Mother Russia

So we left Tallinn on a 11:00pm bus towards Russia, hitting the checkpoint at about 2am. The scene was straight out of a Bond movie, with the old Russian guards and the worn out checkpoint that we had to get checked through before re-boarding the bus on the other side of the checkpoint. We all made it safely with minimal inquiries as to our intentions behind the iron curtain. The remainder of the bus ride felt like our brains were going to fall out of our skull due to the poor Russian infrastructure.

We arrived at about 6:45 rushing off the bus....and of course, I forgot my bag with our camera and all our hotel information. Thank God Erin had the Top 10 St. Petersburg book in her purse. Just imagine arriving in a country where nobody speaks much english at 645am, not knowing where you are and having to track down your bag on a bus that you had no idea where it was going, nor how to track it down. That's what we were up against. We managed to find someone from our bus who instructed the cab driver what happened and we were off to the races, chasing the bus across the city....to no avail however. We were dropped off and the bus had already made the last stop and left. Have no fear though, as we made it back to our hotel and the super friendly receptionist was able to track it down for us. As our friend Tanya says on her super famous blog (see links to the right), the most entertaining stories are those that give you the most anxiety at the time.

Crisis averted, on to St. Pete's tourismo style. The city, though cold, was amazing. The city was very reminiscent of Paris, with long grandeur avenues, beautiful buildings, amazing churches. There are countless canals in the city that was founded by Peter the Great from a swamp in 1703 and the city was presented beautifully for the modern day tourist.

We wandered to the church of spilled blood, with is one of the three most impressive churches we have ever seen (St. Peters in Rome and insert the second coolest Church...many tied for second). We estimated there are nearly 6-7 million pieces of mosaic inside the church as it was ENTIRELY covered in the beautiful stone designs.

After the church we wandered to the nearby market and picked up some Matroyska dolls (the doll inside a doll inside a doll).

After the church, we wandered around the tourist sites for the rest of the day and went to the Caviar Bar for dinner. Below is St. Issac's cathedral, an amazing church.The restaurant was in the Grand Hotel Europe which is probably the nicest hotel in the city as we were determined to sample authentic caviar (if making a decision based on experience, caviar is a must, but it is not for the cost conscious, so naturally we felt a little cheated when the bill came).

After dinner we went to a university bar that had a good DJ and very local vibe (we were probably the only American tourists to ever enter the bar).

The next day we went to the Hermitage, probably the biggest museum we have ever visited (it competes with the Louvre), spending nearly the whole day there (and we are not museum people). That night we sampled Georgian cuisine at a great local place that served wine in ceramic bowls and served great grilled kebab-style meats. The following day we scheduled a tour to see Peterhof palace. It was really beautiful, but probably only worth the visit in the summer when the fountains are going. Regardless, it was a nice visit and we had a really great tour guide who had great knowledge to share about the sights, as well as Russian culture and history. After the palace, we went to a really interesting Orthodox cathedral in the suburbs and get to witness the palm Sunday service (which is actually Easter Sunday in the western Christianity). Following the cathedral, we went to a WWII monument that few tourists visit. It is all in Russian, so thankfully our guide was very helpful. If we think the war affected the US, it decimated St. Petersburg during the 900 day siege, where 2 out of the 3 million people in the city died due to the German attacks which cut off food supplies combined with the cold winter. Our guide told us how families survived by cooking leather and eating the flour used to seal wallpaper as there was no food. Her grandfather was the only one of 13 brothers and sisters to survive the siege.

We followed up with dinner with some pizza and then ended our trip to Russia at the Grand Hotel Europe bar with a pint of Russian lager. Despite the early emergency, it was a great trip behind the Iron Curtain!

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is absolutely magical around christmas time (according to BBC commercials viewed in my hotel room while working in Galway:), so we thought we'd give it a shot. The town itself is frozen in the middle ages and dates back to the 15-17th centuries. There are countless churches, fortified walls and towers, and amazing buildings that give the town its character. The two churches, Alexander Nevesky and St. Olaf are completely different, the former an Orthodox cathedral and the later, a Lutheran church which was once the tallest building in the world during the middle ages.

The second you are dropped off at the town gates, you feel like you are in a real life disney world. The old town is one of the best preserved we have seen, complete with perfectly intact cobblestone streets and approximately 20 towers remaining from medieval fortifications that surround the UNESCO designated town that you can walk along most days.

After arriving we caught sunset over the old town, then had a great Italian meal down a narrow alley before hitting up a couple pubs to close the night off. DO NOT go to the touristy brew pub (that happened to be across from our hotel), the beer is the worst I have ever had! But, as an award, the town square is one of the best we've been to. If we had done the European best of the best post, it would have rivaled Sienna as the coolest square and coolest old town.

The Merchants House Hotel, is one of the most charming hotels we have stayed at during our time abroad. It was located 15 paces off the main square in an old merchant's house that has been refurbished to be both modern and charming. It was perfect. We wouldn't stay anywhere else if going to Tallinn. It even has a 24 hour sauna we took advantage of at 3am after the bar! The next day we wandered around the old town and enjoyed a drink on the old town square at a nice little bar as seen below:

The next day we climbed to the top of St. Olaf to see the commanding view of the city. You can see the elevated part of town where the parliament resides with Nevsky cathedral in the background (as well as a couple other churches). It was really beautiful and well worth it!We had dinner at Mekk, a highly-rated modern Estonian restaurant with underwhelming food. However, we appreciated the variety of flavours and understand you can't win all the time. The pubs we did go to were great.

That evening, we departed on a Eurolines bus across the Russian border. Stay tuned for future posts on hellish 3am border crossings and a 6am race across St. Petersburg in search of English speakers and a missing backpack.

Killiney Climb

Visitors always provide us with a familiar smile and a pleasant reminder of home. Thus, we were thrilled that Jason (later nicknamed Betchkov or Kleptokov....stay tuned for posts of our trip to Russia) decided to visit and inspired us to embark on a Baltic adventure to his homeland.We spent the first few days of his visit roaming around Dublin and sharing our favourite public houses including but not limited to: Kehoes, Stag's Head, Long Hall, Schoolhouse Bar, O'Briens and Toners. We walked the canal and did what any Dublin visitor should do, jump on the DART to Dalkey, a charming old village, where you can embark on a climb up Killeney Hill, home to Bono and beautiful views down the coast.

Westport, County Mayo

Last weekend, Erin and I went to Westport with Colm, a colleague of mine, to experience of bit of the country outside of Dublin. We arrived in Westport late Friday night after the 4 hour drive across the country. Colm parents were amazing hosts and spoiled us the entire weekend, thanks again!

We got a lift to town from his house in one of the many bays of the area to the West Bar for our first pints. After this, we went to John's Bar, which had a great fireplace and a live band playing the traditional songs, who of course was one of Colm's friends cousins. If you aren't related to someone, you know them in some way shape or form. The Guinness there was really good. After the bar we made it to the night club and ended the night in the early morning hours. It was a good taste of the city for the first night and Colm and his friends showed us a great time. It is cool to be out with the locals as you seem to always do things you normally wouldn't as a tourist (i.e. we would've never choose John's bar out of the nearly 50 in Westport town, as its off the beaten path). Erin and Steve, Colm's good mate at Matt Malloy's:The club warrants a post of its own, but I'll leave it to you to experience it yourself. Funny enough, John's Bar happens to be right across the street from McCarthy's Pub!! This one is for you Johnny Mac!

The next morning Colm and I golfed at Westport Country Club, where his counsin is the pro there. It is a beautiful course and has a couple great tee shots overlooking Crough Patrick, where the Saint himself drove the snakes out of Ireland!

After another delicious dinner from Mrs. Mac, we made it back into town for to Moran's bar for the Ireland-Bulgaria world cup qualifying match. Sporting events bring out our favorite part of Ireland, the pub culture where everyone gathers for a beer and watches the match...kids too! It beats the american sporting event culture where you go to your friends with the biggest flat screen, much better atmosphere!

The line of the day goes to Steve. He wasn't drinking (yet) and I said his doctor would say a pint of guinness a day is good for your health. Steve naturally replies, "he actually would, he's standing right there," and pointed at his doctor, sipping on a guinness across the pub!!

This pub also serves the best pint of guinness in the city, and the best I have ever had. The closer to the tap the keg is, the more pure your pint is. Naturally the keg was directly below the tap here and the guinness was amazing!

After the disappointing match, we walked across the street to Matt Malloy's, an institution in Westport owned by the flute player in the famous Irish band, the Chieftans. Instead of most theme bars like those in the US, Matt Malloy runs the pub with his son and it is a truely great bar. Once in a great while, Matt will join the locals in the midst of a trad session and play with them. To our delight, this was one of those nights! He played for about 30 minutes in one of the smaller rooms and Erin and I squeezed in to catch the very memorable experience. The music was amazing.

The next morning, Erin and I got a lift into town from Colm's mom and walked around the town for a few hours, and walked out to the quay to check things out. It is a great city with tons of character that everyone who wants to experience the true irish culture should visit! Its right up there with Dingle. Thanks again Colm for the great weekend.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Last Monday, we woke up to a grey Sofia, luckily we had plans to hit the road again...to Plovdiv. As you could probably tell from the cobblestone road arriving in the old town. Plovdiv is one of Europe's oldest cities, it was originally a Thracian settlement before becoming a major city ruled by Greeks and Romans in Antiquity, as you can tell from the Roman ampitheatre discovered only in the 1960's. It was so well preserved partly because this was more or less a compost/junk pile for hundreds of years and this was forgotten.

They also discovered a Roman stadium dating from the 2nd century when building the promenade for the current town center, it now stands beneath a mosque. It cool that this monument is just chillin at the center of the town square with vendors doing their thing all around it.

The old town was really cool, large and fun to explore. Plovdiv is among the few cities with two ancient theatres; remains of the medieval walls and towers; Ottoman baths and mosques; a well-preserved old quarter from the National Revival period with beautiful houses, churches and narrow paved streets.

We dropped our bags off at the hotel in the middle of old town, and used the scare sunshine to wander around in the afternoon, before going to a local bar for a bottle of Kamenitza, brewed in Plovdiv. They also have a pretty sweet promenade with tons of modern shops. The town is really has the potential of being the next great European destination. The old town, though amazing, is being reconstructed and preserved at a pretty slow pace and I bet in 5-10 years you'll hear the name everywhere. This is from the top of the old town looking over roman ruins.

After walking around the lower town some more, we got ready and went to dinner at Hebros, voted the best restaurant in Bulgaria a few years ago. It was a slow Monday, but an amazing meal that is probably 1/3 - 1/2 the price of a similar restaurant in Western Europe. Definitely a must if visiting. We had a 3 hour dinner and took some night photos of the old town before we went back to the hotel.

The next morning we wandered where we hadn't in the old town, had a coffee and lunch at a really cool Armenian restaurant where the owner helped us himself and gave a great experience. 3 courses and beer for €10....that is not a typo. It was amazing!

We caught the 4pm bus back to Sofia, had a quick dinner, and then it was off to the airport. Duty free had Zubrovka polish vodka for dirt cheap which made a happy ending for another terrific weekend! We are off to Westport, County Mayo, for the weekend!

Rila Mountain Roadtrip

On Sunday, we had arranged to see the countryside and Rila Monastery, one of the most historic sites in Bulgaria. Initially we had debated renting a car as we love to peel off the highway and explore villages and small towns. Thank god common sense got the best of us as the roads are horrific and the cyrillic road signs made navigation, even for seasoned travelers, impossible. The main road leading out of Sofia and heading towards Greece and Macedonia is cobblestone...COBBLESTONE! It was like a video game trying to dodge the potholes. Given the difficulty in navigating, we were lucky to have an awesome Bulgarian tour guide named Krasi to drive and share stories about Bulgarian culture and life with us as well as homemade rakiya liquour. Krasi is originally from a city called Plevin in the north and offered great background on the country's communist history as well as its customs. For example, the month of march and its weather represents women, 'somedays nice', 'somedays not so nice.' He had an immense pride in his country and shared information on how the orthodox church was created and the difficulties of living in a new democracy. It is a rarity to find a young American with such an incredible knowledge of history along with dates and details. As the drive went on, the altitude got higher and the ground whiter. We arrived at Rila Monastery on the most beautiful day Krasi has ever seen in his years of visiting the Rila mountains. The sky was radiant blue and there was not a cloud in the sky.

The monastery was founded in the 10th century by St. John of Rila, who lived in a nearby cave for 7 years before his students built the complex. The arrival of the Ottomans in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the mid 1400's. The current site was constructed in the 1400's and in 1983 was designated a Unesco world heritage site. One of the most interesting relics that survived from hundreds of years ago, was a cross carved with a needle by a monk for 12 years; the detailed work led to eventual blindness.

After touring, we grabbed a bite with Krasi who recommended several traditional Bulgarian dishes including tripe soup. We were nearly through the meal when Lou turned to both of us and asked, 'Is tripe a fresh water or salt water fish?' Poor Krasi looked at me with fear in his eyes, so I had to be the one to tell Lou that it was actually cow stomach. No more tripe soup was ordered after that although we loved the shopska salad. Shopska is basically a Bulgarian version of the greek salad served with the best feta ever tasted.

One interesting thing to note from the photo of Krasi above, are his red and white bracelets. These are given as gifts in the beginning of March to friends and loved ones to symbolise peace and fertility. You take the bracelet and hang it on a branch when you see the first stork of the spring. It was really moving tradition as both men and women and the young and old participated.
After lunch, we hiked in the snow.Then we stopped by the monastery's bakery to sample banitsa, Bulgarian donuts.

After that, we needed to do more hiking. We drove through the village of Stob, complete with donkey carts, rustic buildings insulated with horse manure and locals enjoying the sunshine. We hiked up to look at some really cool rock formations and enjoy the view.

On the way home we ran into a large traffic jam.