Jeremiah's Strange Times

Germany It was very late when we arrived in Travemunde, and I still had miles to go before I slept.  It was warm though, and I found myself only wearing a single layer on my legs for the first time since I'd left.  Also, I was back in my Fedora, my Russian hat proving too warm and thus ill suited to the purpose.  My gloves too were discarded upon arrival in Germany, and these changes I welcomed.  Nice to throw off some of my wintery bulk. I was asked by the old lady to check if her taxi was on its way, she advised I ask for one myself but the only man in the large stark office complex advised me to instead catch the bus for €3.  I heartily concurred, laughed falsely and headed back outside.  As I helped the old lady with her oddly shaped bags the bus arrived, I waved and raced over in the grey. Boarding with me were a pair of twins.  They were in their 50s, mustachioed and balding, these identical men were wearing the same shoes and the same ...

Helsinki It wasn't originally part of the plan to go to the Finnish Capital.  When it came to crossing to central Europe, I had started out with a somewhat vague plan. Crossing Belarus (too expensive) or the complicated mess involved in transiting through Estonia and Lithuania to get to Poland.  In the end the Finnish alternative won out, not only for simplicities sake, but it would also enable me to visit friends.  So here I was, ready to cross the Baltic towards Hamburg, like Wolf before me. At the airy modern station, snow flurrying in from its open train disgorging end, I was met by Nina Rung, a native Helsinkian who used to work with me back in London before moving back home.  She has a blog too.  Here is a Link to it  Nina! Anyway.  It was a sharp sparkling night.  Snow drifting down like points of light.  I wandered down the platform to be directly met by Nina and her boyfriend, who had to quickly speed off as he was worki...

Moscow Awoke in a sweat.  Some difficulty finding the shower.  I found Petra on the well worn sofa outside our room, beneath poorly hung posters and sagging maps.  She was struggling with the bureaucracy involved in crossing the Baltic states back to Czech.  The Baltic route, through Latvia and Lithuania did not require the expensive visas passing directly through Belarus did, but it did require an overnight stay in Vilnius to avoid passing through a few miles of Belarus at its North Western point.  So here she was debating on whether or not to fly to Warsaw or carry on to St. Petersburg with me.  So it was, as her card didn't work, that our first task in Moscow was to find a Baltic air office.  So off we went. "Moscow very clear and cold this morning.  At the major intersection where Baltic Air was supposed to be, we found nothing, nor anything new enough to suggest it had been here within the last 10 to 15 years.  So we asked around....