Tales from the Baltics

I always find the beginning of a post the hardest to write, and then I decide to just start writing and I bet by the time I'm done, I'll be the author of yet another long post.

This year has been fantastic in terms of my travel. We just stepped into the10th month of the year and I've already visited Hungary, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The Baltics trip was special because I was travelling alone. If you know me then you know that I'm not a fan of solo travel. I love having people around so that I can talk to them and can share my feelings. Secondly, there is nobody to take my pictures. 

I visited 4 cities, the three capitals; Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and a small but very picturesque city not far from Vilnius called Trakai. I didn't end up doing justice in the sightseeing front but I had a total gastronomical trip there to compensate. I guess we all fall prey to the "Oh, I MUST see this place" or "Oh I HAVE to click a picture of that" and then you realise  that those kind of memories don't last very long. The ones that last are the ones that you experience and have some emotional connection to. Once a lazy friend of mine said " Travelling is not all about seeing the touristic places and taking pictures. It's more about relaxing and having a good time". And this trip was exactly that. I didn't end up clicking a lot of great snaps, but I ended up with my mind full of wonderful little stories.

Only one word comes to my mind when I think of the time I spent in Riga, Latvia ... "Incredible". I was fortunate to have a good weather and the best company. My friend picked me up at the airport and the first thing she wondered if sex tourism has brought me to the city. If you are looking for beautiful women, Riga is a city that would be hard to beat. Riga has a sparkling nightlife where girls outnumber boys.You can't cross the streets of the old town and the Art Nouveau quarter without an awe. The buildings are just incredible. My next destination was Tallinn, Estonia. Walking along the cobbled passageway I found myself in the medieval Old Town(a Unesco World Heritage Site). Built between the 13th and 16th centuries, it's a Walt Disney-esque fantasy of colourful gabled houses, hidden courtyards, museums and extravagantly domed churches. With its baroque and Catholic influences, parts of Vilnius, Lithuania (my third destination) have an almost Italianate feel. Final stop, Trakai; built on the lakes, this small town is full of beautiful architecture and stunning views.

One thing in general which I loved the most about the Baltics was the food and dark beer. I found both a new culture and a new cuisine that I didn’t know existed. It came to me as a pleasant surprise when I saw the variety of food these small countries had to offer and every single of them that I tasted was a pure bliss. I was spoiled for choices. I believe I spent at least one third of the time in eating and drinking. While Riga and Vilnius were more of a cultural and culinary trip, Tallinn was a party destination where I partied non stop for a day and a half. Now that I'm back to the daily routine I feel like I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.

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