I like trains. And buses. Ferries and trams are excellent too. Especially in West Sweden, where such things work extremely well, and offer great green ways to get about. But you can’t deny the flexibility of the motorcar; the extra freedom that having your own wheels grants. Fortunately, West Sweden has this option covered too.
Spoiler alert – Estonia’s cute and compact capital Tallinn isn’t the country’s only cultural metropolis. Enter second city Tartu, the southern university city, so long under the northern counterpart’s shadow. As Tartu prepares to enter 2024 as a European Capital of Culture, with a packed program of edgy and eye-catching events, it’s an excellent time to immerse yourself in the fascinating southern Estonian region.
The natural bounty from the cold-water seas, rivers and forests has fed the people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for centuries. Realising the best way to keep food miles low is to embrace the cooking techniques and traditional ingredients of their ancestors, innovative farm-to-table restaurants have cropped up in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, creating a sustainable food scene akin to Scandinavia’s New Nordic movement.
While Tallinn and its picture-perfect old town hog the tourism limelight it’s in the outlying rural areas where Estonia’s enduring appeal can be found, contends Karl Cushing. With everything from onion soup and onion pie to onion vodka making it onto my menu by midday, I could only be in one place – touring Estonia’s epic Onion Route.
Only an hour from Riga by car, Gauja National Park offers a glimpse into Latvia’s historical splendour, as well as a dramatic wooded valley winding along the River Gaujas. Though the national park would take days to explore on foot, my family and I visited the highlights in a day.
It has to be said that the Baltic states aren’t the place to head if you’re looking for cuisine largely sourced from imported ingredients, high-end shopping with products manufactured in distant sweatshops, and stays in hotels owned by huge chains. However, if you’re wanting a holiday full of outdoor adventure where sustainability is very much the focus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are ideal.
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