26 August ’04, Thursday. This morning we decided rain or shine, we were going to walk across the big suspension bridge and enjoy Riga’s Old City as much as time would allow. Our walk into town was about 30 minutes and it did rain a heavy mist all the way. You might say that were are used to this weather, coming from the Seattle area, but you never get used to getting even a little wet. As it was, we really enjoyed the old architecture of Riva. As most of the countries close to Germany, the Old German influence is evident. Riga also boast’s a lot of very modern buildings and other structures. One of these, was an semi-underground parking lot…the only thing showing was a long grass mound that had vent windows on top. We also saw The Latvian Riflemen Monument, that depicts the Soviet occupation so vividly. You can almost hear the Red Army marching through the streets. The changes for Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania are happening very fast, and in the next ten years or so, you will not recognize them as they are today. Good or bad, they are moving forward into the westernized world. In the major cities, it is not inexpensive. Yes, there are “bargains”, but you will have to dig for them. Food in the restaurants is still rather a good value, but it surprises us as to how the local people can afford the clothing and other items you look at when you go to town shopping. Around Riga, there are a large number of lakes that are tied together with a river system. All of this is now being sub-divided and new homes are everywhere. Some are large primary homes and still others are for vacation homes. They would all make us a very happy person to own one. The rest of the country is primarily green hills dominated by tall birch and pine trees, dairy pastures and quiet little town and villages. Well, fortunately for us, the rain gave up completely, and we were able to enjoy the sites with the warmth of the sun for the rest of the day. Tomorrow….moving south

25 August, ’04, Wednesday. Parnu was, Riga is…. That is, we have moved on down south and are now in Riga, Latvia. Our trip started out cloudy and ended up here in Riga, raining. That’s ok, it gives up a chance to see a movie…here in the van, that is. We saw “Hanging Up”. I liked it, although it was just a little bit sad. “Bumble Bee” ran beautifully just about all the way down here, but just before Riga, she began acting up again. We will have to find out just what this problem is. I think that it is a little water in the gas tank, and as it approaches the filter, it starves the engine for gas, looses power and acts like it wants to go, but won’t. Beyond that, our trip was non-eventful. We followed the coast highway, which ran beside the Baltic Sea. In Estonia, we didn’t see the water at all. After we crossed the border into Latvia, we saw the sandy beach and the Baltic as flat as flat can be. It seemed that there wasn’t any surf, as the sand and the water from the sea met as one. The sand beaches are off white in color, and as I’ve mentioned before, very fine sand. We hope to have a chance to visit Parnu a little bit, but a lot depends on the weather and how long we can afford to stay here. Parnu is a large city, of about 7-900,000 people. The “Old City” does look very interesting, so I hope that we get the chance to really enjoy it. We had lunch just after arriving, at TGI Fridays. It reminded me of something that I’ve been going to write about. Napkins, Servita, or any other name that you may put to it….Since we arrived in Poland, and all the way up to Tallinn, Estonia, the napkins have been but a 2 ½” sq piece of paper, kind of the same texture of wrapping paper. All one solid color and with half moon cuttings around the edges. That is what is on the table in small quantities. We also receive the eating utensils wrapped in “one” additional napkin….that is one napkin for the 2 of us. We’ve heard about the difference of toilet paper, but this is more of a difference to what we are used too. Speaking of the toilet paper, when it is supplied, it is a little bit rough, but we have always had our own if we really thought we needed it. Today, we went into a grocery market to pick up some items that we needed. Two those items were bottled water and the other….beer. Guess which one is twice as much as the other…..Water. No wonder I’ve got a refrigerator filled with the stuff made from barley….just kidding. Tomorrow….Parnu