Category: Recipe Collections

Why the Baltics?

My parents Richard and Janice are pretty serious world travelers. They will hit 100 countries after they finish their upcoming trips to the “stans” (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) and another trip to Malaysia. (They keep arguing about when exactly they hit 100 countries because they disagree about what qualifies as a country. For example, do you count Scotland and Wales as their own countries, or are they lumped in with the UK? Does French Polynesia make the list since it is technically a territory? (Can I get a shout out from my Scottish, Welsh, and French Polynesian readers please. I’m SURE you have opinions ;)

Daugavpils, Latvia

We got so lucky. The city of Daugavpils happened to be celebrating the 749th anniversary of when the city was established, and even though we arrived at 10:30pm, the ENTIRE town was out on the streets, and we just couldn’t miss it. We started wandering around and saw food vendors everywhere, and multiple concerts, the largest one being a show by Lodoba, who is a quite famous Ukrainian singer. There were probably 10,000 people just at that concert. It was really fun, and the people watching was great. There were girls going crazy dancing, even little girls with their families. It felt like an Eastern European T-Swift concert I kind of want to go back next year for the 750th celebration, it’s got to be even more amazing??

The next day was Sunday and we went to “Church hill” where there are several churches all within a few blocks. My mom and I were asked to cover our heads with scarves provided in the foyer of the Orthodox church. We got to watch some of the beautiful service. It was really lovely to see all the old ladies with their hair done and their cute nylons and kitty heels/tennis shoes, heads covered, crossing themselves. I love seeing people attending their own church. As a person of faith, it’s so beautiful to me to see others worshipping God in the way they love best.

We even found our church just a few blocks away :)

Lunchtime: Salmon pancakes (!) and a caramel pecan pastry. SO good.

We visited the city fortress ruins. It’s crazy hearing history in this country. You goes from Russian Tsars to Napoleon invasions, through Holocaust camps, to Soviet era apartment buildings, all in the same location.

Above you can see a market we visited, said apartments in the background, with green netting all over them to prevent debris from falling off and hurting people. The buildings are in need of renovation but there is no money, it seems.

Vilnius, Lithuania 

We drove to the capital of Lithuania: Vilnius. This was the first “old city” we experienced, and it was absolutely magical! The photos will never be able to give you the vibe. You seriously feel like you have stepped into a time machine. The winding cobblestone roads and tiny alleyways, the people living in apartments above their adorable shops, the ancient cathedrals just right there, the red tile roofs, the 14th century brick cafes with patio chairs always out.

We stopped at a restaurant called Etno Dvaras which specializes in traditional Lithuanian cuisine and it was so incredibly good. The most famous dish in Lithuania is the Potato Dumpling, they had a massive menu and all these variations of how you could order them.

On the right is Buckthorn Tea, another Lithuanian specialty. It was so good! Tart and sweet, with berries from the Buckthorn tree. Eric ordered “acorn coffee” which has no coffee but is made from acorns, and was so good, who knew?

The famous Potato Dumplings. < Here is a recipe I want to try.

Above is a cold beet soup that I quickly became obsessed with! I ordered it at least 3 different times while in Lithuania. I am not into cold soups normally; Gazpacho is not my thing. But this soup was Barbie pink and SO flavorful. It’s made with kefir. Here are two recipes I want to look at: Saltibarsciai and Jamie Oliver’s Chilled Beet Soup.

The next day we walked to a cathedral that was built in the 1600s and all white on the inside. All the stone carvings are original and unrestored. We went down into the basement and there was a little museum set up, with Latin hymnals and hand written scriptures, just sitting out. The earliest dates we saw were in the 1500s. It was crazy. 

Above is Saint Anne’s church, built in the early 1500s. Completed in 6 years.

We walked to an ancient cemetery. My mom is the board president of the cemetery in the town I’m from, and she is maybe a little obsessed? I’m not complaining. It was the most beautiful cemetery I’ve ever been in. Ferns and plants everywhere, flowers on almost all the graves. Lots of attention given to the dead in this culture. We saw one grave with an actual LIT candle, we could see the flame wavering. It had been burning all week.

This is a Russian orthodox church we stopped at. Look at all that color!

Stopped at a bakery for this caramel hazelnut tart. SO good.

We stopped in a local woodworkers shop. It was fascinating. He had a “museum” underneath his shop, we walked down to find stone walls hundreds of years old. He said his father and his grandfather were also woodworkers, and their work was downstairs. Wooden shoes, washboards, dough bowls, rolling pins, everything you could imagine that people would have needed a carpenter for 200 years ago.

Dinner. We ordered a Lithuanian appetizer platter and it was fun to see all the different kinds of foods that are traditional. I was NOT into those rubbery bacon looking things but the rest was really good. I had the beet soup again (I told you, I’m obsessed).

Caramel cake.

We climbed up to Gediminas castle in the evening. It’s so hard not to stay awake until midnight there, because the sun goes down at 10:30: 

This is the view from the castle hill.

The next day we went to a Lithuanian money museum. This is a photo of shredded Lithuanian money notes. They no longer needed them after switching to the euro in 2015. They made the shredded money into an art piece:

Pear and duck tart?? It was actually so good.

Trakai Island

Then we visited Sleeping Beauty’s castle. What, really?? No, not really. But doesn’t it look like it?

They had these ancient punishment devices out, including the stocks where we locked my mom up. They were renovating part of the tower (see the green netting in the background?) and these two guys were using a plastic bucket and a hand pulley system to get bricks to the top floor. The guy on the top was throwing tiny pebbles at the guy on the bottom who was pulling. I was dying. I just can’t believe that they’re still getting bricks up that way??

Kaunas, Lithuania

Next we visited a city called Kaunas, where we stopped at Uoksas for dinner.

They had this amazing dessert: rhubarb sorbet with almond wafer and meringue crisp. (I’m telling you, rhubarb was everywhere!) The next day we walked around to see all the modernist buildings that were put up in the Soviet era. It’s a beautiful city.

My favorite part of this day was lunch:

These are roasted carrots with Chimichurri on a creamy sauce with pine nuts and dill, served with homemade naan. And Strawberry toast. Wut.

They gave my mom gloves to eat her burger, which is actually genius, right??

This creme brulee donut was INCREDIBLE.

Every old town has a castle of course:

We walked 14 miles this day. Have I mentioned my parents are in their 70s?? They are hardcore.

The Ninth Fort

The next day we visited the Ninth Fort of Kaunas. This is another one of those mind bogglingly historical locations. How could so much have happened all in one place?

We hired a tour guide. I’m so glad we hired her because she was incredibly knowledgeable and we learned so much. She talked nonstop for two hours.

A fortress built in 1912, the 9th Fort was spared major gunfire in WWI, then served as a Lithuanian prison (mostly for thieves and communists) during the 20s and 30s, until 1940, where it was taken over by the Soviet’s. Then later it was overthrown from the other direction by the Nazis. (Soviets invaded Lithuania on the east and Nazis invaded on the west within 1 week of each other.)

In 1941, the Nazis gathered all the Jews to a ghetto outside of the city to live. In October, they made all 30,000 men women and children march to the 9th Fort. There was a man who divided the people according to strength and work ability. Go to the left and work. Or go to the right and die. 10,000 were killed that day, October 25th, by gunfire, mostly women and children and elderly.  

In 1944 when it was clear they were losing the war, the Nazis assigned 64 Jews from the ghetto the task of digging up the 10,000 bodies to burn them, and then grind the bones and scatter. The prisoners knew they would be killed in the end, and were desperate to not have the evidence of Nazi war crimes obliterated, so they spent weeks orchestrating an escape on Christmas Day, including drilling holes in a metal door hidden behind equipment, and building their own rope ladder that they needed to scale the 7 meter cement wall. 11 made it out alive. 

Over the 4 years of the war, 50,000 people were murdered at The 9th Fort. 30,000 of them were Jewish.

In any horrendous story, there are the helpers, as Mr. Rogers says. There’s the story of a Lithuanian priest who helped hide and provide papers for over 120 children. After the Nazis left, he fell into the hands of the Soviet’s who sent him to Siberia for 10 years of hard labor. He lived, and later moved to the US. 

There was a Japanese man and a Dutch man employed at their respective countries consulates in Lithuania, who managed to illegally provide papers for over 6,000 Lithuanians to flee to Japan and the Netherlands.

At the end of the tour, our guide told us that she knows history repeats itself, but that she hopes the past is not repeated again in Lithuania. She expressed gratitude to the United States for participating in NATO and for trying to protect Lithuania from Russia. She had mentioned a road sign we passed on the way in, that identifies the Ninth Fort as an official state shelter in case of attack, where the people of Kaunas will flee to if necessary… In other words, if things in Ukraine don’t go well. It is absolutely chilling to consider this potential for them.

These next two photos are from different spots throughout the Baltics; Ukrainian support is everywhere.

It’s hard to go back to your life after an experience like the 9th Fort. But I think it’s really important to remember these things, which is why I’m going over it now. What can we do besides remember, and teach our children?

We stopped to get some ice cream after. Look at this wall of pastries! Lots of Persian influence in Baltics desserts. (Chalvos=Halva).

Raudone Castle

We drove to Raudone castle, which has the most classic looking princess fairy tale tower! I know I keep saying this, but just look at it! Where is Rapunzel??

I was very excited to see this ancient kitchen with it’s fire stove! Can you imagine cooking on this??

There was another castle 10 minutes away. I wonder what the story is there? Were they friends or enemies??

At sunset (which is at 10:30pm) we arrived at the town of Siauliai, a small town on the way to Riga. I snapped this photo of a tiny boy playing in the street while his parent ate dinner on the patio of a restaurant nearby. Isn’t this just the life?

Eric ordered a borscht soup that was the best I’ve ever had, I took lots of notes and plan to recreate it soon!

During dinner, Eric heard live music coming from somewhere, so he went to look for it and found it on a rooftop museum just down the block. We went up and joined the fun. I loved seeing all the Lithuanian teenage stoner emo fashion, haha. It was a great moment, enjoying local music in a tiny town in Lithuania on a random Thursday night!

The next day we drove to the Hill of crosses right outside of town. When the Soviets took over, they removed all crosses from this cemetery. The locals snuck in at night and added new crosses. The Soviets took them down. Every night, the locals risked their lives to replace the crosses. Now people travel from all over to place their own cross here, as a monument to God and a show of support for rebellion in the face of oppression. Viva la revolucion.

Rundales Palace

Rundales palace is kind of like the Versailles of Lithuania! It was so pretty. It has been completely renovated to look just like the 18th century SUMMER home of a local duke. It’s crazy how much money went into places like this.

Eric and I danced in the ballroom. Literally felt like I was at Pemberly. I made Eric dive into the pond after with a white shirt on, Colin Firth style. Just kidding.

The grounds were very beautiful. After touring the inside we hired a little golf cart to drive us around, the place was huge.

Riga, Latvia

That night we drive to Riga, Latvia and went to the ballet in the gorgeous Opera House.

It was so beautiful, even though we couldn’t understand it. No language needed for dance, though!

We stopped after for late night snacks:

On the right are famous Latvian Garlic Rye Toasts with dipping sauce, often served as a snack with beer. They were SO GOOD and I didn’t even care that I smelled like garlic for the next 24 hours worth it. I really want to try making these, maybe by triple toasting Prudy’s Rye Bread? Waffle burger on the right, a very popular combo there.

We spent the next day poking around the neighborhood. The old town of Riga is absolutely GORGEOUS. I could have spent 5 days in just this city.

We visited a farmer’s market and saw all kinds of things you don’t see at home!

These are all pickled veggies, and dried fish for sale.

Loooots of fish!!! And my cute parents:

The market was so colorful, and it was so much fun sampling everything. I could have spent all day here.

Out walking later, we passed a beer festival with street vendors and spotted this treasure:

That night we ate at a Michelin star restaurant that Eric was super excited about. The food was amazing, it’s definitely an experience! Here’s a guy making homemade pesto fresh in a mortar and pestle, with herbs and greens from their garden.

We enjoyed peppermint tea and chocolates after. My favorite dishes were the Asparagus with garlic ice cream (!!), and the Cod cooked in maple and rhubarb leaves, with fish stock and seaweed with Potato. Sounds crazy…it was amazing.

Next we stopped at a small town called Parnu, where we enjoyed the cold and salty beaches of the Baltic sea. It was beautiful there!

Eric and I don’t drink alcohol, but they had so many fun drinks at this hotel. I think these were elderberry and Rhubarb.

On the left is fried Camembert cheese with Cloudberry jam to dip in. It was one of the best things I ate on this trip. I didn’t even know what cloudberries were, they are a native berry here and so delicious. My new goal in life is to bread and deep fry camembert!

This hotel had an amazing spread for breakfast the next morning, with the classic pickled herring, tuna salad, and other charcuterie-esque choices.

But they also had ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST. I came downstairs to see my mom sitting with the biggest smile on her face, eating a giant bowl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with fudge sauce. I don’t know WHY we have not adopted ice cream for breakfast at hotels here in the states…yet!!?

That afternoon we took a hike though a bog. Yes, a bog! With peet and everything.

It was so beautiful and a different terrain than I had ever seen.

Door and Floors

I’m taking a pause to show you some of the doors and floors that I became obsessed with in the Baltics. Why don’t we have architecture with more character here, why??

Tallinn, Estonia

Our last city was the crowning city of Tallinn, probably the most famous (?) of all the cities we visited.

I, of course, wasted no time in finding a bakery:

This country knows how to do it, I’m telling you. Cardamom galore!

We ate lunch at a fun modern restaurant (F-hoone) with these incredible meat dumplings and a Liege Waffle with cherry topping:

And then we headed to our hotel in the Old Town. You can’t park your car in these old towns because there are just no parking lots (because the city was established in 1300, of course! Park your horse by the door!) So you have to drop off your car and Uber in with your luggage. It’s worth it, staying in the heart of everything!

It is truly stunning seeing the old castle here where foundations were laid in the 1200s, and people still just walking by it on their way to work or whatever.

The parliament building where government for Estonia happens today is built on the same foundation as Toompea, a castle first built in the 1200s. Can you see the turret on the left? Estonia has been governed from this spot for 800 years or so :

One of the best pizzas I have ever had at a little Italian restaurant (La Prima) in Old Town:

The next day we left old town to visit an Ethnographic museum, which is like an outdoor museum where they have gathered different buildings from around the country, that represent different eras.

They even had an old-timey bakery set up. You best believe I bought one of everything

This is an ancient version of a swing, it took three of us to get it moving!

That night we ate at this medieval restaurant, Olde Hansa, that used to be a 13th century merchant house. The menu was very interesting! We ate bear, wild boar, duck liver, and then rose pudding for dessert! It was different but very good, and fun to try something new.

At some point we stopped for snacks, I always think it’s so interesting to see what other people are snacking on and what’s available in stores! These dill chips were legit. Also, interested and disturbed to see all the American level ridiculous cereals taking up an entire aisle of the grocery store:

Back across the Baltic Sea on the ferry, and a few more hours in Helsinki before our flight home:

We are at an amazing little cafe (Cafe Engel) that had a quiche with such an insane amount of dill. It was so good! And this raspberry cake that they gave us a pot of straight-up-cream to pour on top. It was SO good. Also the best hot chocolate I’ve had in a while.

We finally came home, this is my favorite picture of the whole trip probably. I think those kids missed us almost as much as we missed them. She was holding so tight:

And that’s it! If you made it through this, you must be really interested in the Baltics! This post was mostly for me, as a memory keeper. If you plan to visit, tell me where you end up going! I’d love to chat about it!