I’ve just finished reading Baltic Souls by Jan Brokken — a book that is more than a travelogue. It’s a quiet, almost invisible portal into a world that may seem distant, yet feels strangely familiar. Page after page, I felt an irresistible urge growing inside me: to leave. For Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia. For those cities with nearly forgotten names — Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn — and for the landscapes that still hold the memory of centuries of history, pain, resistance, and refined civilisation.

In the Baltic countries, everything seems to whisper. The architecture — Gothic, Baroque, modernist — lives in harmony with the silence of the woods, the wind that cuts through the plains, and the courtyards. But above all, it’s the soul of the people that touches you. Proud, reserved, deeply cultured. I discovered that Latvia is one of the countries with the highest reading rate in Europe. The bookstores of Riga are places of reverence, and cultural conversation is woven into everyday life. It’s no surprise Brokken felt the need to write about them — these places seem inhabited by time itself, by a conscious slowness that resists the rush of our modern world.

And then there’s the food — so honest and elemental — dark rye bread, mushrooms, smoked fish, and soups that warm both body and spirit. There are the markets, where you meet women with floral headscarves and hands marked by the earth, and kind men offering local beer and forest honey with quiet pride.

To visit the Baltic countries is to undertake a journey that is also a return: to what is essential, to the dignity of history, to the kind of beauty that doesn’t need noise to leave its mark. It’s a place where inner life still has a voice, where everything — from wooden lakeside houses to modern concert halls nestled in greenery — speaks a silent, powerful language.

If you’re seeking an experience that will truly enrich you, go to the Baltics. Not to see, but to listen. To learn that even in discretion lies extraordinary strength. And if you can, bring Baltic Souls with you. It will be your travel companion — and your guide for the soul.