Tallinn, Pärnu (round 2), and return to Latvia and Lithuania

Hey y’all, the last time I checked in was Wednesday night and I was in Pärnu, Estonia and heading to Tallinn the next morning to play my gig at the Mad Murphy’s Irish pub.

On Thursday morning, I got up and checked out of my apartment and went into town to get a quick bite to eat before getting on the road. I settled on a pizza and it was enough to get something in my stomach for the drive to Tallinn. Below are some pics from the drive from Pärnu to Tallinn.

A little something to get me down the road. It wasn’t too bad.
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
I took a short detour through to the city of Rappla and found nothing interesting there except for this church.
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Pärnu to Tallinn
Hitting the Tallinn city limits.

Entering into Tallinn, I had some time to kill before my 10pm gig that night at the Mad Murphy’s Irish Pub in the heart of old town Tallinn. I decided to stop at the Estonian open air museum on the western outskirts of the city. It turned out to be a really cool place with acres of historic buildings to look at and other interesting things. I could have spent a whole day there, but instead saw as much as I could in about two hours of walking around the giant property. Below are some pics from the open air museum.

Trying to get the lay of the land at the Estonian open air museum. The place was massive.
A recreated farm village from the 1700s
Thatch roofing.
A grain windmill with a view of Tallinn Bay.
A farm village of a different era. Many buildings of varying eras were moved from their original location to the museum’s property. I can’t imagine what a logistical undertaking it must have been.
The garden of the home I stayed at in Aluksne.
More grain windmills
I was hoping not to get gored by a goat after seeing this sign…
But they turned out to be pretty chill. 😎
Another grain windmill and probably the most impressive one I saw there.
The thing was a hoss!
A Soviet era farm collective apartment. Basically, the Soviets nationalized and collectivized all the small farms and made the farmers live together in buildings like this.
The bus that would collect farmers and take them to work in the fields and then bring them back to the community apartment every day. Wouldn’t have been a very fun life.
A one room school.
I didn’t know there were 773 million illiterate people in the world still. To me that is insane.

After checking out the open air museum, it was time to make my way to the hostel that I’d reserved in the old town. Getting there by car turned out to be quite tricky, as some the roads Google routed me down appeared to be pedestrian only. Either way, I slowly crept my way through people and eventually found it and got parked and checked in. The parking on property was nice, but pretty steep at 22 euros a day. I stepped out after checking in to have a quick look around old town and scout out the bar I’d be playing at that evening.

Arriving to old town in the Fiesta
The Tallinn city hall.
The patio of Mad Murphy’s, located right in the town hall square.
The stage where I’d be playing later on.
Later on I was the Zebox music. 😎
A protest regarding the war in Ukraine set up in front of the Russian embassy. Notice the Russian flag.
A protest regarding the war in Ukraine set up in front of the Russian embassy.
A protest regarding the war in Ukraine set up in front of the Russian embassy.
A building from the 1300s in old town Tallinn.
A bird in the old town who was completely oblivious to people getting close to it. I saw him several times during my stay in Tallinn.
A typical street in the old town.
A gate in the historic city walls.
Approaching the town hall.
A view of town hall square with Mad Murphy’s on the left.
Chilling out in my hostel room before the show on Thursday. It was about 40 bucks a night and it was ok, but very hot in the room due to it being on the third floor.
I could see the Fiesta from my room in it’s 22 euro parking spot.

After a little bit of exploring and chilling in my room, I walked back over to the bar at about 9pm to have a beer and set up for my show. I wound up playing until almost 2am to a full house and the people loved the show. After I finished, I agreed to come back on 4 days later on Monday and play another show on their patio on my last night in town.

Fueling up on an Estonian lager before my show Thursday night.
Me and the bartender Monica having a shot to celebrate a good show on Thursday.
Between the pay from the bar and two separate 50 euro tips I received, I wound up walking out with 240 euros on Thursday night. My best haul of the trip so far!
The town hall by night on Thursday after my show.

As I was making the short walk back to my hostel after the show on Thursday night, I came by two guys with guitars playing Estonian music to some people on a patio. I stopped to listen to them a few minutes and when they noticed my guitar on my back they invited me to play with them. Their names were Raino and Oliver and it turned out I’d see a lot more of them over the next few days.

Seeing a couple guys jamming in Estonian on my way back home into Thursday.
Raino, in the blue shirt, and Oliver. Raino asks his audience for a few random words and then creates a song based on those words via improvisation while Oliver plays the lead guitar. It was pretty impressive, so I invited them to join my gig on Sunday at the Scotland Yard.

On Friday, it was time to head back to Pärnu to play at the gig I agreed to do at the City Pub. If you remember from the last post, I got that gig last Wednesday by going in to the bar to trade my coins from busking for bills and got asked by the owner to come back to Pärnu on Friday to play. So when I got up and moving on Friday, I went to get some Estonian food at a restaurant in Tallinn and then got on the road back to Pärnu.

An Estonian meat pie, similar to Shepard’s pie.
Some chicken and potatoes as well. I was pretty hungry on Friday and I wanted to try a little variety of Estonian food, so I ordered two dishes.

Below are some landscape shots from the drive back to Pärnu from Tallin on Friday afternoon:


When I got to Pärnu, I went and checked in with the bar and then walked over to the hostel where I’d reserved a bed for 20 euros for the night. After checking in, I came back to the bar and set up my stuff for the gig. It turned into a great night of music and I played to a full patio and even had people hanging out in the street to listen to me. When I was done the owner practically begged me to stay one more night and play again on Saturday. I had a lot of fun Friday, so I agreed!

They were ready for my return to Pärnu at the City Pub.
The City Pub patio.
My rig set up and ready to rock on Friday night.
A bird’s eye view of my patio on Friday night. By the end of the night, it was completely full and people were even lingering in the street to the right. A ton of fun!
An Estonian gentleman becoming a guest singer at the end of my show on Friday.
While I was hanging out with some people after the show, a commotion broke loose at the table behind me and I watched a guy get the crap beat out of him. It was slightly disturbing.
Out cold.
Out cold.
The police showed up and the guy that had done the ass kicking didn’t even bother to flee the scene. He just stayed there drinking his beer while they tended to his victim.
Probably not how he intended to end his evening ..
The busted bench after the fight. This was the first fight I’d seen in Europe on this trip. Generally, Europeans aren’t quite as hotheaded as Americans seem to be, but there are obviously exceptions.
This kid was so funny. He came up to me complementing my hair, so I wound up convincing him he needed a mullet of his own. What sealed the deal was me forming his long hair into a more mulleted look and taking this pic and showing it to him. 😂
Hanging out with some new fans after the show on Friday.
Between the bar money and tips, I pulled in 185 euros on Friday night. Not a bad little haul and a good enough reason to agree to stay and play again on Saturday.

On Saturday, I had lots of time to kill during the day before my 9pm show in the evening. It turned out there was a medieval festival going on in Pärnu that day, so I went and got some food and then walked over to check that out in the afternoon.

A grilled pork dish for lunch on Saturday. It was pretty good.
Some German style apple strudel for dessert.
Heading through the Tallin gate on Saturday. The medieval festival was going on in a park on the other side.
Medieval festival Pärnu
Medieval festival Pärnu
Medieval festival Pärnu
Medieval festival Pärnu
Medieval festival Pärnu
A historic bridge in the park where the medieval festival was taking place.
There was a vendor doing 15 minute chair massages, so I got one. The lady had some strong hands and it was well worth the 10 euros.
A band playing at the medieval festival.

After walking around for a while at the medieval festival I was feeling a little fatigued, so I went back to the hostel and chilled out there until it was time to head over to the City Pub and set up for my gig. I met one of my roommates, Leo, who was from Russia and was in town for a harmonica gig that day. When I told him I was playing music that night as well he said he’d stop over and see me after his gig and maybe sit in on some harmonica for me. The gig wound up going great – many people from Friday had come to hang out again and I had Leo sit in as well as several guest singers. It was a special night.

Running it back on Saturday night at the City Pub in Pärnu.
Playing some CCR on Saturday in Pärnu.
A clip of me playing a Rolling Stones request.
Playing for one of my guest signers.
Doing a little “What’s Up” for this girl that wanted to come sing with me.
Leo playing some harmonica to a backing track during my break.
Leo doing some singing and harmonica. He was a cool old cat.
Lots of folks came and hung for the entire night.
Hanging with a couple of new fans after the show.
And a couple more.
A little after show jamming by an retired Estonian military man.
Another 190 euros in my pocket after Saturday night.

On Sunday, I checked out of my hostel at about 1pm and then got on the road to head back to Tallinn for my gig that evening at the Scotland Yard pub. I got there in time to drop my guitar off and find some slightly cheaper parking just outside the old town, in a lot between the bar and my hostel before heading back for the show.

A quick and easy lunch at Subway in Pärnu before heading back to Tallinn.
Scenery from Pärnu to Tallinn.
Scenery from Pärnu to Tallinn.
Getting back in to the outskirts of Tallinn.
I was pretty excited for this show as the bar looked to be very nice and had a legit stage and sound system. It would turn out to not be a pleasant experience however.

When I returned to Scotland Yard for my show, I found the place to be basically empty. There was really nice weather on Sunday, so it seemed everybody was out enjoying the sunshine on patios rather than coming to sit inside a bar and listen to music. My friends from Thursday night, Raino and Oliver, came to the show and since there were only a couple people there we basically took turns doing mini-sets until we’d done our three hours. When I went to get paid, the waitress informed me that no money had been left for me by Karl, the guy who booked me. While I hadn’t discussed payment when I booked the gig (I never ask about money when booking gigs) I was certain that a reputable place like Scotland Yard would be paying me something as a touring musician that they had agreed to book. The waitress told me to come back the next day when the manager would be in and I could get my money then. So I went home and planned on coming back the next day, slightly concerned that I wasn’t going to get paid.

Playing at the Scotland yard. The place was more or less empty, minus some Finnish people who had seen me on Friday and Saturday nights in Pärnu and who had come to see me there again before leaving for Finland the next morning. Later, my friends Raino and Oliver came and we took turns playing to the mostly empty chairs.
Raino and Oliver.
Raino and Oliver doing their thing at Scotland Yard.

After the show on Sunday, Raino and Oliver and I walked together back to the old town and came across an impromptu fire show getting ready to happen in the town hall square. It turned out to be quite a performance and I was glad we stopped and watched the whole show. It lasted about 15 minutes. After that I popped in to Mad Murphy’s for a few minutes to check out the band that was playing and caught them giving a shout out the USA in honor of the 4th of July.

Walking back to the old town Sunday night. This is the Viru gate and is many hundreds of years old. Tallinn is known as having one of the best preserved old towns in all of Europe.
Warning up the crowd for the fire show.
Their tricks and the implements got progressively more complicated as the show went on.
A clip of the fire show.
A clip of the grand finale of the fire show.
Here Oliver and Raino are jamming out to the fire dancer after the show was over.
Mad Murphy’s giving a shout out to the USA.
That night, I also got a very special and meaningful voice message from my Ukrainian friend Gene wishing me a happy 4th of July. ☺️

On Monday afternoon, I set out to do some chores before my final show that evening on the patio of Mad Murphy’s. The first order of business was to go back to Scotland Yard to get my money and then I wanted to knock out my laundry at the facility they had at the hostel and to get a haircut.

Grabbing some pasta for lunch on Monday.
When I returned to the Scotland Yard and explained what happened, the manager called Karl and put me on the phone with him. Long story short, he told me that there was no money for me because we didn’t have an agreement about money. I told him that this was unacceptable to me as I’m a touring musician and that I don’t play for free and that I’ve never had to ask to be paid before – that it is understood that the artist will be paid. I asked why he didn’t inform me it would be a free show, as I could have made great money playing on the street instead on Sunday evening in the great weather. Long story short, he told me I was out of luck. So before I left, I went to the stage and stole one of their microphones, worth about 75 euros. I’m not a thief, but agreeing to have me play there and not paying me was unacceptable. Payback is a bitch.
The barber shop I found and made an appointment at for later in the day on Monday. I’ve needed a haircut for a while but had not really had an opportunity to get one.
They had a type of dryer at the hostel that I’d never seen before where you hang everything up and close the door and turn it on. It was odd but it did the job.
The trunk of the Fiesta, aka my closet, locked and loaded with 100 percent clean clothes.
Getting the mullet trimmed up. I thought the guy did a pretty decent job on it.
A park I came across on Monday afternoon.
A typical city street in old town Tallinn.

After getting my chores done on Monday, I relaxed for a little while at the hostel and then went to get some dinner before heading to the patio of Mad Murphy’s to set up for my show. It wound up being another great time. Lots of people stopped by when they heard me playing, and I was joined again by my new friends Raino and Oliver as well as an Estonian guy named Heike who played twice on my breaks. The only hiccup was when the police came about halfway through my show, but the resolution to that was just to make sure we were done on the patio by 10pm. So at 10pm, we just moved the operation inside the bar and I wound up dragging everybody everybody in there and hosting an impromptu open mic for the Monday late night. It was a great turnout and the owner of Mad Murphy’s told me it was the busiest Monday he ever had. So I was pretty proud of being able to facilitate that.

Some Estonian dumplings for dinner on Monday.
Heike, who had been listening from the patio next door jumped at the chance to be a guest musician during my first break. He was pretty good and he knew a lot of old American country songs. Nice guy.
Heike doing some “wreck of the old 97”. His accent on the old country songs he was playing cracked me up but I appreciated him and it was nice to have somebody to keep the crowd entertained while I took a break.
Raino and Oliver jumping at the chance to do another one of my gigs with me.
Raino, Oliver and Heike kicking things off at the post show open mic we decided to do inside Mad Murphy’s on Monday night after the patio was wrapped up.
A Finnish guy got up to play at the open mic and he was very good.
Yours truly up jamming with some random, talented musicians at the open mic we cultivated after my patio gig.
I’d agreed to do the patio show for 75 euros since it was going to be on a Monday, but the owner wound up giving me 100 because business had been so good. I wound up with 160 euros all together including tips. Not bad for a Monday night. The 20 dollar bill was from some guys from Kentucky on the patio that wanted to hear “My Old Kentucky Home” . They were the first Kentuckians I’d met on the trip so far.

After the bar closed at 1am, Raino and Oliver wanted to take me to the hipster part of the city to see what was going on and jam some more. It turned out to be about a 30 minute walk and I was glad I decided to drop all my stuff off at the hostel so I didn’t have to carry anything. The crew was me and those two, plus two random girls and a British soldier on a pass named Tom that was hanging around and wanted to make the trek with us. He was a good guy but was completely drunk and with a dead phone and no clue how to get back to his hostel. So after we hung out I guided him back to his place on the other side of the old town with my phone map. All in all, I walked about an hour and a half on Monday middle of the night doing that, but I enjoyed helping out a fellow soldier.

Tons of walking late night Monday after the show.
The “hipster” area where the guys wanted to go. I can’t remember the name of the neighborhood but it was totally dead by the time we got there, so we probably could have lived without going. But I saw other parts of the city and got some steps in along the way, so it could have been worse.
Some random girls and Tom the British soldier who went on the walk with us.
A bird just chilling as the sun came up.
Some very late night jamming before heading home.
A former KGB headquarters Tom and I went by as I was walking him home.
Another city gate very early in the morning on Tuesday.
An empty city park early Tuesday morning.
Checking in on the Fiesta at it’s new, cheaper parking spot before heading back in to the old town and bed.
Juxtaposition of old and new at the Viru gate early Tuesday morning.
Approaching my hostel at about 4am on Tuesday morning. Not a soul out and about.

When I got back to the hostel early Tuesday morning, I messaged them that I’d need a late checkout as I was pretty exhausted and needed to sleep a bit. I finally got up and out of there at about 130pm and I was feeling pretty worn down from the late night of drinking and just in general for having performed the last 5 nights in a row. I went to Burger King to grab some quick food and then got on the road to get out of the city. After much thought and changing my mind several times over the last few days, I settled on a route that would take me back to Poland through Eastern Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. I chose this option because I had come up to Tallinn via the western halves of these countries and this route would allow me to see some new territory. I had thought about taking a ferry to Finland and maybe playing there for a week and then heading back, but ultimately decided it would put me on too tight of a schedule going forward. Rather, I’m going to head straight to Poland and have lots of time to see the things there I’m interested in. Wednesday’s plan was to check out the cities of Rakvere and Mustvee and then drive just across the Estonian/Latvian border and stay in a city called Aluksne on Tuesday night. All together, about 4 1/2 hours of driving.

Late lunch on Tuesday. It turned out to be the only thing I’d eat all day.
So long Tallinn – it was a great time and I’d made some great friends!
Scenery from Tallinn to Rakvere.
Scenery from Tallinn to Rakvere.
Scenery from Tallinn to Rakvere.
Scenery from Tallinn to Rakvere.
A castle ruins in Rakvere.
A pond I saw in Rakvere.
A German soldiers WW2 war cemetery in Rakvere.
A German soldiers WW2 war cemetery in Rakvere.
A German soldiers WW2 war cemetery in Rakvere.
A German soldiers WW2 war cemetery in Rakvere.
A German soldiers WW2 war cemetery in Rakvere.
There were several hundred, if not a thousand or more, names listed on the plaque in the German cemetery. Such a waste.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Landscape from Rakvere to Mustvee.
Entering Mustvee. It turned out not to be a must see.. 😂
Lake Peipus from Mustvee. Somewhere in the middle of the lake is the border with Russia.
My thoughts on Russia at the moment. I like the all Russian people I’ve met, but certainly not their government or their government’s actions towards their neighbors.
An Orthodox church in Mustvee.
The port of Mustvee on lake Peipus.
An “old believer”church in Mustvee.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Scenery from Mustvee to Aluksne.
Realizing I was going to be passing extremely close to the Russian border.
So I decided to take a short detour and look at it. This was as close as I cared to get before turning around and this time I kept my finger to myself.
Scenery near the Latvian border.
Hitting the Latvian border from Estonia.
A ruins of some kind just over the Latvian border.
Surprise – Google sent me down another dirt road as I approached Aluksne.
Kickin’ up some dust on the final approach to Aluksne.
Hitting the city limits at about 9pm and ready to chill.
This was the room I booked last minute in Aluksne. It was in a friendly elderly couple’s home and it did the job for 31 euros a night. It was the first time I’d stayed in a place where the owners also lived. I got some decent rest in there.

On Wednesday morning, I got up and the couple had prepared me a massive and delicious breakfast that I gladly ate before getting on the road. It was probably the best breakfast of my trip so far. They were so friendly as well, so that was 31 euros very well spent. After I ate and loaded the car back up, I set out to do a little exploring in Aluksne before getting further down the road. The plan was to get as far as I could on Wednesday because I was angling to get to Warsaw, Poland by Friday for a party that I’d been invited to by a guy who’d seen me play a couple of weeks ago and wanted me to come play at his wife’s birthday party in the woods near Warsaw. Sounded like my kind of deal, so I was eager to knock out the hours of driving and be there for that.

An amazing home cooked breakfast in Aluksne, Latvia on Wednesday morning.
An impressive looking building in downtown Aluksne.
A Bible museum in downtown Aluksne.
An aerial photo of Aluksne.
The bridge to an island in the middle of the lake where there are castle ruins in Aluksne.
Castle ruins in Aluksne.
Castle ruins and lake.

After spending a little time looking around in Aluksne, I got on the road towards the next town I was interested in looking around in called Rezekne. It was about an hour and a half south and it rained the whole way. Here are some pics from that stretch of road:

A religious shrine just outside of Aluksne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
A random church along the roadside.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Scenery from Aluksne to Rezekne.
Hitting the Rezekne city limits.
Stopping at a Circle K in Rezekne for some Internet and a hot dog. These strange hot dogs are starting to grow on me over here, but I still prefer an American style bun.
A very famous statue in the middle of the main traffic circle in Rezekne. It has been torn down and replaced several times as it represents Latvian independence. So the Soviets tore it down, then the Germans, and then the Soviets again. Every time the Latvians would replace it.
An ancient hillfort in Rezekne.
The only synagogue to survive the Holocaust in Rezekne and it is also the oldest wooden building in the city.
A Holocaust memorial near the synagogue.

After a short stop off in Rezekne, I got back on the road towards the next city I wanted to check out called Daugavpils. Daugavpils is a majority ethnic Russian city near the Lithuanian and Belarusian borders. Before WW2, it was 45 percent Jewish (about 16,000 people), but the Holocaust left only 100 Jews alive there at the end of the war. You can the link below to read about the Daugavpils ghetto if you are interested to learn more about the messed up stuff that happened in this city during the war:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daugavpils_Ghetto?wprov=sfla1

I was interested in seeing the Holocaust-related sites there, as well as some unique architecture that I’d read about. Below are some pics from the drive there and from the city itself:

Scenery from Rezekne to Daugavpils.
I’m originally from a small town in Ohio called McConnelsville, and we have a twin city across the Muskingum River there called Malta. So it caught my eye to be passing through a small town in Latvia also called Malta. It was just as podunk as the one in Ohio is. 😂
Scenery from Rezekne to Daugavpils.
Scenery from Rezekne to Daugavpils.
A WW2 memorial just outside of Daugavpils.
Hitting the Daugavpils city limits.
A communist style adjustment building on the outskirts of town.
A typical mix of architecture in Daugavpils.
A church in the downtown area.
Another church.
Interesting architecture in Daugavpils.
Interesting architecture in Daugavpils.
An Orthodox church in the main town square.
The old Daugavpils fortress which served as the Jewish ghetto during the war.
A shot of the outside of the fortress.

After checking out the downtown and fortress area of Daugavpils, I drove a little north of town to where the executions of the Jews took place to see the memorial there. Luckily there were no supernatural experiences this time, although I was once again alone there and it was once again creepy feeling.

A plaque honoring the victims of the Daugavpils ghetto.
A plaque at the entrance to the place where the Jews were brought from the ghetto to be killed. In the background you can see the monument.
These are actual mass graves. Approximately 15-16 thousand victims from the city and surrounding areas were killed here.
The memorial obelisk.
The rain stopped and the sun came out while I was at the memorial.
The Fiesta waiting for me to come back and get the heck out of there before something strange happened.
Another Holocaust memorial nearby on the side of the main road.

After paying my respects at the memorial, I got back on the road and headed for the city of Ukmerge, Lithuania – 2 hours to the west. At this point I was getting pretty tired of driving and started looking for any hotel along the side of the road but didn’t find anything where there was someone actually on duty. I was starting to think I’d be crashing in the Fiesta until I finally rolled in to Ukmerge about 10pm and found a hotel downtown that was open for business and had a room for me. Here are some pics from the drive between Daugavpils and Ukmerge:

The Daugava River running through Daugavpils.
The Daugava River running through Daugavpils.
Farm scenery just west of Daugavpils.
It wasn’t long before I hit the Lithuanian border.
This was one of the first cities I came by in Lithuania and it was a really pretty place.
A church in Zarasai.
Lithuania seems to be the most patriotic of the three Baltic states I visited. I saw flags in all three, but in Lithuania they are on nearly every house and business.
Lithuanian countryside enroute to Ukmerge.
Lithuanian countryside enroute to Ukmerge.
A random church in Eastern Lithuania.
Some windmills just outside of Ukmerge.
Final approach to Ukmerge.
I got lucky and found the Big Stone Hotel open for business at about 10pm. Most hotels in this part of the world do not have 24 hour reception. I had not booked any accommodations for Wednesday night I just wanted to get as far as I could to make Warsaw by Friday.
The Big Stone is fairly swanky.
Not too shabby for 58 euros including breakfast.

After I got checked in to the Big Stone, I checked my phone and was disappointed to learn that the party in Warsaw has been postponed due to my friend there finding out today that he’s got to get surgery on Friday. So now all of the sudden, I had nowhere in particular to be. So I reached out to my buddy Edgar in Vilnius (1 hour south) and he told me he thinks he can get me a last minute gig there tomorrow night. It’s funny how things can work out sometimes…

Getting the bad news about my friend’s party in Warsaw. Maybe I’ll still get to see him while I’m in Poland though.
But on the bright side, it looks like Edgar can get me a gig in Vilnius tomorrow instead.

So that’s pretty much it for this update you guys. I’m relaxing in my room in Ukmerge and I’m going to book myself a room for tomorrow night in Vilnius. I’ll either play the gig that Edgar can line up for me (if that works out) or I will busk in the old town there as an alternative. After that my plan will be to go to Poland and start hitting the cities there that I’m interested in seeing. Right now I’m leaning towards beginning in Gdansk. Oh yeah there was one more thing..

Letting Karl from Scotland Yard know that his microphone is gone. Revenge is best served cold. 😎

Thanks again for following my travels and I’ll talk to you guys soon with another update!

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  1. linda South

    The fire show was a real standout to me ,never saw anything like that. As always enjoyed all the pics of food, people, and scenery along the way. So sorry you had the bad experience with that little man, Karl. You are always so kind and generous with people and it’s a hard pill to swallow when someone deliberately cheats you. Live and learn, I guess. Take good care and stay safe.

    1. Zeb South

      All is good from here, every other experience has been great 👍 . Thanks for the comment

  2. Frank julian

    Great story telling

    1. Zeb South

      Thank you Frank!

  3. William Schwab

    There’s a lot going on this time. Scenery is great. There’s a reason why Scotland yard has low business, he’s a slickster. Keep it up, traveling with you is alot of fun.

    1. Zeb South

      Hey thanks Bill! That’s a good point about their business 😜 Their beer is extremely overpriced as well. Glad you enjoy the blog 👍