16-18 I wanted to cover as much ground as possible on this trip. Two weeks ago, I flew into Almaty, Kazakhstan, from Kuala Lumpur, then moved onto Uzbekistan, before flying over to Kyiv, Ukraine, to see the Baltic part of…
20-21 The plan was to continue north to see some of the Baltic and ex-Soviet states. I was curious to see the transformation of these former communistic realms. So, after Kyiv, I am taking the train eastward, toward Lviv, seven…
22-23 From Ukraine, I actually wanted to next go to Belarus, but I read online that the Belarusian border control insists I come in through the airport. That cramps my style. So I headed next to Warsaw instead. There was…
24-25/5/2018, The plan was to cross Poland and go north to see how the Baltic states were faring after leaving the former Soviet Union. After Warsaw, I took the 8 a.m. bus heading for Poznan. It was almost farmland all…
26-27 After two days pampered and cuddled by Poznan, I headed next to Torun, three hours away. I was informed that Torun is famous for three things: Gothic churches, Copernicus (never heard of him), and gingerbread. My interest was in…
27-30 From Torun, I now headed toward Gdansk on the coast. This was a city filled with history. I stayed in the old town, with my airbnb apartment opening onto the busy square, swarming with tourists. Groups of little kiddies…
29 While in Gdansk, I made a day trip to Malbork, a medieval fortress 40 minutes away, now a United Nations World Cultural Heritage. It was indeed one of the most impressive of its kind, a castle that was self-sufficient,…
31 I have been on the road for a month, through four countries, from Central Asia to Eastern Europe. There is so much history, such diverse cultures, so much to see, such touching friendliness. From Gdansk, I took the night…
2 I wanted to see more than the capital Vilnius, to get the true flavor of Lithuania. I read Trakai has a fairy-tale island castle and is only 40 minutes from Vilnius. When I arrived in the morning, I was…
3-4 After Lithuania, I continued north to Riga, the capital of Latvia, another country along the Baltic Sea. Latvia is a small country like Lithuania, with a population of barely 2 million. Throughout the past several hundred years of its…
5 From Riga, I took a bus to Sigulda, only 53 kilometers away, for a day trip. Though sunny, the temperature plummeted, and the wind blew. Painted in lush greens, Sigulda felt like a small town in an enormous park,…
7-9 I started this trip on the 1st of May and was now into my fifth week on the road. The bright idea was to kill two birds with one stone—to see Central Asia and, ultimately, the Baltic States. I…
10-12 I was coming to the end of my trip, after savoring Central Asia and relishing the Baltics. It had been a fusion of contrasting and complementary flavors; it had been sumptuous, not a morsel wasted. I felt like having…