2020 Lapland & the Baltics

Wednesday 1st to Thursday 2nd January 2020 To start our second family quest to see the Northern Lights, Robert and Matilda travelled by train to Gatwick whilst their daughters drove themselves there with the larger items of luggage. With a two hour time difference between the UK and Finland most of the day was taken […]

Friday 3rd January 2020 Before checking out of our hotel we decided to go for a walk around Rovaniemi. However, rain overnight and an unseasonably warm spell had resulted in a thaw and re-freeze which made the pavements truly treacherous whilst the snow sculpture from yesterday’s Selfie of the day had completely collapsed. [Robert had […]

Saturday 4th January 2020 As we walked to breakfast, although sunrise was not for another couple of hours, light was slowly rising over the Apukka Resort. An ice wall and two slides have been constructed out of the snow and ice here and rubber rings are provided as the means of transport down the slides. […]

Sunday 5th to Monday 6th January 2020 Two members of the Herd had to return to the UK to fulfil work and study commitments so having said a fond farewell to our beautiful offspring and the beautiful . . . . . . Apukka Resort [where you can stay in an ice cabin if you wish] […]

Tuesday 7th January 2020 The rain and warmer temperatures had cleared the pavements of snow and ice so that it was much easier to walk about, but unfortunately the warm air had also brought with it a low mist. We were therefore pleased that we had been able to take a photo of the outside […]

Thursday 8 January 2020 We probably chose the worst day to visit Suomenlinna as there was driving rain and a bitterly cold wind almost strong enough to knock you over in some exposed areas – see Video of the day below. However as this would be our only opportunity this trip to visit the fortified […]

Thursday 9 January 2020 We left Helsinki on the 10:00 Allegro service to St Petersburg in bright sunshine. This would have been a much better day to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress: what a difference the weather can make. Shortly after departure we were offered a choice of fish, meat or vegetarian meal, with fruit juice […]

Friday 10th January 2020 Before we left the UK we had pre-booked a local guide for four hours for our first morning in St Petersburg to show us round the city – again through London-based Russian travel specialists RealRussia. This is a tactic that we like to use in countries where the languages and scripts […]

Saturday 11th January 2020 9- St Petersburg was founded on 27 May 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great who had a vision, following visits to the Netherlands and Great Britain, of building Russia’s first European city. It is certainly conceived on a grand scale with wide boulevards, extravagant palaces and vast ceremonial squares.  Lying on […]

Sunday 12th January 2020 The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is predominantly an art gallery and includes the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage itself and the Hermitage Theatre, as well as the General Staff Wing. Something less like a small, remote dwelling for someone living in religious solitude is […]

Monday 13th January 2020 We had an early start for our train journey to Tallinn. As you walk down the platform, the provodnitsa [or provodnik for male] carriage attendants] stand smartly by the entrance to the carriage under their care. Ours was a formidable looking woman who proved, unsurprisingly, to be kind and helpful. Although […]

Tuesday 14 January 2020 Kadriorg Palace was founded by Peter the Great in 1718 and the name means Catherine’s Valley in honour of his wife Catherine I of Russia. Designed by an Italian architect, it was drastically renovated by Tsar Nicholas I in 1827 and it is now an art museum. Although not at all […]

Wednesday 15th January 2020 We had agreed to meet for coffee at Café Maiasmokk, the oldest cafe in Estonia, which opened in the same premises in 1864: the ground floor has remained unchanged for almost a century. Maiasmokk translates as “Sweet Tooth” and is famous for the marzipan figures and sculptures which adorn its window […]

Thursday 16th January 2020 Although you can get a coach between the Estonian and the Latvian capitals, there is currently no direct train link between Tallinn and Riga: services go via Valga on the border. We had to rise early [we were first down to breakfast in our hotel] to catch a train from Tallinn […]

Friday 17th January 2020 Riga was part of the Medieval Hanseatic League – a confederation of merchant guilds and towns which dominated maritime trade in the Baltic for three centuries. Since then, the city has been subject to Swedish, Polish, Russian Empire, Nazi and Soviet rule. As you walk around the city you get a […]

Saturday 18th January 2020 Today’s route first took us past the Powder Tower. Originally called the Sand Tower, this was built in 1330 as part of the city’s fortifications and defences. Over the centuries it has been rebuilt and redesigned several times, and it took on its current form in around 1650. It is a […]

Sunday 19th and Monday 20th January 2020 There is currently no direct train service between Riga and Vilnius and to travel to the Lithuanian capital by train involves leaving at 07:40 and going via Daugavpils with a four and a half hour wait for the connection on to Vilnius. We would therefore expect to spend […]

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Although we had a flight to catch we wanted to pay a visit to see some of the places which had been closed the day before. We therefore walked to Halės Turgus, the oldest market in Vilnius. The exterior of the building is picturesque but the stalls were not as universally interesting as some […]

Wednesday 1st to Thursday 2nd January 2020 To start our second family quest to see the Northern Lights, Robert and Matilda travelled by train to Gatwick whilst their daughters drove themselves there with the larger items of luggage. With a two hour time difference between the UK and Finland most of the day was taken […]

Friday 3rd January 2020 Before checking out of our hotel we decided to go for a walk around Rovaniemi. However, rain overnight and an unseasonably warm spell had resulted in a thaw and re-freeze which made the pavements truly treacherous whilst the snow sculpture from yesterday’s Selfie of the day had completely collapsed. [Robert had […]

Saturday 4th January 2020 As we walked to breakfast, although sunrise was not for another couple of hours, light was slowly rising over the Apukka Resort. An ice wall and two slides have been constructed out of the snow and ice here and rubber rings are provided as the means of transport down the slides. […]

Sunday 5th to Monday 6th January 2020 Two members of the Herd had to return to the UK to fulfil work and study commitments so having said a fond farewell to our beautiful offspring and the beautiful . . . . . . Apukka Resort [where you can stay in an ice cabin if you wish] […]

Tuesday 7th January 2020 The rain and warmer temperatures had cleared the pavements of snow and ice so that it was much easier to walk about, but unfortunately the warm air had also brought with it a low mist. We were therefore pleased that we had been able to take a photo of the outside […]

Thursday 8 January 2020 We probably chose the worst day to visit Suomenlinna as there was driving rain and a bitterly cold wind almost strong enough to knock you over in some exposed areas – see Video of the day below. However as this would be our only opportunity this trip to visit the fortified […]

Thursday 9 January 2020 We left Helsinki on the 10:00 Allegro service to St Petersburg in bright sunshine. This would have been a much better day to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress: what a difference the weather can make. Shortly after departure we were offered a choice of fish, meat or vegetarian meal, with fruit juice […]

Friday 10th January 2020 Before we left the UK we had pre-booked a local guide for four hours for our first morning in St Petersburg to show us round the city – again through London-based Russian travel specialists RealRussia. This is a tactic that we like to use in countries where the languages and scripts […]

Saturday 11th January 2020 9- St Petersburg was founded on 27 May 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great who had a vision, following visits to the Netherlands and Great Britain, of building Russia’s first European city. It is certainly conceived on a grand scale with wide boulevards, extravagant palaces and vast ceremonial squares.  Lying on […]

Sunday 12th January 2020 The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is predominantly an art gallery and includes the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage itself and the Hermitage Theatre, as well as the General Staff Wing. Something less like a small, remote dwelling for someone living in religious solitude is […]

Monday 13th January 2020 We had an early start for our train journey to Tallinn. As you walk down the platform, the provodnitsa [or provodnik for male] carriage attendants] stand smartly by the entrance to the carriage under their care. Ours was a formidable looking woman who proved, unsurprisingly, to be kind and helpful. Although […]

Tuesday 14 January 2020 Kadriorg Palace was founded by Peter the Great in 1718 and the name means Catherine’s Valley in honour of his wife Catherine I of Russia. Designed by an Italian architect, it was drastically renovated by Tsar Nicholas I in 1827 and it is now an art museum. Although not at all […]

Wednesday 15th January 2020 We had agreed to meet for coffee at Café Maiasmokk, the oldest cafe in Estonia, which opened in the same premises in 1864: the ground floor has remained unchanged for almost a century. Maiasmokk translates as “Sweet Tooth” and is famous for the marzipan figures and sculptures which adorn its window […]

Thursday 16th January 2020 Although you can get a coach between the Estonian and the Latvian capitals, there is currently no direct train link between Tallinn and Riga: services go via Valga on the border. We had to rise early [we were first down to breakfast in our hotel] to catch a train from Tallinn […]

Friday 17th January 2020 Riga was part of the Medieval Hanseatic League – a confederation of merchant guilds and towns which dominated maritime trade in the Baltic for three centuries. Since then, the city has been subject to Swedish, Polish, Russian Empire, Nazi and Soviet rule. As you walk around the city you get a […]

Saturday 18th January 2020 Today’s route first took us past the Powder Tower. Originally called the Sand Tower, this was built in 1330 as part of the city’s fortifications and defences. Over the centuries it has been rebuilt and redesigned several times, and it took on its current form in around 1650. It is a […]

Sunday 19th and Monday 20th January 2020 There is currently no direct train service between Riga and Vilnius and to travel to the Lithuanian capital by train involves leaving at 07:40 and going via Daugavpils with a four and a half hour wait for the connection on to Vilnius. We would therefore expect to spend […]

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Although we had a flight to catch we wanted to pay a visit to see some of the places which had been closed the day before. We therefore walked to Halės Turgus, the oldest market in Vilnius. The exterior of the building is picturesque but the stalls were not as universally interesting as some […]