The four of us had been to the Baltics when the kids were younger but Emily didn’t join us on that trip, and since living in Europe, we’ve been slowly closing country gaps between us all. We decided to not just hit the capital cities like normal and instead see different parts of each country during subsequent visits. What was the same though is that the cheapest flights and car rentals were in and out of Riga, Latvia, so we planned everything from there.
We landed in Riga and had an evening there, and then did a day trip to Viljandi, Estonia in our first full day in the Baltics. I knew nothing about the city, besides it being marked on Google Maps as a mid-size city that wasn’t too deep into Estonia to limit our driving. Unfortunately our first stop at the Viljandi Historical water tank was closed so we only got to view it from the outside. We walked around the old stone streets and had an amazing lunch at Fellin. Highly recommended! Afterward we wandered a bit more around town and visited the Viljandi Castle Ruins before heading out of town. We tried to stop at Cēsis Castle in Latvia on the way back but it was about to close.
The next day we spent taking in all of Riga. We walked all day and saw all the highlights, including the Three Brothers, Parliament, St. Peter’s Church, Swedish Gate, House of the Black Heads, Freedom Monument, and the Cat House. We also toured The Corner House, which used to be the KGB HQ. It was the first of several education stops on this trip where we learned about the Communist times.
Continuing on our journey, we drove 2 hours west to a small Latvian town named Kuldiga, which has a UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Town Hall Square. It was a cute town with a very large and long boulevard. It was definitely low season for them as most shops were closed and not many people were around. We had a great lunch at Goldingen Room and continued the drive to Klaipėda in Lithuania where we stayed next.
Our main attraction in Klaipėda was the Hill of Witches on the Curonian Spit, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a forest trail dotted with intricate wooden carvings of characters from local legends. In town we also stopped at the Black Ghost statue, attempted to visit the Klaipėda Castle, and then spent some time touring the Museum of Clocks. I had some of the best ribs ever at Dock Meat and Bar for dinner.
Heading east from there across Lithuania, we stopped in Šiauliai for a mid-day break. We went to the Hill of Crosses (similarly named but very different attraction), ate lunch at a fancy place named BOHO, strolled around Sundial Square, took pictures with the Iron Fox, and lastly we had to stop at the Cat Museum. We continued on and ended the evening in our last city, Vilnius.
In Vilnius, we walked around nearly the whole city, visiting the Gates of Dawn, Basilian Gate, Town Hall Square, Pilies Street, Gediminas’ Hill / Upper Castle, and touring the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights. There was also a massive 4km long market the weekend we were there which was a lot of fun, and less repetitive than usual markets. We also spent some time visiting the pseudo-micronation of Uzupis. There’s a great pizza place there and it’s got a quirky vibe to it.
The last day we made the 4+ hour trek straight back to Riga for our return flight.