This post will be short and sweet because I merely want to showcase Kyiv’s wonderful Metro line. The Metro is a super cheap way to travel (only about $.10 a ride!) and pretty quick. However, avoid it at rush hours if possible! They get super crowded and even the babushkas will kick you around.

Overall, the most interesting part of the Metro, in my mind, would have to be the depth of the escalators at the Kreshatik stop. They go on forever… I mean… forever. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this video as proof. Enjoy!

“How long have you been traveling? Where are you going? Why are you going there?”

The list goes on and on. Having travelled as much as I have at this point, I have been bombarded almost every day with some form of a question above. It has gotten to the point where I am thinking about writing my response down and just giving it to people when we are introduced. Just last week I would have probably put together some sort of Q&A like the following:

Hi! My name is Brooke and I am an American from Illinois (not Chicago!).

Q. How long have you been traveling?
A. Off and on for about a year now.

Q. Where are you going?
A. I’m moving to Kyiv, Ukraine for an entire year to teach English and study Russian.

Q. Why are you going there?!
A. After living in Central Asia for some time, I have become insanely intrigued with the former Soviet Union countries. I am also in need of some cash and therefore must work.

Ok, so printing off about a hundred of these and just passing them out would probably be seen as pretty impersonal. Even though I have to force myself to reciprocate the interest with this repetitive interview at times, in the end it is worth it when you meet some amazing people from around the world. Since there is a common bond in the love for travelling, it is generally easy to get along for a few days before having to say goodbye. As travelers, this is all too common. We constantly come and go. It is what we do.

Normally, this is not a problem, but recently I did struggle with a goodbye more than I would like to admit. And, as much as I can pretend to be a realist, the truth comes out: I am a romantic – a hopeless romantic maybe – and maybe more hopeless than anything. Haha. I was thinking about this fact recently and how it sometimes makes me a little embarrassed. Then I thought about it some more and just realized it is because of this romantic side that I am able to see life how it could be and not just how it should be. It makes me a dreamer, and let’s face it, without this side of me how else would I have done any of the things this blog has followed?

Because I am a dreamer, I had to follow through on the goodbye and board a very tiny plane – one with the big propellers and only enough room for 3 people in a row – in the cold, dark evening on a one-way ticket. I landed in a place that was vaguely familiar – cold, sterile, and hassling (I don’t need a taxi already!). Yep, breathe that in. That is the fresh stench of Kiev.

All the previous week I worried that I might have made a bad decision on moving to Ukraine. Damn nerves! So, it didn’t help when I arrived at the Kiev airport and was not able to find the person I was supposed to meet. Of course, I was also without contact information and the internet café at the airport was broken (haha, oh Ukraine you are too funny). I was at the point where I was about to just get a taxi to a hotel for the evening when finally my ride arrived (blame it on a traffic jam). Whew!

I was taken to get some dinner and dropped off at the apartment where I will be living for the next 2 weeks. Outside on the street, I was able to see some of the popular monuments of Kiev – St. Sophia and the Rodina Mat - lit up at night. The sight immediately brought back memories from about six months before when I was in this city not knowing a word of Russian or able to read the Cyrillic alphabet. At this moment, my nerves subsided. I just felt lucky. Ha! As funny as it sounds, I feel lucky to be here in Ukraine.

So, here I am – home for a while – terribly missing the past, but still enamored with the now and the future. On the plus side, I won’t have to deal with the get-to-know-me traveler interview and constant goodbyes for some time. I started training yesterday. Can you believe I will actually be working again after a year off?! That is definitely going to take a while to wrap my head around, but then at that point, I will have my 3 week break for the holidays to travel. Oh yeah! So, any ideas on where I should head to for 3 weeks starting Dec. 28th?! I need to start planning!

P.S. Get this! Other people here signed on with a 6 or 8 month contract. Hmm…

Even though I have spent nearly two weeks of my life recently in Riga, Latvia, this is actually my first post on the country at all. Shocking, no? I was planning to do a post on Sigulda with some cute photos, but someone I was travelling with decided it was a good time to clean the sensor on my camera - gasp! Therefore, I had no battery life on the camera when we got there. I was also planning on giving some sort of walking tour of the city, but it seemed that on days when I was wanting to photograph things the weather was awful!

I have hundreds of memories from my time spent in Riga, most involving:

1) The people I met while at the ARGONAUT HOSTEL that made my stay amazing.

2) The places we all went, such as the ORANGE BAR!

But, in spite of all this other excitement in Riga, I have decided to make this post about one little thing I discovered along the way - Pelmeni XL - the backpacker/budget traveller’s dream come true! Cheap food that is quick and oh so filling!

The beauty of pelmeni XL is the fact it is weight-based. You get in line and start filling your bowl with these little dumplings - some chicken, beef, pork, lamb, veggie, and cheese. Then, you top off with sauces and sour cream. We all made the mistake the first time of getting more than we could handle because these little suckers are filling!

What makes this place even greater is the price - about 2 lats for a bowl! You can’t go wrong. And, if you’re a late-night person, pelmeni is available until 4 am at one location in Old Town. MMMmmmm. You might think the fact I ate there almost every day funny, but I’m not laughing. I loved it. Lovvved it!!!

I decided to spread the pelmeni joy to other people whenever I had the chance, and would chuckle when I saw them bringing to-go containers of pelmeni back to the hostel for dinner.

To get a better idea of what pelmeni is, take a look:

They are deeeeelicious! Take a gander at their website and make sure to stop by if ever in Riga. You won’t regret it!

Ok, so in case you didn’t know, I am about to move to the Ukraine… for a year! If you asked me a year ago where I’d see myself in 2008, I don’t think I would have for a split second considered Kiev. But, a year later, a slowly dwindling bank account, and a better understanding of former Soviet culture made the thought of finding a job in this country very appealing.

I mentioned before that I had a phone interview recently for an English teaching job - an interview that was cut short by a bad internet connection. I had given up on that idea until a week later when I heard back from the recruiter offering me the position! I was overjoyed! Not only do I get to continue living in a Russian speaking country, but I will also make enough money to live a decent life and SAVE. AWESOME! And, if that wasn’t good enough, I will also be getting a whopping 10 weeks of vacation during that time! So, don’t worry, there will be plenty of travel stories to go around. My first break in very late December (they celebrate Christmas on January 7 in Ukraine) will be for three weeks! Oh, sweet travel time.

Time for the big move to the land of leather, stiletto heels, and stern faces is drawing near. I’m getting nervous and excited thinking about it. Wish me luck! I’m about to go shopping for some new work clothes!

Paldiski could be classified as the worst city I have ever travelled to… purposely. Apparently, the guide books even say “Welcome to Hell” when talking about the small, former Soviet naval base, but still my current fascination with all things “Soviet style” helped Sam talk me into checking it out. Apparently there was even going to be the remains of a submarine training center as well. How could I possibly pass up a day trip like this?!

It took an hour by train of travelling through rural Estonia before arriving in the desolate factory town of Paldiski. In the small cafe in the train station, Sam and I acquired a third companion, an English lad whom I saw bumbling through a Lonely Planet guide. He, too, was in search of the submarine base. As three now, we made our way into town, wandering aimlessly towards the sea in hopes of discovering the base, one which apparently can be spotted from ANYWHERE in town.

We marvelled at the lifelessness of this tiny town - the torn up basketball court, the one pub, and the barb wire protected car factories. One can only imagine an Estonian winter in this part of the world!

We wandered a bit longer with no luck in finding the submarine base when yet another person with a backpack and guide book saw us on the street. Our group became four as we scoured the town for any signs. We eventually ended up on a long, long walk outside of town towards a lighthouse.

Unfortunately, we never found the base. We’re convinced that the guide books are out of date (haha, go figure) and it doesn’t exist anymore. Oh well. Sam and I had a great time and made some new friends in the process. Can’t go wrong with a day filled with good people and good conversation in a town that at least has a nice coastline.

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Rimi is a grocery store chain popular in the Baltics. I fell in LOVE with it when I first arrived in Riga, and especially in love with their premade turkey and pepper sandwiches. They made perfect lunches. However, I have found that the Rimi stores in the different Baltic countries carry different types of sandwiches. On my first day in Estonia, I decided to try out a Kebab sandwich, but something didn’t taste quite right. Expiration date was still far off but I ended up with a little bit of a stomach bug which led me to having a more quiet weekend in. This aside, I still somehow managed to get some fun drinking experiences under my belt with the “flaming Tallinn” and an old favorite “hot wine”.

Tallinn has the most amazing Old Town of the Baltic countries - super medieval to the core. On my first night in town, some of us from the hostel went out to dinner at the Peppersack - a restaurant that even has a sword fight show in the evening. This was where I experienced the “flaming Tallinn” drink served by a young girl looking like she was on her way to a Renaissance festival.

The drink is composed of one part vana tallin alcohol and one part vana tallin cream. They then proceed to light the drink on fire followed by you quickly slurping it down through a straw, just before it catches fire and melts.

Dan, a fellow Illinois resident, attacking the flaming Tallinn!

On another day while walking around Tallinn with my new pal, Sam, we happened upon “Tallinn’s oldest hot wine bar”. Well funny thing was that we were just talking about the deliciousness of a nice mulled wine on a cold day, so of course we made our way to the bar and oldered a few. I first had a nice hot wine back in Poland and it immediately became a favorite. This stop off was just what we needed after hours of walking in the cold!

More fun to come! I am currently in or on my way to Tartu, Estonia - Estonia’s college party town. This should be interesting

Imagine my shock when the day I flew from Kazakhstan to Latvia I also went from sweating to freezing! Everyone in Riga was wearing a coat, hat, gloves… the works. “Ugh!” I thought. I really despise cold weather, but don’t get confused. That doesn’t mean I like summer either! So I may be a bit sensitive to temperature, but I eventually got past the “I think its winter” phase and am now realizing I’m actually experiencing a nice autumn.

On my last day in Lithuania, I took a nice little daytrip to Trakai where remains an amazing castle on an island - just like a fairy tale. I felt autum in full force, from the rainy sky, from the cool breeze, and also from the falling leaves. It felt almost a suiting time to visit a castle, and a small Lithuanian town such as Trakai for that matter. Here are some pictures from my little excursion:

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I have since moved on to the very northern country of Estonia. I can’t help but think of the movie Encino Man when I think I am actually in Estonia! Even so, I am loving the autumn weather and am looking forward to hot wine and sweaters. To be honest, I am a little sad that I will be missing a home Halloween and Thanksgiving this year, but I am sure many other new and interesting experiences will help cope with that reality.

They say there are 55,000 in total, but I really wonder if it is more than that. One can easily get lost in the sea of relics on display at the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania. I had seen pictures before setting out on the 3 hour bus ride to the small town of Siauliai, but none will ever do the site justice.

It is said that people started leaving crosses here as early as the 1831 uprising against Russia. Crosses were left at this site when they couldn’t find the bodies of loved ones. Later, when occupied by the Soviet Union, Lithuanians would continue to travel here to leave crosses in remembrance of their cultural identity. The Soviet forces even bulldozed the site at least 3 times, so it is even more amazing to see how many crosses have accumulated in this location since then.

Some people might dismiss the site since it sounds to be a huge religious site, but it is truly so much more than that. The history and cultural significance of the Hill of Crosses make this site a must-see in Lithuania.

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It’s sort of funny, but one of the touristy things you can do in the Baltic countries is shoot some bad-ass guns for fun. I had never really thought about using guns for fun before, but when I found out my friend who is working at a hostel in Vilnius, Lithuania (VB Sleep Inn) is actually in charge of taking groups on this sort of outing I thought I’d give it a try. And plus, how often in life do you ever really get a chance to unload a couple of rounds in ak-47s, uzis, and glocks?

It took about a week in order to get a group large enough to go, but finally, we did it. We were pumped! It was an awesome six-gun package that would make any gun enthusiast quiver: ak-47, uzi, m4, mp5, sig saur, and a glock. No one in the group had ever shot a gun before, so we were not aware of what would happen, and I can tell you that from the moment I heard the first gun fired, I was very terrified! But, I did it. I shot some truly deadly weapons - all of which left me shaking from both fright and excitement at the same time.

Some things I learned while shooting:

1) It is not easy! I don’t care how the people in the movies make it look, its no walk in the park! My arms were tired just from holding these heavy suckers up!
2) The Ak-47 has quite the kick back. I had a really crazy welt on my shoulder after 20 rounds in this gun.
3) Modern technology is my friend. Whenever the gun had a light target on it, I rocked it.
4) Gun powder is a hard taste to get rid of. My nose was black after shooting.
5) I would definitely recommend this to anyone!

Here is a little video I prepared of the outing, so sit back and enjoy!