Just outside the Lithuanian city of Siauliai is the Hill of Crosses. Without doubt this was highlight of our Baltic trip last September, but I've spent months faffing around trying to write about it. After a dozen false starts I still can't get the words right to convey what an incredible experience it was. So Read More
The cellphone is the cigarette lighter of the new millenium. I discovered this at an outdoor pop concert in Tallinn back in September. The event was staged by local phone company Tele2. They gathered an army of popular Estonian bands to play all night for thousands of teens who danced and screamed and waved their Read More
We've already established I'm stingy and not fond of traditional holiday souvenirs. So while my Contiki comrades were gathering up matryoshka dolls by the armload on Red Square, I was more guarded with my precious roubles. I was inspired by Rory's wife Jane who has amassed an impressive collection of international candy wrappers from her Read More
That last entry just came out all wrong and really should be flushed down a Lithuanian Multi-Story Toilet. Anyway, I have gone Flickr crazy and have been uploading photos of various travels, including this set about the dodgy Vilnius hotel. Use the 'Next in set' links on the right to navigate, otherwise it can be Read More
Rhi and I are perfectly suited traveling companions. We have developed an uncanny ability to turn to each other at the exact same moment and say, "It's food o'clock!" Nine times out of ten we will also be craving the exact same dish. For us, famous landmarks and cultural experiences rank far, far behind FOOD Read More
Tallinn is a tourists dream. Especially if you're a lazy tourist. The medieval Old Town emerged largely unscathed from nasty wars and nasty Soviets with their nasty slab buildings and Lenin statues. It's surrounded by walls and towers dating back to the 13th century, so there's no bewildered swearing at maps and guidebooks, you just Read More
Poncho. Pon. Cho. Now there's a funny word. When we arrived in Riga I was suffering from flu and culture shock, a deadly combination that turns one into a shivering, mumbling twit. I was curled up on the hostel bed moaning into my pillow, Why can't we go somewhere normal? Why can't we go somewhere Read More
A lesson I never seem to learn: Headphones are ESSENTIAL for all public transport journeys. No matter where you are in the world, there will always be someone with boogers rattling round in their nasal cavities like socks in a tumble dryer. There will always be the equivalent of an 80-year-old man shouting at his Read More
We just signed on for another three nights in our hotel after intense debate. Sure there are holes in the wall and the door won't shut properly, but it will cost us less for a week here than it does for our rent back home. Plus I get to hang out the window and watch Read More
Here we are in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Lithuania is one of those countries that comes under the heading of Things Shauna Has Obsessed About, alongside Lenin, Alex Popov, Ed from Radiohead, Green & Blacks chocolate and MotoGP. But this is a particularly sad bastard of an obsession because the obsession was sparked by Read More
