The Baltics

In August of 2013 we decided to travel to the Baltic States since we had traveled to Russia the previous year. We started off in Vilnius Lithuania where all the people are very tall.....many basketball players come from Lithuania. This country was the last pagan country in the world...interesting fact that we learned. The people are friendly, easy to get around and the city is very clean. They were part of the Euro Zone, but were not part of the Euro at the time so things were pretty inexpensive. They also have the best selection of Amber if you are into precious stones. From here we traveled on to Riga Latvia. Riga has the most amazing architectural buildings that I have ever seen. At the time Latvia was not on the Euro either so a we aquired a new currency to keep as a souvenir. Much of the city it was preserved during WWII, but any damage that had been done has been restored. After Riga we toured on to Tallin Estonia. Estonia is on the Euro so things are a bit more expensive, but we found that the food was good, people were friendly and was it very easy to get around the city center. Can't say with country was our favorite for they were all very special in their own way. The only thing we can say is that if you have not been to these countries yet, put it high on your priority list. It is a MUST and we are so happy that we saw it when we were there. I used a travel company out of Europe to set up the hotel and travel arrangements, but I cannot recommend them. It was very disorganized, but luckily we are seasoned travelers and were able to navigate and get around just fine. If you are looking for an amazing deal that includes airfare, hotel and transporation I highly recommend that you check out this tour with Smartours: www.smartours.com/tour/baltic-states-berlin/ They have a fabulous itinerary and give you enough time to see what you need to see.