Today, my wife and I are flying to Lithuania, Lativia, and Estonia.  Really looking forward to it.  Lufthansa from KEWR to Frankfurt, and then on to Lithuania.  The Baltic States are in the news a lot lately, so it should be quite interesting for us to be there in person.  We have traveled extensively in Europe, and we did get to Gdansk, Poland a few years back, so we were close to the Baltic Sea.  We've traveled to Munich (Octoberfest), Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Bulgaria, Romania, Ireland, UK, South Africa, Italy, and many trips within the United States. Being retired now makes it so much easier.

I still look forward to reading the forum on my iPad over there, but I'll really miss flying P3d and MSFS.  Returning in 10 days.  Looking forward to any comments on these 3 countries if you've been there.  Any tips or advice is always welcome.

Stan

Have a safe trip, Stan!  Enjoy 😀

Enjoy!!!

Surely amazing placas and people to meet.

Planning to go there One day tio, and we're closer from LPPT 😁

On 3/14/2024 at 8:40 AM, spilok said:

Today, my wife and I are flying to Lithuania, Lativia, and Estonia.  Really looking forward to it.  Lufthansa from KEWR to Frankfurt, and then on to Lithuania.  The Baltic States are in the news a lot lately, so it should be quite interesting for us to be there in person.  We have traveled extensively in Europe, and we did get to Gdansk, Poland a few years back, so we were close to the Baltic Sea.  We've traveled to Munich (Octoberfest), Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Bulgaria, Romania, Ireland, UK, South Africa, Italy, and many trips within the United States. Being retired now makes it so much easier.

I still look forward to reading the forum on my iPad over there, but I'll really miss flying P3d and MSFS.  Returning in 10 days.  Looking forward to any comments on these 3 countries if you've been there.  Any tips or advice is always welcome.

Stan

Do you travel with OATS Stan?

On 3/15/2024 at 1:06 PM, newtie said:

Do you travel with OATS Stan?

No, I do not.  We have a travel group in my hometown that arranges many wonderful trips around the world.  We've used them several times.

However, my wife and I returned yesterday after a 2 hour flight from Estonia to Frankfurt, and about 9 hours from Frankfurt to JFK.  Total 11 hours in the air, and then a 1 1/2 hour ride back home. Whew!  I'm exhausted and trying to re-establish my normal activity from the time difference.  The Baltic States being 6 hours ahead of us here in the U.S.

Absolutely loved Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.  The people were wonderful, and those countries have really become so progressive since about 1991, after the Occupation.

Now to get back to some great Flight Simulation activity.  Missed it for the last 10 days.

Stan

Edited March 25, 20242 yr by spilok

😉

I’ve never been to Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia, but I love hearing about trips like yours, Stan. 

This was a fabulous trip. It was almost a year ago.  Being so close to Russia, but being unable to go there was a little frustrating.  We would have loved to go there.  Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were incredible countries and the people were exceptional.  The food was delicious and I felt very much at home since both my wife and I have Eastern European roots.  I only wished I had taken a day to cruise to Helsinki from Estonia.  It is very close and we could have spent the day in Finland and returned to Estonia the same day.  That would have been wonderful. 

We love to travel, and we've been to Poland twice, Germany 3 times (Octoberfest was on my bucket list), Romania, Bulgaria, London, all of Ireland (we drove from Shannon all the way to Dublin and back to the west to Galway).  We visited Guiness and Jameson, Cork, and so many counties in between.  We especially loved our trip to South Africa and the photographic safari over 2 weeks. Additionally, we have traveled to Venice, Corfu, Sicily (to the top of Mount Etna), Sorrento, Capri, Sardinia and Rome. Italy is perhaps one our favorite countries because the Italians are so warm and accommodating...and what can I say about the food?  It's out of this world!

There is nothing in this world like traveling and meeting people from all over the world.  Only then, can we realize that we are all one people, living on this earth, and that it is essential that we all co-exist in peace.

We are indeed all the same.

 

 

Edited January 21, 20251 yr by spilok

A wee bit cold this time of year but that is a great trip

4 hours ago, spilok said:

Being so close to Russia, but being unable to go there was a little frustrating. 

Saint Petersburgh would have been great and a good winter destination as it probably looks it's best in the cold. Too bad the world these days

1 hour ago, Matthew Kane said:

Too bad the world these days

Here's hoping the Russia situation gets better under the new administration. After all, Putin has expressed interest in joining NATO in the past (see Tucker Carlson interview with Putin), and they may be less useful as an enemy going forward.

In the late 90s I worked next to a Russian girl from Dubna whose hubby was studying physics at SMU, so relations haven't always been highly strained after 1991. I always thought SMU was where the children of the Dallas elite went to get their tickets punched before taking over a high level job at their parents' company. I didn't know they even had a physics department, much less a world class one. I just knew SMU was an excellent business school with prices to match.

I'm optimistic.

Hook

On 3/25/2024 at 3:12 PM, spilok said:

No, I do not.  We have a travel group in my hometown that arranges many wonderful trips around the world.  We've used them several times.

However, my wife and I returned yesterday after a 2 hour flight from Estonia to Frankfurt, and about 9 hours from Frankfurt to JFK.  Total 11 hours in the air, and then a 1 1/2 hour ride back home. Whew!  I'm exhausted and trying to re-establish my normal activity from the time difference.  The Baltic States being 6 hours ahead of us here in the U.S.

Absolutely loved Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.  The people were wonderful, and those countries have really become so progressive since about 1991, after the Occupation.

Now to get back to some great Flight Simulation activity.  Missed it for the last 10 days.

Stan

how was the service from Lufthansa ?

7 hours ago, fluffyflops said:

how was the service from Lufthansa ?

We do love Lufthansa.  Especially their 747-800.  One time we were able to upgrade to the top floor business class, and it was a memory that we often re-live.  The seats were incredible and of course, the service was out of this world.  We've flown Lufthansa many times and we are never really disappointed.

We've even flown LOT a lot.  Their 787-800 or 900 were superb vehicles that we loved flying.  LOT into Warsaw was a great experience.

Edited January 21, 20251 yr by spilok

The Baltics sound fascinating, especially given their rich history and how much they’ve evolved since the early '90s. I bet the mix of architecture, culture, and nature out there is stunning. Whenever I travel, it takes me a while to readjust once I’m back too—jetlag is no joke!