No sooner had I got home from my last trip, than I started planning the next. After steaming in heat and humidity in Asia, I wanted somewhere cooler, but flights to Scandinavia in July or August were prohibitively expensive. I settled on the Baltics instead, flying the first day fares came down a little, to be followed by the Baltics. Since Fodors won't let me flag a TR with more than five countries I'll post this in phases. (For those who haven't "met" me here before, I'm a 60-something, solo, female traveler. With a small budget - definitely more time than money.)

I'm starting with four nights in New York - I'm typing this in RDU airport, waiting to board my Jet Blue fight to JFK. JB is currently my favorite domestic airline, partly because I get to check one bag free, and partly because they've always provided good service and comfortable seats. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Hurricane Irene will allow me to board my Continental flight from Newark via Copenhagen to Helsinki on Sunday.... (Continental is far from my favorite international airline, but the price was right.)

My plan for the Baltics is:
Helsinki - three nights
Tallinn, by ferry - four nights
Riga, by bus - four nights

After that I fly Air Baltic to Belgrade for a week in Serbia, followed by a tour of Bulgaria (another "B"). I haven't really planned the next month, as October sems to be out of high seasn for the Balkans. The rough outline is Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, with a return visit to Croatia and Slovenia, mostly to get to Budapest for my flights back to the US.

Well, I'm now in New York, my JB flight was early, and I had a really good day yesterday, starring the Rubin museum and a free dance performance at the Lincolm Center. But....

I'm currently waiting for Continental to call me back about rescheduling my Sunday flight. Minimum 90 minute wait time.

Yes, good luck. I was thinking you were starting off around now. Your timing is perfect! Keep us posted.

Well an exciting start to say the least. Good luck, we will be following along as well.

Looks like Irene will be over JFK on Sunday so hope all goes well.

Aloha!

Good luck rebooking. Continental just rebooked my friend who is returning to NYC from Europe..
We love the Rubin, their collection and their cafe is very good too. The Rubin is a real gem.

Thanks people! I'm still waiting for Continental to call me back. there are seats on this afternoon's flight but I don't know if they'll give them to me, since I booked through travelocity.

I had a great time at the Rubin and I ate lunch at Bouchon Bakery with a great view. Of rain - it always seems to rain when I visit Colombus Circle

my guess is don't give up your nyc digs as CO will be delayed for sure on sunday..

if you are at fanny's, give her a big hug from us..

wait till you see the helsinki prices... the boat is a very nice ride.

Good luck to you. Your plan for touring looks wonderful. We enjoyed Helsinki and Tallin. though husband was born in Riga, we have yet to go there and it's on our list. Will be anxious to read your report of it.

Your plans for Serbia, Bulgaria, etc. are very cool I'll also be anxious to read your reports of time there since that is also on our list. Have been to Croatia and want to return. It's so beautiful. Hope you get to see Dubrovnik without excess cruise travelers. They can make it tough to see the beauty. Have a great trip. Get out of NYC.

Happily, Bob's pessism, which I admit I shared, wasn't warranted this time.

I made it! I'm now in Helsinki airport - literally in the airport, I'm staying in a hotel in the terminal, Hotel Glo, at least for tonight. It took four hours for Continental to call me back on Friday, and another fortyfive minutes for them to rebook me (on the same flights as Sunday), which left me with only four hours (after I packed) to make my flight. Still, it was worth the hassle, as I see that the flight is canceled both today and tomorrow.

Am exhausted (and REALLY needed a shower when I checked in!), but just ate some excellent, if pricey, salmon at the airport Hilton.

Woo hoo! Welcome to Finland. I'm following along.

Good for you - you made it out of NYC ahead of Irene. I've been thinking abut you and hoping you'd get on that flight!

Glad to hear you escaped Irene and are on your way.Have a wonderful adventure.
Next time you're at the Rubin eat at their Himalayan Cafe, delicious.
Eagerly following your live report...

Good for you. Enjoy your trip.

Good for you. Enjoy your trip.

Congratulations. Coffee on the Esplanade?

bon voyage... wonders do happen

Enjoy your trip. We didn't think Tallin warranted more than a day or two. If you have the time, you may want to try to get to Vilnius. We thought the city was remarkable.

Nice to see you all over here. Hope the eastcoasters are all safe and hopefully with power.

Moved into town today, although I have to move again tomorrow. Slow start to the day, then tram ride, Sibelius memorial, Design Museum, cathedral, dinner. Finns seem very nice, not as wowed by the architecture as I expected. Details later.

For those interested in costs:

Hotel Glo at the airport: 119 euro incl. comprehensive breakfast buffet, free wifi, no windows.
Hotel Helka, booking.com via eurocheapo.com, 120 euro incl. breakfast and wifi and big windows.
Hostel Academica, en-suite single, 57 euro without b'fast, wifi in lobby. Only out of term time, it's a student hall of residence the rest of the year. http://www.hostelacademica.fi/

dgunbug - I visitd Vilnius, and liked it very much, back in 2004, so I'm not doing it again this time. (The cheap flights are out of Riga.)

We finally have the power back at the tip of Long Island (no phone, yet,though!), so I am chiming in to let you know that I am fastening my seat belt! Stay well!

Hi eks - glad to hear you're OK and have power. If you have Internet but no phone, have you tried Skype?

Have had a lot of rain in Helsinki, although nothing like a hurricane! Now have my journal up-to-date and am trying to catch up with my posts as I take the ferry to Tallinn tomorrow. (Viking.)

<b>August 24th - 26th - Escaping Irene</b>

This trip started out so well... Although the new X-ray machines were front-and-center at RDU, I only had to cope with "old-style" security, and Jet Blue got me and my one (free) checked bag to JFK early. It did take me nearly twice as long to reach the Upper East Side apartment where I was renting a room from a Fodors' friend, as it did to fly RDU-JFK, but apparently I took the wrong route.

The next day-and-a-bit were fun. I enjoyed my first (really!) Broadway play , Tyne Daly in "Master Class", which Fanny had suggested, more than I expected (I am tone-deaf, not the best candidate for even snatches of opera). In the morning I strolled along East River, deciding I preferred the Hudson, and was intrigued by the rather modern Islamic Cultural Center on 96th, before taking a cross-town bus and disappearing into the subway system just as the rain started.

Bouchon Bakery was seating its first lunch customers when I arrived, and I scored the perfect table, looking straight at Colombus' statue and down Central Park South. A very wet Central Park South. How come it always rains when I visit Colombus Circle? But lunch, chicken salad sparked by the sweet notes of pickled onion, and a pleasant wine, went down well.

I spent the afternoon happily ensconced in the admirable Rubin (if you get a chance, check out the rare Naxi exhibition), and the evening at the Lincoln Center for a "Target Free Thursday" in the David Rubenstein Atrium watching "Ballets With a Twist" perform Cocktail Hour. Admittedly, after a good tartine at Le Pain Quotidien I got to the Atrium too late to find a good seat and had to stand for the performance, but it was worth it.

Then, when I arrived "home" to find Fanny's wifi working, I ruined my mood by checking the weather forecast. No doubt about it, my Sunday flight was history. Given that New York's public transport was slated to shut down Saturday afternoon, I'd have trouble even getting to the airport. When I checked Continental's website, though, I found I could change my flights without penalty. Maybe I should have Skyped Continental then and there (around midnight), but instead I tried to get some sleep. (After getting up a couple of times to check flight availability on Friday. On Saturday. On Monday.)

Friday morning it took several tries to get through to Continental's voice system, where I left my (or, rather, Fanny's) number for a callback. At least 90 minutes, the voice said. Trying Travelocity was worse, they just left me on hold, and after 20 or 30 minutes Skype would drop the call. Continental finally called after about 4 hours, just as I was ready to eat a couple of boiled eggs for lunch. I think the guy on the phone was an amateur, as it took 45 minutes to get me rebooked. I'd take the same flights, but on Friday. (Good thing I hadn't tried for Saturday flights, as those ended up being canceled too.) All that phone time meant that after I had packed, established I couldn't use the Shuttle, and was ready to leave, I had exactly four hours to my 5:35 pm flight. Panic time!

Why doesn't the New York subway system have elevators? I went down the uptown hole in the ground instead of the downtown, which sentenced me to two more flights of stairs. Then, at Grand Central, not a sign in sight for where to surface for the Airport Express. Eventually I picked a likely-looking exit, and asked a nearby vendor for directions. I easily caught the 2:00 pm coach, but then it sat at Times Square until 2:30 pm. My nerves were further tried by the hopelessly snarled traffic around the Holland Tunnel. Between the traffic and the lines at Newark I finally checked in at 4:00 pm, with one minor glitch when the system said I needed to talk to an agent. Apparently I had to be warned that I could only stay 90 days in Finland without a visa. They tell me that now? Why not when I reserved? (Not that it was a problem for me, but still.)

I had, naturally, been assigned a middle seat. I was going to tough it out, but by the time I reached the gate I decided to pay extra for a "more leg room" seat provided I could get a window. Thanks to an article I just read in the Sunday New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/ma...tierney&st=cse) I now have an explanation for this extravagance - it seems that the more decisions you make in a given  day, the worse your judgement and the weaker your self-control! Even though my exit row seat didn't recline (as I had feared, despite the gate agent's assurances), the extra space helped me get at least some sleep. (The less said about Continental's food the better - fortunately I had bought a sandwich at Newark, as breakfast consisted of a croissant and coffee, NO protein whatsoever).

(BTW, thanks to Fanny for the phone and the hugs!)