Hello from Kaunas (Stopover in Lithuania) & Riga (Latvia)
Date: 9/2/99 7:13:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Heldi NOTE the message below for you!

1. Russia. Femsi and Cavit I am sending this from Riga,
Latvia, at 2 pm (local) on Thursday. Tell Anne I found a
way of entering Russia from Latvia. 1 am leaving by bus
from Riga at 3 pm local (EDT +7 hours) on Friday for
Moscow. I will stay there 2 full days and proceed--! think
by bus--to St. Petersburg, stay there for 2 or 3 full days
and then head for Tallinn, Estonia, by bus again. The
reason I am doing the entire trip 1, bus, and NOT by faster
train, is in that my friend Tom who just returned from
there had an unpleasant experience with a Russian border
guard, who found some technicality wrong with some document
and demanded and got money him--not unlike our state police
who give speeding ticket at a speed trap. The Internet too
mentions similar stories in East Europe, generally on trains
on which a foreigner is traveling alone. In the bus there
are witnesses immediately around one and such things are not
likely to occur.

HELDI, this change also CANCELS our date in Tallinn
tomorrow at noon. If I find an Internet cafe in St.
Petersburg, I will let you know when 1 will am he In -I
Tallinn; we'll shift our date to that day, again In front
of the Rathaus in the Old Town. Check your email daily for
the next 5 or 6 days.

2. Eastern & Baltic Europe, Riga. 1 cannot say enough about
how much 1 have enjoyed Eastern Europe. The drive from
Berlin passed thru landscape that is very similar to that
in NE USA, lots of green, fields, woodlands, forests dotted
with villages ... We crossed east thru East Germany, all of
Poland, skipped Koenigsberg (or Kaliningrad), the tiny
remnant of Prussia that is now part of Russia but separated
from the mainland, and entered Lithuania, the long hours made
into a joy because of a wonderful companion named Diana (from
that country), and finally reached Riga 20 hours after we left
Berlin, excluding the 2 additional hours of time difference.

I should add that although the Eastern European countries
are economically depressed, especially compared to the USA,
I have not once seen ghetto-like enclaves that are common
in our inner cities, nor anything like the dilapidated
towns and properties along some of our country roads in the
Appalachians, etc. Everything appears neat here; these
folks are obviously proud of their heritage and the land
they call their homeland. in fact, I have a feeling that
they get much (MUCH) more per Dollar spent on renovation
and upkeep of their towns and cities than we do. And
compared to us, these places are safe, the people
civilized. I saw a lot of police presence in Riga last
night. it is a wonderful party town, with various town
squares, especially the ones near the cathedral, full of
very nicely dressed young men and women many of whom were
drinking and socializing in the Open.

As for Riga the city, it is a really beautiful place. I am
glad I am here and looking forward to Tallinn, after
Russia. OK, the city is obviously not as international, or
as well-off, as Budapest or Prague. These parts have a
minute percentage of the tourism--and Dollars-enjoyed by
the more popular destinations. And English is more widely
understood in these parts. Give these little countries a
few years and, I 'thin, Eastern Europe will become as
popular as the West. They are a bit behind in renovation,
etc. But they do not lack on pride about their country. I
began walking at 6:30 this morning. All street cleaners,
mechanized and manual, were out going over every sidewalk
and street in the Old Town. If I were given a choice
between Riga and Frankfurt, Cologne, or many other better
known destinations, I would choose Riga without hesitation.
It is really a charming city. I am sure I will feel the
same about Tallinn and others.

3. Eastern Women. Hey guys, I still think that Eastern
European women are the most attractive in the world. This
impression, first felt in Warsaw, has now codified. As 1
had mentioned before, they are NOT necessarily more beautiful
than women in parts of the world. For example, Latin girls
may be more vivacious Mediterranean girls as flirtatious, etc.
And we certainly have enough Goddess-like females in
Miami Beach, but these girls exude a different aura. It is
in the packaging, the mini skirts with slits, 6 ft girls on
4-inch platforms, the somewhat aloof demeanor, ripe sexuality,
etc. combined with alertness that comes with high survival
intelligence." The nearest thing we have to that is the acute
mind of a "Jewish Mother." or crudely, the street wheeler
dealer. The few also attractive American girls 1 met, somehow
looked a bit vacant next to them.

And it seems the men in these parts have already accepted
the universal fact that women are superior. Although the
men are generally tall too, I saw many couples with the
woman up to 4-5 inches taller, because the women, already
tall, were in 4 inch platform heels, In short, the women
are allowed to maximize their genes, dress in skirts or
pants, while all we men have to show is that we are good
providers (suckers?), and voluntarily run around with a
leash around our necks to hint at the potential.  No wonder
I decided not to play the game by these rules . . .