Europe

Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn – Which is the Best Baltic City to Visit? (2023 Guide)

May 11, 2022 by Bino 38 Comments

The geographic location of the Baltic countries consisting of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; away from the major countries of continental Europe makes it intuitive to explore the three countries in one go. With a combined population of under 7 million, there’s not much that many outsiders know about the Baltic states except that these countries were once part of the Soviet Union and have since joined the European Union. On a trip to Europe, I explored the capitals of these three countries and spent about a week around Vilnius in Lithuania, Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia.

I have read a lot of questions online asking which is the best Baltic city to visit and I posed this question myself prior to my trip. Simply put, there is no one answer to the Baltics’ nicest capital. Each has its own quirks, its own attractions and its own charms. That being said, I must say I did have my own favorites so let me share them here:

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Hallstatt & Perast: My Quest For the Most Picture Perfect Village in Europe

October 5, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

Europe is pretty much known for having picture-perfect small towns, the type that contain no more than a thousand or two people, and whose residents seem to be sanitized to the idea of the town’s population multiplying by 5 during the day when hordes of daytrippers make way to their local squares, churches and cafes.

my snapshot of the town of hallstatt in austria

Of the small towns of Europe that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, none have impressed me as much as the villages of Hallstatt in Austria and Perast in Montenegro. Despite being several hundred miles apart and having vastly different origins, I couldn’t help but associate both towns together. Hallstatt may trace its identity to other alpine villages across Austria and Switzerland while Perast has this undeniable Venetian look with its monochromatic stone houses but there is something uncannily similar about the overall appearance of both towns. For one, there is the stunning lakeside location and mountains in the horizon. There’s also the ubiquitous pointy church spire that dominates the skyline of both towns that perhaps drive the similarities home.

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Simple Tips to Travel in Europe Cheaply

December 8, 2013 by Bino 12 Comments

Traveling to Europe has perhaps never been cheaper than in the last two years. Thanks in part to the plummeting euro and the widening recognition of the Schengen visa, it is now a lot easier to move across the various European countries using just one currency (for the most part) and one visa.

I thought I’d share some simple tips on cheap travel around Europe. I learned these money-saving measures during my visits to the continent during the past few years. To be perfectly frank, none of them are in any way ground breaking. But they are effective, at least for me. Hopefully, to you as well.

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