We then had a walking tour of Riga. The architecture was very old and unique with a few of the buildings constructed in the 13th century and still being used!
We traveled by bus the next day to Talsi where we visited a milk processing facility. We then visited a dairy farm and a Chinchilla farm and then split up to our various home-stay farms. We were treated very well, and we learned a great deal about farming in Talsi.
After our stay in Talsi, we left on the bus to Klaipeda, Lithuania, located on the western shore next to the Baltic Sea. The tour of the “Olde Towne” showed us the history of the town which was heavily damaged in WWII. We rode a ferry across the Curonian Lagoon to the Curonian Spit, which reminded me of the Dungeoness Spit near Sequim, except larger.
After leaving Klaipeda, we toured a fish farm, visited a lighthouse, and then left for Vilnius where we visited the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture. We also visited the St. Peter and Paul Church and the KGB Museum. The Museum was very morbid as we were able to see the torture chambers and execution halls. The last day in Vilnius, we headed by bus to an old collective farm near Trakai and were shown fields of wheat, potatoes, hay, lupine, and peas. We also toured the famous Trakai Castle.
On the overnight train ride to St. Petersburg, Russia, the camouflaged guards checked our rooms and passports several times, which was a very uncomfortable feeling. In St. Petersburg we toured the city, visited the Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral, visited a vodka factory and a brewery, toured the Hermitage Museum, an orphanage, and we were treated to a Russian folk song and dance performance at dinner the last night.
This entire trip was a fantastic experience that enlightened us to other international cultures!
(Excerpt from Perry Beale’s International Report)