Latvia and Lithuania

Yes, I've been to Riga a couple of times, lovely city, yet to make it to Vilnius but it's on my list.

The Corner House and Museum of The Occupation of Latvia were the standout highlights for me. The Latvian War Museum was OK but I've been to far better war museums.

The Three Brothers Buildings is relatively interesting but it's more of a walk past, look at them for five minutes and move on.

My most recent visit was primarily food focused however I know that you have quite specific dietary restrictions so I won't elaborate on the food and drink aspect.

It's a compact city, ideally suited to walking. On both my visits other than a Bolt to and from the airport I walked everywhere.

Didn't manage to fit in any art museums as I ran out of time but I have no doubt that I will return. My eldest son flies there next week so I can live vicariously through him although I'll be missing out on the Solyanka soup that I developed a taste for.

I didn't see this Holocaust-related site on your Riga list:

Zana Lipkes Memorials / Lipke House of Courage, Mazais Balasta dambis 9: Location where Jews were hidden. Cross river over Vansu Bridge and turn right, walking along Balasta dambis. Turn left at museum sign (“Zanis Lipke memorial”) right after house #36. Follow narrow street to reach museum at end and ring bell. Download audio guide. Tue-Wed, Fri and Sun 1200-1800; Thu 1200-2000, Sat 1000-1600. Free/donation requested. https://lipke.lv/en/. Listed by In Your Pocket 2020.

I found a visit to the Lipke Memorial very worthwhile. The info above was gathered prior to my 2023 trip, so days and times need to be verified.

Each of the three Baltic countries has a good museum covering the Soviet occupation period. There is considerable commonality among their recent histories. I went to all and liked them all, but I am a Cold War junkie. I don't recall having a preference among the museums. If your time is limited, you don't necessarily have to go to all the occupation museums. There is a great deal of (sad) 20th-century history to be seen in that part of Europe; it's difficult to get to all the places of historical interest.

Thanks for your input.

I will get ten days of paid vacation from work. Using the power of the weekends (we are closed on weekends and there is another paid weekday for US independence day, even if July 4th is on a weekend), I may stretch my trip up to 13 to 16 nights. If I avoid renting a car, the bus ride I saw from Near Ludza to Vilnius leaves at 10:45 am which unfortunately blocks me from seeing a lot of museums that day. Its also possible that I am planning for too many museums based on "fear of missing out", although in general I appreciate art museums. I only rented a car 3 times in my life: twice in Florida, once in California. On two of those trips, the parking situation was so tight that I wish I had relied on taxis or Uber and not rented the car. I drive like a normal person in Metro Detroit near home. I have traveled to (different parts of) Europe 7 times. I am unsure yet how I can get to the mass-shooting site by the lake near Ludza, without a rental car. I could rent a car if really necessary or just try asking somebody from the local history museum in Ludza - I figure there is at least a 50% chance at least some of the 43 names I have of relatives and descendants of relatives of my great-grandfather and his wife, who were from East Latvia, who didn't immigrate anywhere, who all died in 1941 except one died in 1943, were shot at this site.

I don't have any official food restrictions or allergies. The vast majority of restaurant food is made with oil, salt, and/or sugar and I doubt it is healthy to eat restaurant food every day of a trip.

Mike L,
I think your idea of checking at the local history museum in Ludza is a good one. Also, perhaps the site jewishgen.org can provide some info for you. Best of luck in your search.

I don't have any official food restrictions or allergies. The vast majority of restaurant food is made with oil, salt, and/or sugar and I doubt it is healthy to eat restaurant food every day of a trip.

Well, I'm not sure how you prepare food at home but there's nothing unhealthy per se about oil, sugar and salt and I would argue that eating freshly prepared food in a restaurant is far healthier than what many people prepare at home using processed foods from the supermarket.

Everything I buy and take to my apartment is either produce with no dressing or plain ingredients with just one ingredient in the package. I don't buy most food products. Unfortunately, Oils, salt, and sugar/juice/other sweeteners are unhealthy ingredients that should be eaten as little as possible, preferably never. I didn't eat any restaurant food in California, Florida, Spain, England, or Germany. I tried some restaurant food about 3 times each in Greece, the Netherlands, and Lithuania when I was there for a class.

Unfortunately, Oils, salt, and sugar/juice/other sweeteners are unhealthy ingredients that should be eaten as little as possible, preferably never.

I'll agree with you on the sugar/sweeteners aspect but oil and salt? It's widely aknowledged that the healthiest diet to eat is the Mediterranean one which relies heavily on olive oil, a healthy oil that has many benefits. As for salt, any dish prepared without any will be bland and tasteless and not worth eating quite frankly. There is nothing wrong with salt in moderation and our bodies require it. Advocating that people should not consume any salt is dangerous advice.

For me food plays a huge role in my travels and I certainly ate plenty of healthy and tasty food in Riga. I ate enough sauerkraut there to practically overdose on beneficial probiotics. I can't think of anything more depressing than visiting somewhere and not indulging in the local cuisine. For me it's an intrinsic part of foreign travel but each to their own I suppose.

I understand not wanting to go overboard on unhealthy ingredients, and certainly not if you have health conditions, but there is some seriously fabulous food to be had in both Riga and especially in Vilnius...I recall making a FB post after my first meal at Etno Dvaras, something along the lines of "I just want to move to Lithuania and eat dumplings (cepelinai) every day"

I found taking the Ecolines bus from Tallinn to Riga and then to Vilnius to be a surprisingly pleasant--and quite cheap--option. You have plenty of days to explore, and both cities are easily explored on foot.

If I wanted any kind of food recipe, I don't have to travel to get it. I could buy the ingredients near home and make something resembling any recipe, in my apartment. Yeah I know some travelers feel like eating restaurant food is the highlight of their trips. Food is just fuel. What sites and experiences you have on a trip is what matters. I don't travel for food.... my body doesn't break down the red color in certain foods like red beets and red dragon fruit... I can't stand hot spicy ingredients like chili peppers, raw onions, radishes, horseradish, mustard, and so on... its not a diagnosed allergy... we'll see it I try any restaurant food... I don't require the taste of oil or salt or sugar anymore... its like I retrained myself to not need it to be happy...

When I am in France, regardless, food is a great deal more than merely fuel, especially as that pertains to foods that don't even exist here.

Food is just fuel. What sites and experiences you have on a trip is what matters.

To you perhaps but not for everyone. I have far more interest in food than visiting a church for example. For me food is far from simply being fuel for my body and a multi course tasting menu at a "chef's table" is an experience that I'll gladly pay for and will typically form a highlight of a trip and as such is something "that matters".

I'm currently in Spain and I'm absolutely loving spending a few hours lingering over lunches and I love nothing more than wandering around a foreign grocery store seeing what delights I can bring home.

In an angry way, my mom said the Baltic states are dangerous because they border Russia and Russia is likely to invade or attack countries that border Russia. I replied by lying and telling her that I will not travel to the Baltic states and then switching the conversation to something else. I will wait until less than a week before my trip to tell her about it if I tell her. For comparison, in March 2022, two weeks before I took a 13 night solo trip to Spain, my mom freaked out and begged me to cancel my trip. First she said I would get coronavirus 2019, but then she quickly switched to saying the war in Ukraine means Europe is not safe. My aunt called me before my trip to Spain and in serious and unpleasant way, asked, "what if Russia attacks? What if you can't get out!?" For comparison, My mom freaked out, sometimes worse than other times, before every solo trip far from Michigan I took I my adult life so far.

When I was in Vilnius last year, I stepped into my hotel elevator and inside was a US Army officer in battle fatigues. I was kind of suprised. (I had seen German soldiers the day before.) He told me there was a NATO training base nearby and they were conducting "exercises."

NATO troops are all over the place preparing should Mr. Putin decide to play games.

Looking at this my incomplete supposed itinerary below, how do you think I can tighten it up and subtract a night from my trip? Because I was already in Vilnius for a Yiddish class in August 2007 (but I didn't see museums), should I subtract a night from Vilnius and start my trip on a Friday and then I would still be in Kaunas for the museum about the Japanese diplomat? Its only open Wed-Fridays. Do you see any museums below that I could skip in case Riga and Vilnius have near duplications in scope in certain museums or perhaps I listed too many due to fear of missing out but logically the most memorable sights are outside and I just could take away my need for certain museums with some more advance background reading? Because a 4th cousin already went to Ludza and sent me a picture of our common ancestor's grave, should i call that sufficient and just skip the cemetery?

Thursday: Flights to Riga from Detroit Metro late evening? 1st night on the plane
Friday: Arrive in Riga. 2nd night, 1st night in Riga
Saturday: Guided tour? Or various monuments, House of the Black Heads (10-5), Mākslas muzejs RĪGAS BIRŽA (art museum, 10-6), Night market (5:30pm-12am). 3rd night, 2nd night in Riga.
Sunday: Synagogue Peitav Shul (10-5 closed Saturday), Jews in Latvia museum (11-5 closed Sat), Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum (10-6). 4th night, 3rd night in Riga.
Monday: Train and/or buses to Ludza. Ludza castle ruins. 5th night, 1st night in Ludza
Tuesday: Ludza local history museum (8-5), Ludza Great Synagogue (11-3), Handicraft Museum? (9:30-5); possibly Jewish Cemetery; “Memorial Site of 1941 Jewish Victims 56°33'52.6" N, 27°39'12.0" E. 6th night, 2nd night in Ludza.
Wednesday: Bus or taxi to Rēzekne (16-17 miles west); bus to Vilnius (Ecolines leaves Rēzekne at 10:45am, arrives before 3pm). House of Histories? (History themed exhibitions, until 8pm Wed, 10-6 Thu & Fri). 7th night, 1st night in Vilnius
Thursday: Vilnius Choral Synagogue (10-3, closed sat-Sun), Lithuanian National Museum of Art (10-6), History museum inside Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (10-8 Thurs, 10-6 Fri. 4 routes, just route I & II?). 8th night, 2nd night in Vilnius
Friday: Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights (10-6, bigger than Riga KGB museum); Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (10-6); if time, The Old Arsenal (ancient artifacts 10-6). 9th night, 3rd night in Vilnius
Saturday: Above museums if not seen, various streets, or Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum (10-5 Sat). 10th night, 3rd night in Vilnius
Sunday: Day trip to Trakai Castle. 11th night, 4th night in Vilnius
Monday: Bus or train to Kaunas. Choral Synagogue (9-6? 5 Euros); pass other surviving former synagogues, various streets/monuments. All other museums are closed. 12th night, 1st night in Kaunas
Tuesday: Vytautas the Great War Museum? (10-5); Devil’s museum (11-5), Kaunas Castle (10-6)
KGB Atomic Bunker Museum?? (requires a pre-arranged tour). 13th night, 2nd night in Kaunas
Wednesday: Historical Presidential Palace, Kaunas (10-5), Sugiharos fondas ,,Diplomatai už gyvybę" (Diplomats for Life, small museum about Japanese ambassador who saved Jews, only 11-4 Wed, 11-8 Thu, 11-4 Fri); Amsterdam School Museum, restored former Jewish residence/restored apartment (2-hour pre-reserved tour required). 14th night, 3rd night in Kaunas.

Thursday: Bus to Riga. Žanis Lipke Memorial if not seen yet (until 8pm Thurs). 15th night, 4th night in Riga
Friday: The Corner House, former KGB headquarters? (10-:30-5:30, book a 1-hour guided tour in advance); Riga Castle? (open to visitors, no major exhibits yet 10-8 Fri), Latvian National Museum of Art (10-8 Fri). 16th night, 5th night in Riga
Saturday: Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation (10-5), Powder tower (contains Latvian War Museum, 10-6), or Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (10-6). 17th night, 6th night in Riga

As you know, there are a lot of interesting sights in the Baltic countries. You're going to some places I haven't been, which puts me in a difficult position when I think about trimming the itinerary--not to mention that I spent about twice as much time in the capital cities as you plan.

I wonder, however, whether there would be a way to see Trakai Castle on the way from Vilnius to Kaunas, thereby saving yourself one night. The distance isn't great. Might this be a time to throw money at the problem and try to arrange a transfer with a sightseeing stop--the kind of thing Daytrip.com offers? Since I haven't been to Trakai, I don't know what would be a reasonable amount of time to allow there.

Trakai is very pretty but small and could be seen in a few hours, plus time for lunch. It does make a great stop on the route - but I had a car.