The Baltics is a loose term for the three nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; three small countries bordering Russia which were part of the Soviet Union until the early 1990's. It was the fiercely independent and proactive nature of these people that helped to pressurise the USSR into letting go of its republics. They still do not like to be referred to as "former Soviet Union" as they maintain that they were illegally occupied during this period.

ESTONIA
Visas are very strictly controlled in Russia and there is a real risk of being sent to Moscow to explain yourself if your papers aren't in order. I had planned to use up the maximum time in St Petersburg by taking the night train to Estonia. The problem being that the train leaves at 11:30pm and would still be a few miles short of the border once midnight struck. Having experienced at first-hand just how keen the Russian authorities are to elicit bribes from foreigners for minor misdemeanours I decided not to risk it and left a day early.

Arriving in Tallinn at the crack of dawn I had to wander around for an hour before the town woke up. At this time of the day little old ladies go around the narrow streets with dustpans and brushes cleaning the streets. I couldn't work out whether they are employed by the town or are just proud citizens. I eventually went to the hostel and booked myself in. Untypically the dormitory was mixed and having woken up most of the sleepers by clumping around with my backpack I got acquainted with an American girl, also recently arrived from Russia, and we spent the morning in the local laundry.

The centre of Tallinn has a classic old-world European feeling to it with narrow cobble-stoned streets and a mix of architectural styles revealing a chequered history. The people are quite Scandinavian looking and the whole place has the calm, orderly atmosphere of somewhere like Denmark or Sweden. There is little evidence of the 40 years of Soviet rule until you venture further outside the old town and into the suburbs where the grim concrete apartment blocks dominate the surroundings.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and assertion of independence by the three nations, Western countries were quick to start investing in Estonia, particularly Finland. This explains how the country developed a settled Western feel in such a sort space of time without the impatient rush of Moscow. All amenities are here from modern sport centres to Indian takeaways. We had to make a conscious effort to remember our location and eat at an Estonian restaurants, sampling some of the national dishes and spirits.

After another day of exploring the picturesque Old Town of Tallinn, I left on a typically modern and efficient coach service to the town of Parnu in Southern Estonia. Once more, perfectly preserved churches and historic buildings were the order of the day but the main attraction of the town is the medicinal mud baths for which people travel from miles around. I didn't have time to try the baths so instead paid a visit to the Charlie Chaplin museum of modern art - and never found out why it is so called.

LATVIA
I expected more of the same in Riga, the capital city of Latvia, but was surprised at its large size and amount of modern city activity. Riga also has a historic old town, larger than Tallinn and with more prominent churches and buildings. The architecture is more decorative with more gothic and art nouveau styles to be seen.

The other side of Riga is the modern, expanding metropolis that spans the wide Daugava river and has all the trendy sophistication of a Western city. The two days I spent there felt rather like taking a break from all the travelling, relaxing in familiar surroundings and catching up on some much needed sleep.

With only a few years of independence behind them, there is still an element of change and development in these countries. One area that has still to settle down is the question of time zones. Latvia is the only one of the three nations to adopt summertime - a recent event as it wasn't mentioned in my guidebook. As a result, the planning of buses between the countries is puzzling, gaining an hour when arriving in Latvia and loosing it again when reaching Lithuania. All in the space of a few hundred miles.

LITHUANIA
Time constraints meant that I only had time to visit only the capital city Vilnius. I booked into a "home stay", a room in a private home let out via an agency. As well as being cheaper than a hotel the accommodation is usually nicer although there is an element of chance involved. I was shown to a large room in a luxurious mews apartment close to the centre which only cost about £10 including a large breakfast cooked by the owner.

Vilnius is rapidly becoming a weekend tourist destination and I was only able to stay for a single night in the home stay so I relocated to a hostel on the outskirts of town. The hostel was part of a leisure complex and having a swimming pool to hand was a bonus although I had to undergo a mandatory health check before taking a dip, presenting my hands and feet to the medical staff on duty and getting a certificate.

There was a clear theme developing with these three capital cities - all have well preserved and attractive old towns surrounded by impressive modern city infrastructure. All seemed to have easily discarded the evidence of the Soviet era even though there is still a high proportion of Russian spoken. It became a point of interest to try and identify the differences between the characters of the people. Lithuanians are often said to be less reserved and more romantic in their outlook then Latvians and Estonians. Evidence is usually given to the fact that Lithuania decided to erect a monument to Frank Zappa and the American band "The Grateful Dead" temporarily sponsored its Olympic basketball team.

To a casual visitor spending only a few days in each country, the differences between them are not overwhelming. You will often see more variations in people and culture between regions of the same country. Together they reflect their geographical position, located tightly between Russia and Scandinavia, containing aspects of both yet still with an element of their own character