The Baltic Way
Hey there! Today we are going to talk about the Baltic states. To give a bit of a introduction, the Baltics are composed by Estonia, the most Nordic territory of the three states, followed by Latvia, the central territory, and last but not least Lithuania, the southern territory. Historically speaking, all the three countries had been a proper political chaos when it comes to the "game of thrones". From small duchies turning into great kingdoms, for example the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or getting conquered by their neighbourhood states, centuries of destiny had led them for one last oppression, the Soviet Union. After years of resistance and popular movements, the early 90's brought well deserved freedom to this amazing countries. Still surrounded and influenced by Russia, these countries have a lot more to offer then just post-soviet museums. From their incredible food to wonderful people, the Baltics are definitely one of the best places I ever visited.
Estonia
We arrived on the 4th of March to a very cold and snowy Tallinn. After a short trip to the city and checking-in into the hotel, we went for a small walk around the old town and I got immediately impressed. Tallinn was simply stunning. Narrow streets with colourful houses, big plazas made of different painted bricks, towers and churches in every hill, Tallinn was for me the perfect medieval paradise.
During dinner time, we met with an old friend from London who was doing the same trip like us, but on the opposite direction. We went to this small restaurant called "III Draakon", right in the centre. You must know that almost all restaurants in Tallinn are medieval themed. But this one was special. Right inside the town hall itself, this restaurant makes you feel like you travelled back in time. With a menu composed of elk soup and a selection of pastries, you can easily get full with under 10€. But the cherry on top of the cake was the hostess. With an incredible attitude and plenty of cheeky comments, she will make your night a blast. The rest of our time in Tallinn was spent exploring the historical alleys of the city and inside of amazing interesting museums. I would personally recommend the "Seaplane Harbour Museum". Consisted in maritime transports, this museum not only is didactic but is surprisingly interactive, which is always fun. In my honest opinion, I believed that Tallinn is the most beautiful of the three capitals and definitely an underestimated touristic destination. I can't wait to go back there one day.Latvia
On the third day of our trip it was time to head to Riga. We took a morning bus at the bus station and around five hours later we arrive at our destination. The journey was, surprisingly, very pleasant. We chose a company that provided good seats, personal television and free coffee on board, everything we could ask for to be honest. When we finally arrived to Riga, I noticed the difference straight away. Contrasting to Tallinn, Riga was way more of a cosmopolitan city. Large roads with heavy traffic were immediately on sight. Tall buildings were part of the view. Crowds walking around, up and down the streets, and, as we discovered later, the city was as well way more touristic.
After checking-in into the hotel we went to the shopping mall to have lunch, which I don't regret. Yes I know, we were having lunch in a shopping mall when you are in a completely unknown city that you could be exploring. But, at least we ate in a Latvian restaurant chain (called "Lido") when it could had been worse, like eating at McDonald's. Actually, after we started to notice, all the city is filled with western civilisation chains. While you walk around Riga's old town all you see is famous burger chains, Italian restaurants, American coffee shops and even British and Irish pubs. Although all this might attract more tourism and help you feel more like home, I truly believe that it makes the city lose all the magic that eastern European cities can provide. If I had to choose between the three capitals which one I would live, I would choose Riga without a blink of an eye. But Riga is definitely the less impressive city of the three.
Please don't misinterpret my words. After you get past the shock of seeing groups of drunk British people ridding beer bikes, you can actually see some beauty in the city. If you start to go through the parallel streets and alleys that connects the main squares of the city you will be impressed. The streets are filled with beautiful coloured buildings like Tallinn. Little corner coffee shops will be on sight too, and trusts me, you definitely want to go inside them. Based on typical French patisseries, this coffee shops not only gets you better coffee than Starbucks, they also make you feel that you are inside of a small museum.
And if you continue to explore the city you might even find the most random variety of shops, like it happen to me. While we were strolling through Riga, we found a Portuguese wine shop that I definitely recommend. The owner of the shop is, coincidentally, from the same region as me in Portugal and, with all his charisma and his loyal dog by his side, he will help you choose a bottle of wine that you will definitely not regret buying it. So don't forget, if you happen to be in Riga go check "Da Gama Vina Veikals". Another amazing thing you can find in Riga is the Art Nouveau quartier. Walk a bit further more from the centre and you will be stunned by the beauty of this neighbourhood. Every building is so impressive that you think it's impossible to find a more beautiful one. Until you look to the one right next to it. Just imagine what it would be if Paris was a neighbourhood inside a city. My last recommendation in this city would be to go to the Origo's shopping mall tower. On the last three floors of the tower you will find a disco bar. The bar is nothing special but what makes it good is the view. From up there you can see the whole city and we even got lucky to see fireworks in one of the nights.
After checking-in into the hotel we went to the shopping mall to have lunch, which I don't regret. Yes I know, we were having lunch in a shopping mall when you are in a completely unknown city that you could be exploring. But, at least we ate in a Latvian restaurant chain (called "Lido") when it could had been worse, like eating at McDonald's. Actually, after we started to notice, all the city is filled with western civilisation chains. While you walk around Riga's old town all you see is famous burger chains, Italian restaurants, American coffee shops and even British and Irish pubs. Although all this might attract more tourism and help you feel more like home, I truly believe that it makes the city lose all the magic that eastern European cities can provide. If I had to choose between the three capitals which one I would live, I would choose Riga without a blink of an eye. But Riga is definitely the less impressive city of the three.Please don't misinterpret my words. After you get past the shock of seeing groups of drunk British people ridding beer bikes, you can actually see some beauty in the city. If you start to go through the parallel streets and alleys that connects the main squares of the city you will be impressed. The streets are filled with beautiful coloured buildings like Tallinn. Little corner coffee shops will be on sight too, and trusts me, you definitely want to go inside them. Based on typical French patisseries, this coffee shops not only gets you better coffee than Starbucks, they also make you feel that you are inside of a small museum.
And if you continue to explore the city you might even find the most random variety of shops, like it happen to me. While we were strolling through Riga, we found a Portuguese wine shop that I definitely recommend. The owner of the shop is, coincidentally, from the same region as me in Portugal and, with all his charisma and his loyal dog by his side, he will help you choose a bottle of wine that you will definitely not regret buying it. So don't forget, if you happen to be in Riga go check "Da Gama Vina Veikals". Another amazing thing you can find in Riga is the Art Nouveau quartier. Walk a bit further more from the centre and you will be stunned by the beauty of this neighbourhood. Every building is so impressive that you think it's impossible to find a more beautiful one. Until you look to the one right next to it. Just imagine what it would be if Paris was a neighbourhood inside a city. My last recommendation in this city would be to go to the Origo's shopping mall tower. On the last three floors of the tower you will find a disco bar. The bar is nothing special but what makes it good is the view. From up there you can see the whole city and we even got lucky to see fireworks in one of the nights.Lithuania
On the fifth day we grabbed our bags, we got the same bus that took us to Riga and we head to Vilnius, Lithuania. It was not my first time in Lithuania so I will try to speak a bit more about my experience there then just what we did during this holiday. For me, Lithuania has something that makes the country way more original than the other two. They are very proud of who they are. While in Estonia and Latvia you sense a lot of Russian influence, in Lithuania you barely notice it. Rather then hearing Russian in the streets of Vilnius, you hear Lithuanian or even English, as everyone speaks it there. Like I once read it somewhere, "Lithuania was the first country to declare independence from the Soviet Union and that makes them automatically cool". Another thing that I love in this country is the balance that the cities create between urbanism and nature. In other words, if you want to escape the big metropolis you live in but you still want to stay in a city and see the nature at the same time, Lithuania is the perfect place for you. Let's take Vilnius as an example. While the new part of the city grows bigger and bigger, the old town is small and surrounded by parks and forests.
I consider Vilnius a perfect hipster paradise. The old town is filled with beautiful old monuments, irreverent restaurants and coffee shops, and plenty of artists selling their work in the streets. They even have an "independent republic" inside the city. The so called "Uzupis Republic" is a neighbourhood just outside old town for local artists to live and work on. Right next to Vilnia river, the streets of this "republic" are replete with local designer boutiques, alternative clothing shops, hipster cafes and art studios. Paintings and sculptures fill up the rest of this neighbourhood and I need to be honest, most of those works I don't even understand what they mean. Still, this is my favourite part of the city and I love to go there. Vilnius is as well the European capital with more churches by square meter and you will for sure notice that. Catholic churches and Orthodox churches are part of the touristic attractions the city has to offer. One after the other, it's impossible to miss it and not stop to admire the beauty of this architectural monuments. The St. Anne's Church is no doubt my favourite one. This Gothic, 16th century, catholic church is just mesmerising.
A curiosity that you might not know about Lithuania is that the country is overloaded with lakes. And the best place to appreciate this natural occurrence is in Trakai. This little city is surrounded by lakes but what brings all the tourists here is the Trakai Castle. This impressive red castle that once was set to be the capital of Lithuania, is located on an island in the lake. What could be more cool than this? Kaunas, another Lithuanian city, is pretty cool too and definitely worth a visit if you have a couple of days extra to spend. Although I didn't spend enough time there to write about it, I felt that the city has a lot to offer and I will definitely return there the next time I go to Lithuania. Even if it's just to see a basketball game, the most famous sport in the country.
Let's move on to food. I must say, Lithuanian cuisine is unquestionably underrated. There are just so many delicious recipes that I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll start with Cepelinas, the national dish of Lithuania. This masterpiece of grated potato filled with ground meat is one of my favourite dishes in the world. And I tried a lot of them. With sour cream as the sauce and small pieces of bacon on top, this dish puts water in my mouth just by thinking of it. There's no way you can go to Lithuania and not try them. Another great surprise I found in Lithuania was their beer snack. While in Portugal we usually eat dry nuts with beer, in Lithuania they eat fried rye bread with garlic and blue cheese. And oh my God what did I just discovered. Watching football while having a drink became even better now. Actually, after thinking about it, I have not even one negative detail to say about Lithuania. It might not be as impressive as countries like Italy or France, but it's clearly one of the best countries to go and fall in love with.
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