Beauty and the Baltic
The Baltic countries have been growing in popularity for those looking for a short European break. Tim Ware discovers why...
Out for a stroll in the Estonian capital Tallinn, Anton, my guide, wants me to meet two strangers - Fat Margaret and Tall Herman.
These, I soon discover, aren't insulting references to any of the locals or tourists milling around in the warm sun. They are, in fact, the names given to two towers in Tallinn's Old Town.
To Estonians, Tall Herman is particularly special since it was from this tower, in 1989, that a human chain of two million Baltic people began, stretching in an unbroken line 430 miles to Vilnius in Lithuania, sending an unmistakeable message to their then Soviet rulers.
The rest, as they say, is history. Estonia, like its other Baltic neighbours, has its independence once more and is now able to take a full part in playing host to visitors from around the world.
Scandinavian influences are strong here. Helsinki is only an hour and 40 minutes away by catamaran across the cobalt blue waters of the Gulf of Finland and both the architecture and the scenery, with mile after mile of conifers and silver birch, reminds you a bit of Finland or Sweden.
In other respects, though, these two Baltic lands remain robustly independent - understandable, perhaps, after the many years of occupation.
Tallinn is the ideal introduction. Built on a craggy hill over-looking the Baltic, this is a perfectly preserved medieval city of winding streets and pastel-coloured buildings.
Wandering around you rather get the impression that you've strayed on to an opera set.
It's a city brimful of character, accurately reflecting the time when it was an important Baltic seaport.
Tallinn is small enough to be interesting and yet not so large that you are likely to get lost and have to stop for direction.
There are museums and galleries and restaurants where you can sample local specialities like sult (jellied veal) and seaspraad hapukapsaga (pork with sauerkraut).
Three days were spent in Tallinn at the four-star Meriton Grand Hotel, from where you can take excursions to Helsinki or head eastwards to the Lahemaa National Park, where coastal lowlands, pine forests, lakes, waterfalls and limestone cliffs come together in a beautiful setting.
The park, which was officially designated in 1971, stretches for about 25 miles along the coast and includes a number of restored Manor Houses, the most impressive of which is Palmse Manor, parts of which date back to 1697.
There is also an optional excursion to the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum at Rocca al Mare to see its authentic collection of historical buildings such as farmhouses, country pubs, windmills and chapels.
From Tallinn, our tour headed south into Latvia, stopping en route in Tartu, believed to be the oldest town in Estonia.
A centre for learning - the university was founded in 1632 - the old town is full of narrow winding s treets and neo classical buildings.
Almost before you know it you're in Riga, the largest and most cosmopolitan off all the southern Baltic capitals, where another three days were spent in the padded comfort of the Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel, just across the river from the Old Town.
When you're not sightseeing, you can enjoy some of the hotel's excellent amenities - enjoy Estonian or international food in the restaurant, work out in the health and fitness centre, or go for a flutter in the casino - another indication of the country's changed circumstances.
Riga's Old Town is full of beautiful buildings, medieval merchant houses and churches, now being restored to their formal glory, with the magnificent Dome Cathedral, the largest in the Baltic, as the centrepiece.
It's tempting to spend all your time in Riga, but an optional excursion to the beautiful 18th century Rundale Palace, which rises from the flat farmlands like a mirage in the desert.
It was built in the 18th century and bears a striking resemblance to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. This is scarcely surprising since both were designed by the same architect - the Italian Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli - and to make sure the job was up to scratch 1,500 Russian craftsmen, artists and labourers were employed.
The last part of our tour took us back into Estonia to Pärnu, an old Hanseatic town on the Baltic coast which is now a growing health resort. Here, at the Scandic Ranna Hotel, you pass the last two nights relaxing in the hotel's near-perfect situation overlooking a sandy beach and with superb views out across the Baltic.
Estonia and Latvia have now emerged from their enforced purdah. There is no better time to enjoy them.
