My first trip after covid-19, the pandemic that temporarily stopped all traveling around the world, was to the Baltic countries. After visiting my parents in Finland, it felt like a good choice since the borders between Finland and the Baltics were open and the flights from my home town Turku to Kaunas in Lithuania were only 9€! (Who said there wouldn't be any low fare flights after the pandemic?). Although, we ended up paying a 60€ check-in fee at the airport as we forgot to check in beforehand. After months without traveling, we'd simply forgot the Wizz Air rule number one...
We stayed one night in Kaunas before heading east to the capital Vilnius. There were a lot to see and do in Kaunas, but here are some of my best recommendations.
The top 3 things to do in Kaunas:
1. Visit the street art gallery called Kiemo Galerija. It's not very known among tourists, but I got the advice from one of my local friends. The art was impressive and the neighborhood itself was really cool too!
2.Visit the park at the peninsula by the end of the old town, called Neries Ir Nemuno Santaka. It's nice to stroll around in the park in the evening and watch the sunset by the riverside. Afterwards you can have a beer in the old town nearby.
3. Have food and beers at the boulevard called Laisves alle. Here you find a huge sortiment of local craft beers, good wine and a nice selection of local food. All very cheap (if you're coming from Scandinavia).
On the way to Vilnius by bus we stopped by a small town called Elektrenai. It was an old Soviet-like town that reminded us about the far east of Siberia. Here we were supposed to visit an old abandoned amusement park but unfortunately the amusement park wasn't very abandoned anymore, we found out. It was under construction and renovation and looked like it was just about to reopen. Instead we found a beach nearby where we could have a swim in the 27 degrees heat. We also found a small cafe where we had 2€ beers and lunch for the same price (by then we still hadn't been getting used to the insanely cheap prices and every meal was an excitement!). Then we had to down our half a liter beers to make it to the bus, and with my tolerance I was, of course, tipsy the rest of the bus ride.
Once we arrived in Vilnius we walked towards the old town to try to find our AirBnb for the night. The AirBnb apartment was cheap, only 25€ per night, and just a 20 minutes walk from the old town of Vilnius. However, my first impression of the apartment building was this old pink and huge Soviet like building where the corridors looked like an old prison. Despite this first impression, the apartment itself was very cozy with a small loft for sleeping and everything else you may need, and our host was super accommodating. It was a bit exciting to explore our new building, and we found old common bathrooms and toilets in the end of every corridor which made it clear that private toilets inside the small apartments hadn't been a thing for that long. Our balcony added to the trashy first impression, although the view was nice.
For the next two days in Vilnius we explored the old town and all the cozy small medieval streets, as well as the more modern parts of Vilnius. Here are my top 3 things to do in Vilnius:
Visit Užupis, a cool bohemian part of town where you find both nice bars and restaurants. The district declared itself an independent republic and could be compared to the Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen. The neighborhood is popular for artists and you'll find art galleries and street art almost everywhere. Go to the local bar Snekutis and have a local beer - or their local mead.
Try the local cuisine. It might not seem like the most delicious food, but will offer you an interesting cultural experience. Especially the traditional "cepelinai" is a must (potato dumplings filled with meat). If you are a cheese fan like me, try the local cheese boards and wine. The Lithuanian cheeses might not be comparable to the French or Spanish ones, but I still found them interesting, especially the smoked cheeses. Besides, you only pay a few euros for a big plate of cheese.... Something else that you should try is the cottage cheese pancakes, and the potato pancakes!
Visit the Three Crosses. From this monument you have a great view over the old town (or actually the whole city). It's totally worth the hike up to the top (or if you are lucky, you might get a car ride up the hill. Sam's old classmate who is from Vilnius was kind enough to bring us on a small sightseeing tour with his car).
After two days in Vilnius it was time for us to continue west towards Klaipeda. Klaipeda is a medieval port town and was once the most important town in Lithuania. We stayed one night in Klaipeda before continuing south along the west coast to Nida. Since the west coast of Lithuania is a popular holiday destination both among locals and tourists from the other Baltic countries, accommodation in Klaipeda was as we expected quite expensive. We were lucky to find a fairly cheap room a bit outside the center in a "Soviet like" neighborhood. It felt more like a home-stay than a hotel, but the friendly old guy who owned the place gave us a warm welcome. He didn't speak a world of English, but luckily his 11-year old daughter did and she did most of the talking (in return her dad tipped her some coins). Her English accent was flawless, and she'd just been learning English from watching movies.
In the evening we walked to the nearby grocery store just to explore (one of the things I always do when traveling in a new country), and tried some local products.
The next morning we woke up early to head to the harbor and get the ferry to Nida, a small town on the west coast. The ferry was only 1€ per person and soon we understood why. This ferry did not take us to Nida at all, it just crossed the bay to the peninsula where we (slightly confused and tired) went off. There was no bus stop or any other clear way to get to Nida, so we walked the 2 km to the other ferry terminal, from were we could take a one hour bus to Nida. We didn't have any cash to pay for the bus tickets with, but a nice local young man immediately offered to pay for us so we didn't have to wait for the next bus (that could come who knows when...). The locals in Lithuania truly seemed remarkably helpful and friendly.
Nida was as beautiful as we'd been told, even if the weather wasn't in our favor. Nida is famous for it's long beautiful beaches and big sand dunes. I would have loved to swim in the wild ocean but it was way too windy and cold. The nature is stunning though, and just walking around is nice as well. We stayed overnight in a hostel called Kastytis poilsio namai that seemed to be the cheapest option we could find. The hostel itself was cozy with a bohemian vibe, hammocks and a small food truck from where you could buy breakfast or coffee. The dorms were okay, but sadly one of our dorm mates, an old guy, was snoring so loud the whole night so we didn't get much sleep in the end (there are some serious benefits with female dorms!).
The next morning we took the bus and ferry back to Klaipeda, and made it just in time (thanks to a Bolt electric scooter that saved us once again) to catch the to Liepaja in Latvia. This was the only bus that day going to Liepaja so we turned out to be really lucky.
After some days in Lithuania we felt like was time to cross the border and explore some of Latvia as well. We barely knew anything about Liepaja, just that it didn't seem to be a typical tourist town, which made it even more exciting to go there (sometimes it's simply better not to have any expectations at all). On the bus there we had to fill in a form with details of where we'd been and where we were going due to the covid-19 situation. This was the first time during our trip that we were even reminded about the fact that we were still in the middle of a world pandemic. With some help from Google translate live (best function ever) we managed to fill the form in, and arrived without problems in Liepaja.
Liepaja turned out to be one of our favorite cities in the Baltic countries. At first the city didn't seem to be anything special and the atmosphere was pretty dead due to the rainy weather, but once we found the cool areas it all changed. The old architecture was interesting, and all the bars and restaurants super nice. Here are my top 3 of what to do in Liepaja:
Visit Valhalla Wine & Coffee! This really cozy bohemian cafe/bar I found by coincident on Google maps (as the city itself isn't very known among tourists it's hard to find any good blogs or recommendations of where to go etc). Here you can sit and chill in their lovely basement lounge, play with the cat and dog who lives in the cafe or just enjoy one of their delicious drinks, beers or cakes (or food!). And meanwhile waiting for your food you can chill in one of the many different couches. Ps: try their local ginger cider! In Latvia they also have many nice local cider breweries.
Visit the bar called Miezis & Kompanija that's in the same area as Valhalla. Here you can try hundreds of different local craft beers. I just wish my tolerance would be better and I could have tried many more haha. In this area all the bars are nice, kind of hipster-cozy. If we would have had some more time I would definitely have been going to all of them. Another must-to-visit is the Greek street-food place "Greeks" next doors! Their halloumi is just AMAZING!
Take a local bus a few kilometers up north to the old Soviet town Karosta. Historically this place is very interesting as you can see the influence by the Soviet Union in the area. There are old ruins of the Soviet sentries and fortress protecting the coast from enemies. We walked a few kilometers out on the old pier called "Ziemelu mols".
One of my best experiences during our travels was meeting Peter, a young bartender who worked in one of the bars we visited. He was social and talkative and we ended up talking to him for a couple of hours (while obviously trying some of the local beers). We had some really interesting conversations and Peter told us a lot about the history of Latvia and how he grew up. Although he is born -97 and the Soviet Union fell -91, he grew up in a poor and underdeveloped society. His mom raised 6 children alone without almost any help from the government. Like most locals, also Peter had family members who had been sent to Siberia to "work". I felt a lot of empathy for Peter and his family, and for all the people in Latvia and Lithuania. After all, we have quite a similar history, both coming from countries once controlled by the Soviet Union. The only difference is that this history is much more recent in Latvia, and Peter's generation grew up pretty much with the same life standards as my grandparents did.
Isn't this the best thing with traveling though? Learning and sharing cultural experiences and learning about the local history.
After spending almost two days in Liepaja we spontaneously decided to take a bus to Riga. We'd just got to know that our flight from Riga to Stockholm got cancelled, and we had to try to find another way to get home. But why not enjoy some days in Riga anyways, we thought. We ended up staying 3 nights and loved Riga a lot. I'd only been in Riga once before when I was a child and didn't remember much, but Riga was a positive surprise. We even ended up getting a hotel room for just 12€ per night! (called "Maestro").
Here comes my top 4 recommendations for Riga:
Visit the area Avoti (where we stayed). It's much cooler (and cheaper!) than the old town area, you you can find many cozy bars here. We had drinks and food twice in a recently opened bar called Liepa with a nice outdoor terrace. A British old man told me I had to try the cocktails there and they really were great! Also here the bartenders were really nice and spoke great English (in general people we met spoke great English).
Have brunch at MiiT Coffee. We had breakfast here twice and it was indeed one of the best brunch places I'd ever been to! Also good to bring your laptop and work at.
Visit the Kemeru national park an hour outside Riga. We did a 5 km hike around the swamp there, but there are definitely more beautiful hikes to do. On the way home we stopped by the long beach called Jurmala (the same train to Riga passes by there) and had a beer at the beach. Also worth it!
Have beers in the area called Āgenskalns in west Riga. Peter, the bartender we'd met in Liepaja, recommended us to go to a bar called "Pils", and it was really a cool "East Berlin" style place. I had a really nice honey beer here.
After 3 nights in Riga it was time for us to try to get home and end our vacation. This seemed to be more complicated than we thought. After spending a whole day on buses and trains from Riga to Gdansk in Poland to take a flight from there to Stockholm, that flight ended up getting cancelled as well. Since it was less than 24 hours before departure, Wizz Air ended up paying for accommodation the following night. Needless to say that we picked an expensive hotel? The last night of our trip we enjoyed a nice room at the Radisson hotel and it really didn't feel that bad to stay in Gdansk one more night. Especially not since Wizz Air rebooked our flight to Turku instead and we could fly to my hometown and staty a day with my parents before taking the ferry to Stockholm.
Gdansk is nice city and as everywhere we'd been the food was also great here. Below are some of my last photos from the trip. Traveling in the Baltic countries was really fun, although things didn't really go as we planned. Hopefully my next trip will be to Estonia with the ferry from Stockholm once the covid-19 pandemic is finally over and traveling will be more smooth again.
I hope you enjoyed the reading and find these recommendations useful. If you want to have more recommendations, please send me a message!
Do you want to read about my best hitchhiking recommendations? Check out my next post here!