All Europe in miniature

books:


	• The Rough Guide to The Baltic States - 2nd Edition Jonathan Bousfield Rough Guides, 2007 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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Excellence

The product was in excellent shape when I received it. The book looked as if it were new and bought right off the book store shelf.

Correction

Number of Estonians is 68 percent, not 65 percent. Go pick up a Lonely Planet book instead!

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All Europe in miniature

Any author of a travel guide to the Baltic States is left with a formidable task: Words and still photographs don't do justice to these truly exceptional destinations. Add to that the daunting task of trying to keep listings current for three of the most dynamic and popular tourist destinations on earth. In particular, the capital cities are booming with prosperity, largely based on the tourist trade, and institutional details change constantly. Faced with these difficulties, this guide is still the best of the bunch. Bradt does a nice guide to the capital cities, but that doesn't help much for people interested in such lovely places as Kaunas and Tartu, or the idyllic rural settings outside the cities. This book crams an enormous amount of material into a dense, compact package. Despite one reviewer's claim to the contrary, Rough Guides are smaller and lighter than the Bradt guides. You'll need to buy three of those to gather the equivalent content offered in this book.

Tallinn, Riga and (especially) Vilnius are so startling upon first sight, no amount of historic or cultural context is going to give you the blast of adrenaline you'll feel as your taxi scoots you through the town square on the way to your hotel. You simply have to see and feel these places directly. That said, Rough Guide has made (in this updated edition) a dedicated effort to improve the quality of the pragmatic material in the book. You're still not going to find the details of bus routes and timetables, but the hotel and restaurant listings are up-to-date and accurate. True to Rough Guide form, however, the author reveals his love of all things historic and cultural, which fits nicely with the book's standard format.

A few words of caution: Remember, these three small countries are shaking off the communist experiment, and that takes some time. While the old town centers are generally restored, there's still a palpable grit to the Baltic States. Don't expect Vilnius to look like Vienna, or Tallinn to look like Prague, or Riga to look like Stockholm. These towns are far smaller than their central European and Scandinavian sisters, and they're ringed by nasty industrial suburbs that can (but shouldn't) put you off. I mention this because the guide doesn't make this observation. Also, don't buy this book if you're looking for a photo essay. Rough Guides are all about words and simple maps. Go to Flickr if you want a nice preview in pictures.

From the medieval Protestant alleys of Tallinn to the baroque splendor of Catholic Vilnius, this guide's got your back. But as another reviewer noted, these destinations are among the most popular in the world (the wonderful combination of beauty and affordability), so sit down with this book and do your homework BEFORE you get on the plane.

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reviews: page 1, 2

The Rough Guide to The Baltic States is an indespendabel guide to this intriguing part of Europe. The full colour section introduces the highlights of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The guide features definitive accounts of the fascinating capital cities of Tallinn, Vilnius and Riga, as well as full coverage of the countries? distinctive landscapes of lakes, forests and national parks. Two new colour sections give the lowdown on the countries? cuisine and landscapes. The guide also contains practical advice on the best places for hiking, canoeing and birdwatching. Detailed maps for every region, and up-to-date reviews of accommodation, restaurants and nightlife, are also included.

The Rough Guide to The Baltic States is like having a local friend plan your trip!

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