DL, tell me all you know about the Baltic states

I believe the Baltic States are in Europe. That should get you started.

How are you doing a "mad dash" in the time of Covid-19? And why?

Putin hates them because they are happy and part of the EU now, and he wants them back!

Estonia feels much more Scandinavian than Russian.

Tallinn is majority-Estonian now. Riga is about half-and half. Vilnius never had a large Russian population.

Lithuania is probably the most anti-gay of the three, because it’s very Catholic. Like Poland, only more so.

I'm not TALLINN you nothin'

[quote] Lithuania is probably the most anti-gay of the three, because it’s very Catholic.

It's weird that they became such staunch Catholics, because apparently Lithuania was the last place in Europe to get Christianized (in the 14th century) - they held on to their pagan believes longer than anyone else on the continent. They must have caught the Catholic bug from those crazy Poles.

Sounds like an incredible waste of resources, OP. WTF you doing this for?

OMG! Are you a travel blogger by chance?!?

R6, I can't speak for Lithuania, but in Poland Catholicism became a symbol of opposition to Soviet domination. Not only were the Soviets officially atheist, but Russians are Orthodox Christians.

When I was in high-school that Lithuania-American boy Steve was the sexiest one. He had olive complexion too. He wanted me to blow him but I was afraid to. Straight too.

Does that help, OP. It's all I got.

Oops. Forgot to include the link.

Is this your site, by chance, OP?

Between Riga in the OP's pic and Tallinn here, they look like something out of a fairy tale.

"Between Riga in the OP's pic and Tallinn here, they look like something out of a fairy tale."

Ask to see the old Jewish Ghettoes in these places. It will seem more like a nightmare.

Just finishing a book called The Annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry. What the Lithuanians did to their Jewish neighbors and friends is unspeakable. The Germans have been expressing contrition for decades now but you never hear a peep from the good Catholic countries like Lithuania, Austria, and Poland. A revolting spectacle and I'd hold off on allowing them reentry to the human race.

Meant to include this for reference.

I have always been fascinated by Baltic countries. They have historically had their own trading economy along the Baltic Sea.

I’ve always wanted to do a cruise of this area but cruises should likely be a transportation option of the past after Covid

Are the guys hot?

[quote] I have always been fascinated by Baltic countries. They have historically had their own trading economy along the Baltic Sea.

Weren't the coastal cities and the trading economy in those places controlled by the Germans right up to the 19th century? Of course that doesn't make these places any less fascinating, but after the Krauts invaded that area back in the medieval ages the local people were pretty much relegated to being peasants.

Are they liberal towards the gays?

[quote] How are you doing a "mad dash" in the time of Covid-19? And why?

This is all obviously made up because OP is tired of lip-syncing “Defying Gravity” while vacuuming his basement studio apartment.

My partner is Lithuanian. None of them are anti-gay. The capitals are nice, but the areas outside the capitals are better.

Riga has a heavy Russian population, but it seems to be the anti-Putin Russians. I'm not Latvian, though.

Also, there are giants in those countries. School children would dwarf adult Americans.

Helsinki is nice too.

R19 Now why would I make something as silly as this up? But COVID-19 did screw up my plans a bit, if that makes you feel any better: I originally planned only a short weekend break in Tallinn and I already bought return plane tickets from Vienna. But then the number of new coronavirus cases began rising again in Austria and Estonians quickly placed it on their "red list", meaning you can't enter the country without self isolating for 14 days first. I was thinking about calling the whole thing off but then I found a cheap plane ticket from Rimini to Lithuania and I decided to turn that short 3-day Tallinn trip into a 9-day tour of the Baltic states. I still plan on using the return ticket to Vienna though.

But I'm glad the Baltic states are so strict about who they let in - that's the exact reason those countries are among the least affected by this epidemic. For instance, yesterday they had only 7 new cases in the whole of Estonia.

Are you driving through, OP? Bus?

I'm always amused by the comments on travel threads from people who think that anywhere that isn't the US (and maybe Canada) is like a planet in outer space. "Why would you want to go someplace like that?"

I'd love to go to the Baltics. There's lot of interesting things going on there. Latvia (for one) is way far ahead of the US in putting all government services online.

R22 Yeah. The buses between the capitals are ridiculously cheap (around 10 euros).

R20, I disagree. I'm friends with a couple of gay Lithuanians and I wouldn't wish their experiences as gay men on anyone. One is quite good looking and currently living in a western European country, but the years of growing up in a homophobic environment prevents him from dating or having sex.

Anyway, the Baltic states get less homophobic as you go north (Lithuania being the most, and Finland the least). In Lithuania I recommend checking out the Old Town section of Vilnius, the Hill of Crosses and Three Crosses, and Trakai island.

Latvia was cool, but other than walking around Riga, I wasn't there long enough to offer any recommendations.

In Estonia, all of Tallinn is nice, but my favorite parts were Rummu (a former limestone quarry transformed into a swimming spot) and Parnu, a city on the Baltic coast with nice shops and restaurants.

If you take a ferry to Helsinki, check out Suomenlinna, a fortress on an island outside of the city.

Depending on the bus-line, those buses are fantastic. The routes between cities suck, though: flat land that is basically Holland. It's nice if you can get to hilly areas or the coast outside the big cities (though Riga and Tallinn are on water).

Paneriai, a metro ride outside Vilnius, is a very interesting place where the Nazis basically just open-air slaughtered about 100,000 people in pits.

Thanks R25 & R26. Wow, that Rummu thing looks super cool in the pics. I was thinking about doing the side trip to either Helsinki or Aegna island, but I might just visit that thing instead.

Im hoping to do this trip next May ... fingers crossed ...

Big meaty cocks and clean toilets in public parks.

But I am a bit upset that I'll have to give the Curonian Spit a miss. I was thinking about doing a day trip from Vilnius to there but that would be a bit too hectic. And it also seems to me that's one of those places where you have to spend at least one night to really get a good feeling of the place. I decided to visit the Dzukija national park instead - I'm a big fan of folk architecture and apparently villages like Zervynos there are among the best preserved in the country.

Here's a pic of the village. It's giving me some major "Fiddler on the Roof" vibes.

Estonia is, by far, my favorite Baltic country. If you're driving, it's beautiful from Tallinn to the tiny towns that dot the country. There's a nice gay club in Tallinn, X-baar. It draws a lot of locals, plus the tourists. I stayed up all night hanging out with three Estonian guys during my last visit. I have been to Estonia four times.

Latvia was sort of unremarkable for me. I remember thinking it was beautiful, but nothing particularly Latvian sticks out in my mind. Riga hosted EuroPride in 2015.

Lithuania was my least favorite. Vilnius is depressing, but if you get to Palanga, it has a beautiful coastline and beaches.

Did you know that at the start of WWII, there were 160,000 Jews in Lithuania? Today there are 2,000.

R32 That sounds like a fun club (I googled it and apparently it's the oldest gay club in the Baltic) but there's no way I'm visiting it on this trip - most of the new coronavirus cases in Europe (including those in Estonia) have been linked to nightclubs, so no partying until sunrise for me this time.

r30, the Curonian Spit is a trip unto itself. A better day trip from Vilnius is Kaunas. But there's a ton of stuff to do in Vilnius to keep you busy for 3 days (ignore the anti-Lithuanian Boris'es who didn't get laid when some tall, blond Lithuanian ignored her American highness when she deigned to grace the bars with her fat ass).

Estonia offers a digital nomad visa for those who are working remotely.

I was looking at a cruise to Scandinavia and the Baltic states

OP is full of shit. None of that is happening.

Please welcome to the stage: CURONIA SPIT

[quote]Anyway, the Baltic states get less homophobic as you go north (Lithuania being the most, and Finland the least)

Finland is not and has never been a Baltic state.

R37 Here you go, cunt! And yes, I know it's kind of embarrassing that I'm flying with Ryanair, but I can't help it if I'm poor.

OP, I'm jealous. Give us the details when you get back.

Riga looks gorgeous

All three capitals are gorgeous (they didn't get bombed by the British and Americans in WWII): Riga is art nouveau, Vilnius is baroque and Tallinn is medieval, and there's a lot to see in the hinterlands too. Besides what's been mentioned above, there's a beautiful baroque palace at Rundale, and there are Soviet-era missile silos and bunkers you can tour, if that's your thing.

They're all pretty anti-Russian because the Soviets basically tried to eliminate / force-assimilate their nations (think China and the Uighurs). Latvia has the largest Russian population, and seems to be the most intensely russophobic.

Can't say that any of the countries is more homphobic than any other place in Eastern Europe, although the countryside is likely more backwards than the cities in this respect. Our tour guide in the Museum of the Sovied Occupation (I think that's its name) on the main square in Riga was the gayest gay who ever gayed, and no one seemed to be batting an eyelash. That museum is well worth seeing, btw., if only for its bizarre Soviet-era architecture dropped into the middle of a renaissance-era square.

FWIW I worked with a Lithuanian guy for a couple of years, and he was HOT! 6'3", blond, athletic -- looked like a textbook Viking, and he was pretty laid-back too... no sign of homophobia, and we had an MTF in our office (a very unattractive one, btw), with whom he seemed to get along well.

To understand a bit about how they view their own history of invasion and oppression in Latvia, please watch this cute, short animation.

It's without any speech, so universally understandable, but quite informative at the same time.

I should have stayed in Lithuania! Fuck this shit!

The art nouveau architecture in both Riga and Tallinn are amazing. Be sure to find the areas where these buildings are located and take a walk around.

These Chaturbate cam guys are either from Latvia or Lithuania. The blond one has an identical brother who also cams. The brother joined these guys' show at least once and it was super hot but they got a temp ban for it since CB forbids shows with family members. It's a shame since these guys are straight and only do stuff gay for pay which means no real sex. I've never seen any sucking but they do kiss occasionally, and dildos are business as usual. The twins have dicks over 8 inches and it was so hot seeing the dark haired buddy wank them simultaneously in their group show.

Do visit Helsinki and the fortress Suomenlinna right in front of it. The ferry trip takes about 15-20 minutes.

Hey asshole, we're in the middle of a pandemic. All three of the Baltic states are on their second wave.

[quote] All three capitals are gorgeous (they didn't get bombed by the British and Americans in WWII)

Perhaps the Allies never bombed it, but Riga was the place of some pretty intense fighting between the Russkies and the Krauts, which flattened big parts of the old town. Here's how the city looked like in 1945. Those dark spots in front of the church are where houses used to stand.

[quote] All three of the Baltic states are on their second wave.

Here's the data for August 16th:

Latvia: 7 new cases

Estonia: 6 new cases

Lithuania: 30 new cases

Please forgive me if these numbers don't make me grab my smelling salts.

I'm reading a bit about Lithuanians and their involvement in the Holocaust right now...Damn, these people make even the Poles look Jew-friendly in comparison. And they also had the nerve to call the KGB museum in Vilnius (which is mostly about the Lithuanians who suffered under the Soviets and barely mentions the local Jews) "The Genocide Museum". I'm glad someone explained to them what a genocide really is because the museum was later renamed to "Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights ".

They’re incredibly corrupt and have little to no regard for intellectual property rights.

Damn DL. 53 posts and not one mention yet of “disgusting stank sleeve”? You’re slipping.

After World War I , Finland was included in "The Baltic States." After World War II, the term referred mostly to the three countries annexed by the Soviet Union.

[quote] Weren't the coastal cities and the trading economy in those places controlled by the Germans right up to the 19th century?

Germany was a collection of independent city states. Those along the Baltic like Hamburg did have strong economies

Another curious Jewish chapter of the Lithuanian history are the Karaim, a Jewish group who spoke a Turkic language and settled here from the Crimea in the 14th century. They distanced themselves from the other Jews and insisted that they're not really Jews - they got rid of all the stars of David from the exteriors of their synagogues and even managed to convince the SS to officially recognize them as non-Jews, which helped most of them survive the Holocaust. Apparently the Germans believed that they're long lost relatives of the Germanic tribe of Crimean Goths.

Karaim also invented one of the most popular Lithuanian snack - kibinai.

[quote] After World War I , Finland was included in "The Baltic States." After World War II, the term referred mostly to the three countries annexed by the Soviet Union.

There's no 'mostly'. Finland is not included in the Baltic states.

Conversely, Estonia isn’t considered “Nordic,” although it would certainly like to be.

[quote] Here's a pic of the village. It's giving me some major "Fiddler on the Roof" vibes.

Ah, yes, the quaint village in "Fiddler" where the Jews were forced to leave rather than be slaughtered by the Tsar's beneficent Cossacks. Its wistful charm is palpable.