{"@context":{"rdf":"http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#","rdfs":"http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#","owl":"http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#","foaf":"http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/","dc":"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/","dct":"http://purl.org/dc/terms/","sioc":"http://rdfs.org/sioc/types#","blog":"http://vocab.amy.so/blog#","as":"https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams#","mf2":"http://microformats.org/profile/","ldp":"http://www.w3.org/ns/ldp#","solid":"http://www.w3.org/ns/solid#","view":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/view#","asext":"https://terms.rhiaro.co.uk/as#","dbp":"http://dbpedia.org/property/","geo":"http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#","doap":"http://usefulinc.com/ns/doap#","time":"http://www.w3.org/2006/time#"},"@graph":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/08/week-in-review-4","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"
Sooo, anyone know anyone with a summer home on a Greek island they want to rent to me for less than €400/mo this winter? :D
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-13T12:49:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/greece"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/been-meh","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"I've been pretty meh and lethargic and unfocussed for a few weeks, but apparently what I needed was a hectic week of barely-planned travel, hostel-hopping and a bus ride a day, and the clouds have lifted. I'm in hostels for the rest of this month, so maybe I'll get some shit done.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-07T15:47:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/life"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/curonian-spit","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"Remember that time I walked to the (Kaliningrad) Russian border from Poland? I wanted to do that again, from the Lithuanian side. This is a slightly longer ordeal, requiring better transportation than feet. Long story short, I didn't actually make it to the border, but I did see it from the top of a sand dune. I got pretty close though. Anyway, I'm sure that border is less exciting than the Polish one, because you can actually cross it (in a car, not on foot).
\r\n\r\nThe Curonian Spit is not connected to Klaipeda, but the ferry takes 5 minutes. They run every hour, from 0700 out, up to 2215 returning. It costs 1 EUR return for foot passengers, or passengers with a bike, and you can buy tickets from the machines at the port in Klaipeda old town. I rented a bike from my hostel for 24 hours for 5 EUR (we managed to lower the seat all the way so I could just about use it). Most bike rental places in town are 10-12 EUR.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe spit is well furnished with cycle paths, in various states of decay, but mostly well-maintained. This route is pretty popular. The northern most coast is an enormous long sandy beach. Very glorious. It's backed by epic dunes, and you can only access it at designated points from cycle paths running down the middle, because tramping around on the dunes is a no-no. Large portions of the spit are also do-not-enter nature reserves.
\r\n\r\nAfter I got off the ferry in Smiltyne, first I went right/east (not the direction of Kaliningrad) to check out the other end of the spit for completeness. There's a sea museum, a dolphinarium (ugh) and the start of the beautiful beach. I pushed my bike along the beach for a while, which wasn't so bad on the wet sand, until I could join one of the main cycle paths, peeking out between the dunes. It was easy sailing for a while; the path was in good repair, and either flat or any ups were well compensated with excellent downs. It weaves through the forest, with views of dunes on the right and pine trees on the left, or sometimes trees on both sides.
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\r\n\r\nIt took me two hours from joining the path to get to Judokrante, the next village. Here I stopped for lunch at Pamario Takas, a super nice place with loads of outdoor seating and.. lots of vegan options! The food was homemade and delicious; I ate lentil patties, coffee, panna cotta, and a wheatgrass shot for a boost, which all came to about 14 EUR. But I hadn't had breakfast. Judokrante has a nice seafront, with lots of restaurants and sand sculptures.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMy lunch break was 45 minutes. My butt was already aching a bit, and it was nice to relax, but I tried to resist temptation to linger too long. I followed the coast through Judokrante - featuring some amazing sand scupltures - and rejoined the main cycle path. The next leg was long and same-y, through the woods. I occasionally detoured to check out a side road to a beach or a cape or a birdwatching tower. Mostly when I needed to hop off the bike for a bit. Sometimes I tied the bike to something and took a little walk through sand or a non-bike-friendly track. Walking was becoming a relief.
\r\n\r\nSometimes the bike path got pretty sketchy, with holes and sand. Sometimes it arched over dunes, making hills I couldn't quite summit. The freewheeling down was fantastic though. There were quite a few people, but not so many that I didn't have long stretches with nobody in sight behind or in front of me.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nThe next villages around the coast are Pervalka and Preila. Little bits of scenic ports, a few restaurants and signs to things of interest I did not stop to check out.
\r\n\r\nThough they are small, there's plenty going on in all of the villages. Lots of people - mostly Germans and Lithuanians - come here for holidays, so there are tons of guesthouses and plenty of restaurants. There are also a disproportionate number of museums, galleries, open air art and sculptures, and other historical artefacts. Also many viewpoints (marked on openstreetmap at least), and natural features with mythological significance. I skipped by most of these, keen to get to the border, and still at this point thinking I could see them on the way back.
\r\n\r\nThe final (agonising) stretch between Preila and Nida is a wide, smooth concrete road. It looks like it's designed for cars, but I think it was just the cycle path. I limped into Nida (as much as one does so on wheels), followed the coast around and saw the port. I found the bus stop, and confirmed the times. It was 1630 when I arrived, and the next bus was at 1800 (and one after that, at 2000). It's 4 EUR back to Smiltyne, and an extra 5 to take a bike. This seems like a horrible ripoff, but what can you do.
\r\n\r\nI parked my bike at the supermarket, and went for an amble to the 'Death Valley' sand dunes. This is just one of many exciting things to see in Nida, which is the biggest town on the spit. I considered walking all the way to the Kaliningrad border anyway, but that would have taken an hour and a half. There was no way my butt was getting back on the bike, and if I somehow missed the last bus I was pretty screwed. So I opted for seeing the Russian bit of the spit from the top of the dune instead. Close enough.
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\r\n\r\nThe bus was waiting half an hour early when I got back to town. Two other people had just had the driver load their bikes into the compartment on the back. I felt like he could have awkwardly stacked a third one in there, but he didn't. Nope, you can't come. I drifted a few meters away, fumbled with my phone, looked presumably scared and confused. I'd already considered my options if the 1800 bus wouldn't take my bike, and I didn't like any of them so I hadn't settled on a backup plan. Whatever my expression was doing made the driver sufficiently sympathetic that he came over and led me around the bus and opened the side luggage compartment. My bike went in there sideways. I offered him my eternal gratitude (and an extra 5 EUR) and went to wait in the bus.
\r\n\r\nThe ride all the way back to Smiltyne is an hour exactly. The bus only stops in the villages, and won't be flagged down on the road. I got to see a slightly different bit of the spit for most of the stretch, as the cycle path I used on the way out tended to swap spit-sides whenever the road did, to the opposite one.
\r\n\r\nI had three ferries remaining to me by the time I got there, and considered sticking around in Smiltyne a bit; sitting in a coffee shop (there's one with a hammock in the yard) or on the beach for a while. It was getting grey and cool, and I was just exhausted and achey though, so I took the 1915 ferry right away.
\r\n\r\nI pushed the bike back to the hostel.
\r\n\r\nOverall it was a great outing, but I definitely overestimated my cycling abilities. I'm entirely convinced my sister would have managed to get there and back, and included a nice lunch, swim in the sea, and most of the museums and points of interest, with no problem. I guess I should practice.
\r\n\r\nAll photos are here and GPS trace on RunKeeper.
","as:name":"Cycling the Curonian Spit","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-11T14:17:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/vegan"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/curonian+spit"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/lithuania"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/cycling"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/cycled","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"I cycled further in one go today than I ever have in my life before (40 miles). Yet I'm a bit disappointed I didn't go further. For some reason I thought I'd be able to make the return journey too. Also everything hurts. Different things from after a too-long hike. Mostly my butt.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-08T20:49:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/cycling"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/life"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/envy","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"A couple of years ago I met people while travelling with lifestyles I envied. Now I'm the person with the lifestyle other travellers envy. Feels good.
\r\nSpecifically the fact that I figured out what I was envious of, and made it happen for myself. Not the being subject of envy part.
\r\nNot bragging, except I am, because I LOVE living like this and am PROUD of myself for just doing what I felt like even though it was easy and natural to do so.
\r\nNow 'scuse me while I go stand in a ten person line for the single hostel toilet for the fifth day in a row.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-18T23:09:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/life"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/kaunas","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"When I was deciding how to divide up my month in Lithuania, I looked at the map, zoomed in on the cities, checked out the bus routes, and a voice inside me said \"spend two weeks in Kaunas.\" It's the second biggest city in Lithuania (still not big), not by the sea, and fairly unremarkable apart from having the longest pedestrian street in Eastern Europe going through the middle. The voice was so convincing, I booked two weeks in an non-refundable hostel as far as two months in advance.
\r\nAnyway, the voice was right, this place is super nice. Maybe I was predisposed to love it, but my first impression on the afternoon I arrived was at least as powerful as my immediate love for Bratislava.
\r\nFood options are good, stuff is cheap, there's a really nice river and a castle, a new town and an old town, some lakes not too far away; I've made myself at home in a co-working space, and people seem friendly.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-11T18:23:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/lithuania"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/kaunas"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/liepaja","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"Liepaja has the purest whitest softest sandy beaches that have ever blessed my feet, I swear.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-04T19:22:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/liepaja"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/love-idle","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"Love the idle threats of hostels on booking.com that they'll somehow charge you the full amount if you don't show up. Yet they don't ask for your credit card to book, and explicitly only accept cash on-site. Suuuure you wired that system up. Sure you did.
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-08T21:41:00+03:00"},"as:tag":{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/resident","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"A new hostel guest arrived and I was introduced as the \"long term resident\". Dude, I've been here a week.
People travel too fast..
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-16T22:10:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/hostel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/suddenly-oldest","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"Am I suddenly the oldest person in a dorm at hostels? People keep asking my permission to do things. Can I open the window? Turn off the light? Okay if I take a shower? And not even like I'm the only other person in the room. But for some reason I'm in charge..?
","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-10T09:52:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/hostel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/life"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/undoing","@type":"as:Note","as:content":"Which will be my spine's ultimate undoing?
\r\nThere are a small number of veg*n places in Tallinn, and many places are vegan friendly. Loads of regular coffee shops and cafes clearly mark vegan options on their menu; varying quality though, if the reviews on happycow are anything to go by. Also many homemade ice cream shops have vegan flavours. Despite staying there for a few weeks I didn't actually try them all (I was having a budgetarily-challenged month, for a start). Food in Tallinn is fairly cheap overall, but the vegan places are a bit pricier, and cafes and coffeeshops in the old town certainly are. I mostly cooked for myself.
\r\n\r\nBiomarket seemed like a good candidate for vegan supplies, but actually there was very little specialist stuff there, and it was pretty expensive. They have bulk grains and organic food. But many of the same things can be found for much cheaper in regular supermarkets.
\r\n\r\nPlant milks are common in all supermarkets, but not particularly cheap. Rimi is the cheapest for everything. You'd be hard pressed to find a litre for less than €2, but you might if you shop around for special offers.
\r\n\r\nThe food shop in the basement of Solaris has a good selection of not-meats and not-cheeses, and other vegan goodies. They're in their own dedicated display near the front of the store. Everything else here is more expensive than Rimi though.
\r\n\r\nVegan mayo in a squashy packet can be found in Solaris for 79c and Rimi for 65c. This is the cheapest vegan mayo I've ever seen. The sachet is not as big as a jar but one lasted me for 3 weeks.
\r\n\r\nTofu seems to be expensive everywhere. I never found it, but apparently if you look hard enough it's cheap in Rimi.
\r\n\r\nBehind Balti Jaam train station, through the market and into the main hall on the left. It's a small stand with a few seats and healthy all-vegan junk food. The pulled sweet potato burger looks fantastic. But for €4 I had a cheesy tofu melt sandwich.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAlso in Balti Jaam, right behind the fruit market in the entrance, this is a place specialising in raw food. They have a few seats downstairs and on the roof (which is still under the cover of the market building). I had a breakfast here, and tried a creamy fruit coconut milk porridge, and a raw wrap with sprouts and veggies and really good sauce. The coffee was nice too. Two dishes and two coffees came to a reasonable €12.60.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA nice restaurant in the old town with a variety of dishes, all vegan, and many raw options. Somewhere to go for a casual lunch or a fancy evening meal equally. I tried a burger with black bread and an incredible stack of fillings. Including tofu 'egg' salad, and a great coleslaw on the side.
\r\n\r\nThere was a dessert on the menu called 'Estonian spotted cake' so I ordered it. Turned out to be a chocolatey block with fruit, biscuit chunks and candies throughout. Pretty rad.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPirita is just north of Tallinn around the coast, and with the botanical gardens, TV tower, gorgeous stretches of beach and peaceful forests, it's a great place to go fro a day out. Stopping at Vigri is the icing on the cake.
\r\n\r\nSeriously. The cakes at that place.
\r\n\r\nI showed up ravenous, having been walking for hours and badly mistimed my meals. I restrained myself bravely on the buffet - which was a selection of hearty vegetable based dishes (one with tofu). Bread is unlimited for free outside of the pay-by-weight buffet.
\r\n\r\nThen I induced a food coma with a giant sticky caramel-y nutty cinnamon bun. And rolled to the beach to sleep it off.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAlso in the vicinity were a branch of New York Pizza (with vegan cheese) and a beach foodstand with a 'vegan' menu on the side!
\r\n\r\nAn Italian restaurant near Ulemiste, south of the old town. At lunch there's a buffet, as well as a la carte. They make their own vegan salami on premises, as well as bread. The buffet had a selection of pasta dishes, lasagnas, vegetables and salads; all good, I tried a bit of everything. It's €9 for all you can eat, and includes a portion of the dessert of the day. It was good food, and very friendly stratosphere. The dessert when I went was plums in white wine sauce.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis small cafe has narrow opening hours and isn't central, so I dropped by when I was in the neighbourhood hoping for cake or pastries. Despite the name, they had none. Maybe I was just late. It was pretty busy, and serving a buffet. I didn't get anything, with lunch scheduled at Vegan Italy nearby.
\r\n\r\nAn all vegan chocolate shop in the dead center of old town. Abso-fucking-lutely fantastic. Most chunks of chocolate are €2 and they're all dark and rich, fresh handmade. A cascade of different flavours. I tried mint, cherry, almond, snickers, chilli, sugar-free peanut and chocolate-covered kama.
\r\n\r\nKama is a local cereal, and for coating in chocolate it was puffed into crispy balls. The piece they gave me was as big as my head, and so easy to eat too much of.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAdjoined with the main chocolate shop is a section which also supplies teas, coffees, ice creams and savoury and sweet pastries at very low prices. There's not really any seating though.
\r\n\r\nA small cafe in the old town. They mostly wholesale loose leaf tea and coffee beans (a massive selection of both) and related equipment. There are a few tables though, plus power and wifi. They offer every plant milk you can think of for drinks, and have several homemade vegan cakes. I had a spectacular banana bread and spent a quiet afternoon there.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter getting locked in Tallinn City library for a few hours, I went to Bliss. The buffet is extensive, all vegetarian (and well labelled) and pay-by-weight. It's in the Solaris mall, and you have to go through a book shop to get there - look for arrows on the floor. Loads of seats. Desserts and smoothies too. The food was good, and a big variety.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA regular sushi place, but with a large vegan menu and most of the desserts are vegan too. The sushi is excellent and a good price. Nice atmosphere, too.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA regular pizza place with vegan cheese and loads of good veggie toppings. It's above average price, but hits the spot. There are several branches around Tallinn, including one in Pirita right by the beach.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNeighbourhood Organic Place was around the corner from where I was staying. It sells groceries, as well as meals and bread. I dropped by, but they had nothing I wanted, and the groceries were really expensive. I never got around to going back for a meal.
\r\n\r\nOn a day of wandering I happened upon a flea market type thing in Telliskivi. There were vegan food trucks of course, but I was already full from lunch at home with friends (whom I'd met earlier in the month at a vegan potluck picnic in the park..). Nonetheless, we forced some doughnuts upon ourselves..
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA very cute cafe with lots of space and a really nice menu. Good quality healthy food at great prices, and friendly service to boot. I ate courgette ravioli with cashew cheese and it was delicious. I was angling after churros but they were out, and no ice cream either.. the waiter strongly recommended to me the last of the daily cake, which was a truly spectacular salted caramel cheesecake and clearly fate decided I had to have it.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA pizza and pancake restaurant with several vegan options for both. I ate a pizza and a massive plate of fries. They have vegan pastries and cakes too, plus good smoothies. If I'm ever back in Tartu I'm definitely returning for a not-cheesey mushroom bean pancake!
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA cafe inside a bio/health food shop. There's a small pay by weight buffet and some cakes and salad. And you can take anything from the shop to accompany your meal. It's a nice space in a block of hip shops with a courtyard. When I was there, next door was a popup ice cream shop with vegan flavours. Not sure if that's a permanent fixture though.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
It's a small place. I found one vegetarian cafe and went there twice, for dinner then breakfast.
\r\n\r\nMore than half of the menu is vegan, and really delicious. The Greek soup was hearty and filling, packed full of veggies accompanied by crunch black bread and only €4 (which after Tallinn felt great). They have a few vegan cakes, mostly raw cheesecake style. I tried chocolate and blackberry and approve.
\r\n\r\nFor breakfast I had an unusual savoury porridge with vegetables, mushrooms and green salad. It was incredible actually.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI'm going to throw Helsinki in here because it intersected with my Estonia time, and was just a couple of day visit. Main point: it's expensive. Everything is expensive. Best bet is just.. don't eat here. In two days I spent all of my food budget for Lithuania. Well, it felt like that. There are plenty of vegan places, and many of them are co-ops. There were two I tried to go to which mysteriously weren't open during the signposted hours. Frustrating, but.. there are plenty of alternatives.
\r\n\r\nFinest vegetarian junk food; most items are vegan but there is some cheese flying around. I enjoyed a seitan burger with vegan cheese, deep fried cauliflower, and sampled sweet potato fries. €10.50 for the burger and side. Very satisfying.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA healthy cafe that's part of a yoga studio; good food, but on the pricier side (relatively!). A burger packed with root vegetables, amazing melty vegan cheese and cracking salad, plus a flat white set me back €17.
\r\n\r\nThere's lots of space, it's a nice place.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA junk food stand very handily right by the Finnish National Museum and open until midnight most days. I believe it doesn't operate in the winter. They offer various not-meats on a bed of fries, ice cream, candies and fancy juices. Cheap (relatively) and filling; I had not meatballs and sampled soya sausage. They come with several blobs of different sauces.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAn all vegan outlet on the 3rd floor of the Forum mall. Obviously a mall environment, but nice food. A sandwich and a smoothie combo will be around €14. They make their own cashew cheese and there's a choice between that and mozzarella (which my educated tastebuds suggest is Violife).
\r\n\r\n","as:name":"Vegan in Estonia","as:published":{"@type":"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime","@value":"2018-09-05T22:00:00+03:00"},"as:tag":[{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/tartu"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/helsinki"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/travel"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/food"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/vegan"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/estonia"},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/tags/tallinn"}]},{"@id":"https://rhiaro.co.uk/2018/09/week-in-review","@type":"as:Article","as:content":"