Posted in 2019 but all references are from 2010-2011. I assume many things have changed by now.
Anyways, even at that time, why not start at Lisbon instead of starting in Porto to go to Coimbra and add even more time and distance to the trip.
Anyways, even at that time, why not start at Lisbon instead of starting in Porto to go to Coimbra and add even more time and distance to the trip.
Trains in the Baltic states are really irregular, so it might be faster to wait for the visa. The train between Poland and Lithuania only works on summer weekends nowadays, the train between Lithuania and Estonia goes only every 4 days due to some complication in Latvia, if it even reaches Estonia in an unbroken connection at all. Either way it's so impractical that you might as well forget that it even exists (as my fragmentary memory proves).
I know it's stating the obvious, but even aside from covid, China and Russia have sunk from high to almost bottom of my travel list.
I would love to return to China - a few years ago I was there and loved it (and Hong Kong). But, the surveillance state and hostility towards Canada (i.e. two Cdns are currently being detained with very little of the customary consular accommodations) - makes it just too risky/unpredictable. Ditto for Russia.
Hopefully a change in US leadership will help restore relations between East and West!
Putin's propaganda machine inside Russia (e.g. internal daily news) has been full-on anti-West for a while now. And so, where Russian people used to be generally positive about the West, now I believe that is somewhat diminished.
What's your take?