Leaving Tartu for Latvia thought we'd try the bus this time. Virg was a bit concerned about the journey being prone to travel sickness but having rekindled her other (less well documented) phobia of jumping the gap (literally) between carriages in Eastern European trains to get to the toilet on the trip to Tartu, the bus won the vote this time. ...

We decided to splash out a little today and spent about 60 pounds on an organised trip to an underground soviet bunker and the Aerodium, an upright wind tunnel. The tour guide arrived at our hostel ontime and took us to the bus a few minutes walk away. We strapped up and headed out of Riga on a drive for about an hour and a half. Once out of the...

After breakfast, we drove out to the castle (again) and the park. We walked past the modern/newer castle, with its gardens and mannequin ghosts in the windows. It lacked the eeriness of last night, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Beyond this, we went through the Castle of the Knights of the Sword, which was a few walls and bushes. We visit...

Today I took off for Sigulda, considered the "Switzerland of Latvia" because of its mountains, ski areas, outdoor activities, and respite from city life. I am really looking forward to it because they have a bobsled track where you can actually push off a bobsled and run down the track! I take a local train from Riga and 45 minutes later I'm the...