It’s post-Tax-Season, 2018, which means just one thing for me and the hubby: And we’re off! Both of us are frequently asked where we are going next. Per the map below, our itinerary is Eastern Europe and Russia. The route is counter-clockwise: fly to Helsinki; ferry to Tallin (Estonia); drive to Riga (Latvia), Klaipeda and Vilnius (Lithuania); train to Minsk (Belarus); fly to Moscow and finally train to St. Petersburg (Russia).
Once we get to Tallinn, traveling to the various stops is easy; each one no more than a couple of hours from the other. With a rental car, the travel is flexible and the time-line is our own. The flight from Minsk-Moscow is only 90 minutes. Therefore the longest journey within these three weeks is the train ride from Moscow to St. Petersburg (less than four hours via high speed train). This trip is your basic “planes, trains and automobiles plus a ferry” with a great deal of travel to experience.
Similar to the beginning of our trip last year in India, we are delighted to welcome a traveling companion. This time it is longtime friend, Julie Shuer! Beverly-Hills based Julie is flying to Helsinki from Tel Aviv (her second home) to join us for about a week, or through our stay in Vilnius.
As I have done in the past, the trip will be covered in a series of consecutive (numbered) posts. There’s always a lot to write about from my POV; hence, look forward to hearing both the good plus any unforced errors (always possible) along the way.
I can report I had terrific communications with various hotels from home before we left. Items like transportation awaiting us upon arrival (particularly important in Moscow & St. P); advance bookings for must-not-miss restaurants, museums and the Bolshoi Ballet(!); and a Lithuanian guide who will escort us to the Bialosky family roots in two small towns along the way to Vilnius and at that stop — all confirmed.
I love hearing about your experiences too. Let me know which of these destinations you’ve been to. A great many of you have been on a Baltic sea cruise, including the the typical stops in Helsinki, St. P, Tallin and Klaipeda. I consulted cruise line itineraries for our route — why reinvent the wheel, if you know what I mean.
Happy to say we arrived at the beautiful Hotel Kamp in Helsinki. Not without the usual drama .. right up to the day prior to departure and the Russian Visas (long story still unfolding) and then there was the transfer in Paris. Suffice it to say, I was THE LAST PERSON to make the Finnair flight, and would have missed it altogether without the coordination and good graces of the hubby, pilot and head purser. How does one’s carry-on get scanned with flying colors for the first three checkpoints, only to then have all my meticulous packing/organizing summarily dismantled and everything taken out and “reorganized” as I’m minutes from missing the flight? The words “don’t take no for an answer” were never more fitting.
“No, you can’t get on the plane” said the first check-in person which a supervisor ultimately overruled; “no, your wife is not going to make it” said the gate person which the pilot and purser overruled (no, the hubby was NOT leaving without me). That stop in Paris was a 90-minute cardio workout if ever there was one…
2 Responses
Your description of the problem with your carry-on is too cryptic. Could you explain further?
The security inspector took apart all of my individual pouches which are see-through and repacked everything he considered a liquid into a Ziploc bag but it wouldn’t close because it was too full and he wouldn’t give me a second one. One item was mascara! Like a regular wand. Not a single item violated travel size requirements.
With the language challenges and the time crunch, I was so flustered I left my book behind so that was lost. I literally ran to the gate and I don’t/can’t run. The gate person was waving at me to hurry up and told me I was too late but let me through. As I was heading down the ramp I yelled “DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR!” There was Bruce with the head purser waiting for me; they weren’t leaving without me. I was drenched.