Blogs from Latvia, Europe - page 11

Before breakfast, headed to the supermarket to buy packed lunch. What a start to the day! Left the hotel at 08h45 and walked to the bus station in order to catch the 09h20. Though due to arrive at 10h30, traffic jams in Riga meant that the bus didn't reach the city boundary until 45 minutes after departure, eventually arriving in Sigulda at 10h50, quite a bit later than planned. Before doing anything else, decided to buy an ice-cream once in Sigulda as it was already so hot. Then set off for the walk to the cable car, passing some pretty gardens and odd sculptures. The first set of (250) stairs down to the river took me through some very cooling trees, the route being fairly mosquito free. Having crossed the river though, the walk up to ... read more

After breakfast with an obnoxious and brash Aussie, I walked down to the canal to take a boat trip. The 100 year old historic boat, though solar powered, were running late, and only arrived after waiting forty minutes! However, it was a delightful tour of the canal and harbour although there was no commentary. I then met a local guide (Aija Tamsone) who took me on a three hour walking tour of Riga, with particular emphasis on the Art Nouveau aspects. Coffee at Vincent's provided a welcome break before taking a short bus ride to the Freedom Monument and a continuation of the tour in the Old Town. In the evening, I went to a themed restaurant (Pie Kristapa) where the food was reasonable and served in a medieval atmosphere. However, the service was super speedy ... read more

Hope you are having a wonderful July 4 th. We sure did. We toured Ogre and were treated to an arts and crafts workshop. Lots of creative oportunities. The concert was a huge success and we received astanding ovation during the closing number, Chicago. Tomorrow we are off to Russia. I am not sure of our Internet access but will try and keep posting when I can.... read more

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! First of all, after multiple requests I have decided to continue my blog in English. I hope the Dutch people amongst you don’t mind. For the English speaking audience just catching on: Since June 1st I have been living in Riga, where I am studying the Russian language and working part-time. I am intending to stay here for a minimum of three months and have an amazing apartment in the city center of Riga (for pictures please see my first blog) I have been attempting to add photos to this blog for the past few days, however there are problems for people trying to upload pictures on the website from Macs so I am afraid I will have to save those for you till my next blog. Nonetheless, ... read more

We were warmly welcomed to Latvia by our new friends from the Riga Girl's choir. The girls of our chorus our enjoying the first night of their home stay experience while the boys played cards in a square in the heart of Riga under the watchful eyes of their chaperones. Tomorrow is a day for a late breakfast and a guided tour of the city.... read more