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David and Goliath
The Wall:
Back in 1989, I think we all remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. For me it was a landmark in modern history and in my perspective of the world. History class bored me until then, and then in the course of a day, I became part of it.
Back in grade school we were taught the inevitablity of a nuclear war with the USSR and some teachers even preached that the biblical apocalypse would happen at the end of the millenium. I never really bought into it, but it shaped how I saw the world, that fact that so many people believed it enough to doomsay. Enough to have us do air raid drills and have underground nuclear shelters... So when the wall went down, I marveled at how many younger people it meant nothing to. It was a different world. Since then history has always fascinated me.
What brought about this sudden self disclosure? Not too much Mexican beer it was traveling through Eastern Europe where the history is still being lived out.
The Baltics:
Tallin ( Estonia ), the jewel of the Baltics bar none. Nothing comes close in the three former Soviet states. A medieval town perfectly preserved or castles, moats, fortification walls, armories, cobblestone streets, bakeries, pubs...you name it. Hostels put you in the town for 10 US a night and you never have to leave and break the illusion. People are genuine and pleasant and the food is excellent. Riga and Vilnius ( Latvia and Lithuania ) are fine places too.
I followed the approximate path of Napolean's retreating army from Russia to Lithuania where 40 thousand are still buried beneath a park, while also following the length of the human chain formed in 1989 by two million Baltic people from Tallin to Vilnius to protest Soviet occupation. This has been billed the beginning of the end of the USSR , credited to the unbreakable spirit of the Lithuanian people. The exact spot of the final person is a special tile in the town center inscribed with the word "Freedom" that I had to find by hunting for an hour (nobody can tell you by tradition because freeedon always comes at a price).
Uzupias and the Worship of Frank Zappa
A supposedly separate nation exists in Lithuania named "Uzupias" where they worship Frank Zappa and live in hippy communes. I stopped into a store to buy water and an older woman had a breakdown on me yelling for me to leave. I didnt understand until someone pointed out I had dark green fatigue looking camp pants on and a white t-shirt with a short haircut. Flashback I guess... I guess its still not that long ago.
Lithuanians are close to the Polish (used to be the same kingdom awhile ago) and so the transition was smooth. Next: Aushwitz to Nuremburg via a midnight hike through the Tatra mountains into Slovakia ...
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