It had been a while since my last European trip – six years, including the pandemic. I tried hard to pick an itinerary. It needed to give us a taste of the continent’s different flavors in a limited time. Two weeks were never going to be enough to cover everything. Still, achieving enough variety would be a success.

We started with Amsterdam because I needed to be there on a different trip a few weeks before this one. This would simplify the visa process. I found a half marathon in Helsinki that worked perfectly with the dates. That became the second anchor of the trip, and everything revolved around it. The easiest countries to add were the Baltics. They were also high on my to-go list. They added the variety needed for this trip. It was a rustic twist to the modern cities.

We landed in Schiphol Airport on a Saturday evening. We then spent 6 nights in Amsterdam. This included a day trip to Antwerp. This was followed by a short flight to Helsinki. We stayed there three nights, including an organized half-marathon. A very comfortable ferry got us to Tallinn for two nights. Rain hampered the first day of our stay there, but abundant sunshine made up for it on the next day. We took a bus to Riga and spent our final three nights there. A morning flight would then get us back home via Istanbul.

There were enough questions about the choice of cities. At the end of the trip, they all seemed to have come together beautifully. Amsterdam was the wild, fast-paced party town. As a typical Western European city, it featured many museums. It also offered tours to the outskirts. The late-night vibe was lively with bars and clubs. Lovely cobbled stone streets, good-weather crowds, and the canals added to the charm.

Helsinki was a calm Nordic city, more first-world than the first world. Mostly empty streets, immaculately organized, street markets, saunas, and just the slowness highlighted its charm. It was colder than I had anticipated, and the Arctic breeze got to us more than once. The food and drinks scene was fantastic but quieter, not as in-your-face as Amsterdam. Three days was probably the right duration, the slowness can get to you.

Tallinn was a sharp contrast of textures. It shifted from the ultra-modern feel of Helsinki to a city with a medieval touch. The old town is the main attraction of the city, and it is charming. Walking around the city was an incredible experience. There were churches, old staircases with stories to tell, old-style restaurants, and some amazing walkways and food. I love cities with hidden stories, and Tallinn delivered on that.

When I stepped out of the bus in Riga, it was a little unexpected. It was the first city that felt more like the USSR than Europe. At the end of the trip, Riga was almost everyone’s favorite city from the trip. The cobbled streets, Dom square, cycling tracks, the deep cultural experience, and most of all their eclectic cafes won many hearts. If I ever came back to explore a city more, this may be it.

The trip overall was a mix of very different experiences. We even traveled between cities by a different mode every time. We ate at Michelin-star restaurants and some local street food. We tried some local favorites and also a few touristy restaurants. We took a few tours and on days just walked around. We visited several museums and a few malls and markets… there was something for everyone.

In summary, landed in Amsterdam and spent six nights, including a day trip to Antwerp. A short flight to Helsinki got us to the Nordics. Ran a half-marathon there, stayed 3 nights, and then took a ferry (more like a cruise ship) to Tallinn. We spent 2 nights in this fabulous old house converted into a hotel. An eventful 4-hour bus ride to Riga followed. We spent 3 nights in Riga, which included a rainy full-day tour to the old castles of Latvia. This all ended too soon and we were on a flight back from Riga via Istanbul.