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:

[Show as slideshow]

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.

[Show as slideshow]

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!