Before leaving home we had done a bit of research on transport in the Baltic states and had seen references to railway services. The reality is the few short sections of rail still operational are really only good for short daily excursions, not national or international travel. However, we stumbled on to enough information to plan what turned out to be a very comfortable, reliable bus service that took us through the Baltic states and into Poland, where we were able to continue on with our favourite form of travel.
Our next journey was by bus to Riga in Latvia, where we had booked an apartment with all the necessities we needed for a six-day stay. This gave us some time to catch up with our laundry and come up with a plan for the next couple of steps of our journey.
We quickly discovered that Riga is a first-class destination.
Our knowledge of the politics and the culture of the Baltic states was so limited. We were shocked to learn that the Soviets, as allies of the Nazis, invaded and occupied Latvia and the Baltic States. In 1939 when Hitler invaded, they considered they would be better off under the Nazis than the Soviets — big mistake, as they soon realised.
Along come the Allies with the promise that after WW2 all borders would be restored to pre-1939 boundaries. Sadly the allies neglected to convince the Russians, who continued to occupy these states under the pretext of annexation until the Soviet bubble burst in the 1990s.
The claim that these states suffered all the adverse effects of a 50-year occupation is very true. One huge effect was the migration policies that reduced the Latvian population to 52 percent. However, we saw a population rejoicing in what they had left and just getting on with things — due in no small way to their entry into the EU and its support.
These opinions we have formed in no way cast any aspersions on the warm-hearted people we have met on this trip, just condemnation of the political regimes that have dominated their recent history.
Our apartment in Riga was not the most luxurious but ticked all the boxes for convenience, including a good bus service to and from all the bits that we want to see.
The weather continued pretty much the same as it had all trip — plenty of water to make the flowers grow, but enough fine weather to keep us busy exploring.
During our stay in Riga there was a music festival, and it really was great to see the locals performing their dances and songs in the streets. The restored buildings of the old city and happy people — it seems as if celebrations for the end of the occupation will go on for a while yet — made for a fantastic atmosphere.
We used a day of rain as a rest day to catch up on laundry and to plan our trip into Lithuania and on to Poland.
Five hours in the top of a very comfortable double-deck bus, we then took a short commuter bus journey to our next “home” — aptly named Cosy apartments — in Vilnius, Lithuania.
We were in Vilnius for four days. The weather continued to be a bit cooler than we had anticipated, but hardy souls that we are we donned warmer gear and got on with the touristy bits.
Vilnius still has older parts to the city, but not as much as the other Baltic states. The evidence of the extended Soviet occupation is still very evident; the attitude of the people today is a good indication of how much of a relief it is to have that cast aside and be able to govern themselves.
