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ing, which houses the former KGB prison
on the ground floor. For years, it was a
prison for dissidents and freedom fight-
ers; it is estimated that over 3,500 execu-
tions took place here. We could still see
the bullet holes in the execution room,
and rooms for torture offered a grim in-
sight into the building’s previous activi-
ties. Our tour guide’s grandfather had
actually been one of its victims.
rumsiskes, lithuania
Rumsiskes, an open-air museum that
highlights 18th- and 19th-century rural
dwellings, has also recreated an earthen
dwelling of the type used by deportees
from the Baltic countries when they were
sent to Siberian labor camps. Here, Nick
and I met Irena, a sprightly 87-year-old
who had been sent at age 13 with her
family to Siberia. She told us how they
struggled to survive, how her mother
died of starvation, and how her father
was separated from them and never
seen again. Amazingly, after 17 years
of incredible hardship, she was allowed
to go home, but forbidden to speak of her
experiences. More than 120,000 people
from the Baltic countries were deported
to Siberia in a planned “decapitation” of
the countries’ political and social elite.
A Hill of Crosses in Lithuania—contain-
ing thousands of crosses—is a further
reminder of the oppression of the USSR.
Catholics placed them here in honor of
freedom fighters who had been killed and
put in unmarked graves. Although the
site was bulldozed by the Soviet Union
three times, and even sewage poured on
top, the crosses always came back.
riga, latvia
An unparalleled collection of Art Nou-
veau architecture and a picturesque old
town draws many to Riga, Latvia. We
loved its Central Market, housed in five
World War I zeppelin hangars, and offer-
ing a dizzying array of colorful produce,
meats, fish, and bakery goods. Russia,
Sweden, Lithuania and Germany have
all fought over access to this port in the
Sandy Nielsen and Nick Martinez meet Irena, a labor camp survivor in Rumsiskes.
