so we took the cable car up to the top of Krimulda manor, now a sanitorium and a place you can stay yay might do that next time. And we walked along the river down the ridge one way and then crossed it on this fantastic pedestrian bridge and then walked back along the river and just as we were rounding our third hour of pleasant walking and I was thinking I'd really rather not climb this hill again a ski lift appeared by magic and we rode up it for a euro basically back to our car. Thanks god! This was also the day J's knee gave up, it's doing weird weakness and popping, so we limited our walking thereafter.
Third day was stormrainy and we were supposed to do castles but again we played computer games literally all day til night while the rain blew outside. It was v fun and lazy. But I will leave gaujas with a list of things I would still do there. Just full of fun that place, not the most spectactular scenery or great sights but there's just so much to keep you happily busy and the river and pine forests are always there and they just have all you need.
Fourth day we left and we started the day at the ski lift which had a slide you could take down in a little cart on a metal track like a gravity fed roller coaster. Then on to Gutmanis cave which was billed as the largest cave in the balkans which I should have looked at the proviso bc it was not even a cave just an indentation in the limestone cliff. But it was the location of the Rose of Turaida.
The Rose of Turaida was a maiden lived in Turaida castle, until everyone in the castle was killed when it was taken over by the Swedes except her. The king found her in the rubble, still alive, and raised her as his own. She grew very beautiful, and came to be known as the rose of turaida. She lived in turaida castle and had a lover, a humble gardener, who she would meet in Gutmanis cave. One day a jealous suiter forged a note from her lover and got her to the cave where he gave her the choice rape or death. I think actually he just gave her the choice rape, but she had a red silk scarf and told him it would protect her from a sword and he should try which he did so, she chose death, and he left her there slain. Her lover came later and found her, in his distress he got covered in her blood, so the kingdom tried him for her death. But the servant who had delivered the fake message came forward, and so he wound up spared, and planted a linden tree on her grave.
We then went to Turaida castle, which was still in the process of restoration, there were actively people building there some of the towers. The outside of the castle was really awesome. There is a big garden populated by statues from folk songs, and the castle is red brick and shingles which looks really charming against the green forest and blue sky, The inside was less impressive, but J found some fun info about bishops concubines and the like. We then drove up to Cesis.
Cesis up to outside Parnu:
Cesis rules! This was the fourth castle we had seen in the national park: Sigulda castle, Krimulda manor countsish, Turaida castle home of the rose of Turaida, and now this one, plus ones in other towns, really we're up to in the range of 10 castles this trip.
Cesis caslte is not the best restored, or the most sumptuously decorated, or the oldest, but it was my favourite. It just felt like you were in a castle the whole time, so castle esque. First you went to the dungeons, which a lot of them have, but in this castle you descended down a treacherous iron ladder into a hole, then down a steep stair, then you were submerged in the dungeon itself. I have a fear of incarceration, and going into this dungeon made me a little scared, even though I could get back out again. There was a window, or long hole, through which a little daylight came and it chilled you physically because underground and psychologically. We got out of there and the castle has been fully restored on one side which we didn't get to see and left original aka ruins on the other side or partially restored, so we walked through the grounds where the convent used to be and saw the place where some people blew themselves up to prevent capture bc that was apparently worse in some war, the balkans had a lot of wars as the christians, then polish then russians, then swedes all took them over basically from the 15th century on.
We mounted the stairs which you need a lantern to do because the stairs are dark and shadowy so you go up in candle light and the top floors and the actual chambers are well lit because of the windows, but the stairwell has no windows and so it's pretty dark, you can't see your feet and really have to use the lantern to make your way. It's candlelight, so added romanticism.
We got up to the maesters chamber which has get this original 15th or 16th century gothic brick archways, OMG people. This is the most beautiful gothic archway I'd maybe ever seen it was like stars within stars and back when it was plastered they painted the night sky in the panels. And the whole chamber was airy and beautiful.
And you could go up two more levels but not in per say because the first level you could see the ceiling wanted to crumble, more restoration needed, but you could see the domed archway, and the topmost one where you could walk around an arcade but they hadn't built a floor over the aforementioned dome roof presumably for the same reason. And the views were so great because you know it's the other towers of the castle or the Gauja river and pine forests, or the lovely medieval town of Cesis.
Which outside the castle there's an incredibly sculptured park and a manor house hotel, and the whole town is just pretty with the stone buildings and the hey hey hey.
We drove on out then, J's knee had had enough and it was 6pm so we got to our hotel at like 8:30, which made the no dinner a little sad but we'd had a sumptuous lunch in Cesis, this woman put herb butter on my bread with a pastry nozzle in front of me, you could watch the chef make the food in the open kitchen and like three people plated it all bustled around, our hotel was intentionally really remote, but we turned out to not want it so the next morning we headed into Parnu proper which was better.
Parnu 2 nights:
So we saw the ocean. Which was actually great I mean for Europe I mean. Travel books describe it as "ice blue" and that's ok, though also kind of flat mud brown, and there's sand, and the day we were there was the warmest of the whole trip so while you didn't feel like swimming you weren't wearing a coat. (Why don't more people live in the habitable areas of the world?) And you could imagine, on this flat sea, kayaking, stand up paddling, sailing, rowing, all amazing through the thousand islands of Estonia. So not a crap sea, but you know.
But Parnu itself was a lovely jazzy city with the coolest selection of cafes and jammin street culture since at least Riga, maybe Vilnius. J's knee is busted, and the brace we got him is not working, so he voted for a rest day. We found a small room in this really fancy old hotel that we laughed at the chance of staying at in the cafe ped mall district within our budget and have been there ever since, winning as the US in our game (mmm taking over the entire world) and splitting a bottle of wine at the fancy restaurant. We checked in just as the rain and bluster started but it was beautiful sun at the beach. So winning! Today it's this and I made my last big purchase, flights home via the US. There are some more wrinkles to be worked out in travel plans today. And more war winning on the computer. Right now we're in the sumptuous lounge of our hotel, and it's still raining.
Then the future
Parnu a third night or one more nat park?
Talinn 5 nights
Helsinki 7 nights with mom and Harmony coming!
Say goodbye to Jeremy.
