Baltic Beach Amber Jurmala

... snot from dripping down my face because
I definitely wasn't going to breath!! It seems that the Latvians have
figured out how to sell more animal body parts than I thought existed.

The
cheese room was equally amusing. Thorstein had told me to go to see the
"circular" women selling and eating their cheese. They had observed
that the sellers often exuded attributes of what they were selling. It
was quite the sight, these older,short, round women standing behind ...

... the economic downturn which has hit Latvia very hard.

For lunch, I go to a Middle Eastern café. This cuisine is extremely popular throughout the Baltic countries I have visited. It is along a pedestrian street, half a mile from the beach. When I read about it, I was hoping for a boardwalk> I have not seen a Boardwalk yet.

Back on the beach, I am just getting situated when thunder rumbles in the distance. It turns out not to be so far away ...

At about 4:00am Belle and I were woken by a knock on our cabin door, the lights came on and then there was a man with a flashlight asking us something or other in Russian. As it turned out he was a customs officer who was there to check our bagage. We showed him our two suitcases stowed under the sleeper bed and this seem to satisfy him. He checked the other lugagae compartments, all empty, and left without checking to see what we were carrying - exiting Russia by train seems to ...

... onlz -4. We also found our own way from the airport to our hostel in the city without a Lonely Planet. So proud of us! Just spent the last few days wandering around the Old Town. The place is beautiful, especially with it covered in snow. The little cobbled walkways and the old buildings kind of remind me of Prague. Glad that we finally made it here. Back to London tomorrow. Itll be interesting going back somewhere that people understand every word I say

... the table leaving me at the bar with the bill. At that stage I thought that they had helped me and I just paid as a form of thank you. The three people working there were nice and genuine and tried to help me out by calling Lauris on the phone and trying to think of a cheap hotel. I told them I was staying in the hostel anyway I had already decided. When I got up to leave, the two that had been with me from the beginning followed me outside. The girl said to be in ...

... full of Northern Irish football fans who are there for the match. Decide to return the favour and take Simon for a drink at my hostel bar. That evening make some new acquaintances, Anna a German teacher teaching at a Latvian school out of town, Dan a Swiss dude, Leo from Italy, a Mexican guy who's name I forget and a couple of others i forget. With Essex James as our guide we head to the disused docks area to the North and a night club ...

... t smoke it. The old grandma's however chop it up and put it in butter as they think it is a medicine...I wonder. The most scary incident during our travels occurred in Riga. We were walking back to our hostel one night when we came across a drunk guy and his mate who pulled a gun on the 3 girls who were walking in front of them. Kane and I instantly darted behind a car when he then turned to us and started waving the gun at us. His mate quickly pulled him away and ...

... pickles. It's been so long since I've had real home-made pickles. It reminded me of my great granny Mary's pickles. Being from Poland she still always made the best pickles and amazing donuts. Some of the few things I remember about here from such a young age. Funnily enough, in yet another branch of the market, full of dried fruits, pastries, sweets, and breads that all smelled to die for, we passes a little stall where I saw a woman eating fresh fried ...

... been pressinig on my mind. Anyway, back to Riga, I'll worry about all that other **** in a few days. Riga and Tallinn are very similar and yet so very different. Historically they mirror each other, they both have there preserved "Old Towns", and have great night scenes. However, where Estonia is a poor mans Scandanavian country (I think they would even like that description), Latvia is a middle class Balic country. Riga is much bigger ...

... it all, despite my extensive efforts last night to find a pub to watch the Australia vs Uruguay WC Qualifier any place that had a TV either only had one channel or basically just didn't have the game, I did find one place that had the Rally of Australia of all things on, so that was a disappointment on top of what certainly wasn't the most memorable of places that I've seen this year. Anyway, with that behind me I'm now in another new city and new country and already the hostel ...