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Published: August 30th 2007
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We got up today around ten and we did so in the quietest way possible. I thought that people would be up and eager to go, but they were all still sleeping.
We went and bought our tickets to Sigulda. It’s a scenic place over an hour from Riga with a national park next to it. Before we got on the bus we nipped to the central market to grab something for breakfast. We ended up with a litre of fruit juice and a massive bunch of grapes.
The journey was long, and the bus we were on was very bumpy and shakey. We got to Sigulda around twelve and we set off in the rain to see what was there. We didn't have a map or any real idea of what was there, so we kind of aimed for the water. Near the only crossing for the river Gauja was a mini bobsled track. We got a cable car to the top and then came down in the sled. Rather fun. We sat down and whilst Rob examined the map, I befriended another cat.
We decided to go and see some of the caves that are apparently
the biggest in the Baltics. Not that impressive really, although the determination of Russian couples to ruin anything nice is impressive. They attach padlocks to all pretty bridges; monuments etc, and then carve their names into things like the caves
After the cave we decided that we should go and see the castle because it was partly what we came to Sigulda to see. We began the long trek up the winding road that lead to the castle. It took forever and by this point we hadn’t eaten anything since two the previous morning. We stopped half way up and discussed whether to turn back or not. However the sight of a bus stop encouraged us to keep on walking with the knowledge that there was a bus to take us back to the town.
How can I describe the Turaidas castle? To summarise it really wasn’t worth the walk. From a distance it is a beautiful imposing red brick castle. Up close it appeared to be somewhat of a farce. Most of the castle had been reconstructed with terrible modern redbrick that couldn’t be more different from the original remains. The exhibits contained phrases like….. This well
is an example of something that may have been used in a castle of this type sometime in the 14th century. We did climb the main tower which had some fantastic views of the national park, but we did have to come down fairly quickly for fear of being trapped in a tower with a mob of angry Italian tourists.
We managed to find a bus stop that said the bus would take us from there straight to Riga rather than going the 5km back to Sigulda. There were quite a few of us waiting for the bus and when it arrived we felt sure we wouldn’t get on. It was a 16 seater minibus which was already full. Somehow we all squeezed on and off we went to Riga. I don’t think it would have been allowed in England, there were people on other people’s knees and I squatted in the gangway for a bit.
We arrived back in Riga and nipped to Rimi (supermarket) for a snack to put us on for our meal. We then headed back to the hostel to change and relax for a bit. However when we got there, the girl in
the bed next to ours was STILL asleep, so we took our stuff through to the kitchen and relaxed in there for a bit.
Around half eight, we went in search of this fantastic vegetarian restaurant we had spotted a day earlier. We stopped for a bit to watch a cocktail making contest at the “biker” bar. The veggie bar was full which was a shame, but it was probably a little too expensive anyway. We then walked around for a bit before deciding to go back to good old John Lemon bar. We ordered two non-alcoholic cocktails and some food. The bar was nice and cosy as it has been every other night we’ve been there.
After food I was over full, so we decided to trek up to the far side of the city to see the Russian orthodox cathedral. After a considerable amount of time being lost we found the cathedral and had another look at the freedom monument. We also stumbled across an independant cinema that was screening films outside in a courtyard for anyone passing by.
We’re now back at the hostel both shattered and ready for bed. Night night everyone. Stob.
xXx
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irene
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adventurous
Hello Steph, Rob and Duckie! Thank you for the blogs - they are always received with eager anticipation so keep it up! The nearest I got to being adventurous was at college when I hitched to Cornwall on my own( mother never knew that bit) so go,go,go! Oh, careful with those cats- a random scratch could hold trouble for you. xxx