Riga

We arrived here after the most unnecesarily long bus journey from Tallinn. Cracking city - nice old town that has UNESCO heritage status. The Museum of Occupation is definitely worth dropping into: Jesus they must have about a million independence days, they've been occupied so many times. Seriously though, its pretty harrowing stuff but the museum sets it all out really well.

Stayed in the old town backpackers hostel. Nice place - has a bar at ground level. The first night we were there they had a party to launch their new website which meant we paid less for our beds and got free cocktails all night...nothing short of a bargain. The second night we were there though there was a big group of lads turned up for a weekend on the piss. I don't know what it is but people outside of ireland and the uk have an inability to whisper. We get slagged off for not knowing any languages other than english but surely whispering counts. I think I'm going to start courses for expats in the uk - "whispering as a foreign language". Reckon it could be a two year course - maybe three for spanish people!

Our other adventures in the town were somewhat hampered by rain and the fact that everytime we went places it seemed to be a public holiday (we never did manage to get to the top of st peters!). But we did get to wander around the new town and the art nouveau architecture which was fab.

Headed off for a day trip to Sigulda which ia apparently the Switzerland of the Baltics and a place where you will get dizzy from the scent of pine. Its nothing like Switzerland and the trees are mostily deciduous, but its a nice place all the same! Got there from Riga on one of the old Russian trains - what it lacked in speed it made up for in unusual squeaks.