In July 2024 Kate and I had the good fortune to spend five weeks in Europe. As part of this we spent some time in Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The short summary is these are all fabulous countries and I highly recommend them as places to visit.
Denmark
I’d last visited Denmark in 1989 as part of 4 months driving solo around Western Europe! I had no real memories of any of it. On this trip with Kate we flew into Copenhagen and stayed in the centre of the city. The thing that really stood out was just how many people ride bicycles. It’s a lot! Great to see. We stayed also in Aarhus, the second largest Danish city and a place with a lot of appeal. Of note for us was the quality of the food on offer. It was good everywhere in Denmark, but particularly here. Lots of interesting cafes and restaurants delivering top notch food. We also visited the home town of Lego. Billund is where it all started for Lego in 1932 and it remains the main manufacturing and design location. Legoland and Lego House both definitely worth a visit if you get the chance. As with the other Scandinavian countries, Denmark is not cheap but it offers a great experience for travellers.
Lithuania
We flew into the capital Vilnius and got a little confused because it seemed like the majority of flags being flown were Ukraine flags! Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, like Ukraine are former USSR members and share a boarder with Russia. To say they are supportive of the defence of Ukraine would be an understatement. Vilnius is a mix of the old and the new and we were impressed at how much progress has been made in modernising since leaving the USSR in 1990. There is some fascinating history and architecture to see and understand.
Latvia
We caught a train from Vilnius to the Latvian capital Riga. Any easy trip on good trains with excellent service. Lativa also left the USSR in 1990 and Riga, like Vilnius, reflects great progress made during the time since. They were having an anniversary of the military when we were there and talking to some of the service men and women, again the strong support of Ukraine came through.
Estonia
We’d previously been to Tallinn, the Estonian capital and just passed through there on our way to Helsinki in Finland, a short ferry ride away. Estonia left the USSR in 1991 and has developed a bit of a reputation as a great tech hub. I use the CRM pipedrive and it comes from here. I even saw its name on a few buildings! We spent a couple of days in Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia and dubbed the European Capital of Culture for 2024. It had a great vibe and a fascinating history – but then I guess that’s pretty much the whole of Europe!!
We always felt safe and could happily wander around and explore pretty much anywhere we wanted. And by some coincidence, both Vilnius and Riga had really good car museums! Not why you go there, but a real bonus, with some historically significant cars on display at both.