Day Tripping.

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The other day Lelde and I took a bus to the coast to go for a walk along the beach. This is when we saw a beaver cleaning himself by the sea. This brings the thought that Latvia's ecology is stil well intact, with a system that supports many large mammals, including wolves and the odd bear!
Yesterday I experienced something new. Lelde and I were waiting at a bus, stop to go home, when an old coach pulled up, opening it 's doors. We got on and Lelde informed me that this is a form of ''unofficial'' public transport, something that used to happen alot more often in Riga. Surely enough, the coach quietly made it's way along the normal bus routes, pulling in at the stops- very enterprising(read- illegal).

The idiosyncrasies of life in Latvia continue with sartorial elegance. One thing that stands out for me is the confidence in the style of Latvian ladies, which can sometimes be quite brash- in the last week alone, I have seen everything from leopard print dresses/coats to a pair of knee length, golden, stilletto heeled boots. I think that Riga is quite a cosmopolitan place- it has been likened to Paris and has a well developed cafe culture, as well as some stunning architechure- the old city is UNESCO listed.

So what have we been up to? We took an excursion to the Rujiena, in the North of Latvia, to see the sights and visit a ice cream factory there, curtesy of Lelde's Mum. Last weekend we took a couple of road trips. The first was to the hilly region, West of Riga- nice to see a bit of up and down to the land, and also a chance to provide inspiration for Lelde and her Mum's plan of house /land ownership.
Next was a visit to a place called 'Kino Pilseta''- Cinema town, where buildings,streets a marina and raiway have been recreated in the style of WWII Latvia for the making of a period film. All the signs were in a Germanised form of Latvian , showing another side to the countries recent history of occupation. Another thing is that the tourists got to dress in army uniforms, completing the look.
Yesterday some friends of Lelde's took us West, toward Tukums, to a huge marshland area. We went to see a walkway that has been built into the swamp.This walkway was built incredibly by just one person and stretches for a distance of 3km. After walking a section of it, we enjoyed a Russian buffet restaurant.

The exciting thing this week was that we got our passports back complete with Russian, Mongolian and Chinese Visas. As our train tickets are booked, this means that the trip is now a reality! We're leaving Riga on 21st May for Moscow.
I feel that the next 11 days will pass in a flash. Lelde's really busy at the moment, arranging a candle light memorial at Rigas Dome Cathedral for World Aids Day on 20th March.

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Photos

Guess who?
Silhouette's on the beach.

Soviet ship
The nose of a ship sunk in Soviet times, Riga.

Our furry friend
The beaver we met at the seaside.

Kino Pilseta
The public in costume.

Mill wheel
After Cinema town.Near Tukums.

Lelde at a pond
A mill pond from the road trip.

Orthodox church
Spotted from the road.

The path
Close up of the path through the marsh

Comments

[Caroline]

so
Good to hear you're on your way. May your paths be varied and wide. Success in your mission. Lots of love, Caroline B.

[Ilze]

Cool! Now i can spy on you :)

[Jan F-B]

So you are back on the road!
Glad to hear from you and keep up-to-date on your travels. Lauren is back living with us, but it is actually really good. She is in a much better place. Keep up your blog. Love, Jan

[Lorraine]

ey!
helloooo!....so nice to hear from you folks... think of me while i am at work.. bah!