Your host and guide is Mike Ross, travel professional since 1982.
Maximum of 6 travelers.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: 3 of 5; ability to walk a mile in under 20 minutes; stairs; cobblestones; uneven surfaces. Carry your own belongings.
SPECIFICS: On the Reservation Form: Add details of mobility issues, dietary or health issues, anything of a personal nature which may impact your trip.
Includes breakfast daily, all ground transportation. Entrances, lunches and dinners on our own.
Featuring Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. See the wonders and the glory of Old World Europe before the modern age sweeps them away!
CONTACT MIKE at [email protected] for availability and pricing.
April 8 Board a transatlantic flight to Berlin, Germany.
April 9 Arrive Berlin. Take in the lively neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg or visit West Berlin to see the remains of the Memorial Church, left as a reminder to the destruction of WWII. The huge department stores and tiny coffee shops are wonderful. Overnight Berlin.
April 10 Fly Berlin to Vilnius, Lithuania. An early flight today takes us to Vilnius. This dream-like city was once in Poland then under the influence of the Soviet Union before independence roughly 30 years ago. We’ll see the remains of the city wall and moat from the Medieval era. Overnight Vilnius.
April 11 Vilnius. Start the day with a walking tour to Cathedral Square. Markets and fairs were held here and the remains of the old battlements and towers are still visible. The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania is on the square and the museum of the palace is the one unmissable museum in Vilnius. We’ll visit to see how the area was settled in the 300s, how the city was rebuilt several fires and how Vilnius became a pawn between the forces of the East and West in the Cold War. The Vilnius Cathedral on the square is the latest in a long line of churches from 1387. It was used a as warehouse in the days of the Soviet Union.
April 12 Vilnius. We’ll explore the Old Town today, Eastern Europe’s largest. It is UNESCO listed as a historical monument and is filled with cafes, shops, boutiques, the university, the Bernadine Monastery, the Presidential Palace and the Toy Museum. Overnight Vilnius.
April 13 A first class coach Vilnius to Riga, Latvia. A 4 hour ride through the Lithuanian countryside begins the day. We’ll drive through villages and across gentle fields and through rolling hills. We arrive in Riga in the early afternoon. Latvia is one huge park with just one real city, the capital Riga. Riga is directly on the Baltic Sea and was part of the old Hanseatic League of free trade in the 1400s and 1500s. This afternoon we’ll take a walking tour of the Old Town where our hotel is and learn the history of Latvia. Overnight Riga.
April 14 Riga. We’ll visit the Gothic masterpiece St Peter’s Church this morning. Later we’ll stroll to the Riga Synagogue, the only one to survive the Nazi occupation. Damaged by bomb attacks by neo Nazis in the 1990s, it was fully restored in 2009. If time, we’ll see the Cat House. Black cats are mounted on the turrets of this 1909 art nouveau building and have become a symbol of the city. Overnight Riga.
April 15 Riga. Today we’ll explore more of the Old Town and visit the Museum of the Barricades of 1991. Latvia’s independence was achieved after stupendous struggles against the Soviets. These acts of defiance by the entire population serve as a warning to any nation thinking it needs a strong man to solve its problems. The Latvians know this solution brings only worse troubles. Later in the day we’ll find many of the spectacular Art Nouveau buildings Riga is so famous for and go into a few if open. Overnight Riga.
April 16 A first class coach to Tallinn, Estonia. Across the border this morning to another seaside capital, Tallinn. This lovely small town is just across the bay from Helsinki, Finland, and was the site of a lot of Cold War intrigue. Also part of the Hanseatic League of free trade, Tallinn became wealthy but suffered after the league was disbanded in the 16th century. That lack of prosperity preserved the city but much of that was destroyed during WWII. After indendence in the early 1990s, the town rebuilt and the Old Town was restored. This afternoon we’ll explore the city center and the Great Guild Hall. If time, we’ll visit the History Museum at the Great Guild Hall for a better understanding of this proud city. Overnight Tallinn.
April 17 Tallinn. Today we’ll explore the medieval jewel of Estonia, Tallinn’s Old Town, the country’s most photogenic and fascinating area. We’ll stroll the narrow, cobbled streets and the neighborhoods of Toompea and lower town. We’ll find the old homes of he Hanseatic merchants, duck into the hidden medieval courtyards, and see sweeping views of the red-roofed city. Above us is the citadel of Toompea, an old bastion of nobility. Overnight Tallinn.
April 18 Tallinn. We’ll wander the neighborhood of Kalamaja today, not far from our hotel. This is a collection of tumbledown wooden houses and old factories that has metamorphosed into an alternative area filled with unique shops and boutiques with a lively music scene. This afternoon you may want to explore the city center with its museums and shopping areas.
April 19 Fly Tallin to Berlin. A late morning flight returns us to Berlin for the day. Explore East Berlin, now the bustling part of the city, see the Reichstag Parliament Building, the Brandenburg Gate and the Memorial to the Victims of WWII. Overnight Berlin.
April 20 Fly Berlin to the US. We fly back to the US today having discovered another gem of Old World Europe.
