Even though we didn’t wish to rush our stay in any country, our Trans-Siberian train tickets, bought in advance for visa purposes, required us to be in St Petersburg on September 11. By the end of our stay in Berlin, we only had 11 days to get to St Petersburg. We chose to travel through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. We knew we would not have much more than 2 days per country and planned a heavy schedule to discover as much as we could in that short time span. Since we can’t present an exhaustive portrait of each destination with such short visits, here are the high points of this leg of our trip.

The museum of Warsaw: an innovative way to immerse yourself in history

As a city completely destroyed during the Second World War, Warsaw has an incredible story to tell. To discover its history, we visited the Warsaw Rising Museum. As soon as we entered its building, we dived into a wartime atmosphere. It was dark. We could hear the sounds of war and a constant beat (like a heart beating). There were pictures, letters, photos, uniforms, weapons and various objects from the daily life of Polish people during the Uprising. The scenery of all this information was dramatic. The experience made you feel as if someone, living through the Uprising, was directly sharing his/her story with you. We felt it was an innovative way to share history, different from what we have seen in more classical museums in Paris, London, New York and Berlin.

The Artistic Neighborhood of the Užupis Republic (Vilnius)

In Vilnius, we discovered a very peculiar neighborhood, the (auto-proclaimed) Užupis Republic. During the soviet era, the area in which the Užupis Republic is now established was one of the most dangerous places in Vilnius. Eventually, probably due to its closeness with the Vilnius Academy of Arts, a group of artists decided to restore the area. That is how it eventually became an unofficial and auto-proclaimed Republic. It has its own laws, citizens and constitution! The 41 points of its constitution (scroll down to read the English version) describe well the spirit of this neighborhood and its values. We can now say that these initial founders did an excellent job in building a new artistic area in Vilnius. Today, the district is aptly compared with the Parisian Montmartre district and is one of the most prestigious – and expensive – area in Vilnius.

The beautiful and relaxing spirit of Tallinn

As soon as we arrived in Tallinn, we felt the refreshing breeze and smell of the Baltic Sea. Its old city was gorgeous, not too crowded and pedestrian-friendly. Since we appreciate all things maritime, we decided to visit the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Museum. This is one of the most interesting maritime museum we’ve ever visited. Within its main building, we got to see a variety of vessels (and a rescue helicopter) and even visited a full-sized submarine. Around the museum, a number of bigger boats can be visited, including the Suur Tõll icebreaker.

We also appreciated Tallinn because of its food. We had the chance to discover a wonderful vegan place: Vegan Restauran V, which we highly recommend for vegans and non-vegans (you should make a reservation as its one of the most popular restaurant in Tallinn).