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May 18th 2008

Published: May 18th 2008

Hi guys,
Another blog entry since we have free (albiet very slow and unreliable) internet access at our guesthouse here in Riga.
I thought Vilinus in Lithuania was beautiful, well Riga is even more so. The buildings and architecture here are totally amazing. They are definitley restoring the city to its former glory, the communists really did not do much to enhance the beauty of the place.
We arrived yesterday to find it was some sort of special festival for the beginning of summer with music and stalls etc. This weekend was also museum weekend, once a year when all the museums are free - fab! It has been particularly useful today as it has been grey and a bit wet. Such a change after over 2 weeks of glorious sun.
In Vilinus, and now here in Riga, we have visited the genocide/occupation museums - detailing the history of the occupation of the baltic states by the nazis and then the USSR. A very sad history, I really do not know enough about this stuff, I need to educate myself! However I have learnt quite a bit here.
After leaving Vilinus yesterday we drove to the "Hill of Crosses" a catholic

hill of crosses

pilgrimage site which was to be blunt, a bit creepy, however very interesting. It was just basically a small hill completly full of crosses. People were dressed in their sunday best to visit it, buses of catholics turning up for a day trip.
After crossing the border into Latvia we visited a big regal palace - photos attached.
We managed somehow to make it to Riga through the insanely dangerous highway traffic. People here drive crazy, no wonder they have such a high road fatality rate.
But anyway, Riga is incredible and definitely another place I would recommend for a weekend break - for those of you living in London obviously.
Anyway, hope you are all well. Look forward to hearing from you all.
xxx

Additional photos below

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