Estonia > Latvia > Lithuania > Poland


Latvia 8.8 - 11.8.03

Day 6: Tartu - Riga

Bus to Riga left 6 AM so I had to wake up around five. Bus was 35 minutes late, but thanks to smooth border crossings, I arrived in Riga around noon. Map in Lonely planet guide was missing half the street names, so first thing I did was find a decent map so I could locate my hostel. Took a quick nap and after that went to exchance some local money. Got really bad rate, but then again I found a cheap place to eat so I guess got even. First impression of this city is great : It`s like a mix between Prague and St. Petersburg

Day 7: Riga

My hostel is located in a middle of local market place, so finding cheap breakfast / lunch wasn`t a problem. I went to occupation museum in afternoon, really interesting place and no entrance fee. Places like this makes me really happy, that finns told Russians to piss off in 1939, instead of letting them occupate Finland, as they did in baltics. Felt like listening some live music in the evening and I found bar where local band was playing and didn`t leave until early morning.

Day 8: Riga

I got pretty drunk last night, so I didn`t get out of bed until around noon. Tall ship race came to Riga yesterday and as a wannabe-sailor I decited to check those ships out. Well I wasn`t the only one : harbour was packed with people and there was nice carnival atmosphere. Great ships and one them was even looking for crew! I got pretty excited until I noticed it was for people 15 to 25 only.

Day 9: Riga - Vilnius

Woke up in a morning when local handyman comes to repair one the beds in my dorm. I know it`s only dorm, but it would be nice to ask if it`s okay to start pounding away with hammer in 8 am. Bus to Lithuania didn`t leave until 4 pm, so I went to old town one last time. I have to say that Riga is one of nicest places I ever visited. And one more thing...It seems that there is no helmet laws in Latvia, so I`ll definitely be back with my bike and "ride free"