I've been lucky enough to visit many Eastern European countries. Mostly, it has involved a short trip to the capital cities, so I can't offer too much on rural areas and smaller places. There are, though, some lovely capitals and it seems right to start with one of my favourites, Riga. Riga is not one of the largest cities you're likely to find, with the result that you can see a lot in a few days. Something I love about Riga is the amount of green space. I'll try not to overload the place with photos, but just give a flavour of a few of my favourite cities.
Riga is not a well known city here. When I checked, it is the capital of Latvia. And where is that country? Well, indeed I have a lot to learn in world geography because I have only traveled in Asia. I didn't have that wanderlust before but when I took my first plane ride in 1994, I was wishing for another trip that happened only in 2012, quite a gap eh? And now I am traveling at least twice a year so I am not ignorant anymore, hahahaaa. But again, only in Asia.
Latvia is the middle of the three "Baltic states" of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They tend to be grouped together as though they had a common culture, but they are very different places with very different languages. Let's drop down into Lithuania for a few glimpses of Vilnius, plus the wonderful little fairytale castle at Trakai, a short distance away.
Estonia is very different again to Latvia and Lithuania. The language is closely related to Finnish - not that surprising, given that Tallinn is just across the Baltic from Helsinki. The sea freezes over in winter - the shot of the frozen Baltic was taken in April, just when things were starting to thaw a little. Despite the sunshine, the cold still made you teeth rattle.
Another city I am very fond of is Ljubljana. Like Riga, it is quite a small capital and is immensely scenic, partly because no less than three rivers run through it.
I've always enjoyed visiting places that are a bit unusual, ones that don't get lots of tourists. Tirana is one such place. It's quite a new city, completed in the 1920s and has a curious mix of architecture, with some older Ottoman-style buildings and more recent Communist-style edifices. Because Albania had rather a cold relationship with the Soviet Union, most of these are not Soviet-built, but Chinese. It makes for a very intriguing mix and I love the mural on the front of the National Museum. The railway station is one of the smallest stations in any European capital. The only smaller one that comes to mind is the station in Pristina in Kosovo.
What a nice place to see. I like to travel, but never had the money to travel. The places you've visited is so clean. The architecture is beautiful to behold. Everywhere you went is quite beautiful. The fairy tale Trakai Castle is so whimsically elegant. A castle that must have a lot of history and stories about it. Beautiful country side you've visited makes me wonder about the food there.
Many of the capitals of Eastern Europe date from medieval times and most have an "Old Town" which is often extremely scenic. Indeed, there are some places, like Riga for example, where the entire Old Town is a UN Heritage site. I would agree about the cleanliness of places - I've always found Eastern European towns to be much cleaner than those in the west of the continent. I'm probably not the best person to ask about food - being a vegetarian, I only sample a limited proportion of what is on offer. Even so, I've always found it very easy to eat well. Most countries in Eastern Europe grow an abundance of fruit and vegetables and there are some wonderful markets in many places. Picture 1: the fantastic market in Budapest, where you can buy just about anything. Picture 2: the beautiful Market Hall in Sofia Picture 3: Sofia's Honey Market (you can get an awful lot of honey in Eastern Europe)
One of the many interesting trips I've had involved three countries in nine days. We started in Pristina (and yes, I count Kosovo as a country), then went on by bus to Skopje and ended, via a rather longer bus journey, in Sofia. Pristina is, not surprisingly, a little run-down and it would be stretching a point to say that it is scenic. However, it's a very interesting place and one that few tourists visit. Local people are actually quite surprised and delighted when you tell them that you're a tourist. Skopje has an insatiable desire for statues and more and more seem to crop up by the day. It's a curious city, split by the Vardar river, with a very modern city on one side and the older part of the city on the other. The latter is much more eastern in character with mosques and souks giving it a Turkish feel. Sofia is a big city - unlike Pristina and Skopje, three days only give one the chance to be part of it. It has some of the oldest churches in Eastern Europe, one of which is the 4th-century Church of St George. Sunset in Pristina Pristina University Library - odd, but strangely impressive Skopje can't get enough street sculpture... The gloriously over-the-top statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje Sofia's huge Nevsky Catherdral The beautiful National Theatre in Sofia (with delightful park to enjoy the scenery)
Moscow has more than enough museums, galleries and sights to keep even the most demanding tourist entertained for a considerable time. One thing worth doing, though, is taking a trip below ground and spending a couple of hours or so on the metro. Many of the stations are mini art galleries of their own. Statues, murals, marble pillars, chandeliers and all sorts of wonders can be found. All you need is a single ticket for a few roubles. Here's a few examples: