We left at 6.30am driving east today towards the border town of Narva. We arrived at the border at 10am. Passed through the Estonian border easily and drove onto the Russian Border. We had to take all our luggage from the coach and have it xrayed and then we repacked our coach and proceeded to another checkpoint on a hill where they checked our passports. After 90 minutes we continued on our coach with our luggage into Russia. About two or three kilometres f...

We started the day with an included walking tour to appreciate Tallinn's history and beauty. The Old Town, now on the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites, is certainly the most interesting part of the city. Also worth noting are the Hanseatic Merchant Houses, the mile long town wall, the medieval Town Hall and the Brotherhood of the Blackheads. Snady, Martin, Dolly, Pete and I left our tour group at the town hall and walked to Stockmans which is a large depar...

This morning we left Riga at 9am and had morning tea at Estonian border. We could see the Baltic Sea from Latvia. We stopped at Port Artur and saw the lively historical seaside town of Parnu. We had a stroll on the sandy beach before stopping for lunch in the local shopping centre. We continued on our coach to Tallin arriving at 3pm. We stayed at the Kreutzwald Hotel for the next two nights. After checking in, Sandy, Martin, Pete and I headed out on foot ...

We started our da with a Tour of the Old City with a local guide and walked through the narrow streets to the town centre. Founded in 1202 by Bishop Albert, head of the Order of Teutonic Knights, Riga still boasts a multicultural population. Our first stop was the Art Nuvo district around Old Town. The Art Nouveau movement began in Riga by 1899. Its peculiar features were the unusual shapes, flowing lines, floral motifs, the combination of fairy elements and ...

Today we travelled right across Lithunaia into Latvia for a stop in Pilsrundale to visit the restored baroque Place of Rundale, the former summer residence of the Duke of Courland. The palace was built by the great architect Rastrellli, who also designed the winter palace in St. Petersburg. In 1812 the palace was used as a hospital for Napaleon's army. Several soldiers who died in this hospital were buried in the park of the palace. A monument has since been b...