Tallinn & Riga; Day 3

So we awoke after a slight lie-in (by my standards anyway) as the tour guide would be meeting us to show us around the old town. It was a bit chilly to say the least (I normally don't feel the cold, but after 4 days of sightseeing it had started to get to me). So we kept a brisk pace. We started again by going past the opera house and along to the freedom monument. It all looked quite different in the daylight. Especially the river, which looked beautiful in the snow.

We then followed the guide along to the remaining part of the old town walls. After that all I can remember is lots of interesting buildings, mostly churches. Some stand out in my memory (the three brothers, the main dom square, the blackcats house (something like that) and the black magic cafe :] ), but managing to fit everything into a 2-hour walking tour meant we only spent a few minutes at each. In all that time I don't think the tour guide stopped talking, and she had so many interesting tid-bits about each place, but it was just too much to take in.


After that it was a short break for lunch before an optional excursion to Jurmala. When it was explained that our coach would be able to take us to a famous beach near-by, I thought they were insane - going to the beach in the middle of February! However, my feet were so sore and cold, that the idea of sitting on a coach for 20minutes seemed more appealing than forcing myself to walk around the old town again. I have to say, it was a good decision. It was truly one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen. Just miles and miles of snow-covered beach. Blue sky above, blue sea to the side and snow covered beach (reflecting some of the blue). We just joined the surprisingly large stream of people going for a leisurely stroll along the beach.


On the way back, we would travel over the large cable-bridge, but decided to stop and take a few pictures of the Riga skyline before crossing the river. The lighting was perfect, and it was a very nice view.


After that it was time for a quick bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel to warm up. I found a good Cd shop in the train station right by our hotel, which had a sufficient Russian section. I purchased Dima Bilans newest and second albums (the one with Ty Dolzhna), Ani Loraks album (pre-Shady Lady), Sergey Lazarevs' TV Show, and Chelsi's album for Rachel. I think that was quite enough for one trip. So back to the hotel where I then hid under the covers in bed waiting for the feeling in my legs to return.

In the evening, we headed off in search of food. Deciding Latvian food wasn't all that inspired, we settled on an Italien resturant in a basement in the old town. It was a nice little place, and was playing Tiziano Ferro's album during our meal, so that made me happy. I decided to try their Ceasur Pizza, just because it sounded so bizzare. Not tomatoe sauce, but just the ingredients to a usual ceasur salad as toppins - including a big dollop of lettuce in the middle. It all went a bit wrong when we asked to pay seperately though (there were 14 of us). The waiter told us it wasnt possible, and chaos then ensued. Some paid by card, some by cash, the wine had to be split, much change was involed, and headaches all around. Thankfully we had a few Russian-speakers with us, who could communicate with the waiter better than we could in English.

After that fiasco, we were in need of a stiff drink. And where better than the Black Magic Cafe just down the road, where we were all to try the traditional Balzam. Our ESN leader had continuously told us how hideous it was, and yet everyone, including herself, then went on to have a shot. Well, actually I was a chicken maybe and went for one of the cocktails, which was actually very tasty. I did have a sip of the straight shot too though, and can't say I made a bad decision.


After that we headed to a karaoke bar, where the boys performed the YMCA (dance routine and all) and us girls got up to sing Material World. Foolishly we didn't film the boys, but later found out that there is a video floating around facebook of us girls... Anyway, after that we were in the mood for a boogie, and ended up in Essential, Riga's largest club. I can see why Riga is a popular stag-night destination, they have clearly catered to their new-found tourists. although there were not so many Britsih accents around. I'm guessing Februray is not wedding season. Anyway, the place was huge, with a labrynth of rooms with different styles of music. I even heard Lazerboy and the Russain version of Lady Flame (don't make me attempt to spell it, you know the one I mean).

A quick group photo by the fountain on the way back to the hotel, and then bed!

Number one fan?

Love this pic.

(Thanks to blogmax)

I'm A Lazer(girl) for Life!

Ok, trying to write a new post about my week (which has been pretty standard, but busy and a lot of fun), but the inspiration just isnt coming. So I'll post a song instead.

I've been loving the electropop lately; Vinegar (Anna Abreu), Radio (Danny), among others. But by far the most listened to this week is a new song from Mr Sergey Lazarev! I've been loving this song for a while (Thanks to EQ) but finally the video has been released this week. Its all very stylish, and Mr lazarev is looking rather dishy. :)

Oh and the song is ace too! Its called Lazerboy;

Russian Widow?

Sergey has released a new video in Russia, for the song Зачем придумали любовь, which is the Russian version of Almost Sorry. I always found the lyrics to Almost Sorry a bit cryptic, and I have to say the video doesnt make much more sense. Reminds me of the Scottish Widow adverts, but in Purple. Oh, and leather trouser never were and never will be a good look...

Girlfriend Released This Week

The release date of Sergey's track Girlfriend in the UK has finally arrived. In fact it was released on Monday (as are most tracks) but shamefully I forgot, what with everything else going on at the minute. Luckily EQ did a quick post reminding everyone, so I hurried over to check out the release. You can buy girlfriend along with 4 remixes from 7digital for just £1.79 - bargain! I obviously had the track already, but was intrigued by the remixes, and they are also pretty good, so I highly recommend buying the whole lot. Here's the link where you can preview the tracks;
http://www.7digital.com/artists/sergey/girlfriend/

Above Clouds

In an attempt to drown out the noise coming from the Annual Riverside Festival here in my quaint little village, I've been sifting through some of Tina Karol's back-catalogue of music. Along the way I also read that she married her producer earlier this week. So, for that alone I've decided to post a video to a song I had heard a while ago but has grown on me a lot today. Its called Vishe Oblakov (Above Clouds) and is quite a funky dance tune, different to her ballady stuff. Video's a bit odd, but you can find a translation of the lyrics here if you want to know what she's on about.

С Днем Рождения - Дмитрий Колдун

Ok, my Russian is pretty bad, but I hope that's right. Today is of course the birthday of a certain Belarussian Superstar! No, not Ruslan, but Dima Koldun! I believe he is 23 today, and it should also mark the release of his début album (finally). I would write a longer post about him, but I think most people who know me, know enough about him already. So instead I thought I'd post some of my favourite videos of him, spanning his career;

Lets start with some Fabrika Zved, which he won the 6th series of;



And one from the house, complete with inflatables;



Then of course what started it all on an international scale - his being selected for Eurovision. Ok, so this is pretty bad, but its actually the first time me and Rach set eyes on Dima;



As most of you know, he then went on to come 6th in the final of Eurovision 2007. After which he has done some performances, and released a few singles. The first of which was A Dlya Tebya (complete with lovely video);



Finally, and most recently, he has released a video for Tsarevna, and lovely ethnic-style ballad. Here's hoping the album rumours are true and we see some new material from him soon;



That brings you pretty much up-to-date. For more regular news on Mr Koldun, definitely check Rach's blog. Her knowledge of Russian is better than mine. Or if you speak French, there's a blog in my list on the right that's good for Dima news.

So many happy returns Dima, wishing you health and success in the coming years.

Sergey in the UK

So its about time I did a post about the lovely Sergey Lazarev, and what better excuse than the exciting news of a UK album release. Sergey Lazarev started his career in Russia as part of a boy-band duet with Vlad Topalov called Smash!! (two exclamation marks compulsory). After splitting up in 2005, the boys went they're separate ways and Sergey has since release two fabulous albums - Don't Be Fake and TV Show. His first singles Eye of the Storm and Lost Without Your Love were just the beginning. His first major hit as a solo artist came in the form of Just Because you Walk Away, which he went on to re-release with a russian version and remixes. You can watch the Russian version, below;

The other most notable single on the first album is a track called Fake, apparently written by Ben Adams of A1 fame (who has also written many of the songs on Sergeys second album). It has rather naff lyrics, but is actually very catchy. It has an equally naff video, which you can find here. After this success, he released a cover of Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz, which was a huge hit in many countries, and even became a club hit in the UK. This is found on the second album along with the song TV or Radio, which pokes fun at reality TV. Sergey has had experiences with this first hand after coming second in the Russian Dancing on Ice, and winning the Russian Circus with the Stars. You can find many clips from both of these on youtube, my favourite of which is below;

The latest single, Girlfriend, has also been very popular in Russia, topping many charts. Plans have been put in place to release this as a single in the UK, along with a scheduled album release. Some of Sergey's past singles have been released on iTunes in the UK, including Shattered Dreams and Everytime, but I for one am very excited about the idea of buying a full album from Sergey.

He's been doing some small shows in the UK in the lead-up to the album release, and over easter I met up with him to conduct a little interview for our radio show. I've uploaded the interview here in case you missed it. More recently he came over for Gay Pride in Birmingham, and also did a show in London where Raj of EQ has a more up-to-date interview with the man himself about the album plans. So hurry over to www.electroqueer.co.uk where you can read the interview and listen to a kick-arse remix of Girlfriend. Since it is going to be released here in the UK, its only right I post the video to it here too.

It appears I have a lot more to say about Sergey than I realised, but I promise this is the last of it. Other than the new UK album release, Sergey is currently busy promoting High School Musical in Russia, for which he did the dubbing for Zac Efron's character. It aired in Russia recently, and the promotional video has been released. Below is the Russian version of We're Breaking Free. I have never watched all of the English version, but will no doubt listen to all the Russian versions of the songs (dont think I can stomach the whole programme).

Iceland got through!

So last night was the second semi-final for Eurovision, and contained 5 of my 7 favourites (Iceland, Belarus, Sweden, Ukraine, and Switzerland). We

supported Belarus non-stop last year, and were so happy with Dima's final position in 6th, and had hoped that Ruslan would continue a trend for Belarus. The song and performance changed a lot since the national selections, but I think for the better, and was so pleased with it last night... until it failed to qualify! Poor Ruslan. Then of course, Switzerland also got left on the side-lines once again. Such a great song! So ok, the vocals were a little off in places, but that smile was enough to make every woman melt - so why didnt they pick up the phone!

Oh well, there's always a few that don't get through. But I'm so happy that Iceland made it through. When I first heard it, I liked it, but it wasnt till we started promoting it on the radio that I became totally addicted to this song. Seeing them in London was fantastic, and they are vocally very good. I was just worried that being first on in a string of strong performances would see them fall by the wayside. Thankfully not, and they have a well-deserved place in the final :)

Then of course I'm happy for Ukraine and Sweden. I think Charlotte's performance lacked a little something, but the vocals were good. I think Ukraine is the main competition for Dima Bilan and his ice army though. I've started to except the eventuality of Dima winning it though, and I can stomach it a lot better without the ladder. I do still like the song - and the singer.