Baltic overview

Beautiful landscapes, interesting cities and dark histories  

This is a brief overview to accompany the daily blogs that I wrote whilst biking in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. I wanted to go soon because I fear that this is a fragile region and the politics could change quickly. 

The three countries have interesting geographies. Lithuania has beautiful rolling countryside with forest that goes down to the sea. Visiting the Curonian spit where a huge, calm lagoon has been created by Baltic tides was a highpoint. Here I enjoyed the sea, the forest and sand deserts. Thomas Mann picked a good place for contemplation in having his summer home there. (July 15) Estonia is synonymous with lakes and I was surprised at the vast lake Pepsis (July 20) which is the border with Russia. 

The countries also felt different, Lithuania is palpable Catholic and Vilnius is packed with Baroque churches. (July 12) Latvia felt more prosperous with large estates and country gardens (July 18). Estonia, surprisingly, was the most modern despite a huge sparsely populated landscape, and is embracing Internet technology. 

The countries are small in scale; in Latvia and Estonia the capitals dominate the country. Estonia only has a population of one million and it is impressive that it has several universities, and Tartu university is long established (July 19). When I visited the Kunu art gallery in Tallinn I wondered how the population could support a major art gallery (July 22). The influence of outsiders is very visible, Vilnius feels Polish because its previous kings had close links with Polish nobles. Riga feels very cosmopolitan. Estonia feels Scandinavian and models itself on Finland. One also sees Scandinavian design in Estonia. 

Their cultures are Hanseatic with beautiful old cities such as Tallinn and Riga. Folk culture is important there with Baltic festivals of singing and dancing and we saw a local one in the forest in Munamagi Hill Estonia (July 19). The revolution in Estonia started with a singing festival where people could protest. There is also a strong forest culture with woodcarving of all types. 

Their location is important; because they are on the edge of mainland Europe they have all been invaded many times and had different rulers. Looking at a map from 1900 I saw that Lithuania was part of the German empire and Estonia and Latvia part of the Russian empire. They were all occupied thrice in the 2nd World War, first by Russia, then by Germany and then again by Russia and that lasted until 1990. These occupations have had a profound effect. The Lithuanians and Latvians took to the forest and had a prolonged guerilla war against the occupier and were hoping that the West would come and rescue them and were disappointed when this did not happen. 

They also have dark histories, Vilnius was a centre of Jewish learning and culture and 33% of the population were Jewish. The Jewish museum in Vilnius captures the impressive Jewish life and culture in Lithuania. A shockingly efficient genocide was then perpetrated by the Germans in 1941 with some help from the local Lithuanians. The museum of genocide in Vilnius is set in the former KGB headquarters and conveys the different types of torture and oppression that the Germans and then the Russians practiced against the local population. (July 12) One of the most chilling exhibits was an organogram for the KGB showing the different branches such as torture and spying.

I read “The Baltic Revolution” whilst I was there and found Anatol Lievens’ analysis very helpful, sadly he wrote his history in 1994 and there has been a lot of change since then. 

I fear that these states remain vulnerable. They are proud of their EU membership which has brought major benefits to them and the euro is the currency. My travels confirmed this feeling of fragility and Putin could easily decide that he wants to support the 30% Russian speakers who live in Estonia and I’m not sure that the EU would be able to stop him. 

Biking was a great way to see the countryside and experience the changing landscapes even though it rained every day. The northern summer light gave me many beautiful evenings notable the one exploring the art nouveau architecture in Riga. 

It was an interesting holiday, I enjoyed being in new countries and learning about their different histories.

The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Lativia , Lithiuania and the oath to independence.
Anatol Lieven
Yale 1994

Tallinn 2

Learning about Estonia at the quirky national museum, city life through the ages and seeing Hanseatic masterpieces in the Town Hall

Had a day in Tallinn and it was good not to have to move on again. I enjoyed walking around the city; it has a medieval centre with old brightly coloured houses. Many important houses are labelled with plaques so I admired these bakers areas and many different guild houses which had now been restored. There were also a few traces of art nouveau. This is one of the most complete old cities I have visited.

I went to the city museum which had excellent displays about the different aspects of the town, the port and especially all the different mediaeval trades. There were about seven different types of smith depending on whether they were producing locks or chains or nails. Upstairs was an excellent video about the singing revolution here in 1989 which started with a demand for having Estonian as an official language and how they put this to the soviet rulers and how it then then lead to independence. They had good timing because of perestroika and it seems that they lead the way for Latvia and Lithuania. The museum of Estonian history is the funkiest national museum I have been in and explored what it meant to be an Estonian through interactive displays and cartoons on Estonia geography, religion, culture. It was a humorous display and I was surprised to see them described as the least happy people in Europe, I'm surprised, it does not feel like that here, maybe it is different in winter, I also wonder when that survey was done. It contrasts with the Danes who are the world’s happiest and live in the same part of the world.

In the afternoon I went to the Town Hall to see a magnificent exhibition of 15- 18c masterpieces in private collections in the Hanseatic region ( Bruges, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Lubbock, Gdansk,) There were beautiful works by Breughel, Durbruegels, Durer, Cranch, the Tower of Babel by Marten van Valkenborch, all beautifully hung and it was a fine way to see the town hall. I also wandered around the market, lots of wooden items, boards, butter knives, toys and winter mitts. There were interesting ceramics for sale in the designer shops. Many with blue themes.

Had Estonian food for supper in the main square with Maureen and David, I have enjoyed their company.

At the dockside hotel I am very aware of all the ferries coming to and fro with lots of people passing through, 1 million people and 30 million tons of goods passing through each.

Tallinn

Käsmu peninsula, Tallinn in beautiful light.

The first rain free day. We biked through the forest and down the Käsmu peninsula visiting old wooden houses. Stopped by a small lighthouse. Had a very expensive coffee at a Bob Marley cafe in a village, so strange to hear those reggae beats in this landscape. I bought local raspberries, strawberries and cucumbers from a small stall where women were selling produce, and picnicked on the beach.

We saw the beauties of Tallinn in strong bright sunshine. We have fantastic views from the cathedral and castle areas and could see the architecture of the town with the 15 century castle and narrow streets. We went into the huge Russian orthodox cathedral atop the hill and ended in the large square in the lower town. Had a beer here with David and Maureen just enjoying the atmosphere. Our hotel is in the port area and we walked back for supper there. The hotel is a standard clean light modern Scandinavia type with few luxuries.

Chatted to Maureen as we were cycling about my father’s book Annie Matthews and there were parallels with her own family. She was born into a poor catholic family in Wales and several of her aunts had been governesses. She has written a book about her experiences called "Ten pound Pommies" which was the cost of going to Australia in the 1960 's when the government was encouraging migrants from Europe.

My first impressions of Tallinn are that it is busy port with lots of industry. The town has very modern suburbs with factories, feels far more developed that Latvia and Lithuania.

Overall impressions of the trip, excellent combination of biking and cities. We could have had more free time in the cities, it would have been improved by a lot by an extra day in Riga. The hotels could also have been more central, on several occasions such as in Kaunas, Riga and Klaipėda. The last night in Vihula manor was excellent. I have been surprised by the beauty of the evening light and enjoyed walking around cities in the evening. I have also been surprised by the fine botanical gardens. The cycling was also pleasurable because there was little traffic and motorists were very careful of cyclists.

Tartu to Vihula manor

Walking around Tartu, biking along Lake Pepsis, Russia not visible night at Vihulaa Manor hotel

I walked around Tartu and enjoyed the old baroque university buildings, one modernised with and a painting of current professors on one of the walls. Statues are hidden around Tartu including one of a small man and big baby in a park. In front of the town hall is one of a pair of students kissing under an umbrella, which are carried the whole time here

We drove out to the lake and biked from there through forests and alongside fields with flowering cornflowers. We stopped at a church for a weird sect called the Old Believers who refused to change their beliefs when the Russian Orthodox Church modernised in 1650 and they continued to make the sign of the cross in a particular way and other arcane practices, and seem to be well known to the anthropologist. The lake is so big that there is no sign of Russia, not even on the horizon. We biked alongside the lake for about 20 km, past Estonian summer houses, some quite grand, other peeling paint. There was a tourist village but no cafes were open, so I sat with David and Maureen eating homemade sandwiches and looking out across the vast grey lake to Russia. There was a modern new EU border post and a couple of patrol boats but little activity. I walked around the shops, there was a small fish shop selling fresh and smoked fish and an ancient clothes shop selling rather garish poor quality clothes.

We had another huge downpour after the bike ride, we had all been looking at the huge mass of clouds gathering to the west and knowing that rain would come.

We stopped in a small town which had old buildings that were all shut, but to my surprise we then found excellent coffee in a very new theatre cafe, the old police station had been replaced by a very new modern one.

We then checked into the smartest hotel we have stayed in on this trip, it is a spa hotel set in a national park. Vihula manor and the rooms are all in old buildings. We had a nice supper together in a dining room. I then enjoyed the late evening light and walked around the gardens, there was a huge lake with large trees round it. The vegetable garden was extensive with beetroot, carrots, onions, raspberries on canes, blackberries and gooseberries also growing. Lovely to wander round these late at night.

I have loved the late evening light here, it is so good to be able to walk around a town or garden late at night and enjoy them.

Cesis to Tartu

Into Estonia, seeing a forest folk festival, walking round Tartu, botanical gardens.

Walked round Cesis in the morning. Then crossed the border into Estonia and stopped at a huge supermarket. We then biked up to Estonia's highest point at Haanja and walked into the forest and found a local folk festival going on with people of all ages taking part in singing and dancing on the area in front of the tower. At the back a couple of accordionists played and drank beer. It was a fine event and is very much part of the local culture.

Had a long downhill run and only biked 15km today, I could easily have done more. We then drove on to Tartu. Estonia has many small lakes dotting the landscape and visibly better infra-structure than Lithuania and Latvia, the roads are better, more cars and there are large malls for shopping.

We explored Tartu in warm evening sunshine, much better for exploring and a welcome change. Tartu is a small university town with a central square with a baroque town hall and buildings of all ages around it. We explored the botanical gardens which is one of the best I have ever been in, established 200 years ago with huge nature trees and large groupings of plants with a beautiful large central bowl. Most of the roses were blooming in the rose garden.

Estonian language is also palpable different.