Our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey (Joshua 9:13)

Well, we did it: We managed to visit seven countries in 13 days for our whirlwind winter break tour. With the help of three planes, four trains, two buses, two ferries, and many subway and trolley cars, we made stops in Munich and Berlin, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; Vilnius, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden – all with nary a horror story to tell. We made every connection on time, we got lost only when that was our objective, and we kept our belongings intact, even adding some souvenir mugs and a sweater along the way. About the only downside to the trip were the inevitable frayed nerves from spending too much time in one person’s company, which led to a few minor and quick spats. But those are all a distant memory, so let’s start with the more pleasant details.

If I had to sum up my overall impression of the trip in a thesis sentence (hey, I am an English teacher), it would be: Just like the individual identities of Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, etc. get usurped by a Midwestern stereotype, eastern Europe countries get unfairly pigeonholed. As we moved through our journey, certain characteristics resonated from country to country, but each city had a definitive flavor. So to start what will be a series of blog entries, since I have a lot of photos and stories to share, I will post the most representative shot I took from each locale.

Munich has a standing as a party city, what with Oktoberfest, and I probably shouldn’t judge based on our day there – which consisted mainly of visiting Christmas markets, the one for tourists in the historic downtown and the one for locals in the suburban outskirts – but I’d say the reputation is founded. But that’s not to say boozehounds are bombarding the streets (unless they’re foreigners perhaps). Munichians (Munichites? Munichers?) just like to have a good time with minimal preparation and consternation. So, you simply show up in the free music tent at the Tollwood Winter Fest, where grandparents sip coffee, middle-agers drink mulled wine, and teens down pints amid kids climbing on wooden bear statues, dogs chewing on stump tables, and a band playing a folksy version of “TNT” by AC/DC, complete with the drummer accompanying on accordion:

Berlin is a fun-loving city as well, but it’s much more subdued. The effects of the wall linger, with the west side pulsing with capitalism and the east side still adjusting to being unconstrained. Even more than 10 years after the fall of the wall, the neon of the west and the gray of the east are uniting precariously, making for an interesting merger of contrasts. Only a few yards down from where the city has moved a part of the East Side Gallery, the longest stretch of once-intact Berlin Wall, so residents of a new arena district can access the riverfront, this young club/goth fashionplate wrote a note on the fading artwork celebrating the barrier’s opening:

Warsaw has a similar collision of identity, but its sources are harder to recognize, considering the boundaries here were less blatant and publicized. Therefore, there has been less attention and money put toward mending old wounds of separation, despite their palpable presence. We had to a hunt a while before we found the remnants of the ghetto wall, only recently protected by U.N. decree, in between some downtrodden apartment buildings. Towering over the wall is the Palace of Culture and Science, a gift from Stalin to the Polish people that has now become the most conspicuous mall and office complex in the city:

Vilnius suffered some of the same offenses of Soviet oppression, but it has fared better in moving forward from its bitter past. Instead, it has chosen to focus on its more ancient and honorable history; the city is in the middle of rebuilding or renovating multiple sites, including the Royal Palace, in time for its millennium anniversary, which according to the earliest written mention of the city will be in 2009. Extending from the palace is the main commercial strip, with brand-name fashion boutiques and upscale coffee houses. Once again, pieces of the “old country” remain, and here, they aren’t even on a map but maybe just in the appearance of some passers-by on the “new country” drag:

Riga isn’t simply moving forward from occupation, it is morphing. The many Russian immigrants, who perhaps learned how to make an underhanded cent under the Soviet regime, have turned the creativity of desperation into an explosion of entrepreneurship. Riga is the Las Vegas of Europe, with travelers from every corner coming to take advantage of five-star cuisine and top spas or strip clubs and escort services, all combining nearly seamlessly amid an anachronistic medieval backdrop. And so families can frolic amid the snowmen in this lovely park, just across the street from a row of adult entertainment outlets, like May Day with wenches on the side:

Tallinn also has gone the tourist route, but with a good dose of Scandinavian propriety. If Riga is Las Vegas, then Tallinn is Myrtle Beach; it’s just as touristy, but more wholesome, in an overly polished kind of way. But in this case, the usually prefabricated aspects are actually genuine. Plus, I’m a sucker for even the phony kind of stuff. I had no qualms sitting near the kitchen of an “authentic” medieval kitchen, where I could see the cooks putting “baked” potatoes in the deep fryer. On the way home, though, I caught this authentic moment. Sure, the sparklers aren’t appropriately medieval, but the simplistic enjoyment of overlooking the town’s lit spires is:

Helsinki also retains a small-town charm, but it is found amid big-city trappings. Contemporary skyscrapers sit amid Renaissance towers. It is nice to have elements of both worlds, but modern conveniences come with modern prices. Residents seem to fall back on old-fashioned – and inexpensive – pursuits, including drinking. But somehow the local dive bar, where we saw and heard an honest-to-god slap in the face, seemed more enchanting after we passed a packed skating rink. Even the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration seemed quaint, considering there were fewer people that night in Senate Square than at any Red, White, and Boom in Columbus. If there hadn’t been the old building in the background, this father and son watching fireworks could have been in anywhere in middle America:

Stockholm is a more expensive and cold version, if that’s possible, of Helsinki. It only took us a half-day in the city to see why European economies are outperforming the United States' so well. No wonder all those passengers rolled carts of duty-free beer and cigarettes off the ferry. Despite the high prices (nearly $5 for a black coffee!), downtown businesses were booming. They were more packed than the Royal Palace, where the guards apparently aren’t required to remain stoic against the biting, chafing winds. Despite just having taken over his post, this one was fidgeting furiously to fight the cold:

In the next installment: Christmas trees from around the world