Torun, Poland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Torun, Poland 

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, 57/81F.

Route: From Malbork 154 km south on A1 and E75.

Population: 201,447

Places to visit: The Living Museum of Gingerbread, Torun House of Legends, House of Nicolas Copernicus Museum, Old Town Hall, Krzywa Wieza, Zoo and Botanical Garden, Teutonic Castle Ruins, Centre of Contemporary Art, The Arthur's Court.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The Vistula River with the Old Town in the Background (from whc.unesco.org)

The 13th Century Old Town (from whc.unesco.org)

Castle of Malbork, Poland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Place: Malbork, Poland

Weather: Cloudy with occasional rain showers, 60/80F.

Route: From Vilnius 575 west on S7.

Significance: This castle was built by German monk/soldiers (Teutonic Order) in the 13th Century. It reached its greatest power in the 14th century.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images: 

The Castle (from whc.unesco.org)

The bridge over the moat and wall (from whc.unesco.org)

Vilnius, Lithuania - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Vilnius, Lithuania

Weather: Cloudy with showers, 61/79F.

Route: From Nesvizh 237 km NNW on P54 and E28/M7.

Population: 588,412

Places to visit: Vilnius Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage Site), KGB Museum, St. Anne's Church, Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Gate of Dawn, Gediminas Castle Tower, Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania - National Museum, Bernardine Gardens, Holocaust Museum, Amber Museum-Gallery.

Video: 

Images: 

Aerial view of Old Town (from whc.unesco.org)

St. Anne's Church (from whc.unesco.org)

Nesvizh Castle, Belarus - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Nesvizh Castle, Belarus

Weather: Showers and thunderstorms, 62/81F.

Route: From Kiev 549 km NNW on E373 and M07.

Significance: The Radzwill family was a powerful dynasty that contributed to Lithuania, Poland, Prussia, and Belarus history. They built this castle in the 16th century and the family lived in the castle until 1939.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

An aerial view of the castle (from belarus.by)

Castle from the other side of the moat (from whc.unesco.org)

Kiev, Ukraine

 Place: Kiev, Ukraine

Weather: Partly cloudy, 68/87F.

Route: From Kazan 1,692 km WSW on E22, M7 and E101.

Population: 2,962,180

Places to visit: The Holy Dormition, Andreyevskiy Spusk, Saint Sophia Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site), National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the  Second World War, Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum, Pyrohovo Open-Air Museum, Grishko Central Botanical Garden, Chernobyl National Museum, The House with Chimeras, Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts, Mariyinski Palace.

Images:

The Dnieper River (from bbc.com)

Independence Square (from geographical.co.uk)

Kazan, Russia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Kazan, Russia

Weather: Partly cloudy, 58/76F.

Route: From Vladimir 643 km east on E22 and M7.

Population: 1,143,535

Significance: Kazan is exactly the kind of place that I hope to find in my dream trip. A city of over 1 million people that I didn't even know existed. It developed into a large city under the Golden Horde from Mongolia in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is the capital of Tatarstan, a culture that has many Arabic elements in their language and culture. The city has many Islamic buildings. The city has been part of Russia since Ivan the Terrible conquered it in 1552. The UNESCO status is specific to the Kremlin, a fortress dating back to the era of the Golden Horde.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Image: 

The Kazan Kremlin (from whc.unesco.org)

Vladimir, Russia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Vladimir, Russia

Weather: Partly cloudy, 50/73F.

Route: From Yaroslavl 230 km south on P79 and M7.

Population: 345,373

Significance: Vladimir was the main city of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality with its height at the 12th century. There were many white buildings, both defensive and religious built during the period.  The area was invaded by the Mongols intermittently in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The Golden Gate of Vladimir (from whc.unesco.org)

Dormition Cathedral (from whc.unesco.org)

Yaroslavl, Russia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Yaroslavl, Russia

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, 48/67F.

Route: From Moscow 273 km NE on M-8.

Population: 608,722

Significance: Situated on the Volga River, Yaroslavl has been an important trading center since the 11th century. There are many 17th century churches.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Church of Elijah the Prophet (from whc.unesco.org)

St. John the Baptist Church (from whc.unesco.org)

Moscow, Russia

 Place: Moscow, Russia

Weather: Partly cloudy, 55/72F.

Route: From Novgorod 576 km SE on M-11.

Population: 12, 506,468

Places to visit: St. Basil's Cathedral, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Kremlin (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, The Museum of Cosmonautics, Armoury Chamber, Kolomenskoye Historical Architectural Museum and Reserve, Gorkiy Central Park of Culture and Recreation, Museum of Human Living Systems, Experimentanium Science Museum, Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Danskoi Monastery, Kuskovo Estate.

Video:

Images:

St. Basil's Cathedral (from whc.unesco.org)

The modern city center along the Moskva River (from skyticket.com)

Novgorod, Russia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Novgorod, Russia

Weather: Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon.

Route: From Riga 494 km ENE on A2.

Population: 218,717

Significance: Founded in the 9th century, it was another important trading center. It was actually Russia's first capital.  It has many fine examples of Russian/Orthodox architecture.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The Citadel or Kremlin of Nogorod (from whc.unesco.org)

The Cathedral of St Sophia (from whc.unesco.org)

Riga, Latvia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Riga, Latvia

Weather: Sunshine and clouds mixed, 59/73F.

Route: From Tallinn 308 km south on route 4 and A1.

Population: 614,618

Significance: Riga is yet another important city in the German Hanseatic league. It is also known as one of the finest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

House of the Blackheads - originally built in the 14th century for a guild of unmarried merchants, ship owners, and foreigners. It was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in the 1990's. (from whc.unesco.org)

One of the many Art Nouveau buildings in Riga (from whc.unesco.org)

Tallinn, Estonia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Tallinn, Estonia

Weather: Overcast with showers at times, 59/73F.

Route: From St. Petersburg 470 km west on E20.

Population: 437,619

Places to visit: Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour, Aleksander Nevski Katedraali, Kadriorg Park, Eesti Vabaohumuuseum, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinna Raekoda, Tallinn Town Wall, Kadriorg Palace, Kiek in de Kok and Bastion Passages Museum, Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, KGB Museum, Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood, Niguliste Museum, Danish King's Garden, Tallinn City Museum.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Treetop view of Tallinn old town including old walls (from whc.unesco.org)

Town Hall Square (from whc.unesco.org)

Saint Petersburg, Russia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, 60/74F.

Route: From Helsinki 391 km east on E18.

Population: 5,351,935

Places to visit: The State Hermitage Museum, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Grand Peterhof Palace, Catherine Palace and Park, Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Preserve, Faberge Museum, Alexander Park, Oranienbaum State Museum Reserve, The State Museum St. Isaac's Cathedral, State Russian Museum, Chinese Palace, Pavlovsk State Museum, Winter Palace.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

Frozen Neva River and city center in winter (from whc.unesco.org)

Peterhof Palace (from whc.unesco.org)

Helsinki, Finland

 Place: Helsinki, Finland

Weather: Generally sunny, 59/79F.

Route: From Rauma 258 km ESE on E8 and E18.

Population: 656,250

Places to visit: Sea Fortress Suomenlinna (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Temppeliaukio Church, Seurassari Island and Open-Air Museum, Ateneum, The National Museum of Finland, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Natural History Museum, Sibelius Park.

Images:

Market square on the waterfront (from planetware.com)

Suomenlinna Fort (from planetware.com)

Rauma, Finland - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Rauma, Finland

Weather: Mainly sunny, 65/76F.

Route: From Alta 1,224 km south on E8.

Population: 39,037

Significance: Rauma is an old medieval town on the Gulf of Botnia. It's center of 600 buildings mostly constructed by wood during the 18th and 19th centuries, still stand.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Old townhall of Rauma (from whc.unesco.org)

Traditional homes in the old town (from whc.unesco.org)

Rock Art of Alta, Norway - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Alta, Norway

Weather: Light rain early, then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon, 50/58F.

Route: From Gammelstad 604 km north on E45.

Significance: It's incredible to think that people lived in this place above the Arctic circle in 5000 BC, much less that they were creating rock art - but that's exactly what happened.  The art shows many animals and also humans engaged in rituals.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images: 

Animals and people in boats (from whc.unesco.org)

People in what appears to be ritual costumes (from whc.unesco.org)