Five Highlights of a Whirlwind Baltics Tour

February 9, 2020September 11, 2014 by Ashleigh Westphal

My Top Five of the Baltics

Thinking of heading to the Baltics? This is a little different from my other Top Fives because I’m combining Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into a Baltics adventure addition. Please don’t hate me! We spent such a short time in the Baltics, but they’re so interesting that I wanted to write something. Each Baltic country was great, and I wish we had more time to do them each justice. So without further ado, my favourite spots we visited in the Baltics!

Jūrmala, Latvia

Who doesn’t love a beach side vacation? Jūrmala is famous for miles of beautiful, white-sand beaches and we loved taking walks between our community, Sloka, and the touristy district of Majori (whose beach has “Blue Flag” designation). We came kind of at the wrong time of year to do much swimming (as you can see by how covered-up I am above), but we did have a nice day where we managed to go in and the water was great! No seaweed in sight! The neighbourhoods of Jūrmala have different things to offer, my favourites were Kemeri, for the hot springs and parks, and Majori, for the wooden houses and restaurants (read more here). An affordable place to have a wonderful vacation while in Latvia, you should definitely check it out!

Latvian Opera and Holiday Beaches

February 9, 2020September 3, 2014 by Ashleigh Westphal

Time for a little break from real-life and a sweet, relaxing vacay in Latvia! Wait a minute, haven’t we been on a break from real-life for a while now? Oh well, we went ahead and booked an apartment near the beach anyway. Woohoo!

We had a slightly terrifying introduction to our vacay home. Our squat, little two-story building sat in the middle of a run-down apartment complex. Fences falling down, graffiti, stray dogs laying around, garbage… You get the picture. Walking down the hallway of the building made us even more nervous. The floor boards were uneven and coming up, the door across from ours looked like someone had stuffed a couch in the doorway, and the overall feel was a bit like a drug den. We anxiously watched our host open the door to our apartment to see what we had gotten ourselves into… And it was so cute! It was small, but had been completely renovated and looked great. What a relief!

Vilnius, a Dog has the Right to be a Dog

February 9, 2020August 30, 2014 by Nathanael Weir-Wakely

Early in the morning we bid a sad farewell to Ola and John, our most gracious Workaway hosts in northern Poland, and prepared ourselves for the two week tour ahead that would swiftly sweep us into the unknown. The Baltic Nations, three post-USSR countries sandwiched between Russia and the Baltic Sea, were completely unfamiliar to us and we relished the chance to discover its mysteries first-hand. First on the list: Vilnius.

Tallinn, a City of Medieval Enchantment

February 10, 2020January 30, 2014 by Ashleigh Westphal

What could be more enchanting than a skyline of medieval buildings, cathedrals, stone walls, and spiralling towers? Tallinn is an amazing blend of medieval history and young, party vibe. Nathanael and I can’t wait to grab a few friends and come back in the summer!

Our first night in Tallinn couldn’t have been better. We arrived in Tallinn on the ferry from Helsinki around supper time and set off for our hostel in the heart of the Old Town. The harbour was only a 15 minute walk from the hostel, but we took a bit longer. The streets wound and intersected haphazardly, coupled with the fact that everything around us looked so achingly beautiful in the falling snow.