Monthly Archives: July 2011

Day 45 Amazing Riga, originally uploaded by Big Al!.

Photo of Matt, Charles, and the Latvian girls, Marina, Sabina, Dace and the other one.

Day 44/45 Riga, originally uploaded by Big Al!.

With Danielle and Liz and the dutch boys in some nightclub in Riga

Day 44 Riga, originally uploaded by Big Al!.

Latvia feels like the sort of place you need to be able to look after yourself, so I’ve taken up shooting.

Day 43 Riga, Latvia, originally uploaded by Big Al!.

Tallinn’s old town? Wonderful. The rest of Estonia? Shite. Photo shows the most interesting thing I saw all day, when after finding no reason to stop, no place to stop, and nothing to see, the planned three day trip dissolves to one. It’s a long day with a late dash through heavy rain (Estonian rain would kick Norwegian rain’s arse) and hassle finding accommodation (that’s another thing – Estonia doesn’t seem to have any campsites, apart from one that was hosting a private party), because I’m days earlier than my booking at the hostel and I arrive in town late anyway. But now I’m in Latvia (which looks extremely post-soviet) and poor old Estonia is history.

Day 42 Tallinn, originally uploaded by Big Al!.

I was going to post another cliched photo of the red roofs of the old town, and it is very photogenic, but I thought it’s more interesting that you can eat bear round these parts. I had bear in Helsinki, so I’m enjoying something I haven’t had (not properly genuine ones at least), since leaving Russia on the original trip – Pelmeni (Russian dumplings), only slightly spoiled by the break-dancing in the town square which isn’t really in keeping with the historic atmosphere, but which isn’t as bad as the talentless arseholes who sit around tunelessly thumping bongo drums….