These posts cover our travels over a two month period in Europe 2017 as well as a trip we did in 2013. In 2017 we traveled from Oslo to Athens overland. Countries visited included Norway, the Netherlands, Begium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy, Malta and Greece
We finished Part 2 of this trip in Vilnius. From there we flew to Krakow in southern Poland on our way to the Tatras Mountains, which span the border between Poland and Slovakia. The highest peaks are on the Slovakian side, hence the name High Tatras, with 25 peaks over 2500m. We travelled there to do some walks on both sides of the Tatras Range. Here’s what happened.
Read MoreThe third and final country on our Baltic Road Trip was Lithuania. Entering from the north we stopped at the renowned Hill of Crosses before continuing on to the coastal town of Klaipeda, gateway to the Curonian Spit National Park. We finished our journey in Vilnius, the historically rich capital, with a stopover on the way at a fairytale castle on an island in a lake.
Read MoreIn our last post on Estonia, we finished in the south of the country in the town of Pärnu. In this post we continue our road trip south into Latvia. We knew little about Latvia before our visit. What we found was some fascinating medieval castles, a huge ostentatious palace, a wonderful, green national park and a capital city with plenty to offer.
Read MorePart One of our 7-week journey from Helsinki to Istanbul through Eastern Europe covered our days in Helsinki. Part Two describes our road trip through the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. We’ve broken Part Two into three sections, so that each country is a separate mini post. We start with Estonia.
Read MoreOver June and July 2025, we did a 7-week trip from Helsinki to Istanbul travelling through the Baltic States and Eastern Europe. The trip took us from Finland to Estonia then to Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and finishing in Turkiye. We hadn’t previously visited most of the countries on our proposed route, so there were going to be a lot of firsts. This post is the first of five describing the trip. Here is Part 1: Helsinki.
Read MoreOur site is a travel blog for people 50 and over who like to travel independently - to organise and manage their own trips rather than group travel. We also like to go to places that many older travellers avoid in order to show that, with a little planning and care, you can visit almost anywhere in the world.
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