For some strange reason, backpackers hostels rely on completely unoriginal names including "backpackers" or "Old Town" in their titles. Otherwise, the owners aim for cunning, totally unrelated to the region or even reality, animal-based names. Case in point: I cancelled my original Riga booking at the Blue Cow Barracks once I saw their advertisements touting "for couples and quiet female groups". (There is a reason for spelling this out - cheap Ryanair flights have made the Baltics the destination hot spot for hooligan stag parties who rip up the old town. Literally.) Instead, I ended up at The Naughty Squirrel. Great location, bad name.
It probably fits the hostel culture of the Baltics, however. My first night in Lithuania, I looked up from my email to realize I was the only female in the common room. And when I asked guys throughout my trip why the Baltics, their eyes glazed over and I heard variations on the theme, "Dude, Baltic girls are so hot!" And they are. Maybe not overwhelmingly so from my perspective, but then I'm not their target market. They are perfectly groomed, with short dresses and acres of long, tanned leg in four inch heels. (Yet they never stumble on the ubiquitous cobblestones - must be genetic.) Nevertheless, if you're a female traveling through this region you have to prepare yourself for the eventual turn in every conversation with male backpackers where they wax poetic on the beauty of Baltic belles.
And really, what girl carrying the bare bones basics on her back can hope to compete with the locals? Luggage weight restrictions do not a fashion model make. At least we don't have to worry about breaking a nail when we hoist up the AK47 in the old Soviet bunker during a more original day trip.
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