Daugavpils: Latvian City Near Russia

There is something mentally massaging about a train ride. It is not hurried. You are not driving. You are simply watching the scenery scrolling by, a leisurely left-to-right change of view, often very interesting. We left busy, crowded Riga for the much more laid-back Daugavpils. It was a nice change of place. This city is the penultimate one we visited, Vilnius, Lithuania being the last.

Walking through the train station we continued straight down this pedestrian way that traverses the center of the town. On this street were two decent-sized malls with good grocery stores, marketplace, restaurants, an old, apparently no longer used church, and restaurants. It was pretty convenient that our apartment we were to stay at was just a block off this walkway.

Another view of the well laid-out pedestrian walkway, with the train station on on end and the shopping district on the other.

Also along the pedestrian way (behind the building) is this disused church.

Not as picturesque as Riga, but the old town still had some architectural beauties.

Daugavpils Fortress: The (Military) Glory Has Departed. The six photos below were all taken at this fortress.

This sprawling, star-shaped fortress (the last of its kind) was built in nervous anticipation of Napoleon’s sweep eastward. Construction began in 1810 but was only fully completed in 1878. But long before this time it was already obsolete; cannons were soon able to fire from much further away and thus arc easily over the walls causing many casualties and much damage, just like Lieutenant (later General Stonewall) Jackson demonstrated in the 1847 siege of the similarly-walled city of Veracruz, Mexico.

I tried to research what this is a picture is of. There were several of these openings. It would have been helpful if there had been information here or a military museum. But there is only, strangely enough, an art museum!

My first impression as we entered the fortress and climbed up the grassy ramparts, was of a ghost town. But there are actually over a thousand residents within these walls. And a hotel and restaurants and stores also. A town within a town. A town ssurrounded by a ghost-fortress greatly in need of careful renovation.

A good part of the fortress walls and some of the buildings within (photo **above** and **below**) are dilapidated, giving the impression that the fort had once seen serious battles. *But not a single battle happened here.* The decay was entirely caused by neglect over the years. Also, the Soviets tore down at least one of the gateways to make room for their tanks.

Eroded ramparts, horse stables, and (I think) an armory.

The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, sings from the ruined ramparts, “A little bit of butter and no cheese!” At least that is how my bird field guide puts their song.

Back in town, these Eurasian Jackdaws, there were two of them, were shamelessly stealing from the dog’s dish.

Above and **the two photos** Below: Wooden houses make sense where wood is plentiful.

One of the main attractions of Daugavpils, located on **Varsavas Iela (Warsaw Street)**, is the **Shot** **Tower**, the oldest one in all of Europe. The shot (lead balls) is made by melting the metal on the top of the tower, passing it through the sieve (usually made of copper). The balls thus formed are dropped down into a water-filled tub. The result is perfectly round lead balls. Once a year the tower makes these balls by this traditional method.

**Above** and **Below**: Two views of the neighborhood (formerly *town*) of **Griva**, which is just across the **Daugava River** from the main town. Walking over the bridge seemed also like walking a few decades back in time to a more relaxed and bucolic Latvian town.

Also in Griva: A colorful Orthodox Church. From what I read, a friendly and “comfortable” place of worship.

Back in the city: Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Boris and Gleb.

A most inhospitable church, the **Pomors Church of Latvian Veterans**. My wife and I wanted to see this church. Before entering she was sure to have her scarf on and we were both modestly dressed.
But we couldn’t even get close to the door. This old woman with fierce-looking eyes shooed us away like we were dogs! How bizarrre! The congregation is part of that staunch Russian sect called the “Old Believers”. Reading the reviews of this church on different sites I find that our experience was not unique.

**Our apartment was quite comfortable.** We wished to stay longer but were told that the apartment would not be available in the next days. I wonder sometimes if they maybe were balking at letting us have the booking at our “genius rate” that Booking.com gave us. So we gathered our belongings and walked the three blocks to the bus station.

… and, for a while, puzzled over our options. We knew we wanted to go to Vilnius but didn’t know *when* or *how*. But finally, with my Russian and appropriate gestures we were able to conjure up the needed tickets.

But events often do not pan out as planned. The bus was over two hours late. By the way, according to the yellow sign, buses or vans left from here to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Minsk. At least they did at one time.

As the minutes turned to two hours I went back and forth outside and inside, trying to get updates on just what happened to our bus. The interior of the us station was decent enough. Snacks, Soft drinks, tea were available at the far end. As we waited those two hours, I noticed that the usual hubbub in the station was getting louder and louder. A couple of men were being quite boisterous, alternately singing and shouting, obviously drunk.

Eventually the bus came. And, even with the occasional inconveniences here, I mentally added Daugavpils to the list of places that I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

But we probably won’t.

Next: Vilnius.

Five Countries in Five Weeks – Cold Northern Europe: Talinn, Estonia

Taking the ferry from Helsinki to Talinn, Estonia was, of course, much shorter than the hours-long one from Stockholm to Turku, Finland, so we didn’t even bother with a room. We just sat at a table by one of the windows.

We entered this gate to the old town. Our hotel was fairly close. This was once the main entrance into town but now it is relatively quiet.

Our first view of the city from our ferry. The **upper town** is visible in the center of the photo.

The ferry trip was short and pleasant – except for the music, which was quite loud and grating. A Finnish rock group was making a train wreck of **Hotel California**. Added to that the vocalist and instrumentalists apparently couldn’t agree on a key.

Looking like so many stubby pencils, these towers guard west-facing old Town Wal

Supposedly the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625 the 12th-century St. Olaf’s Church, named after King Olaf II of Norway, is now a Baptist church.

Jeweled figurines in a Lower Town shop window

**Town Hall Square**. Town Hall on the right. Normally there would be a lot more tourists here, but it was still pretty cold this morning.

Colorful wooden door to the House of the Brotherhood of the Black Heads, also in the Lower Town. The Brotherhood of Black Heads was originally a military unit that helped in the defense of the city. It was also an association of **Hanseatic** guilds of various trades and crafts. Later the military aspect faded into the background, especially after the Soviets overran the city. But it is still an important social organization.

The door was painted in the early 1640’s but the building itself is much older.

Who are the Black Heads? They are named after their patron saint, the Egyptian **Saint Maurice**. You can see his portrait over the door. This is not the only Black Heads building. We later came across an even more impressive building of that name in Riga, Latvia. (More on that in a later article).

The imposing **Toompea Castle** protected the upper town for many centuries. The tower to the right is **Pikk Hermann.** Danes, Germans, Swedes, and Russians all had the eyes on this important trade crossroad of Talinn. The Estonians (then called Livonians, along with a good part of what is now Latvia) won many defensive battles against the Russians and others. But they were finally overcome in 1721 by the Russians. Livonia then became part of the burgeoning Russian Empire. The castle grounds now includes the Estonian Parliament.

Across the road from the Parliament is the Russian Orthodox **St. Nevsky Church**. It has a beautiful interior of gold paintings and and intricate woodwork. Like in many orthodox churches, they must be admired standing up, seats being scarce.

Looking northward at the Lower Town from the **Patkuli** viewing platform.

My impression is that there are three parts to this city: the tourist-friendly Old Town, Upper and Lower. Then there is the modern high-tech business district (pictures below). And lastly, pictured here, is the “normal” city of middle to low income people. Neither touristy nor glistening. In fact, in many places, somewhat run down.

But the people are interesting. I am always interested in the ethnicities of a place. The three largest groups in Talinn are:
Estonians 233,518 53.34%
Russians 149,878 34.23%
Ukrainians 15,449 3.53%
(From 2022, Wikipedia)

Walking on our way to the bus station on our last morning we went through a very modern section of the city

“Tallinn has the highest number of startup companies per person among all capitals and larger cities in Europe and is the birthplace of many international high-technology companies, including Skype, Wise and Bolt.” – from Wikipedia

Seegi Church, now closed. One Estonian local spoke of this church being in a neighborhood of “*cloud climbers*” (Google translate from the Estonian. Apparently their word for *skyscraper*!)

On our way down to Riga, Latvia. Once again I get to take a few pictures of the local countryside.

Before we leave this article I should mention a favorite candy of ours – **Marzipan**. We found this in all three of the Baltic countries. This photo is actually from Riga but it should be here since Talinn, along with Lubeck, Germany, has a longstanding connection with this candy. Both Hanseatic cities had their own version of the candy at about the same time.
Did I say “*candy*“? Marzipan (“*March Bread*“) was first considered a medicine, known as “*Panis Martius*“. It also appeared in **Shakespeare’s** “*Romeo and Juliet*“. A servant at work in Capulet’s house says:

“Away with the joint-stools, remove the
court-cupboard, look to the plate. Good thou, save
me a piece of marchpane;”

Next: Riga, Latvia

Five Countries in Five Weeks – Cold Northern Europe: Finland

Even though Northern Europe was expensive it was a nice change from the places we usually visit. This is the second article of the Northern Europe series. Having left Stockholm via the Viking Ferry, we arrived that same evening in Turku, Finland. And after a few days we took the bus down to Helsinki. Here are some of the highlights.

We saw several homesteads like this that were alone on their own island.

We made a stop at Mariehamn, Aland Islands. On the cliffside path facing the sea there were several residents watching the ferries pass by. Mariehamn and the Alan Islands are an autonomous region of Finland where the residents speak Swedish. Mariehamn (“Marie’s Port”) was named after the 19th century Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse).

Stenkrossen, an abandoned quarry by Mariehamn’s Western Harbor.

Turku Castle, built in the 1280’s, greets us shortly after we disembarked from the ferry. A fire in 1614 destroyed most of the castle and after it was rebuilt and made into a warehouse.

Even though the walk to the apartment was cold and we had several blocks to go I just had to stop and take a photo of this building.

Market Square with the Orthodox Church of Saint Alexandra on the right.

Läntinen Pitkäkatu. We trudged through snow and more snow on our way to the bus station and back.

**Left**: Läntinen Pitkäkatu. Kauppiaskatu 20. The house was designed by Robert Lyly and was completed in 1926. **Right**: Detail of the Woman & Girl statue gracing the corner. I’m not sure who did the artwork. It dates to the same time as the building.

They really love licorice in these northern countries. I do too …. but a whole tupperware-type container of it? And of course there is also Fudge. Licorice flavored!

**Left**: “Turku Cathedral is a medieval basilica located in Turku, Finland. It was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century and dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300.” – Wiki
The main cathedral was in Turku (earlier called Abo) because it was the capital of the country.
**Right**: I wanted to get a closer photo of the facade and interior but it was just too cold to go over the bridge in my decidedly unwinterly clothes so I had to settle for this shot from the bus as we were leaving town.

Finally heading south to Helsinki. We could enjoy the scenery … or decide just who to vote for in the upcoming elections, each candidate conveniently also given a number.

Three photos of the landscape as we went in and out of snow flurries.

Red seems to be the preferred color of Finnish barns.

I can almost hear one of Sibelius’s symphonies to accompany these vistas.

We really wanted to spend more time in Helsinki but it was just too cold and budget-breaking.

A telephoto of the Helsinki Train Station, taken as we were walking down to our next hotel. I was hoping to get a closer look the next day but getting ferry tickets for Estonia was a higher priority. Can’t see everything.

I wasn’t able to find out what this building was. I had seen another one almost identical to this one.

The bitter cold walk to the ferry dock still had some pretty interesting sites. Halfway to the ferry we ducked into a nice hotel lobby to warm up.

**Next**: Estonia.

Five Countries in Five Weeks – Cold Northern Europe: Sweden

Our travels in Africa having come to a sudden end, we decided to go someplace totally different. Northern Europe was indeed just that: more expensive (which is why we didn’t stay too long), modern, but much safer than South Africa. And much colder. And we still had our sandals from Africa!

This is the first of several articles of our journey through five countries: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Most of this article has to do with Stockholm. A very interesting city. Even though we were not dressed for the freezing temperatures we forced ourselves to make the most of it.

To the right is the Skinnarviksberget. Cold morning, bracing gusts of wind near the water. But beautiful architecture. Our hotel is just beyond the rocky outcrop.

A view of the Ryddarfjarden. One cold morning we decided to do the whole circuit around it. Quite a walk!

A Fieldfare, a common thrush, faring pretty well in a frozen field.

Unlike money in many other countries, Sweden’s currency has artists, filmmakers, and novelists. The actress Greta Garbo graces this 100 Kronor note.

**Above** and **below**: glimpses of a more countrified part of the city, the island of Langholmen, the eastern half of which is mostly parkland. Notice the sod and thatched roof. This was more commonly done earlier. And a lot of 19th century Swedish immigrants to the US took this practice with them.

Picturesque long building facing the South Malarstrand Avenue

We are back in the land of articulated buses! Behind it is the Riddarhuset (House of Nobility).

Ridderholman Church. It started to really snow on the morning that we walked around the harbor.

The Sofia Church, sitting like a squat rocket on the hilltop, was more impressive on the outside.

Sofia Church interior. There used to be beautiful ornate art on the wall you see there but it was replaced by this modern mural. It “improved the acoustics” is what one brochure claimed. Hmm.

Stockholms Tingsrätt (City Courthouse) behind an iconic line of harbor-fronting Hanseatic buildings.

Thanks to Voi, Lime, Bolt, and about six other electric scooter rental services, you are never far from convenient wheels to take you from A to B. Prices vary between 2 or 3 SEK per minute. No wonder they are always speeding!

The Guardian of Valhalla getting ready to whack the sacred pinatas. I know my Norse mythology!

This morning we left Stockholm for Turku, Finland. On a viking ship! Well, the company is Viking Line.

Escorting our ferry through the Stockholm Archipelago is one of Odin’s ravens. Hmm. I’m not sure if this dapper fellow is **Huginn** or **Muninn**. Actually this isn’t even a raven, but a Hooded Crow.

Slowly snaking our way through the suburbs east of Stockholm.

Oskar-Fredriksborg Fort, a defensive redoubt on the island of Rindö. Built 1877. It was still used during WW2. The casemate facing the water was connected to the command structure uphill by hallways well-protected with reinforced concrete. But I don’t think this fort was ever really put to the test.

Have sandals, will travel. Relaxing as we ease our way out of the Stockholm archipelago.

Next: Finland

Favorite Posters from Around the World: Europe

This is the first of two or three travel blog entries. The photos here are all of Europe, going generally from West to East. These were taken from three separate trips to that continent.

As long as I am pursuing this theme of favorites I thought you might enjoy these posters I made from various places we have visited. The photo above is of Porto, Portugal, looking over the Douro River. (It might seem redundant to repeat the place-names, since they are on the images, but I do for those with slow connections)

These images were all post-processed with Gimp. A wonderful free application available in any OS.

Coimbra, Portugal. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Actually, the university is on the summit. An intriguing, ancient town with plenty of ups and downs. Also a Roman aqueduct.

Also Cordoba, Spain. I could not decide which poster from this beautiful city to choose so I am showing both. George Borrow, in The Bible in Spain, describing this mosque in his visit in the 1830s, said that many of the pillars were fallen. Apparently major reconstruction has taken place.

Parma, Italy. And what did we find in a vending machine on the street? Parmesan cheese! A delicious wedge, not the crumbly bland shaker cheese from America.

Strasbourg, France. A placid view of a city that has seen its share of turmoil. Germany and France both have plenty of *half-timbered houses* (*Fachwerkhäuser* in German).

Bensheim, Germany, on the *Bergstraße*. The town of my birth, back when it was West Germany. A lot of memories here. Many warm days I would walk the path up the hill past these vineyards and – *don’t tell anyone* – take a couple or ten deliciously purple grapes.

Wittenberg, Germany. A significant site in Lutherland, along with Martin Luther‘s town, Eisenach. These were both in East Germany. Though not obvious in this photo, it seems that the eastern region of Germany has retained more of its historical structures, not modernizing as much as the West.

Slovenia. I could not say exactly where. Taken from the bus from Austria to Ljubljana.

Trebinje was a pleasant introduction to Herzegovina. Plenty of ancient stone buildings seen, some centuries old, along the riverwalk leading to the arch bridge east of downtown.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, seen from the Yellow Bastion. On the right bank of the Mivjacka River, about in the center of this view, was where Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, the crime that sparked World War One.

It was not really that cold when we visited here so I was surprised to see snow on some of the hillsides surrounding the city. But looking closer I saw that the “snow” was white gravestones. Thousands of them, from a much more recent war.

Ohrid, Macedonia, a peaceful corner of the country. The bird drying his wings in the foreground is the Pygmy Cormorant, *Microcarbo pygmaeus*, is found only in south-east Europe and parts of western Asia.

Timisoara, Romania. This is the city where in 1989 the government tried to take away the priest. But the parishioners surrounded the entrances of his church (not seen here) and protected the priest from arrest.