Laine Riga

... a little passenger ferry to go from A to B, this was a freakin cruise ship!! I was on board the Silvn Festival from Riga to Stockholm. This thing had 9 floors, with everything you could want from a onboard supermarket, cinema, salon, disco, and live band. holy jeeves. I was in a female cabin with a Lithuanian gal named Elena, who was similar to myself (as in she was going to a conference in Stockholm, hers was on EU development). I stayed out on ...

... blocks, stained, depressing. I begin to wonder what I was doing – especially after Rachels comment about Estonia being the silicon valley of the 'east’ and therefore the more affluent of the three baltics. After checking-in, I loaded up on my liras – I walk into the first cafe & proceeded to fuel my nerves on a baltic staple: Solanka Soup – meat and vege soup ...

... separate areas even though they were as castles very close. The Turaida castle that we visited is quite a precinct, with an old church and lovely parks etc. It was after 4 when we arrived there, and we knew we still had at least another hour's drive to Riga, so we couldn't stay too long. The castle was good, the exhibits mostly OK, but in the old granary there was a historic museum to the Livonian people. I have to say that this was really excellent, but I was getting too ...

... due to fainting or being knocked unconscious. Either way, when she came to, she had the wherewithal to remain still and silent as she felt the shoes of people being forced to undress being thrown on top of her. After enduring the sounds of all her fellow Jews being killed and lying in the dark and freezing cold for hours, she found a white dress in the piles of clothes that would help disguise her in the snow and walked until she found someone that ...

Wednesday 28th May: Latvia I'm starting to dread the bus journeys at this stage, for want of a expression to put it 'I'm ******** myself' every time I have to get on a coach. I don't know, maybe bus drivers are the same the world over but recently the ticket I've bought has me sitting right up the front with a birds eye view of everything that the driver and the bus does. Normally given the choice I would tend to sit towards the back and maybe by doing so you don't realize just how ...

... on his bed. What was most disturbing to Bob however was the fact he'd paid on his credit card for the room and Matt and I had apparently thought we were Rock Stars and had trashed the room. The flimsy table just couldn't take Matt's weight and TV's do always look better upside down. I wasn't very good for the rest of that day. I'm bad with hangovers. The next day was the big day, we ate Foie Gras and Stuffed squid for breakfast. Mmm. Later came my second visit to Camp Nou ...

First came the hanging about, not really realising we were about to leave the country whilst we just concentrated on our tasty food (also not really knowing when the next chance we'd get to eat would be), then came the task of checking in, and finally the horrible time to say goodbye. Many hugs were exchanged, but not nearly enough to last for the next few months. There were a few tears, but not too many I'm happy to say. It should also be mentioned that the ...

... or should I be sad? I will never have an answer to this question, but the way that the Eastern European states are improving themselves I just hope for the best. While it looks beautiful, I hope that it is good for the entire country and not just the elite few. I truly believe that what is happening here will raise the lot of everyone, even if it increases the distance between the top and the bottom. And in my opinion this is the most important thing for progress.

... it in Latvia, you won't get me to anymore of these weird countries I know you've been looking at." Clapping my hands in glee, I said, "You won't regret it, I promise!" * * * Touching down at Riga Airport at 7:20pm local time, I regarded the snow and ice outside. Nowhere looks warm and inviting in the dark. Even less so with a blizzard blowing and an aeroplane from Uzbekistan parked at the stand next to us. Thirty minutes later we were through customs with our luggage and ...

... je paye et on se casse, ca se passe comme ca ici. Merci et salut, on a un train a prendre. Dans mon compartiment je retrouve une canadienne, une neo-zelandaise, un australien. Pas vraiment authentique mais completement sympathique. Les anglaises ne sont pas loin, Diedrick est un peu plus isole mais vient squatter assez souvent. Apres 10h passees a la frontiere sino-mongole, c'est la grande traversee du Gobi : chameaux, moutons, chevaux... On n'est pas loin de l'Asie centrale ...