While Poland spent 45 years under the Soviet sphere of influence, the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were actually part of the Soviet union during that same period – an unwilling part mind you, but nonetheless an integral part of the former Soviet Union. Unlike Poland, each each of the three still has a significant percentage of ethnic Russians in their population. As such, we were very curious as to what we might find driving through each of these tiny countries.
Coming from the south ( Poland ) our first Baltic state was Lithuania and we headed towards the beautiful capital of Vilnius which nudges up close to Belorussia. Just prior Vilnius is the historic castle town of Trakai with its 13th century castle set on a very picturesque lake. A superb sunny Monday had us enthused to wander inside only to find on arrival that the castle ( undergoing renovations ) was closed on Mondays ( a situation we would encounter at another castle barely a week later – what is it with castles in Europe on Monday’s ? ). Enjoyed what was possible from the outside.
All three states have scenic capital cities with exceptionally beautiful old towns, and in normal circumstances, Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, is probably the pick of the three – but it was just a bitterly cold and windy day when we were there so the visit was shorter as a result.
From Lithuania it’s just a short hop to Latvia – it was super easy driving, with great roads and it was easy to navigate our way to historic Riga, it’s capital right on the Baltic Sea. A much improved day gave us the opportunity to explore at a more leisurely pace. Again it was easy to park ( right on the waterfront in this case ) giving easy access to the heart of the city. As for Vilnius, plenty of historic sights and excellent cafe’s and patisserie’s which we took full advantage of ( easy to get hooked on that stuff in Europe ! ).
Most of our time in the Baltics, however, was spent in and around Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, the northernmost of the three Baltic states. For a few reasons, it was probably our favourite of the three – we enjoyed the best weather, found our favourite cafe in Europe so far ( 3 visits, no less ! ) and explored not just Tallinn, but a bit more of the area outside it, including scenic Lahemaa National Park. Beyond just the sights, though, it was in Tallinn that we had to arrange our ferry crossing to Helsinki ( Finland ), and a few other personal things so we just spent more time there and consequently got a better feel for the city. It definitely enchanted us.
In all three of the countries we took in their main museums and and explored their recent history- they only regained their independence in 1994, have fully embraced it and are all firmly now in the European camp. It’s like they never left ! These counties may be small, and probably deserved more time than we allotted to them ( certainly the first two anyway ) but one can’t spend forever in every country, especially with the new Schengen rules so after a week between the three we loaded our van on the Viking Line ferry and crossed the Baltic Sea to Helsinki. More on that in the coming blog !
Till next week…..
