Tourist Info, Eastern Europe Style

A welcoming greeting from an Estonian tourist office set the scene for a wonderful stay in the northern-most Baltic state.

I always remember my first minutes in Narva, Estonia, after crossing into this Baltic nation after three weeks in Russia. Even in Moscow and St Petersburg, at the time, official tourist information and even maps had been hard to come by. Yet in Narva, I instantly spotted the tourist info office and was literally welcomed with open arms by Jelena – see, I still remember her name – at the Narva Tourist Information Office. She loaded me up with all possible maps and brochures for the region (given that there’s not a whole lot to see in Narva, the volume was very impressive) and gave me a beautiful welcome speech.

Sometimes the fun lies in not having a tourist office to tell you what you should enjoy, but sometimes it’s also nice to meet a welcoming employee. Today’s article on tourist boards in Eastern Europe gives some information and links on where you can get the “official” word on traveling in this region.