- Hot traditions
It is inevitable. Like the changing of the seasons or a transfer by bus between Heathrow and Gatwick, the eventual discovery of the magic of the pirts (sauna) is something that happens to all of us after a prolonged stay in Latvia.
- Getting the royal treatment in Druskininkai
So you want to be pampered, huh? Or maybe after days of partying in Vilnius you simply need to get away from the temptations of the city and flush out the accumulated toxins of the easy life.
- Comfort and warmth
All summer long, I have had the fortune to share with TBT readers some of my impressions of the Baltics and some of its hidden gems. In the course of doing so, I discovered even more than I had already known.
- In the air streams above Estonia
For centuries it has been the dream of men to fly - to be free as a bird and float above the clouds.
- Flowers of the sky – hot air balloons soar over Vilnius
When Joseph and Etienne Montgolfiers first ascended into the sky in a hot air balloon in 1782, they could have probably not imagined that their invention would gain the popularity it sees in 2006.
- Elite activities that don’t drain the pocketbook
We often think of the Baltics as a region for holidays “on the cheap.” In reality however, there are quite a number of options available in the Baltics that would appeal to the traveler with more refined or, perhaps, more expensive tastes.
- Daugavpils Fortress – a ghost town in need of preservation
Driving in, I know I expected something else. It is a place that defies categorization - a unique historical site in Europe with the potential to be much, much more. In fact, it is a ghost town.
- Tallinn tourists headed for prison
The view is truly breathtaking. From this bit of shoreline in Tallinn's Kalamaja district, just a few streets west of the Passenger Port, the spires of the city's famous medieval churches become visible behind a stretch of blue water and rocky coast.
- Propaganda preserved for the generations
You might consider a park filled with statues of Lenin and Stalin to be a tragic joke. But it is no joke to owner Viliumas Malinauskas.
- Historic exploration
One of my favorite people in Latvia spent his nineteenth birthday in a labor camp in Siberia.
- The Best of the Baltics
From time to time I get mail from readers who have visited places mentioned in The Best of the Baltics.
- Tourism with a purpose
Is a real vacation all about basking in the sun on a lawn chair by the pool or at the seashore with a cool cocktail in your hand?
- Pancakes and peace and quiet
Riga is full of cafes and every time I turn around it seems that a new place has opened up.
- Fresh off the hook and hot off the grill
The old saying goes, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”.
- Smoked ribs, milkshakes and the American dream
Take a drive out from Tallinn’s western edge and after about 4km of dull, leafy nothingness you’ll hit the residential boomtown of Tabasalu. Or is it suburban Illinois? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
- For the love of a good meal
Food comforts us. It makes us feel good. We enjoy it. And the search for a good place to eat - beyond mom's kitchen - is a constant challenge.
- For the love of a good wind
It’s a blustery day, and the Bay of Tallinn is whipped to whitecaps. Beachgoers grimace at the windy conditions, but for Indrek Ahun a more perfect day is unimaginable.
- An afternoon in the treetops
I will admit it - I am a tightwad. I don’t part with my money easily and finding fun activities in Riga that fit within my sense of what is an acceptable price are becoming few and far between.
- Catching not catching
“It’s safer than driving a car,” explained my instructor, Stefan, as he checked our reserve chute and made sure my harness was securely fastened. It was little comfort in a country where accidents are as common as buzz cuts.
- In search of a rush
We all crave adventure in our lives. Perhaps this stems from our roots back in the cave days.