Three weeks visiting Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Romania

Highlight Photos

Highlights Map

Each year we do our best to visit our family in Europe and if possible to also explore with them a new country or area within Romania. This time we decided to visit the Baltic Countries, given the war who knows if we will be able to do it some other time. Also there are multiple Unesco World Heritage Sites possible and we book also a bear sightseeing cabin, who knows maybe we will finally be able to see them up close. Part of our family is excited to visit with us while we will visit the rest during the reminder of our trip while in Romania and Hungary.

Click on the Links below or Markers on the map above to go directly to a specific part of our trip and follow our expedition that spends a week in the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia visiting Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia while doing a road trip between the two Unesco Heritage Sites. Then we fly to Budapest, Hungary and are picked up by family and driven to Cluj-Napoca, Romania. After a week in Cluj visiting with family and friends we drive to Sibiu, passing through Hunedoara, spend a day there and then drive to Bucharest to spend a couple more days there before leaving.

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  One full day in Tallinn after a long flightSeptember 3, 2022
  After a long and eventful flight we spend our first day exploring beautiful Tallinn, an Unesco World Heritage Site
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  Impressive Tallinn Town Hall SquareSeptember 3, 2022
  The focal point of Tallinn is the magnificent Town Hall Square that we pass through multiple times as we explore the Old Town
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  Toompea Hill, the administrative centerSeptember 3, 2022
  Toompea Hill is traditionally the administrative center of Estonia with the Parliament and many other important buildings located here
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  Tunnels and exhibits in Kiek in de Kök museumSeptember 3, 2022
  One major stop for us in Tallinn is Kiek in de Kök museum protecting a warren of tunnels beneath the city besides the usual museum exhibits
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  Stimulating Maarjamäe Castle museum complexSeptember 4, 2022
  Maarjamäe Castle is a special museum complex with at least three fun museums and an outdoor communist statue area to explore
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  Jägala waterfall, the widest waterfall in EstoniaSeptember 4, 2022
  On the way to our AirBnB we stop to find with some difficulty the widest waterfall in Estonia which is not in full force due to low water volume
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  Huge and abandoned Kolga Mõis mansionSeptember 4, 2022
  Kolga Mõis a huge and largely abandoned mansion that we explore from outside only is the last stop for today
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  Our base for eastern Estonia, RakvereSeptember 4, 2022
  We stay two nights in historic Rakvere to explore the Eastern area of Estonia with a focus on bears and Lahemaa National Park
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  Looking for wildlife in Lahemaa National ParkSeptember 5, 2022
  On a rainy day we explore a few short trails in Lahemaa National Park finding cranes and beaver signs before escaping the cold back into town
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  The impressive Sagadi ManorSeptember 5, 2022
  The major man made attraction in Lahemaa NP is the impressive Sagadi Manor with period furniture that can be visited and explored
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  Seeing bears in Estonia, what an adventure!September 5, 2022
  The big adventure in Estonia is an overnight stay at a primitive cabin to see successfully bears and boars
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  Tartu, the second largest city in EstoniaSeptember 6, 2022
  On the way to Latvia we stop for a few hours in Tartu a historic student city and the second largest in Estonia
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  Interesting Helme castle and caveSeptember 6, 2022
  Last stop in Estonia is Helme to visit the castle and cave as well as the healing fountain while finding the first cache in Estonia
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  Ligatne, a mostly abandoned company townSeptember 7, 2022
  We spend the night in Ligatne a former company town before exploring the ruined buildings and caves the next day
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  Sigulda, the city of castlesSeptember 7, 2022
  We stop for a few hours in Sigulda to visit two of the four impressive castles that protected this important town near Riga
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  Day 5: Ligatne and Sigulda on the way to RigaSeptember 7, 2022
  Before Riga we visit Ligatne and Sigulda visiting old industrial towns and castles while enjoying the Latvian countryside
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  Day 6: Exploring Downtown RigaSeptember 8, 2022
  Full day exploration of beautiful downtown Riga visiting the War Museum and all major sights downtown
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  Day 7: Art Nouveau Riga and the City MuseumSeptember 9, 2022
  Riga is famous for the Art Nouveau quarter and we visit it today as well as the City Museum
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  Day 8: Arriving in Hungary and Aeropark MuseumSeptember 10, 2022
  After a short flight to Hungary we visit the Aeropark Museum before meeting with relatives
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  Day 9: Hortobagy and first evening in RomaniaSeptember 11, 2022
  Today we drive from Budapest to Cluj with the majority of the time not driving spent in Hortobagy NP
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  A week in Cluj-Napoca with familySeptember 18, 2022
  We spend a week in Cluj exploring the old city, visiting interesting museums and finding mushrooms in the surrounding forests
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  Day 17: Hunedoara on the way to SibiuSeptember 19, 2022
  On the way to Sibiu we stop in Hunedoara which is the site of one of the most famous castles in Romania
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  Day 18: One day in historic SibiuSeptember 20, 2022
  Sibiu is one of the best preserved and visited cities in Romania and we spend a day visiting the beautiful old town
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  Day 19: On the way to BucharestSeptember 21, 2022
  On the way to Bucharest we make multiple stops both at major tourist spots and some unexpectedly beautiful unknown locations
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  Days 20-21: Exploring Bucharest with familySeptember 23, 2022
  We spend the last two days with family and friends in Bucharest visiting the small historical downtown and the National Art Museum