We are now hurrying to get Jirka home by 19/7/15. That means a fairly swift journey through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
After our brief stay (overnight) in a small private camping area, with this cheerful farmer...
we continued south into Latvia.
We spent a couple of hours in Riga, where we saw a mixture of old pre-soviet buildings, and modern architectural masterpieces.
Then we headed for a national park, which centred around these cellars which had been carved into the soft sandstone of the area, also seen in the form of caves. The town was Ligatne.
We have discovered a MAJOR enjoyment here. BERRIES - blueberries, raspberries, wild steawberries are all to be found in the forests. We have been camping and then taking our fill of these delights. We have more on our muesli for breakfast, and they go well with a vegan (soy based) whipped cream we have found.
We are not the only ones enjoying the berries. Berry collecting in state forests and on private land is considered a right of every man. So we see people caring buckets and plastic bags emerging from the bush, or parked along the road ar frequent intervals. Some of them put their collections out on the bonnet of the car for sale, along with fresh mushrooms also from the bush. We have bought kilos of mushrooms from these collectors.
Latvia of course shows the relics of the Soviet era there. These apartment buildings are everywhere, mostly abandoned for more personalised dwellings.
Other images of Latvia...
Buying berries at a farmers market...
Rundale Palace was the home of part of the family of Czar Nicoli, and shows the opulence of the ruling class whilst the ordinary people were so repressed.
I liked this glimpse into the lives of the "downstairs" staff who cooked in this kitchen.
And finally the patch worked roads... Which were very bumpy as a consequence! They occurred all over Latvia!
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