Baltic Visitor

It isn’t exactly a comprehensive survey, but I enjoyed About.com’s Latvian Culture 101 in Photos when I stumbled across it today. There are only seven images, but it provides a nice cross-section – I found the paragraph on writing sins down on rocks particularly interesting. The photos are well-chosen too.
Actually, as I was writing this [...]

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Regular visitors to this site may have noticed that I recently added an Amazon widget in the sidebar on the right hand side of the page, allowing visitors to buy copies of some of the best Baltic guidebooks. I thought that it might be a good idea to give a run-down of the main options [...]

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The first thing that most people mention about the climate of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is that the winters are really quite cold. This is undeniably true, although it never gets anywhere near as chilly as much of neighbouring Russia. The temperature in many parts of the region rarely gets above freezing between December and [...]

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Visitors in Lithuania on September 1st may notice something slightly odd. For one day only, to mark the first day of the new school year, alcohol sales will be completely banned. This covers not only bars and restaurants, but hotel minibars and even ships flying Lithuanian flags.
Predictably, the move has upset restaurateurs and the Baltic [...]

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Anybody who was interested in the Extreme Crafts events which recently took place in Vilnius might want to read a post on Lithuanian knitting on the Sheep To Shawl blog. It includes material from an exhibition at England’s Woolfest, as well as information on yarn shops and knitted products in Vilnius. The blog’s author Donna [...]

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[ 5 July, 2007 to 8 July, 2007. ] Today sees the start of the biggest event in the Lithuanian cultural calendar – so big, in fact, that it only happens once every four years. The Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration brings together thousands of performers, and has been officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of [...]

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An article in the Baltic Times claims, with good reason given the growth in visitor numbers, that the three Baltic countries are ‘losing their novelty appeal for international travelers’. This is not meant in a negative sense. Baltic travel expert Neil Taylor, author of several guidebooks including the excellent Tallinn Mini City Guide for Bradt, [...]

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[ 9 June, 2007; 8:30 am to 11:00 pm. ] It’s a bit short notice for foreign tourists, but the Baltic Times reports on the VW Beetles Summer with Cili-2007 festival which will take place tomorrow (9th June). Between 50 and 80 vehicles are expected to take part, with events ranging from the straightforward (a parade of vehicles and an orienteering competition) to the bizarre [...]

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The CRAFT magazine blog has posted photographs from the intriguingly-named Extreme Crafts programme at the Contemporary Events Centre, Vilnius. The centre’s website describes the background to the series of events:
Handicrafts are increasingly being used by artists and designers as a source of inspiration and method of manufacture. Many crafts are experiencing resurgence in popularity; they [...]

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Irish national airline Aer Lingus has now started flights between Vilnius and Dublin. Flights depart from the Irish capital on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons and return in the evenings.
According to Standby News:
About 1.5 million passengers flew to or from Vilnius in 2006, 16 percent more than 2005, which should rise to 1.6-1.7 million passengers [...]

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