Today was not a good day. The weather was just plain ugly; a high of 12, it rained all day, and there was a strong wind.
I did brave the elements, and spent a couple of hours walking around Taru. It is a very pretty town. There is a hill at the center of the Old Town, a real hill. There is a beautiful park at the top, and also some buildings. The ruins of a medieval cathedral are there, quite impressive, and also some university buildings. A lovely setting, even in the rain. The Old Town, itself, is a mixture of restored wooden houses from the early years, and many elegant buildings throughout.
I was well prepared; rain jacket, umbrella, sun screen; optimistic, but ready. I discovered my GoreTex jacket was "Chinese Gore Tex", it doesn't breathe, so you get wet on the outside from the rain, and wet on the inside from persperation. My umbrella lost a fight with a gust of wind, and is no more. The sunscreen worked well, no sign of a sunburn.
I gave up after a couple of hours, and went back to my B and B. I counted money. I am quite the financial institution; I have Canadian dollars, US dollars, Polish zlotys, Lithuanian Litas, Latvian Lats, Euros, and Russian rubles.
I can safely use a public toilet in any of these countries.
That is actually an important thing. When you first arrive in a new country, and withdraw money from an ATM, you get nothing but big bills. The definition of frustration is needing 40 cents to use a toilet, and all you have is a 50 dollar bill.
Whenever I hit a new country
Step 1 Find an ATM
Step 2 Buy a coffe, or chocolate bar to get change
Step 3 Locate a toilet
Ah, the joys of travelling on your own.
Tomorrow it's on to Tallin. I have discovered my apartment is on the fourth floor, and in Europe the ground floor is Floor Zero.
I have a stress test scheduled when I get home. I should be able to kill the stair climbing machine.
Ralf
I did brave the elements, and spent a couple of hours walking around Taru. It is a very pretty town. There is a hill at the center of the Old Town, a real hill. There is a beautiful park at the top, and also some buildings. The ruins of a medieval cathedral are there, quite impressive, and also some university buildings. A lovely setting, even in the rain. The Old Town, itself, is a mixture of restored wooden houses from the early years, and many elegant buildings throughout.
I was well prepared; rain jacket, umbrella, sun screen; optimistic, but ready. I discovered my GoreTex jacket was "Chinese Gore Tex", it doesn't breathe, so you get wet on the outside from the rain, and wet on the inside from persperation. My umbrella lost a fight with a gust of wind, and is no more. The sunscreen worked well, no sign of a sunburn.
I gave up after a couple of hours, and went back to my B and B. I counted money. I am quite the financial institution; I have Canadian dollars, US dollars, Polish zlotys, Lithuanian Litas, Latvian Lats, Euros, and Russian rubles.
I can safely use a public toilet in any of these countries.
That is actually an important thing. When you first arrive in a new country, and withdraw money from an ATM, you get nothing but big bills. The definition of frustration is needing 40 cents to use a toilet, and all you have is a 50 dollar bill.
Whenever I hit a new country
Step 1 Find an ATM
Step 2 Buy a coffe, or chocolate bar to get change
Step 3 Locate a toilet
Ah, the joys of travelling on your own.
Tomorrow it's on to Tallin. I have discovered my apartment is on the fourth floor, and in Europe the ground floor is Floor Zero.
I have a stress test scheduled when I get home. I should be able to kill the stair climbing machine.
Ralf
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