This summer we are spending in Europe (with millions of other tourists 🤷♀️) - the main reason is the Olympic Games in Paris – and on the way, we have decided to visit the Baltics countries.
Merry cemetery - Romania
June 26, 2024
We arrived in Romania again. For us it is a bit like coming home 
. This time we drove in its northern part – from Iasi towards Satu Mare through the Carpathian Mountains – amazing views!
It is obvious that Romania is an absolute champion of (Orthodox) churches – colorful, well-kept and very active.
This time we visited a unique cemetery – Merry Cemetery. All the tombstones in it are of carved and colored wood and each one has a story, usually humorous, that talks about family relationships and/or settles scores 
. For example, on one it says something like:
‘Underneath this heavy cross lies my poor mother-in-law… You, who are passing here, please don’t wake her up, because if she comes home, she will scold me more…. Stay here, my dear mother-in-law!’.
Another cute thing, on each tombstone the profession of the deceased is drawn and noted (housewife, shepherd, doctor, weaver, etc…) and I wonder – does the profession really define us 
?
We are on our way to the Baltic Sea region…
Barsana Monastery - Romania
June 27, 2024
A few days ago, we traveled in Romania on Sunday, and we saw a lot of people on the road and in churches wearing traditional Romanian clothing. We asked and it turned out that it is the holiday of Rusalii (Pentecost), which happens 49 days after Easter and symbolizes the descend of the Holy Spirit on Christ’s apostles when they celebrated Shavuot in Jerusalem.
The women are in very colorful clothing with a perfect match between the skirt and the kerchief (the skirt is admittedly short, so it is not clothing for the sake of modesty 
), the men are less colorful, what stands out mainly is the color white, and they have cornrows in their hands.
So, we celebrated Shavuot several times this year, although without cheesecake 
.
Krakow - Poland
July 1, 2024
We usually prefer mountains to cities. If we stay in the city, we will look for the old town area and try to find a place in the center. We tried the same in Krakow, except that there is no entry for non-local vehicles, so we ended up in the Jewish quarter. Usually a Jewish quarter evokes sadness, a few ancient synagogues without anything special, signs on the walls and sad stories. But in Krakow there was a real surprise. A young and busy place with lots of shops and restaurants with Hebrew names such as the Cheder, Ta’am or Chevra, lots of people on the streets while also there are signs that tell sad stories. Most surprising, there are endless groups of young people with a guide in every possible language. In short, the next time you are in Krakow, an old city “out”, a Jewish quarter “in”.
Druskininkai, Nida, Palanga - Lithuania
July 6, 2024
We are in Lithuania at the peak of the season (for a week already) and there are no people. Knowledgeable locals tell us “This is what ‘crowded’ looks like in Lithuania”. The beach when crowded – a distance of 30 meters between people, restaurants when crowded – tables spaced out between diners. Everything seems prepared for crowds of tourists but without the tourists. It is possible that this is a result of the war in Ukraine since the Russian tourism that was here has stopped. So, if you are looking for calm this is the place. The view is calm, the driving is calm, the food is calm (except for smoked fish which is a blast). Then we arrived at Palanga, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, and in the evening the main street was bustling with people… not Peeping Beach on Saturday morning, and not Kaplan on Saturday evening… Lithuanian style ‘bustling’ with people.
Kuldiga, Kolka - Latvia
July 8, 2024
I have thought for two days before publishing this post . So, I’ll start with an apology – sorry if I sound judgmental, and I’m sorry if someone takes it personally and gets offended 
, but… Latvians are nicer than Lithuanians! It’s true, we’ve only been in Latvia for two days, it’s true we’ve only been in Lithuania for about ten days and yet – the Latvians smile more, are hospitable and speak good English. I couldn’t say the same about Lithuanians because smiling is difficult for them, and service feels like a duty rather than fun.
So that’s it, I said it 
.
Besides that, Latvia (the western part where we are traveling now) is one huge pine forest that kisses a beautiful sandy beach of the Baltic Sea. The beaches are really beautiful, with pleasant sand, but the water is at a temperature of 19 degrees, and it’s not much warmer outside either, so all this beauty is a bit wasted, especially in the eyes of some of us who love to get into every possible pond of water. We will see if he will have the courage here as well .
Turaida, Cesis - Latvia
July 10, 2024
I read a book this week called “The Mosquito”. A book that examines human history through the lens of the mosquito. According to the author of the book (who is a historian) every historical event involved at least one mosquito… and then we arrived in Estonia. A country that is actually one big forest with rain that falls at least once a day and therefore with an unreasonable number of mosquitoes, which are indifferent to pesticides. And the most annoying thing is that the locals think it’s not mosquito season at all.
The post was written after a trip to the forest to which we were prepared with several layers of mosquito repellents of different types, the only complete effect was 3 mosquitoes that were laughing to death. The rest were in good health and faithfully accompanied us throughout the trip and tasted us from time to time.
Tallinn - Estonia
July 15, 2024
We are at the northernmost place we will reach this time around. First impressions of Estonia:
Everyone speaks English really well.
Tall people live here! – People of average height (like us, for example) feel a bit dwarfed and begin to develop feelings of inferiority 
.
But the most striking thing is the food. First, the most delicious in the area. And most interesting, the way the food is served – very aesthetic, nicely designed, presented with attention to small details. And this is true for restaurants in the city, for cafes on the way, and even for a restaurant at a gas station and a small roadside stand. I was almost tempted to take a picture of an impressive dish that was served to us (which is really against all my principles), but in the end I bravely resisted the temptation .
Near every city, village or just a house, there is a lake in Lithuania. Around the lake there are nice corners, benches, a pier, a small kiosk, a playground, pedal boats, everything is well designed and maintained. Only one thing is missing… people. You can walk around all day and meet one couple. So we, residents of the crowded Gush Dan, can only be jealous (and jump into the water).
Uzupis (Vilnius) - Lithuania
July 21, 2024
In the middle of Vilnius in Lithuania there is a quarter that declared independence. On April 1st, 25 years ago, some artists (probably a bit drunk) decided to break away from the city and become a republic. They have a flag that changes colors according to the seasons and they even have an army of 11 people (who have retired in the meantime), and also a presidential council and a constitution engraved on the walls in many languages (including Hebrew and Yiddish). Among other things, residents have a constitutional right to hot water, and to happiness, and the constitution allows a dog to be a dog. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. We wandered into the place by chance. On the bank of the stream there is a shop where on-ly eccentrics, drunks and we visit. The place includes an antique piano and a local drunk playing it who clearly once (when he was sober and young) knew how to play, and a girl who dances with exaggerated movements, and there we also met Ruta, a local girl who served in the army in Israel and told us about the Uzupis republic. And we think it’s a great idea… We hereby declare the establishment of an independent republic within a radius of one kilometer around the State Square in Tel Aviv is the State of the State.
Vilnius - Lithuania
July 23, 2024
We really liked Vilnius. You know the feeling when you arrive at a certain place, and it feels comfortable and pleasant? Vilnius has good energies .
“We were in Paris and Rome…”, and in our case both Riga and Tallinn – Vilnius wins! We also liked Tallinn, but it is very extroverted in a tourist direction (rightfully so, its old city is amazing), Vilnius on the other hand is very pleasant, doesn’t attack you rudely, but lets you feel it. There are tourists of course, but somehow it doesn’t burden.
The old town of Vilnius is large, full of romantic courtyards and picturesque alleys. Perhaps its main char-acteristic is the number of churches – there are a lot! Lutheran, Orthodox, Pravoslavic, Catholic… in one day of wandering we visited at least ten, and of course the St. Anne’s Church which in my view is the most romantic and beautiful of all (a small church which real height seems lower than reality due to the red bricks it is made of, when Napoleon saw it he said that he wishes he could take it in the palm of his hand). Despite the sour face of the Lithuanians – our recommendation is Vilnius.
Augustow, Swidnica - Poland
August 1, 2024
Rechtenbach, Bayern - Germany
August 1, 2024
We heard a podcast that included an interview with a psychologist who specializes in creativity in which she gave tips for improving creativity. For example, sometimes letting yourself get bored, trying to do good in the world, or diversifying the issues we are involved in. But the theme that caught our attention was traveling in nature. ‘Always prefer a green road with a beautiful view’ said the psychologist who specializes in creativity. We call this button ‘avoiding highways’ (it is an option in Google Maps). We have been trying this for 8 years without much creative results but enjoying every moment along the way 😀.
Dresden, Rothenburg - Germany
August 2, 2024
Metz, Moulins, Fere-en-Tardenois - France
August 4, 2024
I wonder why in some countries everyone speaks good English, while in others it is rare to find English speakers. Maybe it’s the size of the country, but Germany against France…? Maybe the remoteness of the country, but Estonia against Lithuania…? Maybe the continent you are on, but Namibia against Tanza-nia…? And maybe it’s related to colonialism in the past, you know… We’ve been in France for a few days, and we haven’t met a single Frenchman who speaks English. Luckily there is Google Translate. Apart from that, the country is flourishing.
Paris 2024, Stade de France - France
August 10, 2024
So, what’s better… watching the sports competitions on a big TV screen at home, on the comfortable sofa with close-ups, commentary and replays in slow motion… or…
At the stadium with another 80 thousand people, in a small and really uncomfortable plastic chair when most of the time you see the athletes in miniature size…
The answer is probably both, but…
You cannot compare the live experience in a stadium full of enthusiastic crowd, in an electrifying atmos-phere to sitting on the couch with the snacks .
In short, we had a lot of fun!!
(The pictures are the result of a maximal utilization of our new camera )
LeHavre, Etretat, Fecamp - France
August 15, 2024
We have been in France for several weeks, so far, the whole country seems to be deserted. In Paris we lived in Pigalle, a place full of mostly empty cafes and restaurants, and the city looks as sleepy as Petah Tikva on a Friday afternoon. This is during the Olympic Games – we were sure there would be no place to pass on the sidewalk however, except for the stadiums’ proximity, it is quite empty here. Ok, you say, it’s the French Vacances period, all the Parisians fled the city, but even in the villages and towns wherever you go, everything is deserted, the restaurants are closed (except take-away pizzerias), there is no one on the street.
So where are they? Where did they go? In the end we discovered them… all of them. We arrived in Nor-mandy. So crowded it’s hard to breathe. There is an observation point (in Etretat) from which you can see a cliff which looks like an elephant’s foot if one deploys a lot of imagination, more than two km before the point people park on the side of the road and convoys of crowds of people go to see the cliff. Of course, we skipped it and continued to a recommended village – the locals set up barricades on all the sidewalks so people wouldn’t park, and there is no place to park even a kilometre away from the village. Of course we skipped it too. And so on. Now we are considering our next steps .
Martelange - Belgium
August 20, 2024
We thought that Belgium is another transit country, on the way from Holland to France or from Paris to London – stop in Belgium, drink excellent Belgian beer, eat Belgian fries and waffles and continue. Like Afula (nature break and go further north ).
By the way, fries in Belgium are like hummus in Israel, everyone knows where the best ones are in the country (and it comes with 5 types of salt to choose from).
In the last few days, we discovered the other Belgium (we are traveling along the border with Luxembourg) – well-kept villages, cute towns, great food, great nature, and wonderful hiking trails. And most importantly nice people (not Romania-nice but relative to the French, no comparison) and speak English. So, Belgium – France, 1:0.
HE 
