Ramada Riga

... of the buildings. Almost everywhere you look, there is a magnificent structure that reflects the prosperity and attitude of the citizens. Even the restaurants are beautifully decorated and the food is very excellent. You can order some traditional Irish cuisine or go to one of the many international places. Of course you must visit some of the famous Irish pubs on your visit to Dublin. This part of the world is best ...

... town. It looked very much like the markets I visited in France during my youth with each "commodity" segregated into different parts of the building(s).<br><br>From the Central Market, I headed to the newer part of the Old Town to visit the Guild Houses and other Art deco architectural gems of the city. I only wish I could have access to the inside of some of these buildings to see if the ...

... nice place, and although the people there didn't seem like the friendliest on the journey, they were nice enough. On the way out of town I realised Riga is a slightly deceptive place... Whilst staying in the city you are surrounded by a glitzy cosmopolitan thriving place of money and wealth, but as soon as you leave the entre of town you are back into the drab and poor Russian style concrete wilderness. Soon the bus was back on the highway and we were headed north into Estonia.

... a taxi. "'Viktorija' hotel," I said. The driver nodded. It was a spot "Lonely Planet" was recommending as cheap and yet a very good value, so the day before in Kaunas I had made a phone call, asking them if they might have a room to book. They had and now I was headed there. The ride there didn't seem long. Pretty soon the driver pulled up at the entrance. "Six lats," he said. Certainly, he didn't speak English, but I was sure that when it came to money there was no language he ...

... thing it does have is Karosta Prison. Back in the Soviet days, it was used to hold political prisoners and people the communist government didn't want around basically. Even after the Soviets were kicked out in 1990 (and they didn't give up the Baltics very easily either as the Red Army tried to forcefully shut down the revolts that were happening and used tanks to try to squash the uprisers) the prison was used by the Latvian military as a military prison. The ...

... me a business card and told me "Just around corner is club. you want drink. you want girl. you come here. Russian girls are best in world!, first four drinks are free" I thanked the man and went into the hostel pub. I declined this seemingly generous offer for four reasons 1) Russian girls, given the evidence, are extremely attractive, however, I have a girlfriend 2) Four free drinks?..if something is too good to be true..it probably is 3 ...

... from the Bus Station. Anyway I arrived here yesterday, Sunday a.m. on the overnight bus from Warsaw, which I arrived at by train from Krakow on Sat. afternoon. I couldn`t get into my room as i arrived at 7 a.m. so had breakfast at the hostel, then took in a movie - Casino Royale at 11 a.m. Theatre 3/4 full at 11 a.m. lots of families with kids. In English with Russian and Latvian subtitles. Then went to Tallink ferry terminal to see if they had my booking, done over the phone from ...

... from when they gained Independence from Russian in '91/'92) was rather impressive. Popped into a bar (with a black cat on the roof!) for beers and a couple of games of pool. Keen was on fire and I thought I was going to have run around the table with my kegs around my ankles (for getting 8 balled from break). It was also here that I think we saw our first 9/10 bird here as it's in my diary but I can't remember her! In the evening we went out for a meal in a tourist ...

... I had a chat with the folks in the tourist information about how to get to various places and then headed back to the bus station and wrote down some bus times. I found a supermarket and then a cinema. I noted the time for a film and back to have tea at the hostel. Again it's free Internet but one computer high up in the building I managed 90 minutes before being bothered. I went to see Mission Impossible 3. I did think about watching Ice Age ...

... vielleicht noch einen uebersetzer oder sowas... jetzt sitze ich also hier in der lettischen radiostation und mir wird gerade ein mikro unter die nase gehalten ;) spaeter kann ich auch wirklich noch ne probe aufnehmen. und endlich bekomme ich die white stripes!!! yeah!!! also, das waeren die ersten impressionen, spaeter gehen wir noch ins hoechste hotel der stadt fuer nen netten ueberblick. so lang sag ich mal "Uz redzçðanos!", euer Martins