Tallinn and HelsinkiOur stay in Tallinn didn't get off to the best of starts as we discovered that our 'trusty' Lonely Planet had let us down (again) and we were staying in a hostel 40 mins outside the centre of the smallest capital in Europe. Not only that but in a hostel that provides kitchens it was over 20 mins walk to the nearest supermarket and the receptionist had to search round the building to find even basic cooking utensils. Even then we ended up havin...

First anniversary in Riga After our slow train journey between Gdansk and Warsaw and the fact that our one month inter rail ticket ran out we decided to treat ourselves (as a first anniversary present to each other) to a flight between Warsaw and Riga in Latvia. This turned a 14 hour train journey into an hour and half flight. We were both pleased with our decision until Jenny saw the plane we were going on, and I discovered that Jenny is not a big fan of smal...

Poland … Gdansk and Warsaw at least. We arrived in Gdansk on the overnight train from Berlin. This was by far our best overnight train experience - we enjoyed a cabin with duvets, sink and plenty of space to stow our bags. We found our picturesque hostel (see photo). Despite appearances we received a warm welcome and the offer of coffee and breakfast, which we grabbed with both hands. Refuelled, we headed into the centre of town. We found a beautiful old t...

A weekend in Berlin We arrived in Berlin with great expectations as it was a city that we had both been looking forward to for some time and it certainly didn't disappoint. To make us feel at home it even went to the trouble of closing most of the S Bahn and carrying out engineering works on the U Bahn over the weekend. It felt like being on the Victoria line. On Saturday we took part in a guided walking tour around the city. 4 hours later we had walked the...

Three nights in Prague…no ice hockey but a football match We arrived in Prague mid afternoon on Tuesday after a hot four hour journey from Vienna on a train with unfeasibly small windows and crazy American accented announcements offering car hire at every stop. After some discussion as to whether we had agreed, or only talked about going to watch the crucial clash of Sparta v Slavia Prague ice hockey teams and asking for directions from a decidedly unintere...