After a reasonably refreshing night’s sleep, we awoke ready for a foray into our second national park, Gauja. We packed the appropriate rain gear (Rīga and the surrounding area apparently gets quite a lot of precipitation) and had a hearty breakfast of yogurt, fruit, bread, and hard-boiled quail eggs. Yes, quail eggs. We’ve seen them in a handful of supermarkets, packed in their own little containers, and just couldn’t resist buying some. Unsurprisingly, they taste like eggs, but perhaps just a little . . . smokier? Fortified with nutrients, we packed our small backpack and headed to the train station. There’s a route that heads directly east from Rīga and drops off in Sigulda, essentially at the start of our intended hike, and how could we say no to a train trip? The train itself was
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