From Riga to Croatia by car

Posted on 09/09/2024 by ainarsbl

I have already written quite a lot about traveling to Croatia, but here I will summarize how to get there by car from Latvia.

Even though we have been flying everywhere for the last decade, we have mostly driven by our car to Croatia. We have also seen other cars with Baltic and Polish license plates in Croatia, so we are by no means the only ones and this information may be useful to someone else.

The usual route is as follows: Riga – Warsaw (Poland) – Bratislava (Slovakia) – Graz (Austria) – Maribor (Slovenia) – Zagreb (Croatia). This is also the option offered by Google Maps. What happens after arrival to Zagreb is entirely up to you, depending on where else you have decided to go. There are people who prefer to drive through the Czech Republic, but staying overnight in the Czech Republic (not to mention Austria) can be quite expensive.

If you are going to relax by the sea, then you should take into account that it is practically impossible to visit all the regions of Croatia at once. The country is stretched from north to south and there is a highway that connects it all. But once you get off the highway, driving is very slow.

I would say that there are three main regions in Croatia that are worth visiting – the north, the Istrian peninsula and the island of Krk, the south of Dalmatia, including Dubrovnik, the Peljesac peninsula and the island of Korcula, and central Dalmatia – Split, Trogir, other smaller towns and seaside villages.

Driving from Riga

We started driving at the time when it was a habit to drive through Poland during night. Now a lot has changed in Poland, so you can drive through it during the day. Driving at night has the advantage that it is possible to drive a longer first part of the distance. On the first day, we usually tried to drive at least 1200 kilometres.

In any case, it will take at least ten hours to get to Warsaw from Riga, so if you leave around midnight, you will be in Warsaw around ten in the morning. We usually chose hotel or apartment somewhere in Slovakia. You still have to drive quite a long distance from Polish capital, about 500 kilometres, which is at least 6 – 7 hours. It should be noted that it is also necessary to stop to eat, relax and stretch.

We usually took thermoses with hot water and dry soups with us, so that we didn’t have to only eat dry snacks. Although, we usually got off at least once in Poland to have a late breakfast or lunch at one of the roadside restaurants.

Overnight stay in Slovakia

We used the accommodation to stay at night because we were traveling with children and it would have been quite cruel to ask them to spend the night in the car. After driving more than 1000 kilometres, you need to sleep in a normal bed. You must also remember to replenish the hot water supply for next day’s soups before departure!

We usually looked for hotels (guest houses) in Slovakia on the Internet somewhere between Zilin and Trencin, a little off the highway. When it comes to the motorway, remember that in Slovakia (as well as in the Czech Republic) you have to buy a vignette. Inspections are not frequent, but if you are caught without a vignette, you may end up with paying quite large fine.

Now it is possible to buy a Slovak e-vignette online in advance, you can pay with payment card or PayPal. Even in Austria, to drive on the motorways, you need to buy a vignette; Austrian vignette for 10 days (minimum time) costs 9.6 euros (summer 2022).

Slovakian vignette for ten days costs 15.8 euros, but if you choose to drive through the Czech Republic, you can save a little – for 10 days there, a vignette costs 12.5 euros, but other costs, if you stop, will probably be higher.

Spending night in Zagreb

The last section of the route from Slovakia to Zagreb is practically only driving on motorways. Google Maps offer to drive through Hungary as the main route, but I don’t recommend it, because the roads are rather boring and driving through Hungary just doesn’t excite me (we’ve tried it ourselves).

Since you can get to Croatia (Zagreb) in about seven to nine hours from Slovakia, we did not rush to leave early in the morning. Accommodations usually offer breakfast and you also want to slow down a bit before leaving. And the main thing is that it is not even possible to go anywhere further than Zagreb during that day, unless your destination is the island of Krk or the Istrian peninsula.

In that case, you can pass Zagreb going through Slovenia in the direction of Rijeka. It will take up to 10 hours in total then.

If the destination of your trip to Croatia is central or southern Dalmatia, then staying overnight in Zagreb is worth it. Both in the city and its outskirts, there are many hotels for good price. It should only be noted that they are all very busy during the summer season; the hotel should be booked well in advance when the trip is being planned. This also applies to all other hotels in Croatia during the summer period.

From Riga to London by coach and train

Posted on 24/04/2024 by ainarsbl

We can travel long distances quickly and relatively cheaply, especially if it is possible to get to the destination with one of the low-cost airlines. However, sometimes, for one reason or another, you must travel by land.

The easiest way, of course, is to get into your car and drive. But not always there is such an option. Then we need to look at the opportunities offered by other means of commercial transport, for example, to travel by coach or train.

So, after spending about a month in Latvia, we boarded a coach in Riga to go to Berlin in Germany. Our final destination was London, this was only the first leg of the trip.

It must be mentioned that we were planning the trip a while in advance and had purchased tickets for all sections of the trip several months before the trip itself. This is mainly because train prices in Europe become more expensive as the departure date approaches. In the end, this helped us to save a considerable amount of money.

Fortunately, we were able to plan the trip in a way that our waiting times between getting from one transport to another were quite short – just enough to change stations or departure gates.

The first day – Riga – Warsaw

To get from Riga to Berlin, we booked the Ecolines (Estonian carrier) coach, which departs from the Riga bus station. We hadn’t travelled by bus for a long time, and we also had such a long journey by coach for the first time. The ticket price from Riga to Berlin was about 70 euros per person. Departure from Riga was scheduled for 11 am and arrival in Berlin at seven the next morning, a bit more than 21 hours with a few rather short stops on the way.

As there were not many stops planned during the trip, we took a couple of bottles of water and some food for a couple of meals. The carrier offered the opportunity to buy sandwiches, but only a few travellers used this option, most passengers had taken their food with them.

The first stop was Panevezys in Lithuania. The coach stopped there for just a few minutes. We got an opportunity to get out and stretch our legs in Vilnius, where we stopped for about fifteen to 20 minutes. There also was a similar a bit longer stop for stretching legs in Kaunas.
After departing Kaunas, we went to Mariampol, a town near Lithuanian – Polish border.

When we arrived in Mariampol, it was already around sunset time. I wanted to buy something to eat, and a bottle of water, however, I only got a bottle of water. Unfortunately, there was not any takeaway option for food to buy in the bus station buffet. We stood at this stop for at least about twenty minutes, as it was possible to stretch our legs after the seven-hour journey.

The next stop was in the Polish city of Białystok after a few hours after departing Mariampol. In general, the journey at this stage was the most difficult, because it was raining outside, it was dark, but I didn’t want to sleep yet. Fortunately, each seat on the bus has its TV screen and you can watch movies, the selection of those was surprisingly good.

From Białystok we headed west and arrived in Warsaw shortly after eleven in the evening. The road was much better after we left Białystok, mostly a motorway.

Warsaw

I must mention that when we left Riga, the war in Ukraine had started a few days before that, but we did not notice any specific changes along the way, although at some point we were less than 200 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. However, arriving at the Warsaw bus station, the feeling of the war was somewhere around.

There were police cars near the station with the emergency lights on. There was a bus serving as a mobile information point for refugees from Ukraine. Free food and other things were available at the station. All this made the feelings quite unpleasant, for the first time we felt that there was a war somewhere nearby.

This time, the bus stopped at the station for quite a while, and we left the station only around midnight while the baggage was loaded and all those who wanted to travel got on the bus. Some people even did not get tickets because the coach was full at that point. It seemed that some of the riders may have been those fleeing from Ukraine to continue their escape trip to Germany.

Then the journey by coach continued through the rest of Poland and the most sensible thing to do at this time was to sleep. The next stop was planned to only be in Berlin after about seven more hours of driving. From Berlin, we planned to immediately go to Brussels by train.

Easter in Poland

Posted on 20/04/2024 by ainarsbl

Poland is a big country, one of the largest in the European Union. Usually, we have been crossing it as a transit country, however, there are many places in Poland worth visiting. One day, we decided to see how people celebrate Easter in Poland.

Here are notes of our trip made during the Easter Holidays in 2010. This time for the trip was chosen because the majority of Polish people as very active Catholics and visit churches and celebrate Easter according to their traditions every year. Some sites we visited for that reason were of religious character.

City of Krakow

We went to Krakow which is one of the oldest cities in Poland and is located in the Lesser Poland region famous for its architecture, and religious and cultural heritage. Since 1978, the old town of Krakow has been on the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Also, Krakow is the second largest city in Poland with many beautiful sites for visitors. For example, Old Town (Stare Miasto), Wawel Castle, St. Andrew’s Church and the district of Kazimierz. Kraków has also been the royal capital of Poland for many centuries.

Although Easter is a very busy time in Krakow, we managed to get an apartment for short-term rent in the heart of the old town, just two hundred metres from the Main Market Square.

To book our apartment, we used the services of booking.com as usual. I am mentioning this here because shortly before arrival, we found out that our booked apartment was already occupied.

I immediately contacted customer services at booking.com and after a few hours this incident was solved – we got even better rooms and conditions than initially! This was the first incident of such kind with this company and I am really satisfied with how quickly it was handled.

Easter Celebration

Our main goal was to see how they celebrate Easter. On Saturday afternoon we went to a church. There were lots of local people. It was interesting to see that, according to the local traditions, people carried to the church small baskets with eggs and other components of breakfast (they call it a “blessing basket”). The basket was put down on the table in the church and consecrated by a pastor.

After the service, people took their baskets and went home waiting for Easter morning to consume the content of the “blessing basket”; the family breakfast is an important part of the Easter celebration in Poland. To be honest, I never saw this kind of action before and it was really amazing to experience. Just to add that the taste of our breakfast basket eggs was excellent.

During those two amazing days in Krakow, we enjoyed the festive atmosphere on the Main Market Square, booked a horse cart for sightseeing, tasted many different sweets, and local beer (for sure, it was better than fermented grape juice known as wine which is offered in local pubs), visited Wawel Castle and other sites of historical centre of Krakow.

Travel around Poland

Posted on 25/03/2024 by ainarsbl

Wielicka Salt mine

This is one of the episodes of our travel around Poland during the Easter celebrations, although we have visited this country many times. On Saturday, after a night spent in Krakow, we visited Wieliczka salt mine which is one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines – it is in operation since the Middle Ages. The salt mine is also on the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites since 1978. This site represents the progress of mining technology, the development of work organization and management. Over more than 700 years, 7.5 million m³ of post-excavation voids were drilled in Wieliczka.

Raps field in Poland

The mine is normally open for visitors from 9am to 5pm, adult ticket costs approximately 22 Euro per person. Visitors should be aware that the route includes approximately 800 stairs the temperature underground in the mine is about 17–18ºC. During one of the stops, it is even possible to buy cold and hot drinks and snacks. Town Wieliczka is located in the Krakow metropolitan area and can be reached easily; cheap parking spaces are available all around mine close to its entrance.

Area around Krakow

Before coming back home, we continued our travel around Poland and wandered around another surrounding area of Krakow. That’s how we found a small town decorated with “palms” made from pussy willow twigs during Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is a commemoration of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and people in Poland follow these traditions every year. Some of these creations were really tall, even up to 35 meters high!

Easter decorations in Poland

Near Krakow there also is a famous religious object listed as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 1999 – a monastery, landscape and pilgrimage park in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. We went there for a moment to see how the monastery looks both from inside and from outside. If you are somewhere near there, this place is worth visiting.

Jasna Gora monastery

On the way home we booked a hotel in the Polish city Czestochowa. It was a good reason to visit the famous Pauline Monastery of Jasna Gora. Millions of pilgrims every year visit the monastery to see a painting of Black Madonna. This is the only available icon of Black Madonna in Poland; there are about 21 paintings of Black Madonna in France, although this one in Czestochowa is also well known abroad.

The monastery itself looks fantastic on the top of the Jasna Gora hill, especially in the evening during the golden hour before the sunset.

Monument in Poland

It is possible to park the car near to entrance of the monastery. If you are passing Czestochowa, visiting the monastery may be a very good idea. The whole complex is really visitor-friendly. You can spend a few hours relaxing and, even if you are an atheist, enjoying the creations of humans made to praise God.

Other great Polish sites

According to my experience, I would also recommend visiting other interesting sites in Poland, for example, the capital city of Poland Warsaw, the old town of Poznan, medieval castle in Malbork, which has been UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 1997. Southern and south-western parts of Poland are known as ski resorts. Especially nice is the area around Zakopane located in the Tatra mountains.

From Riga to London – Brussels

Posted on 16/03/2024 by ainarsbl

After a trip from Latvian capital Riga to Berlin in Germany by coach and from Berlin to Belgian capital Brussels by train on the second day of our trip, we woke up at the hotel in Brussels on the morning of the third day of our trip from Riga to London in England.

We bought tickets for the Eurostar high-speed train well in advance, the departure was scheduled for early afternoon, so we had a relaxing breakfast without any hurry and then spent our time lazy on the ground floor of the hotel. The first two days of our trip were quite exhausting and we did not want to visit any city sites before leaving Brussels.

Brussels

Brussels is the capital of Belgium, although it often means the European Union and its institutions. It also houses other important institutions, such as the Benelux Secretariat and NATO headquarters.

About 1.2 million people live in Brussels. It is interesting to note that, although the city is considered to be French-speaking, it is part of the Flemish part of Belgium, forming an enclave. Until the end of the 19th century, the dominant language in Brussels was Flemish, but then French prevailed. There are two official languages in the Brussels region nowadays: French and Flemish, however, English is used widely too.

We deliberately chose the hotel near to the south station Gare du Midi, because the train arrived there from Germany the night before and from there, we planned to continue our trip to London.

High-speed trains run from Brussels South Station to the United Kingdom (St Pancras station) and European Union destinations such as Paris in France. The difference is that before boarding a train to London, you have to go through customs and border controls as you would have to do at any international airport.

Trip to London

It also means that you must arrive at the station sometime before the train leaves and there are duty-free shops at the station. However, it must be said that the prices in those duty-free shops are abnormally high, and it is likely that shopping in the city could be even cheaper. At least, those are my personal observations.

We had calculated the time correctly so that we would not have to wait long for the trains to arrive. After a short time in the waiting room, we could already go to the platform to get on the train.

The journey itself was not particularly admirable, apart from the fact that the speed of the train was close to 300 kilometres per hour (perhaps the feelings would be more impressive if we were using this train for the first time). The only stop on the way was the French city of Lille. Passengers were picked up there and we went on without any delay.

The journey from Brussels to London took just two hours and ten minutes and a ticket in a standard car cost £ 60 (€ 75) per person. It must be said though that this is a relatively low price for a trip that can cost 100 to 200 pounds or even more if you do not book your trip in advance. Prices are often lower on weekends (especially around noon) but higher on weekdays. There are usually about five one-way trips on weekends and six on weekdays (seven on Mondays).

London St Pancras Station

Eurostar trains arrive at St Pancras International Station in London. It is connected to London Euston station, one of the busiest stations in the UK, with domestic trains departing and arriving there.

If you happen to be nearby, it’s worth to go and look inside. The hangar, where the trains arrive, is both huge and at the same time cosy with a large clock on the wall and a statue at the end of the platform, which represents the joy of meeting.

Further from the station, there are a lot of opportunities to find the desired means of transport to go to the city. There is London Euston Train Station, the London Underground, buses and taxis outside and King’s Cross Railway Station nearby, which has a ‘Harry Potter shop on Platform 9 3/4’. Of course, the souvenirs related to Harry Potter are sold there.

So, our a bit less than three days long trip from Riga to London ended successfully in London. If you want to read more, there are other two posts about this trip from Riga to Berlin and from Berlin to Brussels.

The capital of Catalonia Barcelona

Posted on 02/03/2024 by ainarsbl

The first thought that comes to mind when you hear the word Barcelona – it’s something special! It is one of Europe’s must-see cities. Like Prague, Paris, London and Rome.

I can’t even tell if there are many more similar cities in terms of the added value of the trip. The list can then be continued with Venice, Florence in Italy, Vienna in Austria, Amsterdam in Netherlands, Budapest in Hungary and so on. This is, of course, my list and it may be different for everyone, but one thing is clear: Barcelona is a must-see place and it is located in the very north of Spain.

About the city

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, with a population of just over one and a half million people and, together with the surrounding areas (almost 5 million people), it is the second largest populated area in Spain. And of course – Barcelona is a seaside city on the Mediterranean coast.

Catalonia is an autonomous region of Spain and differs from central Spain in many ways. Catalonia even has two official languages, Catalan and Spanish.

The origins of Barcelona can be traced back to the beginning of our era when the Romans came there, but it is best known for its houses designed by the architect Antonio Gaudi rather than the Romans. Pablo Picasso also lived in Barcelona but later moved to Paris.
Barcelona did not start to develop until the very end of the nineteenth century, so it can be considered a modern city. The city also has many other cultural and historical sites, several of which (about eight in total) are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. And of course, as it should be in Spain, the food there is great – just because of the restaurants and cafes, it is worth going there.

Getting around

The best way to get to Barcelona is to fly there. Barcelona Airport is the largest on the Mediterranean coast and from the city can be reached by train, metro or bus; it is just 17 kilometres away. We used the subway and it was very convenient and simple. By the way, the bus (Aerobus) from the airport to the city return ticket costs just over 10 euros (you have to make your return within 15 days).

The Barcelona metro is very convenient, so being in the city, we used it the most to get to different places where we did not want to walk. We also used bus services a bit. The best deal is to buy a T10 ticket, which is intended for ten trips within the first zone of the city and is suitable for any mode of transport travelling in this zone. Tickets can be purchased at any metro station.

By the way, the subway works from five in the morning until midnight, but on Fridays until two o’clock after midnight. The price of a T10 ticket in 2021 was 11.2 euros.

What to see

On the first day, we went to the cathedral Sagrada Família (holy family), which, of course, was designed by Gaudi. This building is the culmination of his talent. The architect worked on the project for almost the last ten years of his life.

The queue at the entrance was not very long in the morning, however it was not possible to get inside right away – we had to wait for our turn. The interior of the cathedral is fantastic.

The overall feeling was a bit spoiled by the fact that we didn’t climb up the tower; in case of bad weather (wind, fog) this attraction is cancelled (money, of course, we got back).
It should be mentioned that without prior reservation it is practically impossible to climb the tower because there are many more people willing to get there than the opportunities to get there.

Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s main street, has certainly been heard by many even if you have not visited Barcelona. You can walk along it for a long time and always see something interesting. Las Ramblas starts at Plaça de Catalunya and goes all the way to the sea.

Undoubtedly, one of the most popular places in the city, apart from architectural masterpieces, is the square Plaça de Catalunya. There are fountains, sculptures and lawns. And there is a special story about city parks. Without even looking specifically for one, we turned into several and the views were amazing! Trees, lawns, canals, buildings, fountains – fantastic!

Accommodation

Hotel prices in Barcelona are quite high, but we chose to rent an apartment again and it paid off, because we ate, came and went when we wanted to. This was especially good when we came home very late in the evenings. The city in the evenings is very attractive and everybody wants to spend time there as much as possible.

Mainau Island in Germany

Posted on 03/02/2024 by ainarsbl

Sun, flowers, and spring

The next morning, after the usual grey April day in Riga, we were awakened by the rays of the sun – our break in Germany had begun exceptionally well! From the window we had a fantastic view towards vineyards and all kinds of flowering shrubs and trees; we felt like on a real spring holiday! We planned to visit Baden–Baden and at the end of our trip visit Mainau Island.

To enjoy these fantastic changes, immediately after breakfast we went for a walk around the town and without realizing it, reached the next town. The Easter morning service had just ended, the clock was approaching noon, and the local Germans were slowly gathering for family lunches at local pubs. Great tradition – in most cases, at least three generations of people gathered around the tables.

Before moving on to Mainau Island in Germany, after visiting the thermal pools and sauna complex in Baden-Baden, we walked around the city, which has both its unique charm and something special, such as the German order, which strangely coexists harmoniously with the Russian language heard in many places.

In the holiday complexes do not be surprised that you will be spoken in Russian, because some of the service staff came from Eastern Europe in the late eighties or early nineties. This short break in Germany was coming to an end and we had to move on.

Mainau Island

As I said before, this episode of a short break in Germany is from another journey. The island of Mainau is in a completely different corner of Germany we visited returning from Switzerland. The region around Konstanz did initially give an impression of a remote not that exciting area, however, the beautiful island successfully dispelled that first impression.

The description here is not a comprehensive one, because the island of Mainau must be enjoyed looking at it and the impressions gained are difficult to transfer in words. Here are some photos from the visit below.

Flowers all around

There is a botanical garden on the island and the visiting time was specially chosen for spring; all the spring flowers were blooming there. The island is not large; it is possible to walk around it in a couple of hours. However, it takes much more time because the created lawns, greenery and flower beds are admirable, and you can’t just walk without eating in one of the cafes during your visit.

At the beginning, the price for a visit to the island (adult ticket 17 euros, family ticket 34 euros) seemed to be quite high, however after visiting the exposition we realized that the work invested in creating and maintaining the island is huge and requires a lot of investment.

Tropical and butterfly houses

Among the gardens on the island are several buildings with shops and various expositions. The most outstanding is a tropical house with a huge collection of orchids – it is so beautiful! The other very special place is a butterfly house, where butterflies of various sizes and colours live in tropical jungle conditions.

Western Estonia

Posted on 23/12/2023 by ainarsbl

Sightseeing tour to the western part of Estonia

This was a corporate trip by bus together with work colleagues to the Estonian islands. It was a short weekend sightseeing tour to western Estonia to relax, have some fun and look around. Our destination was Saaremaa island, with a short stop in the summer capital of Estonia – town Parnu.

The border between Latvia and Estonia

You may cross the border between Latvia and Estonia using main road E67. However, there is an interesting alternative – turn left just before the Estonian border to the small town Latvian town of Ainazi. Driving through the town you may be surprised that after a short period, you will see a road sign showing that you are passing the state border.

Just before the border, there is a small parking place. If you stop there, you can go for a short walk to the old mole (located in Latvia just a few hundred metres from the Estonian border) and enjoy the beautiful landscape.

Seaside resort Parnu

The next stop we made was in Parnu (to be honest, nothing was interesting before that point except some recreation areas near the beach of Riga Gulf, still far away from E67). It was the end of the weekend as well as the end of the summer; the town was very quiet. Most cafes and restaurants are closed or without visitors.

Parnu town itself is quite nice, especially the old part of it – worth wandering around a bit. If you go from Riga (Latvia) to Tallinn (Estonia), this is a good place to take a short break and enjoy some coffee before driving another 130 kilometres (80 miles) to reach Tallinn. We did the same before continuing our trip to the Estonian islands.

Estonian islands

Saaremaa is the biggest Estonian island and there is regular ferry traffic between the mainland and the island. The ferry terminal is in the small village of Virtsu and arrives in Kuivastu on Muhu island (Muhu island is located between the mainland and Saaremaa island; to reach Saaremaa you should cross Muhu at first).

The journey lasts about 25 minutes – just enough to have some beer and snacks available on the board of the ferry. Here is the ferry timetable for this and another line connecting the Estonian mainland with the islands. In general, during business hours ferry departs every 35 minutes, two boats are operational on this route ships are about 97 metres long, 18 metres wide, draft of 4 m). Saaremaa island forms the main barrier between the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea.

The highest point of the island is 54 metres above sea level. Old sagas talk about conflicts between islanders and Vikings. Saaremaa was among the wealthiest counties of ancient Estonia and the home of Estonian pirates sometimes called the Eastern Vikings. Nowadays Saaremaa is known as a good recreation place with unique nature and a lot of sights. It has retained its uniqueness due to its location and insulation.

The cultural heritage of Muhu island

After arrival in Kuivastu on Muhu island you can find Koguva village, which is located near Kuivastu – Kuressaare road. Koguva is the best-preserved village of the 19th century in Estonia. Some of the buildings date even from the 18th century. You can observe the traditional living style of Estonians as it was a long time ago – living and farmhouses, storehouses, saunas, barns and summer kitchens.

Saaremaa sightseeing

Saaremaa has an area of 2700 square kilometres (about 1050 square miles) and its population is about 35 thousand people. In the villages, there are still stone fences and houses with thatched roofs. The symbols of Saaremaa are windmills, junipers and home-brewed beer. An interesting site on the island is the Kaali meteorite craters formed after an accident approximately 650 – 700 BC (explored in 1937).

The largest of the craters measures 110 metres in diameter, the mass of meteorites was from 20 to 80 tonnes. The main crater has a depth of about 22 metres. If driving in the right direction you can easily find this site following road signs (it is located 18 kilometres from Kuressaare towards Kuivastu).

Capital of Saaremaa – Kuressaare

The last stop of our trip to the Estonian islands was Kuresaare. There is only one town on Saaremaa island, which is Kuressaare – the capital of the island. The most important, and I would say the most exciting sight of Kuressaare, is the bishop’s castle.

The castle was built in the late 14th century, the basic plan of the building is a square with the length of each side about 43 metres. Among the medieval castles in the Baltic countries, this is the one that has survived very well.

A few words about Saaremaa hotels. Most of them are comfortable Spa hotels built very recently. You can expect to have access to the pool, sauna, bar and other facilities. However, be aware that in early autumn there may not be heating operating in rooms and walls are extremely thin to both keep the rooms warm and silent.

Iceland

Posted on 20/12/2023 by ainarsbl

So far, we have only been in Iceland during the winter. And we love all about it – snow, ice, glaciers, wind, lava fields, geysers and especially sunny days and Northern Lights, which we have been lucky enough to enjoy.

Along with Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark, Iceland belongs to Europe’s Nordic region. Iceland is a volcanic island and lies on the border between Eurasian and North American Tectonic Plates. That makes Iceland a hotspot of many active volcanos.

The total area of Iceland is 102,775 square kilometres (39,682 square miles) making it No. 106 on the list of world’s countries by territory. The population of Iceland is around 346 thousand people and it is 176th in the world with a very low density of population – only 3.5 people per square kilometre.

Getting around

If you travel to Iceland, you may recognise that many tourist attractions are located almost like bus stops on your route. Of course, getting there may require hours and hours and, sometimes, traffic may be suspended for some days because of snowstorms, strong winds etc.

If some of the attractions you have booked are located off-road, for example, visiting ice caves, you will most probably be picked up by organisers somewhere in a parking space near a major road.

Another tip – you would normally pay a deposit for booking particular activities, for example, if you wish to enjoy dog sledging. These attractions may be cancelled due to weather conditions.

Most probably, you will not get another chance to do it again during this particular trip, although do not worry – organisers will make a refund relatively quickly.
So, always have a plan B to replace this kind of unpredicted events with other activities. Planning a trip to Iceland you may never rely on Iceland’s changing weather.

Golden Circle

Many people have heard about Blue Lagoon, which is a famous recreation facility near Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.

If you visit Iceland for just a few days, Blue Lagoon would most probably be one of your destinations. It is located some 50 kilometres from Reykjavik and 20 kilometres from Keflavik International Airport (keep this in mind when planning a trip).

You could also make the Golden Circle, which is a tourist route you may use to familiarise yourself with a very small but diverse part of the island. The length of the route is about 300 kilometres; it starts from Reykjavík and goes into central Iceland, before returning to Reykjavik.

This route may be booked as a guided tour or you can drive your own rented car. If you rent a car, the Golden Circle may even be a perfect trip for a day. You would visit three major locations – The Geysir Geothermal Area, Gullfoss Waterfall and Thingvellir National Park.

Outer circle

This is how I call it, perhaps there is another name for it, however, the idea is that if you keep on Route 1 from Reykjavik, you will return to Reykjavik after going all around Iceland.
This would be suitable if you have arrived in Iceland for more than just a couple of days, fancy some extreme feelings, rent a car and are willing to drive almost 1350 kilometres (850 miles).

Here you can also see a screenshot from Google Maps to get an idea of what I mean. There are many attractions along this route; just to name a few: Hvalfjörður Tunnel (part of Route 1), Akureyri (a small and nice town with public thermal bath facilities), Hverir Boiling mud pits – a fantastic natural phenomenon just on the side of Route 1.

Spring in Bohemia

Posted on 18/12/2023 by ainarsbl

At the very end of April, we went for a quick trip to the Czech Republic. Perhaps, the most famous destination of the Czech Republic is its capital Prague, however Nord-Eastern part of the country, the region of Bohemia, is very exciting and attractive because of the mountains and local traditions.

The whole Bohemian region covers about two-thirds of the Czech Republic. We had plans to visit a factory producing glass and crystal according to the old traditions, a local brewery (Czech beer has been always tasty and of high quality), spend some time hiking in the mountains near Adrspach and to find something else interesting in the area.

Camping near Trutnov

Before arrival, we found on the Internet and booked a camping Dolce Vita near the town of Trutnov (address: Dolce Vita, Oblanov 37, 54101 Trutnov, Czech Republic). Camping offers apartments in cottages located near a lake.

Camping is located about two kilometres away from the main road, however, it is easy to find it. The cottage itself was not very well maintained, however, the price was good for value and the surrounding area of camping is quiet and, as we found afterwards, very beautiful providing a relaxing atmosphere.

National Park Adrspach – Teplice Rocks

The next day after arrival, we went to the National Park Adrspach. Adrspach is a village in the Hradec Kralove region; the Giant and Eagle mountains of this region have been widely known from Roman times and even before. The village is divided into the administrative areas of Dolni Adrspach (Lower Adrspach) and Horni Adrspach (Upper Adrspach).

National Park Adrspach and the area around it is well known for Adrspach-Teplice Rocks (also, Adrspach Rock Town or Adrspasske skaly in Czech language). We planned the whole day to spend there.

Bohemian Paradise

As we had our pet (dog) with us, it was nice to find out that it is allowed to visit this site taking pets with you (ticked, however, should be purchased for your small companion too).
The rocks are really impressive! They are very popular for rock climbers; we saw some of them on the top of rocks. This area is among the most beautiful natural features of the Czech Republic, also called the Bohemian Paradise.

There is the main entrance near Teplice Rocks, although Rock Town in reality begins about two kilometres from the entrance. Before visiting Rock Town, we went to the nearby lake to enjoy the beautiful landscape around it. There are good trails everywhere in the park around the lake but in the rock town, most of the pathways are even covered with asphalt.

If you are not too lazy to climb up the hill using a steep rocky trail and wait a bit in a queue, there is a short but attractive boat trip available in the park (ticket should be purchased separately before boarding, although it is worth trying it).

Adrspach Rocks has the status of a national nature conservation area, and guided tours are available as well. An adult ticket for entrance costs about 2.5 euros, a child ticket half of it, and a family ticket (2+2) costs about 6 euros; entrance for a dog costs a bit more than 1 euro.

Dinner in a guesthouse

After a whole day spent in Adrspach, we went back to camping but before arrival enjoyed a nice supper in Trutnov. This was a very family-friendly restaurant in guesthouse Penzion Porici, which is located just outside of the town centre.

I can recommend this restaurant if you want to have a tasty meal without rushing in a quiet atmosphere. We even came back for the second time there and were completely satisfied again with their food and service delivery.