Hey y’all, since my last update I have traveled from Kaunas, Lithuania to Klaipeda and Palanga in Lithuania and then further north to Liepaja and Jūrmala, Latvia. After Jūrmala, I then took the short drive to the capital, Riga for three nights.
On my walk back from lunch on Tuesday, it was raining cats and dogs and the weather channel showed no sign of stopping for the next two days. I was so glad I’d been able to amend my reservation there from two nights to one night and I was ready to get back on the move and hopefully leave the rain behind at about 1pm Tuesday.
Walking the busted, flooded pedestrian boulevard back to the apartment I’d stayed at on Monday night and where I’d left the Fiesta parked while I went for lunch.Luckily I packed a rain coat. An oddly colored pigeon in the parking lot.
Getting on the road for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Klaipeda, I drove the first hour or so in the rain and then finally it started to clear up. Here are some pics from the drive. It was generally a mix of forests and farm fields the whole way.
Hitting the city limits and traffic of Klaipeda.
Klaipeda is Lithuania’s third-biggest city and it’s chief port on the Baltic Sea. My plan was to check out the port and then scout for busking spots in the downtown area before heading to the hostel I had booked for the evening.
An old wooden ship near the commercial port. The commercial port. A crane at the port. Some cranes at the port. A derelict looking building at the port. A boat coming into port. This was my first time seeing the Baltic on this trip. The last time was when I visited Stockholm many years ago. A statue at the port. Some information about Klaipeda.This was a very cool and unique pedestrian bridge that is hand operated. It’s the only one of it’s kind in the Baltics. Every 15 minutes two guys come and open it for boats and then close it again 15 minutes later.
This video shows the process of opening the gate by hand. It’s a very interesting design and I was lucky enough to stumble over there right as they getting ready to open it. The bridge, in the open position for boat traffic to get through.A sculpture near the pedestrian draw bridge. The main square of Klaipeda – not looking too promising for busking. A human sized chess board on the side of the road in old town Klaipeda.A pedestrian street on both sides of the river. It was definitely busier here than the square, but I didn’t find anywhere with particularly heavy foot traffic in Klaipeda. A boat made of flowers in downtown Klaipeda.
After checking out the port and the sites downtown, I found my hostel just a little outside of the city center. Once I got the code for the door, I checked myself in and found that I’d been put in a 6 person dorm and that 4 of the beds were occupied. The only one in there at the time was a Ukranian guy and he seemed friendly enough. I made my bed on the top bunk and then went out to the common area and chatted with a couple of people before heading back downtown to the river walk to try some busking.
Entrance to my hostel in Klaipeda.The typical hostel setup. I don’t particularly like dorms, but sometimes it’s the only option and for about 15 bucks a night it’s tough to beat the value.Some lockers for storing valuables at the hostel. That’s where my passport etc got locked up while I was out and about. Making my mark on the map. I was evidently the first person from Kentucky to stay there. The riverwalk where I decided to set up. There weren’t a ton of people out and about. But I chose this natural choke point at the bridge to at least get exposure from everyone who was. I played there for a little over an hour and did better than I thought I would on a Tuesday afternoon in an industrial port city. 42 euros, which was double my lodging and food expenses for the day.This homeless guy came by and threw 20 centsin my case and then sat down to do some begging himself. I hit him with a two Euro coin on my way out and he looked bewildered when I did. 🤣 What comes around, goes around.
While I was playing downtown I finally had one of my guitar strings break. I knew it was only a matter of time until that was going to happen, so when I got back to the hostel I sat outside and changed all the strings. A guy from France that was staying there named Antoine saw my guitar and said he really wanted to play and hadn’t gotten his hands on a guitar in weeks, as he is doing a bicycle trip from Finland to Portugal. So I sat outside with him and let him pick for a while and eventually played a couple myself for him and a few other people that came to hang out when they heard the music. All in all, that turned into a fun little hang out on Tuesday night.
Antoine from France with my guitar. He was a good finger-style player. He was a nice enough guy so I gave him a CD to remember me by. He seemed to appreciate it.
On Wednesday morning, I got up and checked out of the hostel and started heading to my next destination of Palanga, a resort city on the coast just a few miles north of klaipeda. For whatever reason I woke up craving Chinese food, so I found a Chinese restaurant along the way and stopped there for my lunch. It was pretty underwhelming, but edible.
The pineapple chicken. Not quite how the Chinese do it back home but it was ok.The short drive from Klaipeda to Palanga.Entering into Palanga.
Getting to Palanga, I found it to be a pretty nice place with a long pedestrian strip that led out to a pier and a nice beach. As I was walking along I saw some cops writing out a ticket to a girl with a violin case though. I decided to break the cardinal rule and asked one of the cops if it was ok to play there. The answer “absolutely forbidden”. So much for busking in Palanga.
The main strip in Palanga.A seagull just chilling out on main strip in Palanga.The end of the main strip in Palanga leads out to a pier.View of Palanga Beach from the pier. View of Palanga Beach from the pier. I talked fishing for a few minutes with this kid. Evidently a fishing license in Lithuania costs 5 euros a month. These humourless bastards would have been on me within seconds if I’d have tried to busk in Palanga. First I’d seen of a no electric scooter sign was in Palanga. To be fair, those things are very popular in the Baltics and it is annoying when people come flying past you on them on the sidewalk while you are walking.
After waking around for about an hour in Palanga (and being super glad I hadn’t booked a room there as I had considered doing) I decided to get back on the road to my destination for the evening of Liepaja, Latvia. Liepaja is another seaside town, but not a resort town like Palanga. Here are some pics from that 1 hour drive.
A lighthouse I saw on the outskirts of Palanga. A sculpture I saw leaving Palanga. So long Palanga. Nice place, but not much good for me. Some cows I spotted on a coastal farm.More forested landscape. Hitting the Liepaja city limits.
I had an apartment booked in Liepaja, but before I went and checked in I drove around to some of the sites I was interested in seeing in the periphery of the city. These mostly included some abandoned coastal artillery fortifications from the time that Liepaja was part of the Russian empire and another Holocaust site at the sand dunes north of the city.
A river passing by the outskirts of Liepaja. An old fort in Liepaja. A bird hanging by the fort. This is one of the bigger ones and happens to have a museum that I looked around in for a few minutes. Some information about the military importance of Liepaja. It was a major port for the Russian imperial Navy. For some of its sailors, it would the last land they’d ever step foot on. A captured German navy ensign from WW1.
After the fort museum, I went up to the Skede beach, which is the site where thousands of Liepaja’s Jews were taken to be shot and buried in the sand during WW2. There is a memorial there I wanted to see, but it turned out that I’d (once again) see more than I’d bargained for.
This is one of the only know videos clips of the Holocaust taking place. Warning it a graphic video, but watching it is enlightening to understand what happened at Liepaja’s Skede Beach. Overview and information about the memorial. The memorial at Skede Beach. It’s hard to tell from this picture, but the stones are laid out in the shape of a menorah. A Soviet monument off to the side of the monument to the Jews. You can somewhat see the menorah shape here. View of the beach behind the memorial. I was once again alone at this secluded memorial where so many had been killed and it was a creepy feeling. This time I didn’t hear any voices but I did see this when I took the picture and I’ll let you be the judge of what this orb and the images in the stone are. A close up of the image on the right. It looks like a girl’s face with pig tails on each side to me. This one is harder to make out, but I can see a man with a mustache in profile looking to the right.
A longer video with more details and background information about the executions at Liepaja.
Needless to say, after seeing that picture it was time for me to get the heck out of there. I’m starting to question if I need to go to very many more of these types of sites after two possible supernatural experiences.
After leaving Skede Beach, I checked out a couple more of the coastal fortifications and then made my way downtown and to my apartment.
This is the first time I’d seen a windmill from it’s base. I had no idea just how massive they are!Some pretty flowers on the roadside by one of the fortifications. A view of my apartment in Liepaja. I’d already laid down and was too lazy to get up lol. It was a nice place for 40 euros and the owner was super friendly.
After I got settled in to the apartment, I set out on foot to check out the downtown area of Liepaja and the beach park and to get some food. Here are some shots from that little excursion.
An old house near my apartment in Liepaja. The city park that goes out to the beach.A fox ran across my path in the park. Where the park meets the beach.A unique looking tree in the park. Liepaja is considered the capital of the Latvian rock music scene. Here is the walk of fame where various artists have left their handprints.Another view of the walk of fame. Huge drum set sculpture at the end of the walk of fame. A type of carrot soup I had at dinner on Wednesday. A pork dish I had for dinner on Wednesday. I decided to pass on the naughty letters 🤣A pretty quiet pedestrian strip in Liepaja. No busking to be done here. Some flowers in downtown Liepaja. Some flowers in downtown Liepaja. A Latvian flag flies high over downtown Liepaja.A classic Soviet car I saw parked near my apartment.
I decided to rest up on Wednesday night after dinner and my foot tour, so I just returned to the apartment and took it easy after my excursion. The following night was to be one of the biggest party nights in the Baltics as it was mid-summers eve, which is a big deal in these parts. I did some research and decided to check out a town about an hour away called Kuldiga and if I didn’t find anything then to head to the beach in Jūrmala (just outside of Riga) and celebrate there where I’d read there was going to be a band playing and a fire on the beach. Since the premise of the celebration is to stay up until dawn on the shortest night of the year, I decided not to book any accomodations for Thursday night and just plan on crashing in the car.
After checking out of my room on Thursday morning, I headed over to a beach restaurant for lunch and then got on the road to Kuldiga.
My view at lunch on Thursday. I had some kind of chicken pasta that was pretty decent, but over-priced. Seeing the Orthodox naval cathedral in Liepaja on my way out of town. This was from the time of the Russian empire.
Here are some views of the landscape between Liepaja and Kuldiga:
I noticed a lot of people picking flowers and tree branches on Thursday along the roadside. I was to find out later why ..Arriving to Kuldiga, I saw my first person wearing a leaf crown. It turns out this is part of the midsummer celebration dating back to the pagan times. Many people craft their own crown, hence the flower picking I’d been seeing.
Arriving to Kuldiga,I found it to be a very pretty place but also a little bit sleepy. I spent some time checking out the town and looking for any signs of anybody having a party spot that I might be welcome to, but didn’t have any luck on that front. So after a couple of hours I decided to just head to the beach at Jūrmala and take my chances there.
An interesting building in Kuldiga. A city park in Kuldiga. Statues in the city park. Kuldiga has Europe’s widest waterfall, seen here. If you look closely you can see people walking across the river just above the waterfall. The main bridge in Kuldiga, just beyond the waterfall. Another bridge in Kuldiga. Getting back on the road to Jūrmala. Kuldiga had been pretty but I wanted to find the party! I saw some women selling handmade leaf crowns on the side of the road, so I stopped and picked one up for 10 euros.
Here are a few landscape shots between Kuldiga and Jūrmala.
Arriving to Jūrmala at about 8pm, I found it to be a much busier place with lots of people jockeying for a parking place near the beach where the big party was going on. I got lucky and found a pretty close spot and then grabbed a few beers to take down to the beach to see what all was going on.
Ready to party with my leaf crown and beer backpack. The stage which would host several Latvian bands throughout the evening. People moving between the stage and another fire that had been lit about 300 meters down the beach. I was hoping more for active recreation lol. A vendor’s area for food and beer and a DJ playing a little behind the main stage. They finally sparked up the main fire by the stage at around 11pm. The second fire going strong. Rocking the leaf crown 🤣Some other people with their crowns. The second fire winding down a little bit. Rocking into the wee hours. Main fire going strong.
A video overview of the band and revelers. The DJ area got more popular as the night wore on. A group of Russians I met and talked to for a while. Rocking out at about 230am. The main fire starting to burn down a bit. As I was wandering around, this guy came up to me and offered me 20 euros for my leaf crown. I told him he could have it for 10 euros since that’s what I’d paid for it. We would up hanging out the rest of the night. His name was Eduard and he’s a member of the Latvian men’s national volleyball team. Hanging with Eduard and his godfather. I made it till dawn. A group of people hanging by what was left of the big fire at about 4am. Headed back to the Fiesta for some much needed sleep at about 430am. My home for Thursday night/Friday morning. Goodnight…I actually slept fairly decently there until about 1030am when the heat made it impossible to keep sleeping. All in all I wasn’t feeling too bad starting the day on Friday after my night in the car.
When I woke up on Friday I decided to head in to the main part of Jūrmala beach to get something to eat and scout about the possibility of doing some busking there before I headed into Riga. It was definitely promising territory but I decided to pass on the busking and just make my way into Riga to find my hostel where I’d be staying for the next 3 nights. That way I could get a shower and rest up before maybe playing the city in the evening instead.
The beach where the big party had been the night before. I went in the water for a few minutes before heading to downtown Jūrmala. Downtown Jūrmala. Would have been a prime busking location but I was too wiped out from the mid summer party and sleeping in the car the night before.Downtown Jūrmala. Some pasta carbonara for lunch on Friday. Getting back on the road Friday for the 30 minute drive from Jūrmala to old town Riga. Hitting the Riga city limits. First glimpse of old town Riga.
Arriving into Riga, I easily found my hostel and thankfully some nearby parking as well. I got checked into my room and took a shower and a little power nap before heading out to explore the city and hunt for a place to play later in the evening.
The Naughty Squirrel hostel, my home for the next three nights. Matt, the guy working at reception, was from England and he insisted on me and the other guy checking in having the traditional welcome shot. It was similar to Jägermeister and didn’t sit all that well with me after Thursday night’s events lol. My bed in the 6 person room. It did the job and for 20 euros a night was a great value. Checking out the lay of the land in old town Riga. A freedom monument with another busker set up on the sidewalk. So much for playing there. Another square in Riga. This one had a live band, so couldn’t busk there either. Juxtaposition of new and old. The Riga town square where I’d play later on. I set up right beside this fountain. The Swedish Gate in the old city walls. The old city walls of Riga. Juxtaposition of old and new. Some fancy cars outside of a hotel in the old town. My rig finally set up to play. It wound up being a very good spot!
I noticed a gentleman taking videos while I was playing and when I went on break I convinced him to send them to me. The coolest one shows the Luxembourg women’s national soccer team showing up to my location and requesting “Sweet Caroline” and doing a big dance while I played. Those videos are below:
They were in town for a world cup qualifier vs Latvia and evidently losing 1-0 was not enough to keep them down for long. A fun group of gals.
Playing a little Skynyrd in Riga on Friday.
Giving a shout to the bluegrass state on Friday in Riga. 92 euros and a couple of random coins for about two hours of playing in Riga on Friday night! That was already enough to pay for my room and parking for all 3 nights in the city.
On Friday night after playing, I just went back to the hostel to relax. There were a bunch of people heading out on a pub crawl as I was returning, but I just didn’t have anything like that in me after going so hard on Thursday night. So I relaxed in the room and slept in, looking forward to heading back out to my spot the next day and making some more money.
Some potato pancakes as an appetizer at the Latvian restaurant across the street from my hostel. They were excellent. This was a pork stroganoff dish and was also very good. My rig set up on Saturday late afternoon at the same place where I’d done pretty well on Friday evening. I killed it on Saturday, having my best money outing of the trip so far. Between the dollars, pounds and euros I’d make a total of 125 euros on Saturday in less than 3 hours.
While I was playing on Saturday, a German man posted up nearby with his wife and brought me 4 beers from the local grocery store while I played. So by the time I finished up playing, I was ready to party again lol. I went back to the hostel and joined up on the pub crawl that was going out that evening. I was joined by a couple that I’d met previously at the hostel in Klaipeda and we all had a great time hitting up some bars in the old town with the other travelers.
Hamish from New Zealand. I’d met him and his girlfriend Carolyn in Klaipeda and they got ahold of me on Friday and Saturday to hang out while we were in Riga at the same time. They came to hear me play on Friday and joined in for the pub crawl on Saturday. Nice folks! Me and a couple of Brits from the hostel at the pub crawl on Saturday. Me and Ivan from Bulgaria on the pub crawl. Waiting for some free shots at the first pub. Some cool people in the pub crawl crew from all over the world. Some new friends on the pub crawl. Ivan getting in the zone. Hamish on the dance floor. At least none of my people wound up like this guy 🤣
That brings us to today, Sunday. I have spent today doing very little but relaxing in my room and researching my next moves going forward and working on the blog. A true lazy day. I’m planning on taking off tomorrow for a few small towns in Latvia and then arriving to Estonia tomorrow evening. I’ll do another update soon and I much appreciate everybody reading along on the blog. Take care!
Definitely buddy! Riga is a great city with some friendly and generous people.
William Schwab
Looks and sounds like you had a very good time. I seen the faces on the stone at the holocaust sight. Be careful.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill!
Nancy
I really look forward to your posts. Learning and seeing so much I never would have. I’m in awe of how you can simply be comfortable and fit in anywhere. That’s a gift. The leaf crown selfie needs to be framed! LOL Stay safe!
Zeb South
Haha thanks Nancy. I try to just get in where I fit in. The music aspect helps a lot in meeting people. I’m glad you are enjoying the blog – I love to share what I’m doing over here with those who are interested!
linda South
Enjoyed the blog ,especially the photos of the all night celebration on the beach ,your “crown” was pretty cool!! Love all the pics of the countryside along the way to your destinations and of course, the photos of the food dishes. I think all the worlds problems could be resolved with a drink of spirits, food, and of course music! Take good care and stay safe! xoxoxo!!
Zeb South
Thanks mom!! I agree – glad you are enjoying the blog and the pics 😁
Andrew Smith
The beach party looked awesome. So did Riga.
Zeb South
Definitely buddy! Riga is a great city with some friendly and generous people.
William Schwab
Looks and sounds like you had a very good time. I seen the faces on the stone at the holocaust sight. Be careful.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill!
Nancy
I really look forward to your posts. Learning and seeing so much I never would have. I’m in awe of how you can simply be comfortable and fit in anywhere. That’s a gift. The leaf crown selfie needs to be framed! LOL Stay safe!
Zeb South
Haha thanks Nancy. I try to just get in where I fit in. The music aspect helps a lot in meeting people. I’m glad you are enjoying the blog – I love to share what I’m doing over here with those who are interested!
linda South
Enjoyed the blog ,especially the photos of the all night celebration on the beach ,your “crown” was pretty cool!! Love all the pics of the countryside along the way to your destinations and of course, the photos of the food dishes. I think all the worlds problems could be resolved with a drink of spirits, food, and of course music! Take good care and stay safe! xoxoxo!!
Zeb South
Thanks mom!! I agree – glad you are enjoying the blog and the pics 😁
דירות דיסקרטיות בקריות
Itís difficult to find experienced people for this topic, however, you sound like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks
Zeb South
Many thanks!