From this day on, we will gradually return home. Before we leave, we'll stop at Patarei Prison. Then we'll move through Riga and Vilnius to Poland and home.
Tallinn - Patarei Prison
The plan for this morning is as follows. Prison opens at 10:00 a.m. Bus departs at 1:00 p.m. We're officially supposed to leave the dorm by 12, but the lady said we don't have to be in such a hurry. We'll pack all our things in the morning and leave them in the room, with the understanding that they'll still be here after 12. After 9 we go out to the prison, which is about half an hour's walk from the hostel. We arrive at the place with a reserve and it is still closed. We walk through the areas of the prison that are open to the public and serve as art exhibition areas.
Tallinn - Patarei Prison
In the meantime, the guy in charge arrives and after paying the entrance fee we can go in. The prison or museum gives me the impression that they have opened the place exactly as the communists left it and only a few arrows and labels have been added. Otherwise, one could go wherever one wanted within the route and wherever it was open. We managed to get some epic photos that way. Probably the best were the pre-detention cells, where only the mattresses and bedding were missing otherwise the equipment was completely authentic, including the toilet.
Tallinn - Patarei Prison
The tour took us about an hour. After that we had to return to the hostel to get our things and then, at a leisurely pace, move everything to the bus station where we were supposed to take a bus to Riga. We are trying Ecoline for the first time today and are rather disappointed. Although the ticket is about ten crowns cheaper than the Lux express, the interior of the double decker bus is a lot more tired, and the coffee machine wasn't even working, so to our regret we couldn't indulge in our traditional travel cocoa.
The journey to Riga took four hours and forty minutes. I cut the journey short by watching "Servants of the Nation" and it went by quite quickly. In Riga we say goodbye to Mark, who is already returning home a day earlier, but since his connection was about 2 hours late, we still managed to have a farewell dinner at Lido by the station. As soon as we say goodbye to Mark we go to the trolleybus that will take us to our hotel. We didn't take the hostel we had last time. You buy your tickets through one of the local apps and activate it on the trolley by scanning the QR code. After successfully checking in, all we can do is buy souvenir vodka at Maxima and then stay in our room until we fall asleep.
Originally we had planned to swim in the sea in Jurmala during the morning, but the forecast and the clouds over Riga changed our plans. So instead we took it easy and had a generous hotel breakfast, then lounged in our room until our chek-out, which was at 11am. We then took the trolley to the Latvian Academy of Sciences building, which is built in the style of Stalinist skyscrapers like Lomonosov University in Moscow or the Palace of Culture in Warsaw. The building is used as a lookout tower and you pay 5 Euro to enter.
Riga - Breakfest
Riga - Budova Lotyšské akademie věd
After visiting the building, we pop into Lido for lunch and the market for snacks for the road. We continue on to Vilnius on the tried and true Lux Express, departing at 14:30. We arrive in Vilnius at 19:30. Upon arrival we make a quick run to the IKI store to buy a vodka to take home and then figure out what to do with the rest of our time, as our bus to Warsaw doesn't leave until 10:30pm. We wanted to go for a walk around the city, but once again the rain ruined our plans as it started to drizzle after we arrived, so we had no choice but to wait for the bus in the waiting room of the bus station. Fortunately, the bus left on time. Surprisingly, I slept the whole journey, even without sleeping pills. Except for one disturbance, when the Lithuanians checked us at their border, I woke up just before we got off in Warsaw. Where we arrived on time at six in the morning.
Varšava
Here we had to wait for the train home, which didn't leave until 8:30. We slept at the station and used the rest of the free time to go shopping in Biedrunce. On the platform it became clear why it was not possible to buy tickets for this train a month in advance. There was a whole scout camp waiting with us, which had moved the train to Katowice. Fortunately, there were Hungarian carriages, which have folding seats in the corridor, so we were among the first to rush onto the train to occupy at least this makeshift seating.
First class
In Katowice the train emptied and we could sit in the compartment for a while. We crossed the border again illegally and continued from Bohumín to Mladá Boleslav, where we arrived in the evening. That was the end of our journey through the Baltics.
What to say in conclusion. The Baltics are definitely worth a visit, but I don't think it's worth going back. Maybe later, when global warming causes the temperatures in southern Europe to reach such a level that it will be more pleasant to head north to the sea for the summer.
Useful links:
Patarei PrisonLiivalaia ApartmentDalší hotely v okolí TallinnuConnection finder for Tallinn and surroundings
EcolinesAccommodation around Riga
Kolonna Hotel Brigita Riga
Accommodation around VilniusuLux Express
PKP IntercityCzech Railways
