For me, the former-USSR Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are very special places to travel in. Although they have a long history and their own unique identities, for most of us they are "new" countries, still waiting to be fully discovered.
The border village of Narva in the north-eastern corner of Estonia is separated from the Russian town of Ivangorod by just a skinny river, yet the first time I arrived in Narva on a bus from St Petersburg in 2003, it was clear to me that I was in another country. Even during the Soviet era, locals told me, Estonia was a little more westernized, thanks to its close proximity to and good relationship with Finland. In comparison with many towns of Russia (including, for example, the far distant Vladivostok), at the time, Narva had very well cared for infrastructure, abundant supermarkets and internet cafes, and an extraordinarily helpful tourist office who welcomed me as if I was the first Australian to set foot there ... perhaps I was!
With a population of only around seventy thousand - mostly Russian-speaking - and a largely rebuilt town centre after the destruction of World War Two, Narva isn't really a tourist hotspot, but an interesting place to observe locals and marvel at the impact of almost randomly applied borders. Down at the river, you can stand on the Estonian side at Narva Castle and stare across into Russia. At just 200km east of Tallinn, Estonia's pretty capital, Narva might be the easiest place to get a glimpse into Russian life without the hassle and expense of a visa.
