Via Baltica: Bunny’s Roadtrip from Helsinki to Budapest

Have you always dreamed about an exciting road trip? One of summer roads, endless sunshine, superb scenery and exciting stops along the way? If so, please do not take this route.

From Helsinki to Budapest by Car

Bunny recently experienced a different kind of roadtrip, travelling from Helsinki to Budapest by car with her parents (one of whom is afraid of flying). Bunny had not spent a lot of time in the Baltic region before and she was eager to explore again this part of Europe along the way. Unfortunately, no-one had warned her that the driving there would be extremely boring.

Ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn

The trip started interestingly enough, as the Bunny family had to take a morning ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. Bunny opted for Viking Line XPRS, mainly because of the competitive price and convenient timetable, but she suspects the other ferries plying that route offer pretty much the same experience.

The check-in at the Helsinki harbour was a smooth affair. The ferry company advises you to arrive 90 minutes before departure. The Bunny family, being proper instruction-obeying Finns they are, did just that, finding themselves pretty high up in the queue.

It was straightforward to follow the signs for Viking XPRS, show passports and tickets, without having to leave the car, and then settle into the queue until departure. It is a good idea to have a toilet break in advance because technically you are not allowed to leave the car whilst queueing for the ferry. If you have snacks and music at the ready, the time will go quickly.

Bunny enjoyed Hedon Spa & Hotel in Pärnu

The breakfast at Hedon was also very good, with lots of options for coffee and tea, porridge, eggs, sausages, bacon and mushrooms as hot offerings. Bunny went for the freshly-baked bread, cheese, juice and perhaps a pastry or two. With their bellies full, the Bunny family proceeded to the checkout (smooth) and pressed onwards towards Latvia, having just a little stop to stock up on groceries at a local grocery shop, Mini Rimi. Before departure, Bunny also managed to take some pictures of the cute and quaint wooden houses that abound in Pärnu.

Driving Through Latvia

Road E67 (more commonly known as Via Baltica between Tallinn and Prague) continued from Pärnu towards the Latvian capital of Riga. It was in excellent condition, built by the EU apparently. There was not much traffic so the driving was again easy, albeit a bit boring.

The Estonian-Latvian border had a set of traffic lights, no border formalities whatsoever, and a lot of advertisements for cheap alcohol shops on the Latvian side. Super Alko, located 1km from the border on the Latvian side, seemed to target in particular Finnish customers who used to travel to Estonia for their cheap booze. How times change…

After the border, the road closely hugged the Baltic Sea, offering occasional nice views. Bunny found a gorgeous place for a short break near Vitrupe. There was a parking lot with easy access to the sea but no services. Bunny happily rolled around on the gorgeous beach for a while, checked the temperature of the water (brr) and took some pictures before it was time to head onwards again.

The Bunny family enjoyed a quick, but surprisingly nice, lunch (fresh carrots (!) and chocolate chip cookies and a smoothie for Bunny) at a Statoil gas station along the way. Bunny was particularly happy about the wireless internet connection which allowed her to update her all-important Instagram account during lunch.

More traffic started to appear the closer the Bunny family drove to Riga. There was also lots of annoying road works which slowed down the pace. Before reaching Riga (Bunny has visited twice in the past and decided to skip it this time), the road turned towards Kaunas in Lithuania.

Kaunas was Bunny’s next stop for the night, approximately 250 km from Riga. The road was OK, but, again, not particularly interesting. There were regular gas stations and a couple of small villages along the way, such as Bauska, that brought some variation to the scenery.

Crossing Over to Lithuania

Crossing the border to Lithuania was barely noticeable. Bunny only made a big deal out of it because she had never visited Lithuania before and thus scored a new country in the process…

Bunny had enquired about the necessity of buying vignettes in Latvia but they were needed only for trucks. In Lithuania, she didn’t even bother asking and happily drove along vignette-less.

Panevėžys was the first big town on the Lithuanian side. Bunny bypassed it effortlessly and continued along a long straight stretch of the road. Alas, the scenery was rather boring, flat flat flat fields all around her. A stop followed in Ramygala. It was not a very glamorous place but the diesel cost under one euro a litre so Bunny was happy.

Afterwards, more boring scenery followed… Just before Kaunas, Bunny turned off from the Via Baltica she had been following, and briefly joined the A1 highway with four lanes to sail into town. The Bunny family had started the journey from Pärnu around 10am and finished their daily dose of driving approximately 500 km later around 5pm in Kaunas.

Park-Inn Radisson

Check-in at Park-Inn Radisson, right next to the old town, was smooth. The business room Bunny had reserved for them was a bit tight for three but it was clean and pleasant. There was a sizeable, secure parking lot just behind the hotel so Bunny didn’t have to worry about the car either.

It was a two-minute walk from Park-Inn Radisson to the St. Michael Archangel's Church, a very pleasant square and Laisvės alėja, a long pedestrian boulevard with restaurants, cafes and a nice-looking bookshop. Bunny found a Georgian restaurant (Mtevani) on the boulevard and treated her parents to some Georgian food for the first time in their lives. The place was not fancy but the food was excellent, even if it was quite a long wait.

Afterwards, Bunny went to work out at the hotel gym which was surprisingly good and completely empty. Exercise was definitely good for her poor glutes after the long day of sitting in the car. Daddy Bunny tried the hotel sauna which was empty as well. A good night’s sleep for everyone promptly followed.

Towards Poland

Bunny found the breakfast at Radisson surprisingly good, with a wide selection of the usual hot dishes, bread, cheese, cold cuts, yogurt with nuts and seeds, two kinds of smoothies and other goodies. Their bellies full, the Bunny family was off again at 9:30am, this time in the drizzling rain, heading towards Poland.

Leaving the Kaunas city was easy, following the traffic signs and the A5 (E67) to Marijampole and onwards to Poland, with an anticipated 500+ kilometres ahead of Bunny again. The road was good and the scenery was slightly more interesting, with mild undulation, but still rather boring.

Just before the Polish border, Bunny spotted a zoo next to the road. While she is not a supporter of zoos of any kind, she was happy to admire some zebras (!) grazing on the field next to the road. That’s not a sight you’d expect in Lithuania.

Crossing over to Poland was easy-peasy. There were some dilapidated border buildings on the Lithuanian side of the border, a great remi der of the Soviet era, but no border checks. On the Polish side, Bunny confirmed with a friendly policeman, who spoke good English, that no vignettes were needed for a normal size car in Poland either.

So Bunny pushed onwards, eyeing signs announcing a distance of 300 km to Warsaw, which Bunny was going to bypass in favour of the third largest city in Poland: Lódź.

A short stop in Suwalki provided wireless internet and a chocolate muffin and some orange juice for Bunny. Vegetarian food at the gas station was non-existent. Instead, Bunny bought a small Polish flag for less than a euro. One never knows when that might come in handy…

Near Augustow, Bunny turned off from the A67 to a smaller 61 road. Daddy Bunny had researched the route in advance and was convinced that a section of A67 was closed for traffic. There were no signs indicating that, that but Bunny knew better than to start arguing with Daddy Bunny about roads…

The weather turned really nasty soon afterwards, with heavily pounding rain making visibility close to zero. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be anything remarkable to observe anyway. After the rain relented, the only thing Bunny noted was that there were lots of corn fields in Poland.

Continuing towards Warsaw, the road went through, or bypassed, some towns and villages, such as Piątnica and Lomza, slowing down the traffic in the process. From Lomza, Bunny took the very quiet 63 road towards Zambrow, before joining the E67 (E8) again.

This section of road seemed to be new but there was still a lot of construction. The going was extremely slow and the scenery was drab construction works until the outskirts of Warsaw.

Thankfully, bypassing Warsaw on the S8 (E30) was easy, with not too much traffic and some fancy new bridges to admire. From there onwards, it was an easy and fast drive on a nice new road to Lódź, following signs first to Poznan and eventually Lódź itself.

Vienna House Andel’s in Lódź

Bunny’s choice of accommodation in Lódź was Vienna House Andel’s. What an amazing hotel!

Vienna House used to be a factory and has now been converted into a fancy hotel. It has an ideal location next to the impressive Manufaktura shopping complex with lost of shops and restaurants and a very pleasant atmosphere.

Bunny was already wowed by the massive lobby at the hotel, with some interesting architecture. The check-in was fast and efficient and secure parking was provided (for approximately 10 euros) in an underground parking lot behind the hotel.

The Room

Bunny had reserved a suite for the family and was impressed by the size, style and ambiance of the room. The industrial chic combined with high ceilings and brick wall elements were definitely her cup of tea. The only thing she could have done without were the carpeted floors…

There was a big double bedroom for Bunny’s parents and living room sofa bed for Bunny herself. Both rooms had huge flat screen TVs. The double bedroom had a big wardrobe but there was also an additional room for all the luggage. In addition, there was a mini kitchen, with a fridge, minibar and a big dining table. A separate WC and bathroom stocked with Bunny’s favourite Rituals toiletries sealed the deal for her. (She let Mummy Bunny take the toiletries home.)

Bunny loved-loved-loved the architecture of Vienna House Andel's Lodz!

Gym & Spa

On the 5th floor of the hotel, Bunny discovered an excellent gym, which was divided into a weight room and a separate space for cardio. Bunny had a good workout on Friday evening, having the gym to herself (hurrah!). Afterwards, she enjoyed a dip in the fabulous rooftop pool with panoramic views over the city. If only there hadn’t been any children in the pool! Children should be banned from anywhere that Bunny is hopping, for everyone’s benefit really…

Afterwards, Bunny paid a quick visit to the sauna part of the hotel’s spa complex and enjoyed the Finnish sauna (alone again, double hurrah!). She noted there was also a steam room and a relaxation area in the spa.

Following the gym and sauna, Bunny had a very good night’s sleep, with no problems with noise or anything else. Only the air-con in the room kept switching on and off at regular intervals.

Breakfast

Bunny had originally chosen a room rate without breakfast but ended up adding the breakfast as an extra (12 euros per person). It was excellent! Bunny loved the breakfast room and the presentation of the food so much that she almost forgot to eat whilst taking pictures left and right (Mr. Bunny would have gone crazy had he been with her). The breakfast space had the same industrial chic feeling as the rest of the hotel.

The breakfast offering was really sumptuous, with coffee and tea (from the machine but very good), and lots of Bunny’s favorites: yogurt, nuts and seeds, fresh berries, lots of fruit, cakes and cookies, cheese and bread… Warm options included eggs in different forms, bacon and sausages (Bunny didn’t investigate thoroughly as these things are not for her). There were also different delicious juices to choose from. All in all, the best breakfast on the trip!

Final Stretch from Lódź to Budapest

The Bunny family left Lódź at 9:30am, settling in for the long drive to Budapest. First they followed the A1 (E75) towards Katowice. It was an easy drive, with little traffic on a rainy Saturday morning, and fast pace until they hit some roadworks 1,5h into driving. That again slowed things down considerably. In Czestochowa, the traffic came to a total halt because of an accident. It was not the first traffic accident Bunny observed along the road but was definitely the worst delay (Bunny is not too keen on staying put for any reason).

After Katowica, while still on the Polish side of the border, Bunny proceeded to buy vignettes (finally those dreaded vignettes were needed!) for Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. There were quite a lot of advertisements for vignettes at most gas stations. Bunny bought hers in a small kiosk attached to a gas station. She learned that the minimum validity period was for 10 days, and she had to opt for that even though she only planned to do one day’s worth of driving (or less) in each country. Altogether, she had to pay approximately 50 euros for the pleasure. Oh well. Following the instructions, she placed one of the vignettes (CZE) on the windscreen and kept the two others (electronic ones) handy.

The Polish-Czech border was as unremarkable as the previous ones. God bless the EU, or something.

Into Slovakia

Negotiating the upcoming route, and weary of all the road works in Poland the previous day, Bunny managed to convince Daddy Bunny that they should take the more scenic route via Bytča in Slovakia. The GPS recommended a slightly longer, but apparently faster route, running mostly on the Czech side but with a lot of road construction. Daddy Bunny relented (a miracle!) and the Bunny family turned off from the motorway at Ostrava and started following road 56 towards Slovakia. It was definitely more interesting!

Bypassing Ostrava (which seemed like a ghost town to Bunny) towards Slovakia was very easy. The road was good and there was practically no traffic. Heading towards Frydek-Mistek, the Bunny family passed some idyllic small towns such as Ostravice. Soon afterwards, the road turned into an interesting mountain road, which was in good condition, but winding and a bit foggy at the top.

The official border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia was at the top of the mountain. There was an old border station lower down on the mountain, now operating as a gas station.

After having reached Bytča and crossed the Váh river, the Bunny family continued on motorway D1 towards Bratislava. Choosing the D1 motorway was the right decision, as the road was in very good condition, there was nice mountain scenery and not a lot of traffic. As a bonus, various castles popped up frequently in the backround, including in Trenčín and Beckov. If Bunny had had more time, she would have happily hopped around a bit and explored the castles in more detail.

At a rest stop in Slovakia, Mummy Bunny was cheated out of 10 euros when she didn’t check her change at the cashier carefully. It was the first negative experience on the trip. Shame on you, cashier! At the same gas station, Bunny encountered another meat-heavy offering, with no vegetarian food options whatsoever. So she ate another chocolate muffin to balance her diet of nuts and fruit in the car.

There were some minor road works just before Bratislava but nothing too bad. Eventually the road bypassed Bratislava so closely that Bunny was able to point out the castle and old town to her parents who have never visited Bratislava.

After Bratislava, only 190 km remained to the final destination of the family road trip: Budapest. Crossing over to Hungary was effortless, with lots of border buildings in sight but no systematic controls. Bunny also noted the (last) possibility to buy vignettes for Hungary at the border.

The motorway from Bratislava to Budapest (E60) was in good condition, the route was direct and there was minimal traffic until Bunny got closer to Budapest on the M1.

Home Sweet Home

When the Bunny family rolled into Budapest in the early evening, they had driven more than 2000 kilometres in four days and seen lots of boring, as well as some interesting, scenery along the way.

Countless chocolate muffins enjoyed at various gas stations had fuelled Bunny’s journey so she was very happy to head straight to her favourite restaurant in Budapest (Dobrumba) for some proper dinner right after arrival. A glass of wine, or several, later she was able to conclude that the road trip had been a success. Mummy Bunny got to see Budapest without the stress of flying and Bunny herself scored a couple of new experiences along the way. As for Daddy Bunny, he just likes driving…

But would Bunny do it again? Why not, just not in the very new future, please! After all, the world is a very big place, time is finite and Bunny has seen plenty of Europe already.