Youtube presentation of the main cities.

Stockholm
Stockholm's "after-work"
Helsinki
Estonia
Latvia

Lithuania

Warszawa

Wien

11.06.2011

Start:

Wien-Glowe (Rugen)

11.06.2011

1.  Confusion with the navigator, the wrong road is suggested, through Znojmo.  The road  in the direction of Brno is much better.

2. In Czech Republic towards the border with  German the road are new, the navigator is lost, it doesn't recognize the new roads and wants us to turn left - "turn left", "turn left". According to the navigator are we "off the road" while in reality we are travelling on the perfect new motorway.

1. Czech McCafé, very good (4) cakes excellentl "hamburger" capresse and grande Italia or so were really good.

2. East Germany motorway rest (2), terrible scolding from personnel because the espresso was taken in a big cup - horrible to take too large paper cup - (no other was visible), but not to ask for small is unforgivable.

3. Stralsund McCafé: tests (3) but smells terrible (0) in plastic cup. Hopefully the cup was  not “recycled” from the day before.

Glowe

12.06.2011

We find a nice "pensionat" Zur schaabe. We are bit worried if it is a local spelling of Schabe i.e. cockroach. No -  the Schaabe is not a cockroach - Origin of "Schaabe" - phonetic zaba -  frog in  the Slavic languages – from the time of  Ruegen Slavs.

Morning, Zur Schaabe hotel coffee (2). 

Sassnitz-Trelleborg

12.06.2011

 4 hours car plus 2 - 140 Euro, nice trip, the ferry is not the most modern and very noisy. It seems, and it is overall impression that the car tourisms is declining, comparing to 70-ties and 80-ties.

Not strange - low-cost air ticket plus renting a car locally  is much cheaper.

Trelleborg-Borgholm

12.06.2011

 Nice, easy driving  on small roads

McDonald's - shock there is no McCafé, personnel tells that McCafé doesn't exist in Sweden. In any case we didn't find any McCafé in Sweden nor in Finland.

Öland

13.06.2011

 nice place, worth visit and tracking.

A fisher's own shop selling smoked fish - excellent.

Home Coffee at Bead and Breakfast - as home coffee (3)

Öland-Stockholm

13.06.2011

 easy almost sleepy drive but  constant change between one and two lanes is unnerving.

McDonald's espresso(3)

Shopping center Gamleby - very good (4)

Stockholm (impressions Youtube)

14.06.2011 -21.06.2011

 Surely summer Swedes are easy going, considerate, not pushy almost like Italians. Good physical space negotiators - Italians are good - they see you.

1. coffee shops espresso  in Stockholm taste bit sourer (3)

2. IKEA espresso (2) in the coffee stand

3. In the IKEA restaurant coffee is watery; it is not in a competition- no effect but no stomach problem, like drinking mineral water.

Stockholm-Turku

21.06.2011

 12 hours for 41 Euro - car and to adults - a miracle of price, compare to Helsinki Tallinn. Isabella was a nice boat, also coming out age but luxury.

A ferry coffee, A lots of coffee water, no much expectation no disappointment.

Turku

21.06.2011

 Some nice villas seen from the ferry when approaching the harbor.

Turku-Helsinki

21.06.2011

 Bad weather, empty motorway.

ABC road restaurant coffee almost as an ABC weapon – terrible (0). To be fair the personnel  asked for excuse because "all is breaking down here" and espresso machine was broken.

Helsinki

Helsinki (impressions - Youtube)

22.06.2011

 Having a native guide, was an easy and pleasant way to see the town. There is some specific Finnish estetic component in the way  house fasade are decorated.

Academic bookshop at Stockmann: an encounter

We went to the bookshop to buy some postcards. We found an interesting book about Finland "Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf" giving some understanding of the Finnish society and the Finnish soul. Not knowing if there is something similar, we asked for an advice from the bookshop attendant. Our question was if there are some other books of this kind with deep analysis of the Finish soul. The attendant told us that the book we have selected is good and if we want to get more profound picture so there is a book comparing Finnish and Eskimo culture. We have thanked for the advice and appreciated the fine Finish humour.

in the Harbor Market in a tent apparently a very famous place where many presidents had coffee., (2)

Helsinki

23.06.2011

 Bad weather - we visit where the old buildings from Finland's rural areas are collected.

in the Finnish Skansen acceptable (2)

Helsinki-Tallinn

 2 hours and 120 Euro? compare to Stockholm-Turku 12 hours  for 41 Euro, you think it must be something special, but not - we remember only a horrible coffee.

On the ferry, the worst coffee  experience, water of brown color and the test of burned plastic (-1).

Tallinn
(browse format)

Tallinn
 (easy format)

24.06.2011

 The old town,  white, light comparing to "serious" Helsinki. The old town is realy old but one gets a slight feeling of musem flair.

In the old town, a very good coffee  (4)

Tallinn-Pärnu

24.06.2011

 Empty roads, easy driving, good driving - strange less pushy then Helsinki.

McDonald's espresso (3), the most charming service

Pärnu

24.06.2011

 The worst fright of the trip. I attempted to take out money at the Swedbank premises in a separate room behind glass doors. I get money but the card was not coming out? A couple of minutes of consternation, Friday evening, nobody to ask, the two Estonian waiting in front of the glass door notice my state and look extremely freighted as if being wittiness of some terrible crime. Finally the card appeared.

Pärnu-Lepanina

24.06.2011

 Finding a camping is really a problem. The signs are strange. Definitely the tourism is not a masses are practicing.

Lepanina-Riga (browse format)

25.06.2011

 On the road again, empty roads, and woods, woods.

Riga
 (browse format)

Riga
(easy format)

25.06.2011

 What fantastic town must have been before the war.  IT is the same today but one has imression that it is a bit "sleepy".

The museum of "European Totalitarianism" - it is not a name but is shows what the followers of Stalin and Hitler has done and how different groups of  multicultural society of  Latvians, Germans, Jades, Russians were misused for political purposes  in order to control other local people including participation in oppression under promises of better life if the "others" are converted to communists or fascism. Finally all became victims, really a sad story.

 McDonald's  espresso  (3)- good feeling after long driving without coffee

Riga-Jurmala

25.06.2011

 A short trip to the once luxury resort area. Now - it is more value for money to take a package trip to Greece.

Jurmala
(browse format)

26.06.2011

The camping model CCCP - but the beds are new - all works well including warm water etc.

Jurmala-Vilnius

26.06.2011

 Still easy driving, fantastic nature, a lot of Storks.

Finally an open place on Saturday morning, at the border. Coffee from the office type of  coffee machine (1) in a dubious location  where larger money was changing hands - I tried not to see it. Got friendly help - I had no local money for the machine so I gave 50 cent, someone put in the machine the local coins, I got coffees -  about precision of the exchange nobody cared and I disappeared quickly as expected.

Vilnius

26.06.2011

 Coming to Vilnius, a chock, almost had an accident while driving here requires attention. You feel proximity of Poland and driving habits are surly result of contamination from the neighboring country.

The town is  charming, easy going, friendly, communicative.

We purchased some nice linen tablecloth at Siulas, Pilies 38

1. McDonald's espresso

2. McCafé  - the first since Stralsund (Germany) – very good (4)

3.  Espresso  from the espresso machine at the back of the car  The most curious coffee service on the whole trip.   

Vilnius-Warszawa

26.06.2011

 Bad drive on bad roads surrounded by bad drivers without imagination with  no capacity to anticipate or see ahead.  Something of Italy but without charm and with prepotency instead of the Italian exhibitionism.

Warszawa (impressions Youtube)

27.06.2011

1. Blikle (Nowy Swiat) excellent – the coffee best on the trip. (5)

2. Coffeeheaven (Zlote Tarasy) (3) bit sour, like Swedish espressos

3. Blikle (Arkadia) (4)

Warszawa-Wien

28.06.2011

 The Polish stretch: Even more like above and more trafic i.e. Bad drive on bad roads surrunded by bad drivers without imagination with  no capacity to anticipate or see ahead.  Something of Italy but whithout charm and with prepotence instead of the Italian exhibisionism.  Drivers on this main road are even more stressed - nightmare.

Czech side: finally easy driving.

1. McDonald's: Czestochowa (2)

2. An attempt to have coffee at , McDonald's Olomouc failed  - the McDonald's did not accept any cards.

Wien

28.06.2011

 We got inte new tunnel in the proximity of Vienna.