Delightful Discoveries From A Week in the Beautiful Baltics

What do you know about the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? We had an enjoyable week-long visit to these countries and have come away with a new appreciation of the region. We visited Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with day trips to Sigulda in Latvia and Trakai in Lithuania. Here are our 10 discoveries about the Baltics.

The cities are lovely.

They are clean, modern and safe. There is a lot of construction work happening as if the city is in a rush to catch up. In Tallinn, we stayed in Rotermanni, a buzzy, dynamic, gentrified area of town. There is plenty of great infrastructure. We saw segregated cycle paths and even a dedicated jogging path along a promenade, It was fitted with a special spongy surface to minimise impact on the feet! From the cities, it looks like the place and the people are doing well.

The historic centres of the 3 capital cities, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are very pretty. Charming with their cobblestone streets. Historic buildings are well maintained or sometimes entirely reconstructed with care. These medieval cities are historically very dense with buildings and narrow laneways. We were told that where there seems to be open space such as a square, the buildings in that location were bombed in the war and not rebuilt.

House of the Black Heads (left) and Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (right)

Before the second world war, Vilnius was about 40% Jewish and the vast majority of these did not make it through the Holocaust. It is unbelievably sad.

A free walking tour is a great.

We did a free tips-only walking tour in Tallinn and Vilnius. Both times, our tour guides were locals. While they did impart a lot of facts during their tour, they also gave us a flavour of the place and a better understanding of the mindset of the people. These tours are recommended in any city. We found that our Baltic tour guides had a strong passion for their country that they wanted to share.

They are proud of their country.

I got the feeling that these people are proud to be running their own country and relieved to be out of Soviet rule. All three countries declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and since then have worked hard to emerge from those times. They are now successful modern cities and part of the European Union and NATO. There is a feeling of nationalistic pride, youth and dynamism. The Soviet Times were not long ago, so plenty of the older people will remember those times. I think many know that they are living in the best of times now.

Due to their previous occupation under Soviet rule, there is very strong support for Ukraine and real concern about Russia due to its proximity. There are, also, particularly in Estonia and Latvia, a large ethnically Russian population living in the country.

The hearty food.

It is often cold and dark in the Baltics and as a result, it has developed a hearty cuisine, heavy on the potatoes and a love for beer. For summer, cold beet soup is refreshing and popular. There are plenty of potato based dumplings and meat dishes. We often drank Kvass with our meal. It is a fermented ale-like drink made out of stale rye bread. It was a tasty drink and speaks of the frugality of people who found a way to make something useful out of bread they could no longer eat.

Cold Beet Soup – healthy and refreshing!

Cepelinai – Zeppelin shaped dumplings. The outside is made of potato, it’s glutinous texture is achieved with added starch. There is mince meat inside. The sauce is sour cream and a topping of smoky bacon sizzled in oil. Heavy but tasty.

The Weather in Early September

We went to the Baltics in the first week of September and the weather was gorgeous. It was about 28C maximum during the day with mostly sunny, blue skies. All the gardens were a lush green and in full bloom. An absolutely gorgeous time to visit.

With the place so green and warm, it is difficult to imagine it cold, dark and wintry as it would be for many months of the year.

It seemed like we were there in peak apple season. Apples were so plentiful on so many tree that many were just left on the tree or left to rot on the ground.

Soviet Buildings

There are a number of buildings that were built during the Soviet times that still remain. It is interesting to spot them as they look quite distinctive.

Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports – A Soviet Building. Now too rundown to be used so decisions will have to be made as to it’s fate.

The cost of living is lower than in London.

This probably comes as no surprise that things in the Baltic cost less than in London. As we travelled from north to south, we found the cost decreased slightly. Here are some examples;

Accommodation in Tallinn (self contained apartment) – $104.5AUD or £54 per night for 2 people
Accomodation in Riga (self contained apartment) – $88.8AUD or £46 per night for 2 people
Accomodation in Vilnius (self contained apartment) – $98AUD or £50 per night for 2 people
2 mains for dinner in Riga – $34.36AUD or £17.6
2 large pancake meals in Riga – $25.46AUD or £13
2 burgers and 1 serve of fries in a casual place in Vilnius – $29.75AUD or £15.25
Flixbus from Tallinn to Riga – $29.6AUD or £15.2 per person, approx 4.5 hours
Lux Express bus from Riga to Vilnius – $34.4AUD or £17.6 per person, approx 4 hours

DIVI RAIŅI – statue near the National Library of Latvia

Transportation between Cities

The transportation between Tallinn and Riga as well as Riga to Vilnius is easy as there are buses that traverse that route frequently everyday. Tickets can be booked online or purchased at the bus station. The prices are reasonable and the buses are clean and safe.

The people

I found the people of the Baltics to be reserved. This is likely to be a hangover from the Soviet period where one had to guard every emotion. The service is more brusque when compared with the smiley and cheerful North American style service. The Baltic wait staff were efficient and there was never any expectation for a tip.

I did notice that despite the weather being cold most of the year, surprisingly, very few Baltic women sported bare legs in the sunny weather. We also saw how much Lithuanian locals love their dogs! So many people clearly loved their dogs!

Designed for Tourism

We took some day trips out to Sigulda in Latvia and Trakai Castle in Lithuania. These lovely spots as well as the capital cities seemed well designed for tourists. Plenty of picturesque places and all very well kept, clean and neat. We were amused to see a number of robot lawn mowers at work in some of these neat parks.

These countries, at least in areas where tourists frequent, seemed keen to show their very best selves. That being the case, I was surprised to see that there were not many people visiting. They could have easily handled much higher numbers and they deserve to have more people visit.

Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius seem very lovely, livable cities. I suspect if language wasn’t a barrier, there would a lots of people queueing up to immigrate there. These are also great cities for a visit and seemed to be prepared for more tourists than they are currently getting (at least in September). The Baltics are worth visiting and a bit of a hidden gem in Europe.