Things I Liked and Things I Did NOT Like About My Baltic Overseas Adventure

My destinations? Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The three countries are emerging from the shadow of their 20th-century past as unwilling republics of the Soviet Union. They became independent in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed. All three countries turned westward and established democratic governments. Today the Baltic states are modern nations that take pride in their history and look forward to the future – precariously – as they observe the chaos unfolding next door in Ukraine and Russia.

Things I liked about my trip:

I embarked on an energizing journey far from home.

I met many people, fellow travelers and locals – tour guides, store and restaurant personnel, hotel employees, cab drivers…

The weather was perfect for walking outdoors and touring – sunny and warm (usually 70s during the day). NOT insufferably hot!

The tour company, Road Scholar, planned and organized everything. Questions? Problems? They handled issues quickly and professionally.

The local cuisine was substantial, delicious, and servings sizeable, the food reminiscent of my grandmother’s cooking. Root vegetables, especially potatoes, dumplings of all kinds, apple desserts – apple cake, apple pie, apple crumb concoction, apple and peach pastry. A basket of brown, dense bread enhanced every table. Fish, especially salmon and herring, along with chicken, are food staples. Restaurant menus included borscht, a dish I never loved but often appeared on my grandmother’s table. 

I became immersed in history and learned a lot about medieval and more recent history in a part of the world I humbly admit I knew next to nothing about.

I attended thought-provoking lectures on the social, political, and cultural history of the nations.

Our tour group travelled from country to country, and to tour destinations within each country, in a large, clean, comfortable bus with room to stretch out and snooze if desired.

Every other word on English-language news channels was NOT “Trump”.

Things I did NOT like:

Small hotel rooms (I know, I am a spoiled American when it comes to wanting my space).

Figuring out how to find English language channels on the hotel room TV and positioning TV settings proved a challenge, especially when items and instructions were in an indecipherable language. 

My ignorance of local languages was not an impediment to exploring, but a minor frustration. Estonian, for instance, is related to Finnish and Hungarian, and I know not a word in these tongues. But most locals know a little English, and many speak fairly fluent English.

The never-ending trip home, 23 long, exhausting hours, included a six-hour layover in the Frankfurt, Germany, airport, an experience not to be repeated (hopefully). 

It took more than a couple of days for my body to recover and get back on an Eastern time zone schedule.

In summary –

There was not much to NOT like and a lot to like about my two-week tour of a part of the world discovered by me for the first time.  

Now that I have regained my energy and am back on a ‘normal’ schedule, it is time to plan my next adventure somewhere.