Day #180 - Moscow to St. Petersburg to Lithuania

Friday, September 10th

I'm coming to you live at 8:30am (9/11/10) from a McDonalds in Vilnius, Lithuania. I'm beyond tired. I'm currently a sitting zombie - please bear with me as I write my accounts from yesterday. I need to regain my senses before walking around - so I thought I'd ramble for a little while.

In thinking back on how Friday unfolded for me, I'm reminded of how lucky and truly fortunate I am to live in a world filled with good people - they're there - you just have to find them.

The day started early - 5am walkup call. I gathered my gear and headed over to the metro near my hotel. I needed to get to downtown Moscow to catch my train for St. Petersburg - departing at 6:45am. The metro system only opened at 5:30am. I was a little stressed with this as I wasn't positive where I was headed - and I didn't have time to make a mistake.

I took the blue train into the central brown loop. I jumped on the brown line and took this 1 stop to my exit. I surfaced at street level around 6:15am. I didn't know which way to go. Where is the main train station? I knew it was close to the metro I came from - but where? I'm starting to panick a little. It's clear that nobody was walking faster than me in the entire metro system this morning. I was cutting left, cutting right, splitting holes - people were probably looking at me like I looked at them 2 days ago. It's coming up on 6:30am - I have 15 minutes to get to my train. I'm thinking: "I have one last shot at this thing". I head back to the metro. I find a guard and show him my train ticket and ask where the station is located. He can't speak English. However, I guess he could feel my stress and guided me over to another gentlemen. This was a younger guy. This was my first savior on the day. He physically walked me outside and several meters down the street. He then pointed to a building with a domed roof - he told me that was the place. I double-timed it - made the train - and even had time to grab a croissant and a water before boarding. First bogey - done.

The train ride to St. Petersburg was great. I arrived around 10:45am - no issues. My next transportation leg was set to leave at 2pm from a different station across town. A little breather here. I grabbed something to eat and read. I took the metro to this area in southern St. Petersburg I had never been before - it didn't look like a great part of town. I didn't know where the bus station was located - just that it was close to the metro I got off on. I went to a booth in the metro and asked a couple ladies for help. They were my second saviors of the day. I again showed them my ticket and they pointed me to a street busstop. I'm very glad I asked them because I was going to be looking for a bus station - not a bus stop. I confirmed the site with the sign on the street - I had a good hour to spare. I boarded my bus at 2pm. Second bogey - done.

I was now on a bus headed for Tallinn, Estonia. Estonia - please tell me 1 thing about this country. Anything? The only thing I could come up with prior to my journey was - The World's Strongest Man competition is sometimes held here. That's it - that was the extent of my knowledge. I couldn't have told you where it was located, how big, nothing at all. I sat next to a younger guy on the bustrip. He was from Estonia and spoke perfect English. He would be my third savior of the day.

Estonia. Bordered by Russian on the east coast, Latvia on the southern coast, the Baltic Sea on the west coast, and the Gulf of Finland on the northern coast. The city of Tallinn is only a 2 hour boat ride from Helsinki. The country has 1.4 million people. Tallinn is the capital with over 1/2 million people. The country has its own language of Estonian, but most people speak Russian. They have their won money system - the krone. They will soon be moving to the euro. The countryside is really picturesque. It's very green with many trees and open fields. It gets cold here - with heavy winds. There were also a number of wind turbines as we passed the landscape.

This bustrip was scheduled to arrive in Tallinn around 8pm. I then was to catch a second overnight bus at 9pm. At the border of Russia and Estonia - we had to go through a very lengthy border check. First, we all had to deboard the bus and walk our bags through customs. Next, they give us 15 minutes at the duty free store. I decided to snap a few pictures during the wait. Not smooth. A lady runs towards me. I hold my hands up - "Don't shoot!" My buddy runs over and communicates to the lady that I'm a clueless American - give me a break. I was told to erase all my pictures and never think about taking photos near a Russian border anytime in the near future. Point taken. Then, we board the bus, drive 100 yards, and were stopped at another border gate. Guards came on and took our passports. They did another random bag check. They called out numbers - my buddy was keeping me in the loop. Finally, we're given the all-clear sign. The unfortunate thing - we were now behind schedule.

It's 8:45pm - my next bus leaves in 15 minutes. My buddy is keeping me posted - he tells me that: "We should get there right at 9pm - go sit in the front so you can get off quickly". I have my gear - it's 8:55pm. There's the busstop. We're pulling in. Doors open. I bull rush the carriage doors under the bus. I snag my bag - which was under about 4 others - their bags go scattering. I shake hands with my buddy from Estonia - he points to where I need to go - I take off in a full sprint. I see the bus up ahead - 100 yards. I'm in hot pursuit. The guy is closing the baggage door as I arrive. I throw my bag in and board. 9pm. Third bogey. Done.

I settle in to a 9-1/2 hour bus ride. This, added on top of my previous 8 hour ride from St. Petersburg to Tallinn (2pm-9pm + 1hr time change) -- I will have had my fill of buses for a little while. This busride will take me from Tallinn, Estonia through Riga, Lativa onto Vilnius, Lithuania. This ride was fine - I was in and out of sleep all night. We weren't stopped at the Estonia/Latvia border but were stopped at the Latvia/Lithuania border for passport checks. All went well. We arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania at 6:30am. I'm here all day and bus out tonight at 10pm - another overnight into Warsaw, Poland.

It's now about 10am - been writing for about 1-1/2 hours. I'm now fealing awake. I plan to go see what Lithuania has to offer me today. Will talk to you later. No pictures today - on grounds I nearly got arrested for trying this move.