The Baltic States

From Poland we ventured north to the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The people of the Baltics have suffered through a long history of occupation; it was only as recently as the 1990s that the States broke free of Soviet rule to regain their independence.

Through it all each State has been able to retain its own distinct national identity, and a visit to the capitals shows just how delightfully different these three close neighbours are.

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, the northern-most of the three Baltic States

The medieval old town is one of the region's best preserved

Tallinn's first recorded appearance on a map is in 1154

And while history is important here, e-Estonia is planning for the future

This is said to be the most advanced digital society in the world

99% percent of government services are available online and almost 50% of the population now use internet voting

The Latvian capital, Riga, is an altogether different kettle of fish

We stayed in an apartment in this building - it dates from 1730

This is Riga's Evangelical Lutheran cathedral, one of the city's landmarks

The famous Riga Cathedral organ - built in the 1880's but retaining its original 1601 facade, it's regarded as one of the finest pipe organs

We were in the church for a concert performance, and the sound it produces is wonderful

But there's another part of Riga that we really enjoyed as well

The city is the Art Nouveau architecture capital of the world

More than a third of Riga's centre is Art Nouveau - that's more than 800 buildings in total

And they almost all appeared in the decade between 1904 and 1914 - it's an extraordinary feature of the Latvian capital

Another striking thing about Riga is the city's multiple green spaces

On warm summer days, locals get out to make the most of the sunshine; it would be a different story here in winter 🙂

Riga Central Market - the place to go for fresh food shopping in the capital

The market is located right beside the old town in what were, originally, German Zeppelin hangars (these are five of only nine remaining in the world)

 

 

The Corner House - the former Latvian headquarters of the KGB

It's possible to visit this building and see the cells where people were interrogated and held for even the smallest perceived transgressions - having 'anti-Soviet conversations' or even reading or writing the wrong kind of poetry

Latvians who lived in fear under the Soviet regime will never forget its brutality

And this is Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital

It was the last stop on our journey through the Baltic States

And the jumping off point for our next big adventure ...