Hello there, guys.
To put it simply, a mate of mine and me are going to make a tour through europe, mainly the eastern and northern part of it. More precisely, we will most likely go through Austria, Hungary, Ukraine/Slovakia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and back to Germany via Denmark.
As I don't want to be totally clueless what to do and where to go when doing that trip, I kindly ask you to help out in case you are living in one of those countries in bold letters. Anything useful for a foreigner would help - stuff you need to see and do, stuff you better avoid, anything apart the common tourist kind of attractions. Places, pubs, bars, also festivals and every goddamn thing one could enjoy and you can advise.
Feel free to post, I'll gladly ingest every piece of information.
Starting date is the 6th of July, probably ending on 1st of August.

Regards, bio

If you're going through Belarus, you should take a small detour and take a tour round the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

Be sure to visit the Old Town/downtown Tallinn in Estonia(if you're visiting Tallinn) as well as the Town Hall Square(known as Raekoja Plats) and Toompea. There's also a viewing platform(or sort of like an overhang on the cliff) there that overlooks the Old Town. They're quite interesting places/sights to visit if you're a tourist.

And whatever you do, please and please, do not run into the gay parade. lol

Austria:

• Autobahnvignette (10 days = 7,90€)
• Check http://www.asfinag.at/webcams for near-live snaps from a couple of Autobahn locations (to judge traffic)
• Check http://www.oeamtc.at/sprit for fuel prices
• Navi speed camera warning software is legal in Austria
• traffic lights don't switch from green to orange directly but blink 4 times green and then switch to orange (confuses some Germans foreigners so I thought I'd mention it)
• General speed limits: 50 (Ortsgebiet), 100 (Freiland), 130 (Autobahn)

Also, unless you absolutely have to see Vienna, I'd avoid it altogether. It's just no fun at all by car.

Lithuania -

- National Sea Museum in Klaipeda (city) - link. You'll be able to see some dolphins etc. On your walk to the actual museum (where cars are forbidden) you'll find horses with carts for rent () and the ride on them is about €1.50~. The Sea Museum costs €4 per adult.

- You should also visit a resort town Nida (German: Nidden) which is not too far away from Klaipeda. You will definitely find something to do there!

- Of course visit the capital - Vilnius and you'll find plenty of places to visit. I don't come from that city, but the first time I went there, I could find many interesting places :P

I'll update this post later, if I remember something else.

Also don't be surprised by the amount of German cars!

I don't live in any of those countries but whenever you go from Sweden to Denmark or the other way around, drive through this

Quote from Crashgate3 :

If you're going through Belarus, you should take a small detour and take a tour round the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

It is in Ukraine

Latvia -

So, if your last stop in Lithuania is Klaipeda, go straight to the north, on the road which goes along the sea, to Liepāja. 3rd biggest city in LV, if I remember correctly.

In Liepaja I really recommend to visit ''Karostas cietums''/''The Naval Port prison'' >> link with all information in german<<. After that, stay for a beer in Latvia's 1st rockcafe ''Pablo'' >> link <<. More info about Liepaja you can check out >> here <<.

After that, again drive along the sea to Ventspils. I really like this city, in my opinion, it's the most refurbished city in LV. >> link <<. There's pretty much to do, for example Adventure park; Excursion boat; Seaside park with it's small train excursions; castle; water adventure park, etc etc - more info about all those you can check out in link. If you want to stay at Ventspils for a night, I can suggest Hotel Vilnis or if you don't like hotels Seaside camping will be the right place.

Then, from Ventspils, you can drive on motorway A10 to Talsi (nice and small city, nothing much to do there, maybe just stop for a coffee). When you are driving out from Talsi, go to the city Roja and drive along the sea, trough fisherman villages, where you can get freshly smoked fishes, and visit ''Engures lake''. Then, again, go along the sea, to the Jūrmala >> link << - largest resort city in Baltic States. Also probably richest city here, Bentley's, Ferrari's, various kinds of brand new SUV's, 7er bimmers etc etc, are usual thing here.

You can also visit Cinevilla >> link << - open air movie decorations village, pretty interesting, in my opinion.

Then, Riga, of course - our capital city. >> link <<. There's, of course, also pretty much to do. Also, it's a place for a great nightlife action, nightclubs are pretty good. I suggest to visit Car museum >> link <<.

Ok, I'm a bit tired of writing, but here, of course, are many more places worth to visit, here you can see them by yourself link.

Feel free to ask anything more about Latvia.

Oh yes, and I hope you will be driving a non-lowered car with high profile tyres, because roads in countryside here, are pretty awful.

Yeah, Ventspils is great, the best place in Latvia I ever been.

Don't bother visiting castles or stuff like that in Lithuania, compared to German ones it's really shit. The best place to visit in our capital is Šnekutis bar http://www.alutis.lt/snekutis/ . Seaside and beaches in Lithuania are crap, not worth visiting at all. Roads in Lithuania are driveable, not sure about Belarussian, but i've heard they are not the best. Latvian roads are worse, a lot of roads in the coutryside are gravel. I personally like driving trough the forests and fields on a narrow gravel road, especially with a bike, it's fun, but of course not with a lowered trackday car! I really suggest you not to stick on motorways, countryside in eastern Europe is really beatifull, with a lot of small villages full of friendly people and funny drunkards fighting each other. Nothing spectacular to see in the bigger cities. Lithuania is all about countryside, beer and beatiful girls!

Here are some photos of what you can find outside motorways and big cities. The whole forum is full of photos and routes of Lithuania.
http://www.enduroclub.lt/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=709

Feel free to ask if you want more info about my country.

Quote from AndRand :

It is in Ukraine

...which is next to Belarus, hence why I said 'take a detour'. It's not far, practically on the border.

It's not on your route, but if I'm ever in Switzerland, I've wanted to try this.

I'd give you tips for Denmark, but I have no idea what you want to see
It's really just the usual stuff, in Copenhagen or any other big city like Roskilde or Odense you won't have any trouble finding bars or night clubs

Quote from morpha :

Also, unless you absolutely have to see Vienna, I'd avoid it altogether. It's just no fun at all by car.

Can't agree on that, never had a problem with driving in vienna. Not that it's fun per se to drive in the city, but its not really that troublesome either. And there are plenty of things to see in vienna.

And i can highly recommend my hometown Graz, a very nice town mixing both alpine and mediterranean atmosphere.

That´s my holiday period as well. You and your friend are welcome to stay at my place here in DK, not sure I´ll be at home. PM me.

I have to admit I'm impressed.
You lot are truly helpful, thanks for all the replies.

The both of us are not looking for something particular, anything that could mean a good time to you is worth mentioning.
If there is any more you may want to add, please don't hesitate to make a post.

Quote from Biohazard :

I have to admit I'm impressed.
You lot are truly helpful, thanks for all the replies.

The both of us are not looking for something particular, anything that could mean a good time to you is worth mentioning.
If there is any more you may want to add, please don't hesitate to make a post.

hungarian girls!

Quote from morpha :

Also, unless you absolutely have to see Vienna, I'd avoid it altogether. It's just no fun at all by car.

If you're not directly on the Ring or the Gürtel, it is not that bad.

If ur coming trough Estonia, lets meet up.

In Estonia, Tallinn - keep away from "Lasnamäe" and "Kopli". Also, we have a bunch of pickpocketers just where u come abord the ship (If u choose that way to come). Always keep ur eyes open here and ull be fine :3

if through Slovakia, visit at least these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Tatras
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orava_(castle)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojnice_Castle

and if(visiting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko%C5%A1ice )
send a pm

Quote from Crashgate3 :

If you're going through Belarus, you should take a small detour and take a tour round the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

that sure is one place we're eager to go to. has anybody been there before, maybe took a guided tour?

Quote from hp999 :

Be sure to visit the Old Town/downtown Tallinn in Estonia(if you're visiting Tallinn) as well as the Town Hall Square(known as Raekoja Plats) and Toompea.
And whatever you do, please and please, do not run into the gay parade. lol

guess we don't need another gay pride parade. obviously cannot get around the one in vienna on july 9th, but it could be worth seeing such a thing once.
it is quite likely that we stay in latvia or estonia before heading to finland. wanted to get a good glimpse of tallinn ever since the approximate route was done. how's the ferry line from there to finland? prices seem to be absolutely okay, but do i need some reservation or booking beforehand?

Quote from morpha :

loads of useful information about austria

thumbs up and thank you.

Quote from PoVo :

- You should also visit a resort town Nida (German: Nidden) which is not too far away from Klaipeda. You will definitely find something to do there!

vilnius will be visited, but 'resort town' does not really sound that tempting. still, i have read that nida has a fine electronic music scene, so it may be well worth a stop.

Quote from Agniz :

a whole lot of good suggestions and proposals

awesome. that whole trip in just the very way you described it sounds tempting. beyond doubt a good portion of this is to be done.

Quote from KiRmelius :

Lithuania is all about countryside, beer and beatiful girls!

that's how i hoped it would be. thank you.

Quote from tikshow :

hungarian girls!

and again.

Quote from all austrian posters :

about the situation of being in vienna by car

well, i hope the traffic is not that bad. after all, this is one of the few definite points and dates. vienna, 8th of july.
from what i have heard it is a beautiful town and worth every minute.

Quote from hazaky :

If ur coming trough Estonia, lets meet up.

Quote from majod :

and if(visiting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko%C5%A1ice )
send a pm

yay! i will contact you. totally looking forward.

Quote from R.Kolz :

That´s my holiday period as well. You and your friend are welcome to stay at my place here in DK, not sure I´ll be at home. PM me.

of course i am going to get in touch with you as well. thank you for the generous offer to stay at your place, i will keep that in mind.
further details are exchanged via pm.

wee, excuse the long post. i'm glad that this community still works and came up with that amount of suggestions. i owe you!
more information and recommendations cannot hurt, though.

how's camping in the wild punished in your country, for example? we will be bringing a tent, as we most likely won't get (or could afford...) a hotel room each night.

regards, biosebastian

Quote from Biohazard :

guess we don't need another gay pride parade. obviously cannot get around the one in vienna on july 9th, but it could be worth seeing such a thing once.
it is quite likely that we stay in latvia or estonia before heading to finland. wanted to get a good glimpse of tallinn ever since the approximate route was done. how's the ferry line from there to finland? prices seem to be absolutely okay, but do i need some reservation or booking beforehand?

It's fairly good. It gets there in about an hour and a half or so. You don't necessarily need a booking since you could go to the booking in the port and buy the ticket(s) from there, but booking it online is the best option mainly because mid-summer is quite a busy time in ports.
Here's where you can have a look at the departure and arrival times. http://www.tallinksilja.com/en/schedules/helTal/ You can also book the tickets by clicking on the logo on the right side.

Quote from hazaky :

In Estonia, Tallinn - keep away from "Lasnamäe" and "Kopli". Also, we have a bunch of pickpocketers just where u come abord the ship (If u choose that way to come). Always keep ur eyes open here and ull be fine :3

During the summer (tourist) time I've only driven through the Tallinn port area, but in the in the off-seasons I've walked off the port area, there has been no issue of pick-pocketers. So it's not that bad as the signs on the boat from Finland etc lets on.

But on the off-season I once visited a liqueur store (practically sober, mind you) in a Tallinn subsidiary of Stockmann (a very up-scale shop to Finnish standards) the cashier-lady tried to hustle me some 100EEK (before Estonia changed to EUR). It might have been a mistake...... but I would suggest to triple check your change and quadruple check your EMV-card/credit card charges before accepting them.

Quote from Biohazard :

how's camping in the wild punished in your country, for example? we will be bringing a tent, as we most likely won't get (or could afford...) a hotel room each night.

regards, biosebastian

Just lock all the valuable stuff in the car. Police doesn't mind that at all if you aren't doing silly stuff, and locals are mostly friendly, but nobody knows when you can meet a drunk cleptomaniac in the night. We once lost a case of beer like that.

Which towns are you planning to visit in Lithuania?

sounds like some proper advice and like there are great people around. police here in my small town is totally anal about all the tiny misdemeanors that just happen.
which lithuanian towns we are going to be in i cannot say right now. it is not even possible for me to make suggestions to my friend, as he currently is spending two weeks in italy. yeah, that's the life.

well then, our journey will commence in a few hours. whoever wants to meet up, just drop me a pm. in case you already expressed interest to do so i will contact you that way.
best regards.