3 WEEKS ITINERARY-AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023

Riga-Jurmala-Kuldiga-Pavilosta-Karosta-Liepaja –Palanga-Klaipeda-Kaunas-Vilnius-Bauska-Sigulda-Cesis- Otepaa-Tartu-Narva-Tallinn-Saaremaa Island/Kuressaare-Parnu-Riga

Lush, green and very flat Baltic countries are a cyclist paradise; however if you are not a cyclist then 3 weeks is probably more than enough and actually on occasion felt as too long…

Overall we spend three weeks in the Baltics and hopped over to Helsinki for an overnight stay seeking some more variety from the quant and mostly quite Baltics.

Our flight was to and from Riga thus we planned making a big loop starting and finishing in Riga. Most times we stayed in booking.com apartments with the exception of couple of hotels. In big cities parking is a problem so we tried to book apartments that offered parking.  As for sim cards they are not as freely available as in other countries and are usually sold in local grocery stores similar to our 7/11.

LATVIA

Riga

We stayed in Riga for three nights in a booking.com apartment. I suggest booking an apartment with a kitchen because the best experience in Riga is to get food from its world renowned Central Market and to eat it at home. During our stay we took two free walking tours: Old Town Tour learning about Latvian history and how to navigate the maze of cobble stone streets and the City Center Tour to admire the famous Art Nouveau building designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. Both tours combined cover pretty much all the attractions.

For entertainment we saw a Ballet performance of “On the Blue Danube” in the Latvian National Opera House, a movie in extremely modern and comfortable movie theater, in English, and had drinks in couple of outdoor bars with live music clustered in the center of the Old Town. However, even though it was August the temperatures at night are pretty low and outdoor entertainment is not very comfortable.

We got a variety of food at the market which we ate at home and had lunch at Lido, the known self serve restaurant chain where you can try all kinds of local Latvian food for very affordable price.

Jurmala-Kuldiga

After picking up a rental car at the airport we started our road trip going west. One note about the airport: there is a very convenient Bolt pickup point just outside the airport exit.  Bolt prices are about half of a regular airport taxi and since the airport has a Wi-Fi you can order it inside and just walk to the pickup point.

Jurmala was once a boisterous and glamorous playground for wealthy Russians but since the war in Ukraine and visa restrictions for Russian nationals Jurmala is now very quiet. Its numerous outdoor cafes and restaurants located on its main thoroughfare were mostly empty. We also checked out Jurmala beach, long and sandy but freezing cold and windy in mid-August. 

After lunch with a friend in Georgian restaurant Kivza (ok but not exceptional) we decided to keep moving to our next destination: a tiny little gem town of Kuldiga. Unexpectedly, Kuldiga, a town size of a nickel has several attractions and a cute central square.  We negotiated a good price in the central Hotel Metropole and went on to explore the town.

Right next to our hotel we saw a very attractive town hall built in 1860 and the oldest wooden house build in 1670. From there we continued to the Livonian Order Castle, actually a ruin, but it is flanked by an amazing Sculpture Garden which ends with a view of Ventas Rumba waterfall. 

We ended the day with drinks at the cute Pagrabins cellar bar, also located at the main square. There are also two more cafes on the same square and we had a nice breakfast in one of them the next morning.

Pavilosta- Karosta- Liepaja

On the way south we checked out the town (?) of Pavilosta which seemed interesting on paper as some sort of surfers’ paradise but in reality looked like an abandoned village and we didn’t even get out of the car: so – skip!

Next was an immersive experience in the Karosta Prison, originally built as a hospital in 1990 and then turned into a military prison used by every following dictatorship including the Nazis and the Soviets. The guided tour gives you a taste of prison with the tour guides dressed as prison guards yelling orders trying to intimidate you. At some point they lock you in a cell in total darkness. If you are claustrophobic it’s better to abstain!   Overall, it was a good stop well worth it.

Next was Liepaja, a rather large town with a bustling market, where we got some fruit and small but cute waterfront home to Fountain Palace, a rock bar located in a former warehouse. The bar hosts regular live music bands and of course is better to visit in the evening but we had to move on which we did after having a nice refreshing cocktail.

LITHUANIA

Palanga

We continued south and shortly crossed to Lithuania but the landscape stayed the same. Frankly, I wanted to visit our next destination, Palanga, because many years ago I spent one summer there with my grandmother and felt very nostalgic about it. 

Obviously everything changed and now Palanga feels like an Atlantic City boardwalk with its low brow attractions and eateries all located on its main pedestrian street Basanaviciaus gatve and a vacation destination for families with little kids. It was sunny but definitely not beach weather (August!) so just one night in Palanga was enough for us. Luckily we found a lovely upscale Mediterranean restaurant TODA away from the masses for dinner followed by a quiet bar with live Italian music.

Orvydas Garden – Klaipeda 

In the morning we visited the impressive Amber Museum housed in a neoclassical palace built in 1897 located in the middle of a vast Botanical Park. Both are highly recommended.  

We decided that there is nothing more to do in Palanga and drove to Orvydas Garden (about 40 minutes away), an off the beaten path Sculpture Garden created by a stonemason Kazys Orvydas and his Franciscan monk son, Vilius. The Garden is a quiet sanctuary with lots of sculptures and carvings and apple trees with pretty good apples to be picked freely. We felt that this was definitely worth the out of the way drive.

Klaipeda, so far the largest city after Riga, has a bustling Old Town and since the weather was unusually warm that day lots of people were hanging out in outdoor cafes and bars on the river bank for what seemed to be Happy Hour.  We spend some time exploring the Old Town. The Theater Square is the old town’s focus houses the Klaipeda Drama Theater and a fountain. The alleys around the square have numerous cafes, bars and restaurants and we ate a hearty traditional dinner in one of them called Sinoj Hansa and then listened to a live music at Kurpiai jazz bar next door. Interestingly, a Georgian musician was playing American country music. We liked the place so much that we actually came back to the same bar the very next day. Kurpiai has a food menu as well.

Curonian Spit National Park-Klaipeda

In order to get to the Spit from Klaipeda by car you need to take the New Ferry, several kms south of the city. The ride is very short, about 10 minutes, and costs 22 Euro. However, there is an additional ticket for 30 Euro one needs to buy to enter the national park which makes this day trip rather expensive.

The park itself is very lush and green and has numerous bike paths along its narrow 50 kms length. On the drive down south we stopped in Juodkrante where a local festival took place and lots of people were walking around dressed in Lithuanian national cloths.  Temporary stalls were selling traditional goods and various bands played Lithuania music.  We got some local sausages and bread to go and had traditional fish soup for lunch.

The very southern town on the Spit is Nida and we walked its center for awhile checking out numerous amber stalls. By the way, Lithuania is famous for its amber which is sold everywhere. Finally we decided to drive back to Klaipeda which is a much bigger place with more nightlife options.  In Klaipeda we had drinks in the posh rooftop bar, Viva Latvia, on the 20^th floor of hotel Amberton from where we continued back to Kurpiai Jazz bar for an evening of live music.

Kaunas

Usually, we don’t buy souvenirs or shop while traveling but this time I thought I do need some Amber to remember this trip and got beautiful amber earrings at Amber Queen.  Satisfied with the shopping we drove for about three hours to Kaunas.

In Kaunas we stayed in the Old Town which is very quiet at night while the new center is much more happening.  We took a really interesting Free Walking tour and saw some good street art. Later we visited the Sugihara House. I never before heard of Chine Sugihara before but this turned to be an extraordinary visit. Mr. Sugihara was instrumental in saving thousands of war refugees mainly Jews during WWII, and has been honored as Righteous Among The Nations by the State of Israel.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara.  

Vilnius-Trakai-Center of Europe

On the way to Vilnius we stopped at Birstonas, a famous spa town. I was looking forward to some spa and massage treatments but the town looked like a classic Soviet type spa resort and due to a typical bureaucracy it was not possible to book any treatments for the same day so we decided to move on and not waste time there.

Vilnius on the other hand is a lovely bustling town with good restaurants, bars and occasional street music. We ate at Meating Room, a nice Spanish Restaurant and Lokys, traditional Lithuanian, a bit of a tourist trap but still a decent option. We also had the traditional fish soup at the central market which was actually very good.

While there we took two walking tours: City Tour, long and very informative, takes you all around the city and the Jewish tour of the city center.  While there is some overlap they are very different and both should be taken to get a better idea of Vilnius.

We also drove to Trakai, 28 kms from the city. It’s a picturesque island castle, dating from the 1400s, beautifully located and the subject of postcards and paintings. The park around it is lovely and we took a 30 minutes boat ride around the castle. It was unusually warm and people were actually swimming in the lake but unfortunately we didn’t have our swimwear with us.    

About 30 minutes north of Vilnius there is a very peculiar place called Center of Europe. In 1989 the French Geographical Institute pronounced this location as an official center of Europe. This didn’t make much sense to us as we always considered the Baltics as North/West of Europe but when we got there some maps and blurbs had a very plausible explanation of how this conclusion was reached. Overall it’s a good spot to stop and to take some pictures.    

LATVIA

Bauska

It was time to say goodbye to Lithuania, and we drove back up north (a somewhat tedious and boring drive thru local roads) and stayed in the town of Bauska for one night.

The notable attraction around is the Rundale Palace and its Royal Gardens inspired by the gardens in Versailles, that used to belong to Baron Ernst Johann Biron, a lover of Russian Empress Anna, who subsidized the palace’s enormous and expensive construction. The palace was built by the renowned Italian architect, Bartolommeo Rastrelli and if you have ever been to the royal palaces in and outside St. Petersburg, Russia, the structure will look very familiar. It’s over the top opulent and kitschy by today’s standards. 

There is also a much more modest Bauska Castle closer to town. For a good dinner we went to https://www.mezs-kungs.lv/.

Gauja National Park: Sigulda and Cesis

Gauja is a huge national park stretching for tens of kilometers, www.gnp.gov.lv. Obviously lush and green it is popular for hiking, biking and camping.

The first town on its south-west side is Sigulda, home to several attractions, like a cable car going across the valley with stunning views, Daina Hill Song Garden and Sigulda Castle.

After spending couple of hours in Sigulda we drove to the opposite side of the park to Cesis, called the cutest town in Latvia.  Not sure if it’s the cutest but definitely is cute. The Cesis Castle is full of interesting history and the old town’s main street is full of restaurants, bars and affordable accommodations suitable for a one night stay.

ESTONIA

Otepaa-Tartu

We continued our drive north and crossed to Estonia without any change is scenery to the lake-town of Otepaa where I spent several summers as a child and was curious to see it again. Puhajarv Lake was as beautiful as many years ago but it was raining and my plan to walk around it fell thru.

Next on the itinerary was Tartu, a rather larger town home of the famous Tartu University. We stayed for one night in Tartu we took a really interesting and very informative long walking tour and hung out in some outdoor restaurants located on the main square of the Old Town.     

Narva

Narva is the Estonian easternmost city bordering with Russia; the Russian language is the language spoken there and it feels like you are in Russia. A border crossing to Russia is right of the main square and frankly we were surprised at the busy traffic going from and to Russia given all the war sanctions against tat country.  Across the Narva river you can see Russian flags flying above the river banks and it gives a somewhat uneasy feeling of an imminent invasion…

We didn’t stay there for long; I didn’t find any walking tours so we walked around the Old Town on our own and after eating at highly recommended https://www.visitestonia.com/en/cafe-valge-korvits-the-white-pumpkin, we continued west towards Tallinn.

Tallinn

Tallinn has the cutest and most charming medieval old town with a maze of cobble stone streets with many restaurants, bars, tourist shops and churches. The downside of this cuteness is hords of tourists.  

In Tallinn we took one very long all encompassing free walking tour; saw a ballet, went to classical music concert in one of the churches and listened to live jazz at Chicago Jazz and Philly Joe’s.   There are numerous restaurants around for various budgets.  I recommend a tiny but very atmospheric place (I don’t remember the name) at the bottom of the city hall on the main square. It’s literally a hole in the wall serving traditional Estonian soup with savory pastry. Also a Baltic Jaama Market next to the train station has many good options.   https://astri.ee/bjt/.

One morning we drove east to Lahemaa National Park for a short hike (a longer hike was planned but it was too cold and too windy). I also planned to stay there overnight but our hotel had a power outage and the spa was closed for the season so there was absolutely nothing to do and we decided to head back to Tallinn.

The next day we hopped over to Helsinki for an overnight stay.

 Saaremaa Island/Kuressaare

I wasn’t sure if I want to take a 4 hour drive to such a remote island but then we decided that we are already in Estonia so why not…In order to get to Kuressaare we had to take a ferry from Virtsu to the Island of Muhu; drive thru Muhu to the Island of Saaremaa and then drive south to Kuressaare, the capital city of the Saaremaa Island.

This turned out to be a right decision because visiting Kuressaare was actually the highlight of the trip.  We got there sometime in the middle of the afternoon; the weather was nice and warm and the main square was full of people hanging outdoors while trucks were unloading hundreds of tables and benches and volunteers arranging a mile long stretch of tables from the main square towards the castle. First we thought it was for a wedding but turned out this was a once a year picnic event for the entire island.  By 6 pm hundreds of local families showed up with food and drinks and took their pre-assigned places at the table.  Seeing this, we hurried to the closest supermarket, got some cold cuts and wine and joined the festivities squeezing somewhere on the bench among the locals. Traditional Estonian music was playing; people were dancing and many wore traditional Estonian outfits.   We got to talk to our neighbors who offered us some of their food and the festivities lasted long after midnight. This was an amazing unplanned experience and the most fun evening.

Parnu

Parnu is actually a summer resort town on the Baltic Sea and since this was already mid-September it felt pretty much abandoned. It’s very small cute old town has many shops and restaurants but most were closed. We did catch a kite festival on the beach but besides having late lunch there wasn’t much to do. So we went to see a movie in a very comfy modern cinema. Parnu is definitely worth visiting in whatever is considered to be their summer season.

The next day we arrived back to Riga for a short overnight stay and caught a very early flight back the next morning.