Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. It is situated on the Gulf of Finland, 80 km south of Helsinki, and about 250 km west of Saint Petersburg. During its history Estonia has been under German, Scandinavian and Russian rule. It was occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War. And is now an independent state with a population of around only 1.4 million. Tallinn was founded in 1248, and due to its strategic location, it became a major trade hub. Tallinn's Old ...

Riga is the capital city of Latvia – a Baltic state that some living down-under may not have heard of. Like many, if not most cities in the Baltic, Riga is very old. It was founded in 1201. Its historical centre is stunning as you will see from the photos I'm posting – and is now a UNESCO heritage site. An entire precinct of the city is comprised of Art Nouveau architecture dating from the late 19th and early 20th century. The buildings are magnifice...

After visiting Gdynia and Gdansk our next port was Klaipeda in the Baltic state of Lithuania. It is the third largest city in Lithuania but only has a population of around 150,000. Like other regions in the Baltic, Klaipeda has had a checkered history having been under German rule, and then part of the communist Eastern bloc. Of the places we've visited thus far in the Baltic, Klaipeda felt the most austere. There was something of a 'down at heel’ atmosphe...

At this stage of our journey I can feel the ports of call and various sights blurring – as the days merge into one long succession. The second leg of our cruise – which effectively started in Copenhagen – has seven stops in consecutive days: Warnemunde German, Gdynia Poland, Klaipeda Lithuania, Riga Latvia, Tallinn Estonia, St Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland and Stockholm Sweden – then back to Copenhagen. It is wonderful to encounter a...

We sailed overnight from Copenhagen, Denmark to Warnemunde a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany. There is more to this quaint little town than meets the eye. For centuries it was a small fishing village but in the first and second World Wars it was used as a base for the Germans to build aircraft and other war-going machinery. Nowadays it is Germany's busiest cruise ship port, and also a major destination for German nationals looking to holiday on the coast. W...