BALTIC EXPRESS: 4 CAPITALS OF THE NORTH from Delta Travel
a week ago we returned from a "wonderful" trip "BALTIC EXPRESS: 4 CAPITALS OF THE NORTH Tallinn-Helsinki-Stockholm-Riga" from delta travel 30.04-5.05. 2011. I did not count on much buying such a rich tour for 200 kopecks. euros, but I did not think that everything would be like that! the cities are simply magnificent, they are definitely worth visiting, but whether to do it with delta travel - read for yourself.
interestingness began with the visa application. The deadline for receipt was given to us on April 22, but we did not wait for a call from the company and, having waited until the end of the Easter holidays, we called ourselves on Tuesday 26. our agent Svetochka said that "they did not calculate all these holidays over time... visas will be on Friday! and nothing that the departure on Saturday at 8-30 am? ! on Friday, after waiting until 4 pm and again without waiting for any information from the company, they again began to call themselves. "Well, it wasn't me who took everything, but our agent. I don't know anything for sure, but they said that there seemed to be no refusals. . . "
the second surprise was in the morning at the station. when buying a tour, we were pleased with the information that "the group will be small, 40 people, since there are many excursions and it is difficult for a large group. " but there was a two-tiered bus with 70 seats in the parking lot.
then we met our "tour guide" (it's impossible to write it without quotation marks) elena prikhodko. she greeted us "hello guys", called us boys and girls and even poked us at women 20-25 years older than her. the second phrase simply killed "since we are not 40 people as expected, but 70, then I think you will all agree that it makes no sense to stop at sanitary stops at gas stations. There are also a maximum of two booths. We will go to the bushes. " the reaction to the indignant hum of the bus was a deadpan "I'm glad we agreed. " oh, if only they were bushes. otherwise, for some reason, a coniferous forest with sparse pines was always chosen, or even an open field in general (and rain is not a hindrance to us! ). and when we were lucky with a normal toilet where you can even wash your hands (for example, at customs), then after 5 minutes Lena appeared and began to indignantly urge everyone on. tea was promised to us 3 times, but the water ran out at half past one, and at the second the boiler broke down and they stopped letting us near it.
but all these are just flowers. the berries began later, when instead of the promised maximum 26 hours on the road ("if there are problems at customs or something"), we drove 34 !! ! and got to Tallinn around 5 pm instead of 10.30-11 am. and all because the wonderful Delta Travel company saved money and invited not experienced, but cheap drivers. at night I slept, but during my wakefulness I counted 8 turns (this is only in Belarus! ). there was a town that we passed 4 times! imperturbable Lena explained it like this: “well, you see, the drivers relied on gprs (how does she know that this is not quite the same as gps), but it doesn’t work, and we don’t have a map. and in general, I paid for a paid drogue and we cut as much as 80 km! ". By the way, the first time we got lost was in Kyiv, when we tried to drive through a closed Khreshchatyk on a day off. just the drivers were from ishmael...
Well, a little more about Elena. When we bought a tour, Sveta praised her as a "wonderful tour guide. " "Yes, she will tell you all the interesting things all the way. You will learn so many new things! ". well, yes. we found out. Lena told us the difference between cabins of class b and c (which we already knew, because we paid for our cabins). for a long time she ranted on the topic “how everything is expensive in Europe. no, well, of course you can buy it, but it’s not for your pockets” or “but I just returned from a trip with the last group and they were so lucky with the weather. ” there was no question of any information about the country, traditions, culture, or at least elementary about the name of the city that we were passing through (it turned out to be Tartu)... pearls like "here the guide told you that this tower is near the stadium 72 m. but she forgot to say that nothing is done here just like that. they had such a record - 72 m. , it seems, pole vaulting. " baptize if it seems. . .
tours lasted a maximum of two hours. in Tallinn about half of that time, as it was already late. but in principle they pleased, as the hired guides turned out to be really knowledgeable. but an additional excursion to Turku simply struck me with its squalor. Elena herself conducted it (probably the company decided to save money here too). In fact, it was a tour of the church in Turku. we learned the following about the city: “there is a castle here”, “this is a monument to such and such”, “and there are some numbers on that tower. A familiar mathematician told me what they mean, but I forgot. ” all. + to everything, she constantly called the Turk a Turk.
after this, we did not dare to go on an additional excursion to Jurmala...
I also enjoyed going to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. the museum is very interesting (it is not for nothing that UNESCO called it the best museum in the world), but we were the only group that walked around it without a guide. it's good that I'm a translator and I'm good with English. what the rest understood - I can not imagine...
Excuse me that I had to read so much, but I am writing everything in detail so that you think five times before going somewhere with delta travel, and especially accompanied by Elena!