From Gdansk to the Baltics: Masuria & Riga, 10 Days

You make your own way to the old Hanseatic city on the Motlawa. The old town has been rebuilt in full: the medieval crane, the main town hall, St Mary's church and the Long Market with Neptune's fountain all sit within a short walk. For something beyond facades, the Solidarnosc centre at the shipyard is worth the time. The evening belongs to the terraces along the water.

First stop is Malbork on the Nogat, seat of the Grand Master in the 14th and 15th centuries and still the largest medieval brick building in Europe. After that some 290 kilometres run east, and with every kilometre the lakes multiply. By evening you reach Gizycko, in the middle of the Masurian lake district.

A full day with no change of hotel, shaped by tree lined avenues and lake shores. Gizycko has the Boyen fortress and a swing bridge of a kind now rare in Europe, Swieta Lipka a baroque pilgrimage church, and Ketrzyn and the manor at Drogosze round it out. You decide how long the loop gets.

Around 210 kilometres through thinly settled country and on across the border to the north: gentle hills, fields, long avenues, and here and there a stork's nest on a pole. Kaunas sits where the Nemunas meets the Neris, and the old town with its 13th century castle ruin is easy to walk in the evening.

Roughly 290 kilometres along the Nemunas, where hill forts mark the old defensive line against the Teutonic Order. Klaipeda is worth a stop for its old town, then the ferry takes you across to the Curonian Spit. Through open pine woods and over dune crests you reach Nida, home to the Thomas Mann house and the old Curonian cemetery.

The longest stage of the week at around 420 kilometres. The spit road takes you back to the mainland, then it is partly along the coast and straight through quiet Courland, with the broad waterfall at Kuldiga on the way. In the evening you reach Riga, the largest city in the Baltics, with its art nouveau quarters and a very lively old town.

About 260 kilometres, a good part of it through the Gauja National Park, where the river winds between sandstone cliffs, caves and sandbanks. Turaida castle near Sigulda and the order castle at Cesis make good breaks. The day ends in Tartu, with its cathedral hill, the university and the Angel and Devil bridges.

Around 350 kilometres and the best riding of the trip: first to Lake Peipus, which forms the eastern border, then on into Lahemaa National Park and its empty coastal roads. Anyone wanting a shorter day cuts straight across the countryside and gets away with about 200 kilometres. The medieval old town of Tallinn waits in the evening.

In the morning you cross to Helsinki. There a change of port is needed: ferries to Germany leave from the outer harbour at Vuosaari, a good 16 kilometres from the city centre terminals, and you ride that stretch yourself. Departure is around 5 pm, and the night is spent on board in your cabin.

A full day at sea, time to sort the photos and take a last look at the water. At about 9.30 pm the ferry docks at Lubeck Travemunde, the bike rolls off and you are back on German tarmac. For most people it is only a short ride home from here.