Hotel Saulite Riga

... Drive all around Dublin and the countryside to get the full flavor of this beautiful city and country. Car hire Dublin is highly recommended more than any mode of transport in Ireland. The service providers offer a complete wealth of knowledge to the customers as they know nook and corner of the city. In short they open up the city more widely and clearly from the shopping haven of Grafton Street and the Guinness ...

... on we decided to take a break from the sightseeing and went to the cinema to see District 9 and treated ourselves to lots of cheap popcorn and drinks. Good film but gets a bit silly towards the end. But this isn't very travelbloggy! Back to the more travel related stuff...!<br><br>So we left our apartment on the 22nd fairly in the morning and spent our last Lithuanian Litas on a strange baltic pastry before jumping on a train heading to Riga. Unfortunately ...

... forced to admit this by two boys who are getting bigger and cleverer every day). Kaspar's impressions of our relatives' generosity in Latvia has not been exaggerated. We were treated really well. Along with their wonderful hospitality, we (in particular I) heard many stories that have brought both laughter and tears. We pored over old photos of my parents and their families from their youth. We also visited museums and war ...

... were just somewhere to dump "historic things, no longer needed". Here was the statue of Peter the Great, which used to stand where the Freedom Monument now stands. There were umpteen cannons, dating back to around 1600. (What are cannons doing in the cloisters of a church?) There was an old clock face, various bits of medieval wood or plaster or carving, a (sea) mine ... Sometimes there was description saying what they were, sometimes there wasn't. And remember ...

... and exited up the stairs on the left. At this point I was supposed to cut across a park and the hostel would have been in the street on the right. But when I got up the stairs I found myself in front of a construction site. ****! It took me a couple to second to regain my confidence. I walked a round to block until I finally found the hostel. The video is a great idea but they need to update it from time to time. Riga is not as pretty as ...

... to the capital. we are pleased to be gaining some time on the leading Mercedes and we managed to be fastest on several of the tests today. The scenery has been remiscent of Norfolk with flat coastal plains interrupted by farming villages where horse drawn ploughs are still the norm.

... and worked fields. When I got to Riga it didn't take too long to find the hostel and it was another beautiful day! While they started to check me in, a beer was offered, which I happily accepted. Had one (then another...) with (believe it or not) some Scotts that were the only ones in the hostel bar. After I made it up to check in, went back down and there was a group of about 15 more (different) Scotts. Turns out Riga is a huge place for stag parties from the UK. One of ...

... back notes from each country! I tried to "artisticize" myself in Riga. I went on a self-guided Art Nouveau walking tour of the city. I looked at 25 buildings that were of Art Nouveau significance all over the old town. In addition, I went to 4 more streets outside of the old town. I still cannot distinguish Art Nouveau from other styles. I also paid $10 to attend an organ concert at Dome Cathedral, the largest ...

... caso, la Letona fue una agradable primera impresion de este pais, y era solo un adelanto de lo que estaba por venir.(en Polonia no eran tan amables) En el mismo areopuerto habia una tipa que daba informacion, al final me dirigio a un lugar donde podia tomar el bus a la ciudad, todos muy amables. Claro que fue un poco chocante el camino hasta el centro, esto se parece mucho a Polonia, pero yo diria que es mas pobre, no fue bueno haber ido primero a Estocolmo...mejor ...

... sleep and the general great feeling you have after such a night, we decided to catch the train out of Riga to a place 20km Northeast called Sigulda, where it is a short ride into the Gauga River National Park. We set up camp at an awesome spot on the river and built a huge fire, sitting around it till late at night laughing at our antics of the night before. As always enjoying the times, hope you are enjoying the stories, we'll do our best to keep them coming. Till the next entry, Adios