The Baltic states

Tallinn, capital of Estonia.

The Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Three small countries with a lot of charm. When I first arrived in Tallinn, I felt like arriving in Switzerland. The city was small and uncrowded with a beautiful old town.
Next I went to Riga in Latvia. They also have an old town, but it was my least favorite of the three Baltic capitals. Instead I went to Jurmala and the Gauja national park with a Russian I met there. He had a rental car so we went to the beach town of Jurmala in the morning and walking in Gauja in the afternoon.
After Latvia, I went to Vilnius in Lithuania. It has an ancient university founded in 1579 and an artists' quarter. This gives the city a student and artistic vibe.

To move from one country to another, I used the bus. You can cross countries with the train, but you need to change at the border. With the bus it's easier. You stay inside the whole trip and there is rarely any passport controls.

Bird flying over Estonia. They are migrating south for the winter.


Riga capital of Latvia.


Gauja national park. Turaidas castle.


Gauja national park.


Church of St. Johns inside the university of Vilnius. Lithuania.


Church of St. Johns inside the university of Vilnius. Lithuania.


An artistic installation in Uzupis. It's a quarter of Vilnius where many artists lives. On the first of April 1997 they formed the independent Republic of Uzupis. It's a joke everybody went along. You can get a stamp in your passport, read the constitution or see the flags of the republic at windows.

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