Gauja National Park, Latvia

Travelled : 134km
Stay: Cesis- free Motorhome designated carpark, €0.30c toilet, walk to old quarter. N57.31424 E25.28113 Thanks to Our Bumble for finding this one.

We weren't to sure what to expect from Gauja NP, the oldest Latvian NP established 40 years ago. We drove just over an hour from Riga to Sigulda and promptly visited the tourist office at the train station. The very friendly staff offered us plenty of info on what there was to see and walks to do. The town has a ski resort feel to it and it so happens it is! Here you will find the only refrigeratorated system in Eastern Europe under the ski track. There is a 1420m bobsleigh and luge track. Sigulda inhabitants have won Olympic medals. There are sculptures, castles,  churches, gardens, a cable car and adventure parks to see. The Turaida Museum and castle are the most visited in Latvia. Along the Gauja River there are many sandstone outcrops and caves. The Gutman Cave is the oldest attraction in Latvia.
We continued on to Ligatne Village. It has the only operational paper mill in the Baltics and has been going since1815. We noticed many dugouts in the sandstone, these 300+ artificial cellars where used by locals as storage. 

Around the area there was lots to see and do  including a nature reserve with local animals, a woodcraft museum and canoe trips on the river. We had our eye on the Soviet Bunker Museum. On weekdays the only tour for induviduals was at 3pm. More times on weekends. €12 each for 1.5 hrs and includes an authentic Russian meal afterwards! Www.bunkurs.lv N57.2560 E25.0709 As we had time to kill we went to a Park4Night spot 5 kms down the road which was a lovely parking area next to the river with picnic areas and a composting toilet. N57.2617 E25.1377. We took  the opportunity to use the river water to give Bluey a wash and had a relax. 

Imagine our disappointment when we went to the Bunker and we're told that there were no tours today! What can you do ?  wait until 12 tomorrow or move on. We continued on, never to know what the Soviet meal was to be!  

We arrived in Cesis and parked in one of the 3 designated motorhome spots and off we went to have a look around. 

The old town surrounds the old castle (in ruins) and the new castle (this was the first place in the country to fly the Latvian flag in 1988). 

The gardens are quite lovely too and if you are lucky you may see the 2 BLACK swans (Australian) that live here. Apparently they also have Wallabies in the zoo!

On another note, we had an exciting email today from our French sim provider SOSH.  Due to the changes required in Europe our monthly plan of unlimited calls and sms as well as the 40GB allowance can now be used in all of Europe! No more buying local sim cards! Yay.  We will never be able to use all our data... As we also have 24GB with UK 3Sim and some Europasim/Vodafone.It oh well never mind, better to have too much than not enough.

Riga Latvia

Travelled : 122km
Stay:Riga Latvia- port carpark €12/24hrs €2/hr, no services, very close to old quarter.  56.95811 24.09580

Across another border today.

 First general impressions of Latvia are that it's a bit more run down.  

We parked walking distance to the old quarter of Riga and made our way to the tourist office which was located in The House of Blackheads. A very ornate 14th century building which served as a guild for unmarried merchants. As with many of the city buildings this was destroyed during WWII and has since been restored. 

If you want to see inside the main churches here , you will be charged for the privledge. As we have seen our fill of churches over the last 4 years we decided just to admire the architecture from the outside. St.Peter's Church also has a lift in its spire offering great views of the city @ €9 a pop.
We ventured over to the market which offered a great selection of smoked fish in one of its five food pavilions (converted Zeppellin hangars),  not including the many stalls around them. Food is very cheap here.

Pickled vegetables.

Lunchtime meals ready to go.

It's springtime.

Woollen socks to keep warm on those freezing winter nights.

Our next stop was at the National Opera house located next to the 2.5km manmade city canal.

Just near here was the Freedom Monument. A symbol of Latvias independence. 

The Powder Tower was part of the city's fortifications dating back to 1330. Since 1919 it has been a War Museum, which is free to visit.

We passed via Livu Square on our way to Lido restaurant to eat a local meal. 

We had a shared plate and a beer each for €20.  We couldn't finish it all!

These houses are called the Three Brothers,  each built in a different century.

Walking back along the river we passed a statue of Great Kristaps, who, as the story goes, founded the city with the gold coins left to him by a boy he carried across the river.

We also passed the Aussie Bar. Didn't stop for a beer though.

We returned to the old quarter into Dome Square where the cathedral is along with the Art Museum.

From here we followed the Art Nouveau walk to look at a few of the remarkable buildings built in the early 1990s. 

We passed through the Swedish Gate.

Along the way we passed the very picturesque orthodox church the Nativity of Christ Cathedral.

After a few more Art Nouveau buildings we ventured back to Bluey for a cuppa and to rest the feet.

We were surprised to see the giant monkey in a space suit! Its in memory of the 42 animals used by the Soviet Union during the 50's and 60's.