Oct 13, 2012 - Riga, Latvia

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND In the interest of expediency, here are some excerpts from the Lonely Planet - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania chapter on Riga: ‘The Paris of the North’, ‘The Second City that Never Sleeps’ – everyone’s so keen to tack on qualifying superlatives to Latvia’s capital, but regal Riga does a hell of a job of holding its own. For starters, the city has the largest and most impressive showing of art-nouveau architecture in Europe. Nightmarish gargoyles and praying goddesses adorn more than 750 buildings along the stately...

Aug 21, 2012 - Ryga

Wtorek, 21 sierpnia - Ryga Zaczynam dzien od bezplatnej wycieczki po Rydze. Jest to 'alternatywna' wycieczka organizowana przez grupy wolontariuszy i oplata za nia to dobrowolny datek. Zaczynamy od kosciola St. Piotra i po kilku interesujacych komentarzach ruszamy do dzielnicy poza Starym Miastem zwana Moskowia. Od 14 wieku zaczeli zamieszkiwac tam kupcy rosyjscy a potem zydzi ktorym zgodnie prawem nie wolno bylo osiedlac sie w obrebach murow miasta. Zwiedzamy targ - swego czasu, w latach 20-tych, byl najwiekszy w Europie bo zalozony w...

Aug 20, 2012 - Ryga - Jurmala

Poniedzialek, 20 sierpnia - Ryga i Jurmala. Dzis rano jest, pomimo mgly, troche jasniej niz wczoraj wiec decyduje sie na wyjazd nad morze, do Jurmala. Trafny wybor bo juz przed poludniem robi sie slonecznie ale bardzo wietrznie. Do Jurmala biore 'elektryczke' czyli pociag podmiejski. Podroz (za 1 LT) trwa okolo 40 minut. Jurmala to najwazniejszy lotewski kurort, znany od polowy 19 wieku. Bylo to miejsce odpoczynku dla bogatych mieszkancow Rygi. I to widac! Wsrod sosnowych lasow kryja sie bogato dekorowane wille. Niektore z nich drewniane...

Aug 19, 2012 - Ryga

Niedziela, 19 sierpnia - Ryga Dzis niestety pada i to nie wyglada na tylko poranna mgle. Odpuszczam wyjazd nad morze i planuje "zaliczyc" kilka muzeow. Najpierw kieruje sie do Nardowego Muzeum Histori polozonego na skraju Starego Miasta. Idac podziwiam stare kamienice, niektore jeszcze czekajace na swoje odnowienie. Muzeum miesci sie na 3 pietrze zamku ktory jest rowniez siedziba Prezydenta Lotwy. Wlasnie przed jego wejsciem odbywa sie zmiana warty. Muzeum obejmuje historie ziem od czasow prehistorycznych az do odzyskania niepodleglosci w...

Aug 18, 2012 - Ryga

Sobota, 18 sierpnia - Ryga Z dworca stosunkowo latwo znajduje Central hostel (10€ za noc ze sniadaniem) ale lozko nie jest gotowe wiec ide na miasto. Bocznymi uliczkami docieram do Starego Miasta. W wiekszosci starannie odnowione. Ludzi jest masa bo akurat jest swieto miasta Rygi i pelno roznych ulicznych wystepow i koncertow. Bez planu chodze po miescie az do poznego popoludnia. Wracam do hostelu i po krotkim odpoczynku wybieram sie na kolacje. Biore rybe (przeciez jestem nad Baltykiem) ale wychodzi dosc drogo - ok 25 U$ (z piwem). Ale to...

Aug 4, 2011 - Riga

We arrived in Riga and found our way to our hostel right in the middle of Old Town. Once again we managed to find the worst hostel in the city - I don't think our bathroom had ever been cleaned, but we stayed because of the location and price. We spent the afternoon at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (scary!) then we attempted to find a laundrette (unsuccessful again) and grabbed some breakfast supplies before heading out for another great, cheap Baltic meal. The next day we went on a walking tour and were amazingly two of only three...

Jun 21, 2011 - Latvia

19th June 3 days since writing anything! We are now in Latvia and have spent a busy 3 days going through South Estonia. We have been to Tartu which is the second largest city in Estonia and is the cultural and historical centre. Whilst Tallinn has always been open to tourism, indeed it was a Soviet showcase, Tartu was shut off from the outside world as a no go area. We visited the site of Rieda Palace which was bombed in WW2 and then the soviets had an airbase there. It became a sort of emblem for the Estonians to get it cleared and they...

Jun 20, 2011 - Tartu

Vandaag van Narva naar Tartu gereden, dus van de derde naar de tweede stad van het land. En er is een hemelsbreed verschil tussen beide. De eerste werd volledig platgebombardeerd en er staan niets anders dan grijze blokken en enkele winkelcentra. De tweede is de universiteitsstad van Estland en hier is het oude centrum nog vrij intakt geleven, wel af en toe moeten heropbouwen maar het is er aangenaam vertoeven.

Jun 18, 2011 - Maardu-Lahemaa-Rakvere-Narva

's morgens vroeg Maarda verlaten en naar het NP van Lahemaa gereden, daar enkele wandelingen gemaakt en behalve duizenden mosquitos en honderden mieren geen dieren in de bossen gezien. Op zee wel wat ganzen en andere watervogels. Gevolg was dat we allebei een hoop muggenbeten hebben, broer wel wat meer en dikkere dan ik. Daarna naar Rakvere gereden om het grootste dierenstandbeeld van de baltics te zien en de oude burcht.

Oct 31, 2010 - Riga - Oct 28-31

October 28, 2010 Leaving Estonia was a bit of a drag, not least because we’d had fun here but also because we had to be up at 5am to catch a bus just after 6! It was a bit of an effort but once we were at the bus station the bus stop was easy to find and we were soon onboard and I was asleep! The bus to Riga was about 4 hours and we had a short walk to get to the hostel. We didn’t exactly take the shortest or quickest route but we found it easily and got checked in, although we had to just hang out for a while until room was ready. We were...

Jul 20, 2010 - Sigulda, Latvia

The mosquitos greeted us with a fervor we had thus far not seen on this trip. The walk in the forest turned into a run which turned into a quick exit and a count of how many new bumps we had on our legs! Julia went to the pharmacy and got some insect repellent. The next day, the mosquitos buzzed our ears constantly but we were enjoying the hike in Gaujas National Park until we lost the trail and then the hike became a little less enjoyable. The next day, Tomas, on a moutain bike could not follow the trail on the other side of the river and...

Jul 14, 2010 - Last Day in Riga

Finally, the Latvian god of sleep has smiled upon me! But we rose early today for the last day of the conference. Darin rode his bike and took our last pictures of Riga, while Anita, Bonnie and I went to hear the keynote speaker, Elena Kozhenikova. We were pretty sure it was the same Elena we had met in Saint Petersburg two years ago at the Early Intervention Institute, and sure enough, it was! We introduced ourselves before the lecture started, and she remembered us and seemed happy to see us. After the lecture, Bonnie and I told her we...