Baltic Odyssey

Last week my friend George "Trigger" Wyse and I flew to Riga, Latvia for a 4 day trip. We found a good airfare and booked the tickets knowing very little about the country or the main city, Riga. The trip turned out to be a great time. Latvia, a former communist country, is rich in history and culture. I was initially surprised at how cold it still was in April. We took a trip down to the beach town of "Jurmala" and found small icebergs still floating in the sea. The old town of Riga was beautiful--lots of winding cobblestone streets and interesting shops and restaurants. We stayed in the Hotel Latvia, which overlooked the entire city. We also visited museums and some ancient castles in the outlying towns. The people were friendly and were sometimes shocked to hear that we were Americans. Food was traditional and quite hearty. Next time I would like to visit the neighboring countries of Estonia and Lithuania. Apparently, they are just as interesting as Latvia.