Take my money Lithuania!

Hello!
We are blogging from the distant lands of Warsaw, Poland. Sorry for the blog-free 3 days, but internet was scarce and let's face it, tired-ness won again. So, let's recap....
Day 5 of crazy trip:
We were in Riga, Latvia for a second day, getting cabin fever from 2 full days in one country. So, instead of actually seeing Riga, we decided it would be best to transport ourselves to Sigulda, Latvia (a 1 hr tram ride to nature). We started the day off right by deciding to bobsled with real live (yes, they weren't dead) bobsledding athletes from Latvian origin (you could tell by the nice muscular build). We got lovely directions from the guard to walk all the way down the hill to the bottom of the track, so we followed suit, like sheep. At the bottom of the hill we entered several interesting buildings such as the Finish house, now I get what it means. We waited for about half an hour for the guides to find us, with no success. So, we decided to make the best of it and eat some fruit and then throw the peels in their grass in protest. If you are a Latvian bobsledder reading this blog, sorry. Train your guard better. Anywho, finally, someone found us and laughed in our face when we said what happened. He managed to take us back up the hill where the real guides were with an actual bobsled. We met some nice Norwegian men who were waiting in line and then it was our turn. Fast winds, wobbly heads, and a full bobsled ride later we were all quite happy and satisfied. Now it was time to actually see Sigulda.
I'm sure Sigulda would have been a lot more enjoyable if I loved the sweet sounds of mosquitoes biting my hands and feet and if there was a pond of free ice cream. But there was no pond and I unfortunately do not love mosquitoes (Nigeria made sure of that). Sigulda is a beautiful place, but I just wasn't ready for what it had to offer. If I ever return to the Latvian forests, I'll be sure to bring my own bug spray and shoes full of traction. Enjoy some of these views, including the ones with our faces in them.


Also, here are the ladies swatting those bugs away. How attractive :)

We ended the day as locals in Double Caffe, our regular spot for the last 3 days. Ordering hot chocolate and traditional Latvian desserts.

On to Day 6:
Started off with a quick shopping trip to an authentic Russian market in Riga where we purchased unnamed pastries with various jams and custards along with bananas and oranges, yum! We took a 5 hour bus to Vilnius, Lithuania (Keith, if you're reading this, it's your homeland in case you were confused). The chocochino was not all it was made to be. We arrived in Vilnius and went straight to the train station to purchase our train tickets for our Vilnius-Warsaw trip, 10 hours of butt-sitting bliss. No stop or drive-through Belarus, which is a success because if you know anything about Belarus, it's that you need to get a visa to go through, yes through, their country. Not ok Belarus, not ok. We didn't have to deal with that though, so let's move on to countries that don't require such nonsense. Vilnius! is beautiful. Old (and un-renovated) churches with peeling paint and cracks in the foundation (safe if you ask me), miracle plaques in old town squares, and foreign countries within foreign countries. Check out Uzupis, it's own little republic with it's own president and government and about 4 streets wide. Love it. I say that brings our country total to 15 and I really don't care if you say otherwise. Look at that sign, so official.

That was at night though so let's back up a little. We walked all the way to the KGB museum which was supposed to close in the next hour. Our 30 minute walk was failed by a sign that went as follows:
Closed for Father's Day June 6. Is it sad that I'm a little mad at my dad for this? I mean a real KGB torture chamber overlooked due to a fake holiday. I'm sorry, not ok Lithuania, not ok.
We were utterly disappointed and took comfort in a pretty park next door. Pigeons are not comforting. We decided that sulking was not the best way to enjoy Lithuania so we proceeded to the old town to see some old churches, bell towers, castles and magnificent views of the city. Here is a view of the old town from some hill, I don't remember what it's called, but there is a cable car/elevator thing that we rode without paying. The authorities are still looking but we are long gone in Poland, out of their jurisdiction.

Also, deep thoughts on the top of the hill.

I gotta say that I'm rediscovering my Catholic roots on this trip with the amount of pretty churches we have visited. Oh wait, just kidding. I'm Jewish. Well, good thing I can rediscover my Jewish roots for the next 4 days in Poland. Here is another pretty church, almost completely unchanged from when it was built, a long long time ago. St. Anne's church in Vilnius.

It is a true backpackers life here in Eastern Europe. Please marvel at our talents in doing laundry at B&B Florens, Vilnius. Kat and my agitation powers to simulate a real washing machine and hours upon hours of Katie's arranging to ensure the best drying methods leads to success. I do not know how women in the old days with 20 children laundered in the pond. Maybe the donkeys helped.

Also, a fun picture from a menu in Uzupis. Just to show how much I love cross-language translations. Makes me chuckle everytime.

In case you can't read it, it says: Snack to the Vodka
Today (Day 7, in case you got tired of counting): We began with our "breakfast" of sliced bread and weird orange mini-muffins at the B&B in Vilnius and tried to find a mysterious local market to buy some snacks (not snacks to the vodka though). That did not go well, so we entered a supermarket and with our budget friendly eyes, purchased enough food to leave us only slightly hungry on the 10 hour trip to Warsaw for about $5 (18 Litas). We kindly said thank you to our cashier (aciu) trying to sound as if we are not sneezing. We boarded the train and watched the Lithuanian/Polish countryside for the next 10 hours. Wait, did I not say 10 hours. It was long.
Please see the excitement:

On our Polish train, we met a very nice Polish woman who lives in New York. She offered to help us find our hostel and was a true testament to the Polish generosity. I like this country already. She warned us of flooding in Krakow though and I don't like the sound of that, so let's see how nimble we have to be to continue on our path. We arrived in Warsaw starving, so we went for some authentic Polish pizza. It doesn't exist, so we decided to just go for regular pizza. It was delicious.

We are now satiated and tired, so for now, Do widzenia (goodbye in Polish).