your free copy

OCTOBER 2009

A Taste of

GENEVA

The Surreal Martyn Jacques

Sleek, Stilish, STOCKHOLM

Scandinavia’s Design Capital

A Hotel with Your Ticket, Sir?

THE TIGER LILLIES

OCTOBER 2009

5

I am happy to announce that on October 1,2009 airBaltic will launch its own loyaltyprogramme “BalticMiles”, allowing ourcustomers not only from the Baltic countriesbut worldwide to earn bonus points − “miles” −when flying on airBaltic’s extensive routenetwork.

In addition, “BalticMiles” adds miles forpurchases of services from selected externalsuppliers that have joined the programmesuch as hotels, car rentals, busses, shops, andrestaurants. Membership also gives you theopportunity to combine your “BalticMiles” cardwith a credit card issued by Nordea, one ofScandinavia’s largest banks, whereby you earnmiles each time you use the card for any kindof purchase. The accrued miles can beexchanged for flight tickets on airBaltic,upgrades to a higher class of service onboard,excess baggage, hotel accommodation, spatreatment, or a wide range of other services.

The programme is based on the principlesof simplicity and ease to earn and spend yourmiles. We also make it easier to get even morebenefits. Collect 25,000 miles by flying airBalticover one year and you will receive yourExecutive Membership Card, which providesyou with additional privileges including

business class check-in, use of the Fast Tracksecurity line at Riga airport, and no charge forchecked baggage. In case you collect 50,000status miles a year − which moves you to“BalticMiles” VIP status − you will also have freeaccess to our business class loungesworldwide.

For more information, please visitwww.balticmiles.com. Joining “BalticMiles” isfree and not bound by any age limit. So, jointoday, and receive an extra entrance bonus.Also, get your children flying: they can earnextra miles with their own “Young Pilot's Card”.

Riga airport has been bursting at the seamsfor quite some time, having to accommodatepassenger numbers far in excess of what it wasdesigned for years ago. As a passenger youconfront that annoying situation already atcheck-in but having to wait in long queuescontinues also in security, immigration, and atthe boarding gate.

Our innovative online solutions for check-inand baggage services take away some of theinconvenience. But not everything can besolved online.

Take basic facilities such as toilets: let’s befrank, there are simply not enough of them atRiga airport. It is a situation I have trouble

accepting. Okay, so there are no realrestaurants; the number of places wherepeople can sit down for a peaceful cup ofcoffee is limited; advertisements in strangeplaces hinder passengers from quickly findingtheir gates: all this and worse is the case atother airports as well. Construction of a newterminal in Riga is expected to begin in thenear future, but long queues in front of toiletsis something that needs to be addressed rightnow!

I would like to apologize to airBaltic’spassengers for any inconvenience they mightexperience while using Riga airport. Restassured that airBaltic will approach the airportadministration for a short-term solutionregarding basic amenities in the transit arearight away.

Dear Passenger,

Bertolt Flick, President and CEOairBaltic

OCTOBER 2009

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CONTENTS

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30Martyn Jacques unmasked: "All my music is about the absurd."

24Geneva: a picturesque town with

a metropolis lifestyle

8 FACTS about Latvia, Estonia andLithuania

9 PERSPECTIVE

10 EVENTS

24 PLACE TO LAND A Taste of Geneva

30 VIP LOUNGE I Write Songs Interview with MartynJacques, soloist of The Tiger Lillies

34 LOOKING IN Recently in the Baltics

36 LOCAL FLAVOUR A Walk throughUndiscovered Tallinn

40 BUSINESS CLASSAiming for a Higher Level Recently in Baltic Business A Hotel with Your Ticket, Sir?

48 SPORTS Return of the Shooting Star

52 UP AND COMINGLatvian Design

54 LOOKING OUTSleek, Stylish, Stockholm

58 SWEET LIFEA Grand Medieval Feast

62 OUTLOOKRECOMMENDSRestaurants, Cafés,Nightlife Souvenirs, CDs, DVDs andBooks

72 CHILL OUTCosmetics, Web&Tech, Test,Sudoku

79 WELCOME ABOARDairBaltic newsOn board, Riga airport,BalticMiles, Fleet,Destination maps, Contacts

ON THE COVER:Lake Geneva, viewtowards Saint Saphorinvillage/CORBIS

your free copy

OCTOBER 2009

A Taste of

GENEVA

The Surreal Martyn Jacques

Sleek, Stilish, STOCKHOLM

Scandinavia’s Design Capital

A Hotel with Your Ticket, Sir?

THE TIGER LILLIES

EDITORIAL

Editor: Uldis TīronsAssistant Editor:Inese Tamsonee-mail: inese@rigaslaiks.lvLiterary editor: Ieva Lešinska-GeibereDesigner: Agnese Blumfelde-SurnaLayout: Sanita Romančuka

Phone: +371 67287922,fax: +371 67830542e-mail: pasts@rigaslaiks.lv

Baltic Outlook is published by SIA Rīgas Laiks

Lāčplēša iela 25, Riga, LV-1011, LatviaPhone: +371 67287922,fax: +371 67830542Director: Dace Dambiņae-mail: dace@rigaslaiks.lvAdvertising director:Sanda Apsītee-mail: sanda@rigaslaiks.lvAdvertising manager:Lelde Vikmane-Radziņae-mail: lelde@rigaslaiks.lvAdvertising manager:Samanta Grancovskae-mail:samanta@rigaslaiks.lv

airBaltic part is designedby Base Baltic

Opinions expressed in thismagazine are those of theauthors or personsinterviewed and do notnecessarily reflect theviews of the editors, Rīgas Laiks Ltd.All rights reserved. No part of this magazinemay be reproduced in anyform without writtenpermission of thepublisher.

54Scandinavia’s Design Capital.

“A simple napkin holder is

a painstakingly created artwork.”

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The return ofbasketball player

Marcus Brown to Kaunas :

"Our goal is to win."

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36

UndiscoveredTallinn

A Walk through

Nestled between the bustling port of Tallinn where the daily floating cities unload theirhuman cargo and the Soviet relic of the cities old hydroplane terminal, lies a true rarity inthis day of collective tourism; one just waiting to be discovered in a city of such richrecent history.

LOCAL FLAVOUR

TEXT: JASON STEWART

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LOCAL FLAVOUR

Stepping outside the fortified walls ofthe Old Town might at first glancenot bring so many opportunitiesand a walk through Kadrioru Parkand its magnificent museums might

be as far as the average visitor gets; especially if48 hours is all the time one can manage to givefrom their busy schedules for a weekend city break.

But where we are going is just a 15 minutewalk from the northern walls and it seems aworld away from the crowds that ply thecobblestone streets listening often to theirguides rattling off facts and figures almost as ifpre-recorded. Today, you will be your own guidein charge of your own adventure.

Heading on a north westerly course will notonly lead you to this unknown treasure trove of

history, but also through one of the city’s mostcharming and oldest areas, Kalamaja.

Kalamaja is home to one of the city’s“Wooden House” districts and strolling downVaike-Patarei reveals quaint old houses datingback to the late 1800s when an industrial boomsaw thousands of workers descend upon thecity. Some have been renovated to their formerglory whilst others still hold a certain charm asthey wait patiently for a rejuvenating touch.Once at the end of this tree-lined avenue, turn tothe right and our destination is nearly upon us.

Hugging the Gulf of Finland you’ll encountera rather dreary looking wall, iced with twistedstrands of intertwining razor sharp wire. A sightnot so uncommon when venturing outside thecities of once held Sovietlands. But it’s what liesbeyond the outer wallthat will tweak your senseof curiosity and draw youthrough the otherwisesolid wall of steel; thesense of uncertainty willhave already filled your mind. Am I even allowedhere? Is this the right place? If this feeling ispresent you most certainly are in the right place,as you have just entered through thetransportation gate at the former Patarei Prison.

The Patarei Prison has a very interestinghistory and one that is deeply attached to Tallinn.Whether defending the city or detaining itscitizens, Patarei has always had a love-haterelationship with the city and its residents, bothpresent and past, and now its doors are open toeveryone to experience and judge.

Completed in 1840 after beingcommissioned by Nikolai I, its original use was

that of a sea fortress for defending the cityagainst possible invaders from the Baltic. Theinvaders never arrived and so in 1864 it madethe easy transition to a barrack complex, which itremained as for the next five decades. It wasn’tuntil 1920 that this once quiet sea fortressbecame the Patarei Prison and what it isremembered for today.

Housing some 4000+ prisoners at its heightduring the deportations under the Soviet rule,you can’t help but to feel connected to theinmates that were once housed on the 10 acresite. Reminders are everywhere of the past andmore recent history; the last inmates weremarched out in 2004 (or wheeled out, as after itsofficial closure in 2002 the site was used as a

prison infirmary)and it has beenrelativelyundisturbed since.

All your senseswill be overloadedas you navigatearound the endless

corridors witnessing sites such as the groundfloor kitchen, where the remnants of past mass-produced meals still cling to the cold steelappliances, as if forgotten about in a time ofcrisis. There are rows upon rows of communalcells, some still containing inmates’ personaleffects and revealing methods used to pass theboredom of time. Venturing upstairs reveals ascene as if taken from a 1970’s indie film,depicting the operating theatre in all it glory.From the surgeons’ instruments of choice to thenurses’ notebook of scribblings, the scenes reallyare endless and all will leave you with a feeling offamiliarity to events long past.

Am I even allowedhere? Is this theright place?

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Patarei not only stands apart from othersimilar institutions by the fact that it is notswarmed over by tourists, but also by theway the visitors can immerse themselveshowever they wish, creating a choose-your-own-adventurestyle to whatwould otherwisebe yet anotherguided tour.

Unlike itsbrothers scatteredthroughout theBaltic States,Patarei has done itdifferent. Uponentry you are free to wander around at yourown pace and direction, being able tocuriously put your head around any doorthat is unlocked (and there are a lot!) andperhaps have the courage to step inside

that dark damp room you have justdiscovered. Unlike the others where theyhave being turned into ‘museums’ as such,here it has being left as it was found,reminders of the past preserved. Whether

flickingthrough aNationalGeographicfrom the1980’s orstandingamong therows of bedsas the stiffBaltic air

whistles through the windows, you can’thelp imagining what “life” here would havebeen like and the daily struggles to survivefor most who shouldn’t have been here.

The reason behind this is that Patarei is

LOCAL FLAVOUR

All your senses will be overloaded as younavigate around theendless corridors.

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owned by a private organisation, one that wants to develop thesite into a ‘Culture Park’ over the coming years and has alreadystarted taking steps towards this with a range of summer concertsand exhibitions and turning the 3rd floor of the main block into afree-range art space for students to let their creative juices flow.

Because of the rawness there is a subsequent lack ofinformation here. A visit to the Museum of Occupations is highlyrecommended for those who want a very informative andinteractive lesson to the past struggles of Estonia and to brush upon their history.

When your thirst for adventure has being quenched and yourcuriosity satisfied, you can take a breath of sea air at Tallinn’s onlycentral seaside café before heading back to the charm and bustleof Estonia’s historic capital.

Those wanting to immerse themselves in the pages of Soviethistory some more should head next door to the old hydroplaneterminal which is now home to the Estonian Maritime Museum’scollection of ships, submarines, ice breakers and all sorts of otherinteresting paraphernalia. For those romantics, a detour toanother Soviet relic, Linnahall, to watch the sunset over the watersof the Baltic with fellow local lovers might be in order.

If you really have no time to spare at all and would ratherspend it in the confines of a car rather than that of a cell, a 3 hour

tour with Estonian Experiencewill wizz you around to all thepast Lenin legacies in Tallinn inthe comfort of a Lada; the formerpride and joy of the Sovietautomotive industry.

Whatever way you chooseand however you get here, aventure outside the Old Townwalls will really give you anappreciation of how muchEstonia has achieved since the iron fist relinquished itsclutch.

Fly to Tallinn withairBaltic

From Riga up to 6 flights per day from EUR 38From Turku daily fromEUR 43From Vilnius daily from EUR 48From more than 55 airBaltic destinations in Europe and Central Asia via Riga from EUR 67Look for more information atwww.airbaltic.com