The Great North

Great North Destination

From Italy to Gdansk (PL)

UP AT 5:00 AM.
The journey from Milan to Nuremberg, passing through Switzerland (San Bernardino, Splugen, along Lake Constance), with quite cool temperatures (13°) has us wearing thermals under our jackets.

FIRST STOP: NUREMBERG (D)
We highly recommend the Hauptmarkt, the market square, where you will find yourselves right in the middle of German life, with its citizens and their customs. For dinner we treat ourselves to Schnitzel, with sauerkraut and a couple of good beers.
Location B&B Nurnberg-city. Strengths: secure underground parking, generous buffet breakfast, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi. Friendly, young, energetic staff, lift, clean with basic furnishings.

SECOND STOP: GDANSK (PL)
The distance to the next stop is about a thousand km, so we will just be taking a rest break before setting off again to our next destination.
Location Studio Hevelius. Strengths: courtyard parking but with gates, very large room with simple furnishings, generous buffet breakfast, good Wi-Fi, located in the city centre.

Riga and Tallinn

THIRD STOP: RIGA (LV)
We decide to take an alternative route instead of the main road, which is faster but also much busier (State road 22), to Bartoszyce.
For dinner we have a traditional local soup, made with cabbage. We take a quick tour of the city where we are pleasantly surprised to discover an exhibition of bear statues in the central square, the “United Buddy Bears”.
Given the short distance between Riga and Tallinn, we allow ourselves to wake-up without an alarm and a few hours exploring the shops and buildings of the old town centre; we highly recommend Rigensis (Tirgonu tela, 8) an excellent bakery and pastry shop.
Location Hotel Garden Palace. Strengths: central city location, large, clean room, lift, Wi-Fi, secure, covered parking close to the hotel, breakfast buffet.FOURTH STOP: TALLINN (EST)
The distance covered is around 350 km along a flat route with wide stretches of cornfields and very little traffic.
The city stands on the shores of the Baltic Sea, with a fortified old town centre, characterised by cobbled streets with plenty of cafes and shops.
For the evening, we organise dinner at one of the characteristic and very good breweries in the city, the Beer House.
The next morning we board the ferry to Helsinki where we will be staying for two days.
Location City Hotel Tallinn by Unique Hotels. Strengths: clean, modern room (in an annexe), Wi-Fi, excellent location, outdoor parking but with gates, very generous and varied breakfast buffet in an enchanting location.

Helsinki

FIFTH STOP: HELSINKI (FIN)
Boarding the ferry with a bike is always a very emotional moment, almost as if it is the start of the real journey.
The ferry, booked on the internet (Direct Ferries), is beautiful and extremely clean, it has several restaurants, self-service and fast food outlets, slot machines, bars, duty free shops and a well-equipped outside veranda where we lunch on excellent smoked salmon! The prices are fair.
In the city you can visit a very good covered market (Old Market Hall), a destination for many tourists with kiosks that serve dozens and dozens of varieties of smoked salmon. There is also a lovely open market, called “Kauppatori” where you can eat fried fish, grilled salmon and drink cold beer.
The restaurants are all very beautiful and characteristic but, as you can imagine, quite expensive!
Location Hostel Domus Academica (Hostel). Strengths: central location, uncovered parking within the structure, general cleanliness, friendly staff, private room with bathroom.
Weak points: lack of air-conditioning, very small rooms, dated structure.