Latvia 2014

13 de febrero de 2014 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

End of the semester. What to do? Ehm…

im-going-on-an-adventure

Of course I was going to travel!! What did you expect??

The plan was to visit any of the neighboring countries (a.k.a. Latvia, Poland, Russia or Bielorussia). Russia and Bielorussia were automatically discarded because there wasn’t enough time to get our VISA. Poland we (my sister and I) didn’t go because our time was limited and we wanted to do a longer trip around the country. So Latvia, here we go.

Before I continue (or start) with the story, I’d like to mention that I still don’t know why after 3.5 years living in Lithuania I didn’t visit any of the countries around yet. And I have traveled. Oh yeah boy I did. I expect to fix this inconvenience by the end of my studies here (2.5 years left, yey!).

-Fella please, come to the point.

Alright!

here-we-go-o

On Friday the 30th of January we took a delayed bus that would drive us to Riga (capital of Latvia). The company we traveled with, Ecolines, offers a wide variety of possible combinations and low-budget-friendly! (Plus there’s free wifi inside the bus).

The hostel we stayed in was The Naughty Squirrel Backpackers. I think it’s by far one of the best (if not the best) hostels I’ve ever been. And I’ve slept in 20 of them (approx.). The facilities (bed sheets and towels included and for free, not as in the one in Sweden) the personnel, the building itself… everything excellent! Well, if the have been winning for the past 4 years the prize for the best hostel in Latvia… I would really recommend to stay there if your are planning to visit Riga.

That night we didn’t do much. Just gaby around the city but not for a long time. It was freezing. I mean it. It felt like it was -28ºC (or so my weather app said).

street
New day new adventures! Over the night it snowed as hell and the next day (previous one we didn’t have snow at all) we woke up with 30 cm of snow on the ground. The good thing of this was that it would give a more winterish look to the city and the pictures would look nicer.

Our itinerary: basically we just followed all the instructions that I found in this free download Riga guide (I really recommend you to check it out).

One of the places I liked the most was the St. Peter’s church tower. It was so windy up there but definitely worth the 5€ that the ticket cost.

The weather was quite nasty, very cold and snowy. We spaniards aren’t really used to this. So we would look for a refuge where we could thaw our hands from while to while. But, as they say, «what doesn’t beat you makes you stronger».

DCIM100GOPRO

After the whole day walking around the Old town and Centre districts of the Latvian capital, we decided to head back to the hostel where we would get a power nap (I’m so in love with them). Last night in Riga, we had to do something especial. We looked for the «typical Latvian place» where we could have a beer or two and something to it.

Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs was the perfect place to finish a trip that had been on my bucket list for a long time. Overall I really enjoyed being in Riga. It’s a truly European city (or so it is its centre and oldtown). The good thing about not being a huge city is that we could somehow visit all the interest places there.

MEDTROTTERS

Is Stockholm City Card worth it?

1 de noviembre de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

the-stockholm-card-in-stockholm-128966

See, before I went to Stockholm I was always wondering if getting the Stockholm Card was worth it. So I decided to track down all my expenses to give you this answer:

YES IT ITS. And I’m going to explain you why.

The last (and first) time that I visited Stockholm I only spent there 2 nights and a full day. So, basically, I wanted to visit as many things as possible. I paid 495 SEK (57 €) and those are all the things that I visited or transports that I used:

Underground single trip: 36 SEK (I took it 6 times). 36×6 = 216 SEK.
Ticket 3 crowns museum: 75 SEK students, 150 SEK no student discount. 75 SEK.
Royal canal boat tour: 160 SEK (no discounts for students). 160 SEK.
Vasa museum ticket: 100 SEK students, 130 SEK no student discount. 100 SEK.
Nordiska museum ticket: 100 SEK (no discounts for students). 100 SEK.
Total amount of money supposed to be paid: 651 SEK (75 €). I saved 156 SEK (18 €).

Now there are some points to take in consideration:

Probably if I wouldn’t have had the City Card I wouldn’t have gone to the Nordiska museum.
It’s an expensive city card, but you have 24h to visit as many places as possible.
The underground, tram, and buses are included, which is a VERY BIG plus.
It’s really worth it if you don’t have one ISIC Student Card.
I only used it for one day. I’m sure that if you use it for a longer time it’s going to be more worthwhile.

If you have any suggestions for other people or you know better places to visit in Stockholm, feel free to write them down below in the comments.

Thanks! 🙂

MEDTROTTERS

Sweden 2013

28 de octubre de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

trip to stockholm promo

Do you now when sometimes you find a really cheap flight exactly on the dates that you can travel?

Well, that was the situation with my trip to Stockholm. One day I was «surfing the internet» and decided to check cheap flights. And voilá, flight to Stockholm Skavsta from Kaunas from the 10th of October till the 12th for 30€. I definitely decided to take it.

We left Kaunas in the afternoon and landed in Sweden at 20:45. Once we were there we bought the tickets for the shuttle bus (the company is called Flyggbussarna) to Stockholm. The tickets are 228 SEK (return) if you are under 25 and the journey takes around 90 minutes. Once we were in Stockholm, we took the underground and walked to our hostel, the Old Town Hostel. This hostel is located in the heart of Stockholm’s old town and even though it’s sort of a cave (it has no windows) it’s really clean and cozy to stay in. It has by far the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept in a hostel’s bed. True story.

As we only had a couple of nights and only one full day, we decided to go to have a beer and discover the nightlife of the scandinavian capital.

The next day (friday) we woke up quite early to go to the centre of the city and meet Chloe from Free Tour Stockholm. The idea of Free Tour Stockholm is to bring you around the city and tell you it’s history completely for free, in short tours of about 1.5 hours. It was such a nice experience. Although Chloe wasn’t swedish, she was definitely a local, and she was one of the best guides that you could ask for.

After having the tour we visited few museums and take a boat tour. Also we had to stop to have some food and we decided to take some «typical swedish food» also known as Tunnbrödsrulle. The taste was… hmm… acceptable… easy to cook. Fast foodish.

All the museums, boat tour and the underground were for «free», because we had purchased before the Stockholm City Card.

In the afternoon, after having the must visit to H&M stores we took another Free Tour but this time would be of the old town. Lee, who was our guide is an american dude who fell in love with a swedish girl and married her. Since then he lives in Stockholm. As he would define himself he is a «love refugee».

Once we had enough of walking around, we headed to the hostel where we would rest for about half an hour. After that went to have a final adventure but as we were so tired after the whole day going up and down, we went home early. Our shuttle bus to the airport was leaving at 5am.

I was trying to keep my trip as much low cost as possible, and I’m afraid I didn’t really succeed (yeah, that’s basically why right now I’m so broke!). It’s just and advice. If you try to go to Stockholm and not spend more than 100€ but you also want to do some stuff and don’t stay in the airport, well, it might not happen. If you manage to do that, please contact me and tell me how you did it, I would really appreciate it for the future!

Since I’m in Lithuania I wanted to go to Sweden. I don’t know if it was because of Spotify, IKEA or the blond people but I really enjoyed it there. It was a really express visit to the swede capital, but don’t worry Sverige, I’m planning to come back.

MEDTROTTERS

Fast update from a Swedish bus

10 de octubre de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Hey there! I’m back. I wasn’t dead, I was just full of work and I had literally no free time to write my blog.

I’m right now in Sweden, in a bus going to Stockholm where I’m going to spend a couple of nights.

I will be posting pictures on Instagram about my journey.

When I’ll be back I plan to start writing again, I want to finish the story of my Eurotrip 2013 and also tell you about the express visit to the south of France and of course tell you how was my journey in Sweden (I hope it’s going to be fun).

Hej då!

Captura de pantalla 2013-10-17 a les 19.56.59

All the things that I’m taking to Sweden!

MEDTROTTERS

EUROTRIP DAY 6: BARCELONA

15 de agosto de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

day 6 barcelona copia

After having an outstanding visit to the eastern part of Lithuania, we came back to spend our last day in Kaunas (where I currently live). But not for a long time, because the next day we were going to Barcelona!! Yey!!

We took our plane from Vilnius straight to Barcelona’s airport (el Prat). Despite of having many babies that hated flying (or so it seemed, because they didn’t stop crying in the WHOLE FREAKING TIME) we landed and a «spit of heat» welcomed us to my birth-place-city.

We just had to wait for our baggage, take the train to the center, then jump into the metro (underground for all of you who still didn’t know how we call it in Spain) and then get to my place. It seemed easy. In the end, it wasn’t.

Ok, now imagine that you come from Lithuania, where the temperature was around 25ºC those days and suddenly you get in a temperature of 34ºC and really wet weather. -Ok Pau, that’s not so bad. Well yes, you are right. Not that bad. Now add one factor: the wheels of your 30kg baggage are broken and you have to pull it all around the place. -Yeah, now it sounds a bit worse.

I was sweating as in spanish we call it «like a chicken / pig» (sudar como un pollo / cerdo). Fortunately (and after sweating around 3L of water) we got home, had a beer (or maybe 4) during the evening and went to sleep. Phew!

[Day 6.2]

The next day was another different story. We woke up early (spanish early, which is at 10am) and went to the market to get some food. One of the things I like the most about going back to Barcelona is that I get to walk around the neighborhood where I was born. Where everything started 22 years ago.

Tradition has that the one who drinks from the Font de Canaletes will come back to Barcelona.

After jumping into the Metro we got out in Plaça Catalunya and started to walk around there. We were in Carrer Tallers (one of my favorite streets in Barcelona) were you can find all types of things; badges, gothic boots, tattoo studios, handmade stuff… I’ve you have never been there, you should really go! Trust me! I’m a local!

Thousands of balconies in Barcelona.

There’s one thing that Monika told me and I’ve never thought about before. -«Wow! In Barcelona you have lots of balconies everywhere!» Well, it’s true but it’s not something big, isn’t it?

Apparently it is. In Lithuania they are not really typical, and particularly in Kaunas. Narrow streets with high buildings and lots of balconies facing the street? No way. But I think I understand why. The snow and the light. In the eastern Europe they don’t have that much light as we do, so, why to have high buildings that will make extra shadows? No! We want light!

And about the snow, well, basically try to walk through a narrow street with lots of snow where under the white powder (I’m talking about the snow, the real one) you will find ice. Annoying and sneaky ice that will try to make you fall down. And he will achieve it. Trust me. You don’t want to have narrow streets in Lithuania. The wider the better.

Once we were on our way to the sea, (down the street), we visited of course La Boqueria. The most visited market in Barcelona and probably the one that has the most variety of goods.

Although she had already been there she didn’t mind visiting it again.

Once I remember that I was talking with a friend from Lebanon who had visited Barcelona recently. He was totally in love with the city. And one of the things that he liked the most it was the multiculturalism. He even told me: «Man, I didn’t even feel like a foreigner!. It was like NY!» And I have to agree completely with him. Although I’ve never been in NY, Barcelona is a place where no one should feel as a foreigner. It’s the confluence of cultures and people what makes it a magical place.

If you are really thinking about visiting my birth-place-city there’s one girl, Jessica who writes a blog about her experiences in the city. Go check her out! It’s really worth it!

View of the port from our restaurant in Barcelona’s Maremagnum.

We were hungry. It was time for us to sit, have a rest and eat something. We decided to go the huge commercial centre known as Maremagnum, where I used to go every weekend when I was a child to play video games. The upper floor used to be full of clubs, but nowadays you find lots of restaurants. They aren’t cheap, actually, they are a bit pricy. But as we say in spanish, «one day is one day» and come on, check the views we had! Outstanding!

That was it. We didn’t want to have a boring-extremely-tourist-tour through Barcelona. After having our stomachs full, we headed to the Bogatell a not really dirty beach not so far from the centre. Relaxed there for few hours and went back home.

Our journey in Spain just started.

MEDTROTTERS

EUROTRIP DAY 5: IGNALINA’S REGION

12 de agosto de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

DAY 5 IGNALINA'S REGION REDUCED

Phew! It’s been a long time since I don’t write about my Eurotrip and I’m sorry about that. I just had so many other things to do and forgot a bit about telling that story.

Anyways, if you don’t remember what we did on the previous day, check it up here. Done? Alright, let’s continue with the story.

If there’s one thing that pops into my mind when someone says Lithuania it’s the green colour. The quantity of woods that you can find in that country per total surface it’s incredible!! I read somewhere that the 30% of the total area is forest.

That day we spent visiting one beautiful national park, considered Aukstaitijos_nacionalinis_parkas to be the oldest one in the country the Aukštaitija National Park. That wasn’t the first time that I was in that place, because many weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to a festival of electro-minimal-weird music. The SŪPYNĖS music festival. This park has an area of 405.70 km² and the nearest city to it is Ignalina. Yey!!

Monika took me to one special place, called Ladakalnis where you are supposed to carry a stone from the bottom of the hill to the top. Then you leave it next to a tree and make a wish. The bigger the stone the bigger the chances you get for the wish to become true. Check, by the way, the pictures that I took in that area of Lithuania.

Ladakalnis is a 175m height hill from which you can see 6 different lakes. A really nice (according to how the lithuanians call it) «mountain» to chill, take some pictures and enjoy the sightseeing.

Once that we were back on our steps, there was another small village that we had to visit, Ginučiai, famous for its 19th century mill and located in the shore of one of the lakes that you can see from Ladakalnis, the Linkmenas lake. The population of that place is considered to be around 70 people. Not thousand no, just 70.

Yeah, if all those names sound like a tongue twister for you, try to imagine how were my firsts months here. One day I will probably tell you some funny anecdotes about my first year in Lithuania.

Then after having this «safari» through the forests and lakes, we went back to Ignalina, where we would spend our last night before going back to Kaunas and then to… Barcelona!

MEDTROTTERS

Fotos del este de Lituania 2013

30 de julio de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Vistas desde el monte de Ladakalnis.

Monika escondiéndose en uno de los miles de árboles de Lituania.

Torre de comunicaciones de Bitė. También es un mirador.

Molino de Ginučiai.

Vista desde la torre de Bitė.

Montaña de deseos del monte Ladakalnis.

El árbol más antiguo de Lituania. 1500 años.

El inmenso lago de Zarasai.

El mirador de Zarasai. Un sitio realmente increíble.

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EUROTRIP DAY 4: IGNALINA

22 de julio de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

ignalina day 4

New day, new adventures.

After having an unsuccessful day in the second biggest city in Latvia, we planned to visit the places that my friends knew better in their home town, Ignalina.

What a place! Lots of lakes surrounding the small town (8,000 people) and many more around all the region. But those lakes «ain’t normal lakes son» (read with a Virginian accent better), they are clear-water-nature-miracles with a refreshing water that makes you feel in heaven. There are also many forests surrounding the place to get the perfect contrast of the baltic wildness.

From my point of view, Ignalina is by far one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited here in Lithuania.

Also, important to mention is that I was working on my phobias. I have a terrible Acrophobia (a.k.a. fear of heights). I first found about it when I was 10 years old and my parents decided to go on top of the Pisa tower in Italy. Jesus-holy-Christ. The floor was so slippery and I didn’t have the best shoes with an ultimate grip power. Also add to this equation the fact that the tower is a bit bent and you have one of my worst experiences ever. I was scared as fuck.

So, after giving you a small hint about my experience with the heights, my friends (if you can call those malicious people like that) took me to a tower, that was about 80m high but through my eyes looked a bit more like 2,000m tall. Damn scaring and swinging structure. Even though it was a bit hard to get to the top (hard because my muscles were blocking after every step I was taking upwards and also because my hands were so sweaty, not because of it’s architecture) finally I made it to the top and felt a bit better once I was upstairs. I guess the fresh air and the feeling that you were beating a bit your phobias on the ass helped. (Check the picture above to see the tower I’m talking about).

There are many of those towers around the region (Ignalinos Rajonas) and it’s really worth the view you can get after the suffering of going upstairs.

One of the pictures that I took from the tower. I’m really proud about this pic 🙂

One interesting fact about this picture is that it was featured in the Facebook group We Love Lithuania where they share the best pictures about the baltic country. Check the photo here and give it a like! 😀

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EUROTRIP DAY 3: DAUGAVPILS

5 de julio de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

daugavpils

After spending a couple of days in Kaunas to relax a bit and get more clothes and clean the dirty ones, we went to Ignalina, where we would spend 4 days. The day after we got to Ignalina, we decided, improvising a bit, to visit Daugavpils (Latvia) because it was so close to the Lithuanian border. Well, what to say about this city… yeah, it’s the second biggest city in Latvia but that doesn’t make it a beautiful one. Yeah, they have a river and everything is so green, but there’s not too much to see.

So basically we got there, walked around the city, emptied our bladders, took the car and drove somewhere else in the city, eat a lot in a Bistro (and also had a Latvian beer) and went back to Lithuania. When we were coming back I had this strange feeling that I was going back home. I say strange because I’m not lithuanian. Something which is not hard to find out if you see a picture of me.

Anyways, we had sort of fun there. I couldn’t take so many pictures because I forgot to charge the batteries of my camera (stupid, stupid, stupid) but at least I could take a few of them.

MEDTROTTERS

Fotos Mar Báltico 2013

29 de junio de 2013 by fateuser.com Leave a comment

Probablemente el mar Báltico sea uno de mis sitios preferidos de este país. Me encanta la paz y tranquilidad que transmite. Quizá es porque yo soy mediterráneo y el mar me tranquiliza o quizá es porque es increíblemente bonito. En fin, aquí os dejo con algunas de las fotos que hice el otro día. Espero que os gusten.