The Baltics: A Roadtrip Exploring the Captivating Capitals

After a marvellous 5 weeks in Scandinavia, my journey took me next to The Baltics.

The plan was to head towards the mountains, which took me through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania before reaching Poland. I didnโ€™t know too much about these countries, so it was an opportunity to visit each capital city and research them along the way.

โ—๏ธSpoiler alert, this blog post does not contain any cinnamon buns but it does contain an unplanned event in Poland ๐Ÿ˜‚

Ok, now that most people have dropped off and only the hardcore fans remain, let me share my Baltic adventure with youโ€ฆ


After a quick 2 hour ferry trip from Helsinki, I arrived in Tallinn in the evening and headed to a wild camping spot right on the coast.

I stopped at a supermarket on the way to get some supplies, which is always a challenge in a new country when I donโ€™t know what anything is. I picked up a pasta dish, and tried to translate it but it came back โ€œcreamy poo pasteโ€ so I hastily put it back ๐Ÿ˜‚

After a quick downpour, I was lucky to have a great sunset so I sat on the beach and it was time to get the glass ball out again.


It was a drizzly day, but that didnโ€™t stop me heading on a self guided walking tour of Tallinn.

Tallinn is on the north coast, and the city still boasts many buildings that date back to the Middle Ages. It is one of northern Europeโ€™s best preserved medieval cities.

There are many churches and the skyline is adorned with gorgeous red rooftops.

I had a good wander round for a few hours before heading back to the van to dry off.


As I ventured further south, I crossed the border into Latvia and found another coastal spot for the night.

I was once again lucky to be treated to a gorgeous sunset ๐ŸŒ…


The following day, I headed into Riga and set off on my walking tour.

Riga is home to another UNESCO acclaimed Old Town, which is over 800 years old. Many nations have had influence over this city, so the landscape and architecture is varied.

There are many idyllic cobbled streets and magnificent churches, as well as art nouveau structures.


The next stop on my trip was Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

It has a beautiful baroque old town, and is another UNESCO world heritage site.

The old town is full of cobbled streets and cute little alleyways, and there are many church buildings with a variety of different styles. I took myself on yet another walking tour and then stopped for lunch at Trakai castle, which is a 15th century castle on an island just outside the city. It looks picture- perfect, almost like it could be a jigsaw or something ๐Ÿ‘€


I had always planned on travelling through Poland, but when one of my English students, Aga, asked a couple of weeks prior if I wanted to meet, I decided it was an opportunity not to be missed. Plus, she is my best student and super cool ๐Ÿ˜ŽโœŒ๐Ÿผ

You know what people say about meeting up with random strangers youโ€™ve been speaking to on the internetโ€ฆ So I told her several times what a weirdo I am but she was adamant she wanted to meet ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

She had signed up for a half marathon in her city of Wrocล‚aw so we were going to meet the day after. But then she asked me if I wanted to run it too, to which I said โ€œAbsolutely not, noโ€ and quickly laughed it off. After her asking several times, and me point blank refusing several times, she said โ€œGo on, itโ€™ll be funnyโ€. And that was the clincher. From that moment on, I was running a half marathon, in an unknown city, at night time, where I donโ€™t speak the language, having done absolutely no training. What could possibly go wrong?! ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

So I headed to Warsaw to meet up with her and went on another walking tour whilst she was at work.

Then we travelled to Wrocล‚aw and whilst I was there, I met up with my old work colleague Hubert and we went for lunch which was lovely ๐Ÿ˜Š


So, just after 10pm, I set off as part of the half marathon runners round the city of Wrocล‚aw.

Everyone knows how much I hate running, so I just wanted to get it done as quickly as I could ๐Ÿ˜‚

In all honesty, I had no idea what pace I was running throughout as my Strava was off from the km markers, so I just focused on the road in front of me and kept running.

It wasnโ€™t until after Iโ€™d finished that I realised Iโ€™d actually beaten my previous PB! 02:06:58 ๐Ÿ†

Aga also got a great time, finishing 16 seconds ahead of me. Which she is taking great delight in reminding me every 10 minutes ๐Ÿ˜‚


Iโ€™ve really enjoyed wandering round such a historic part of Europe, with such varied architecture and interesting sites.

The next part of my journey takes me to the Polish Tatra mountains, and Iโ€™m really looking forward to getting back out in nature.

Although, not sure my legs will cope with any mountains right now ๐Ÿ˜ซ

Who can predict what other surprises lay in store for me next, although no more half marathons. Please ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ

Live Laugh Love โœŒ๐Ÿผ


  • Days: 46
  • Countries: 12 (๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ)
  • Distance driven: 5,924 miles (9,533 km)
  • Distance hiked: 84.5 miles (136 km)
  • Half marathon PBs: 1 ๐Ÿ…

17 thoughts on “The Baltics: A Roadtrip Exploring the Captivating Capitals”

  1. Only you!!! Well done on the PB and stunning pictures as always
    Love you lots xxx

    1. Haha got to love a spontaneous half marathon ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‚

  2. Oh my word Hart. Thatโ€™s absolutely blimmin marvellous. Well dinner you. And โ€ฆ. How nice to meet up with one of your students and an ex colleague. Brilliant! Photos stunning as usual especially the glass ball. Love that glass ball. Must get one! Xx Very much looking forward to your next blog adventure. So so good! Xx

    1. Thanks Selma! Yeah, it was so nice to be able to meet up with people along the way!

      Get yourself a glass ball!

  3. Absolutely brilliant!

    You’re very brave (or crackers) running a half marathon without any training.
    Like the castles!

    Poya xx

    1. Haha omg trust you!! Thatโ€™s an amazing time for a half! And without training! ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘ nice one!! Love it. X

  4. Another great blog & photos ! Well done on the half
    Marathonโ€ฆ.I didnโ€™t know you could run !!!!!

  5. Yvonne Lawrence

    Such a pleasure to read of your exploring and exploits! What a treat for you to be making so much of your time and ensuring a lifetime of memories! Onwards gal xxx

  6. I’ve been able to focus on nothing but โ€œcreamy poo pasteโ€

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top