American writer Jeff VanderMeer (one of my tutors at the writing workshop I did in Brisbane at the start of the year) has a write-up about me on his web site.
http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2009/09/23/aidan-doyle-international-man-of-mystery/

I took a bus from Tallinn to Riga, the capital of Latvia.
Riga has a nice old town, (not nearly as picturesque as Tallinn’s though).

It’s known for its Art Nouveau architecture and there are some interesting buildings in the city.

There are some quirky statues, sculptures and murals around the city.

There were some fireworks on one night while I was there.

In recent years (after joining the EU and the rise in popularity of budget flights to Eastern Euruope) Riga has acquired a really bad reputation for being overrun with British stag parties.

Latvian soldiers on patrol.

Latvia also holds the record for recording one of the drunkest people in the world.  A homeless man was found with a BAC of 7.22%. He survived. Before that it was generally believed that 4% was a lethal level.

Have fun,

Aidan

I took a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Estonia is the northernmost of the three Baltic countries.

Tallinn’s center is a beautiful medieval old town with lots of cobblestoned streets, fortified walls and round towers.

You have to be careful how you pronounce the names of some of the towers.

Street performer.

Tallinn also has one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. A pharmacy has been operating in Tallinn’s main square since at least 1422. There’s a museum inside with lots of old ingredients including:

viper salve
dried toads
stallion hooves
mummy fragments
wood louse infusion
parched bees
sun-bleached dog faeces
earthworms in oil.

I also visited the Museum of Occupation. The Baltic countries had a really bad time of it last century. Hitler and Stalin divided up Europe via the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the Soviets invaded Estonia.
Then the Nazis turned on the Russians and invaded. After a couple of years, the Soviets started advancing on Estonia again. Many of the Estonians figured the Soviets were worse and enlisted in the German army to try and stop the Russian advance westward.
Then the Baltics ended up with almost 50 years of Soviet control. People were deported to Siberia and the KGB arrested, tortured and executed people. In 1989 (the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact) more than 2 million people held hands, making a human chain stretching more than 650km from Vilnius to Tallinn. The Baltics regained independence in 1991 after the failed coup against Gorbachev weakened the Soviet Union.

I was in Tallinn on August 20th, Estonia’s Restoration of Independence Day. There were celebrations and fireworks in the main square and the Estonian president gave a speech. I celebrated by going to a pirate restaurant.

Have fun,
Aidan.

Estonian Tech Trivia: Estonia is regarded as an Internet-savvy country and wi-fi is surprisingly widespread. Skype is one of Estonia’s better known Internet business ventures.

I took the train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. It was nice to be back in a country where most people speak English. In five weeks of travelling around China, Mongolia and Russia and visiting their major cities and tourist sites, I only ever saw one tourist office.
In Helsinki there were tourist office staff waiting to meet the train and handing out free maps. And within a five minute walk of the main station I encountered three different tourist offices.

There are some nice public squares and buildings in Helsinki.

Essential advice for surviving in Helsinki.

I stayed at a youth hostel on Suomenlinna, an old island fortress that is a world heritage site. There isn’t a lot to see there, but it’s a nice place to walk around.

I went to Kotiharjun Sauna, which is Helsinki’s last totally wood-heated public sauna. There were lots of Finnish men in towels sitting around in front of the sauna drinking beer. Inside the changing room, people were playing chess and other games. The sauna itself was the hottest I’ve ever been to. When I sat on the top bench (the hottest part of the room) my lips felt as though they were on fire and my fingers hurt when I touched my head because my hair was so hot. It was much nicer on the lower benches.
The sauna has a web site and it keeps track of the sauna’s temperature. I’m not sure how hot it was when I was there, but sometimes the sauna is over 100 degrees celsius!

Have fun,

Aidan

A Finnish folk song mixed with Japanese animation.

Kansai Scene recently published my interview with an Australian potter who is one of the few foreigners to have his work recognised by a Japanese tea master.

http://www.kansaiscene.com/2009_08/html/culture.shtml