From there the journey softens into nature. Auk\u0161taitija National Park shifts the mood completely with the old water mill at Ginu\u010diai, the panoramic hill of Ladakalnis, lakeside pauses, picnic moments, and optional kayaking through narrow channels and quiet water. Then Latvia takes over the stage with Riga, where the Old Town, St. Peter\u2019s Church, the Central Market, and the grand Art Nouveau fa\u00e7ades create a city experience that feels both elegant and alive.<\/p>\n
The next arc runs through Gauja National Park, Sigulda, and Turaida, where red sandstone, legends, and medieval walls create an atmosphere close to folklore. After that come C\u0113sis and L\u012bgatne, then the Estonian segment of the route: the border twin towns of Valka and Valga, intellectual Tartu, the wetlands of Soomaa, the relaxed seafront of P\u00e4rnu, and the medieval heart of Tallinn. This is where the itinerary shows its finest rhythm, moving naturally between castles, bogs, promenades, university streets, and old stone lanes.<\/p>\n
The final stretch carries the hush of islands and the satisfying glow of a return that still feels adventurous. Saaremaa brings the ferry crossing, the V\u00e4inatamm causeway, the Kaali meteor crater, and the calm charm of Kuressaare. Then come the bog boardwalks of \u0136emeri, the wild coastline of Kolka and Sl\u012btere, the Hanseatic character of Klaip\u0117da, the August\u00f3w Canal, mighty Malbork Castle, and a closing stop in Toru\u0144 before the road turns back toward Gliwice. It is a journey built not on haste, but on contrast: cities and silence, sea wind and brick walls, long drives and luminous pauses.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baltic States Express is a multi-stage journey from Gliwice through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, blending historic cities, castles, islands, national parks, wetlands, and Baltic coastlines into one richly varied route. From Trakai and Vilnius through Auk\u0161taitija, Riga, Gauja, Tartu, Soomaa, and Tallinn to Saaremaa, \u0136emeri, Klaip\u0117da, Malbork, and Toru\u0144, the itinerary moves through landscapes where nature and history constantly meet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"full-width","format":"gallery","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[596,593,592,420,421,422,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moje","category-593","category-estonia","category-finlandia","category-litwa","category-lotwa","category-warsztaty-fotograficzne","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_3384.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20272,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417\/revisions\/20272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eclipses.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}