Riga; Sunday, 30 January, 2005

After an uneventful flight we arrived in Riga ahead of time and went to look for a cab into town. A very helpful lady from the cab firm told us she could get a large cab for all 6 of us if we were willing to wait about 25 mins. As she also offered to come and find us when it arrived we took her up on the offer and went for a beer.

Even in the costly bar at the airport a half liter cost only £1.20!! In the end we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the cab so we did end up rushing the beer slightly.

The hotel was in the middle of the old town, just opposite the opera house and across a nice park from the Freedom Monument and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

After getting all our luggage sorted and the rooms occupied (including discovering the interesting toilet arrangements!) we wandered into the rest of the old town.

We had a walk though some of the old squares and past St Andrew's Church, past the 'House of the Blackheads' to the Townhall and the riverside. By this time we were all feeling slightly hungry so we decided to go for dinner in a Latvian Pizza Chain!

After a very filling and full (and cheap) meal we all headed back to the hotel for a short drink in the bar and then bed.