Travel to Riga Tuesday September 6, 2022

Our fabulous buffet breakfast in Tallinn began at 7 after we had left our suitcases outside our hotel room door. It was the final day, too, to see the soldiers from Germany having an early breakfast.  I learned they are here for eight weeks, the purpose - I would imagine is to provide some sort of support,  perhaps NATO.

We departed by bus at 8 and made several stops until we reached our hotel in Riga, Latvia at 6:45 PM. The landscape was either fields for agricultural use or green pastures or woods or forests.  Crossing the border from Estonia was marked by flags, a place to park, thanks to the EU. Our lunch stop was in a country restaurant where we were served chicken breast in noodles with a flavorful brown sauce, and the dessert was a berry crumble. Around the building we watched men re-roof the building with small, regular pieces of pine wood, and overlapping one another. When done correctly the roof will last 40 years.

We then moved on to a nearby castle, or rather parts of it; it is being excavated and re-built. This castle is the center of a national park, and several other buildings are located nearby.  There are many castles in Latvia, built by German missionaries who decided to stay and renamed themselves with noble titles. This particular one was donated to the country with the many acres surrounding it.  We also climbed to the top of the tower for an amazing view of the green forests surrounding the castle. We wished we might have remained longer to view more of the museums on the property.

It was mid-afternoon and we needed to visit the Soviet bunker. The guide was a Mexican who is married to a Latvian and who asked lots of questions to get us to think about its usefulness, it contained around 200 rooms, was about 30 feet underground, and was to provide protection for Soviet important people in case of a nuclear bomb explosion nearby. It was planned in 1968, took 10 years to build and functioned from 1985-1993, ten years after Latvia became an independent country. All the communications equipment and technology was inspected by NATO personnel as part of Latvia's membership application and deemed outdated and useless. The cover at ground level was a spa and social gathering site. It is used for that today, and you can rent the bunker for parties, complete with decorations and music and food from the 1980s. Are there any takers?

We arrived at our hotel on a cobblestone street in Old Town, and had time only to bring our things to our rooms and return downstairs at 7:45 for supper of white fish on couscous and tomato basil soup and chocolate mousse with berries.

At 9 PM Christine took us on a 40 minute orientation walk around the hotel and Old Town. That was useful and fun and cool, and we are located in the middle of youthful hangouts, such as a karaoke place below our fourth floor window.  The hotel provided ear plugs.

It's 10:45, time to sleep.

Gute Nacht, Mom/Susan 

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