Baltic

There were four of us: me, Bello, Guido and Diego. DESTINATION: the Baltic States. Two weeks before departure we booked the Ryanair flights from Milan (Orio al Serio) to Frankfurt, departing on 29-12 at 6.30 in the morning and returning on 07/01/07 at 8.15, also in the morning, and then the flights from Frankfurt to Tampere, departing on the 29th around 12.00 and returning on the evening of 6 January around 17.00. Total cost of the four flights: 160 Euro including taxes!!

Around 17.00 on the 29th we land at the small airport of Tampere, where we take a bus straight to Helsinki (25 Euro). Arriving in the Finnish capital we immediately ask for information about the port and the ferries that can take us to Tallinn or, even better, to Riga. In the end we take a Viking Line ferry bound for the Estonian capital, and so around 22.00 we find ourselves in fascinating (for various reasons) Tallinn. Asking around, after a long walk we put up for the night in the outlying and not very comfortable Paasu Hotelli Kulalistemaja. 260 EEK per night (about 16 Euro). Although not particularly large, the old town is beautiful and attractive; it's very pleasant to stroll along the cobbled streets admiring the medieval walls and towers. The girls are, to say the least, gorgeous!!! Here we spent 2 days, including the big New Year's Eve.

On the afternoon of 1 January, barely awake, we headed to the bus station to look for a coach straight to Riga but with no luck, so, looking at the map of the Baltic countries, almost by common accord we headed for Pärnu, which lies halfway between the Estonian and the Latvian capitals. Arriving in deserted Pärnu we struggled a bit before finding lodgings, since — as the locals explained — it's a summer resort…let's say the little Estonian Rimini. We settled into a gloomy but very comfortable hotel. We were greeted by a girl whose virtues certainly included gentleness and calm… We were the only guests in this gigantic hotel!!

……………to be continued with Latvia.