We had been told that over the last few years (up to the beginning of 2009) Riga has experienced unprecedented growth and development and this became increasingly evident crossing over the Daugava and exploring the city. More sprawled than I had anticipated it was a conglomerate of buildings of modern architecture, Classical Romanticism and Art Nouveau; And scattered amongst these, particulary toward the periphery of town, wood cladded buildings that had once been impressively coloured and decorated and were now in need of some TLC.
The destruction of historical buildings following various periods of occupations was more apparent in Riga than Vilnius, with most of the buildings being relatively new styles or rebuilds of buildings that once stood there.
Helpfully Mike and Theresa had given us their little book of Riga, with two walking maps in it, this saved us a trip into the information centre and meant more time for precious sight seeing. We combined the two walks to take in the best of Riga; fine examples of Art Nouveau, obligatory town halls and squares, not-so-secret alleys, and of course churches. One notable highlight was the Orthodox Cathedral of the Birth of Christ, however I am sure that this 220 year old Russian Byzantine style church is a mere taste of what we may see in Russia. Skarnu Iela is a pleasant little road with remnants and restorations of some historically important buildings; and Dome square is a spacious and vibrant medieval square opposite the Dome church, with bustling bars and live music every night.
With fatiguing legs we started to walk back to the campsite via the castle. Disappointingly the street façade is unimpressive, but as we began to cross the bridge the vista back over the river to the castle was much more striking.
So after walking what felt like a million miles in a day we climbed into bed for a much anticipated sleep. We were sorely disappointed. The hotel across the road had an open air rooftop nightclub which kicked off about 8pm. Initially feeling very tolerant of the whole thing we expected that by the early morning it would have stopped. And in a sense this was correct, if you consider 7am early morning. So very tired and a little grumpy we tested the new cooker (which we had bought the previous morning) packed up and left. Perhaps a little eager to put Riga City Camping behind us.
With Duncan behind the wheel, rain was inevitable as has been the pattern so far on the trip. We were heading north west and much of the road was a stones throw to the ocean but a funny thing about the Baltic states is that forest seems to contine right up to the sea. So though looking at the map we could tell that the sea was close, and if we wound down the window we could smell it, we just couldn’t see it.
When we reached our campsite in Kolka, we were greeted by a young girl who assured us that the weather ‘prognose’ was for no more rain. She pointed us in the direction of the toilets which were quite malodorous not-so-long long drops, the open air sinks, the field where we could set up and the gates to the sea.
Being a stones throw from the coast we chose a sheltered position to pop the tent, and being as though we were unconvinced that it was not going to rain, we also popped the shelter. I have always felt that being close to the beach was good for the soul. Walking along the sand, listening to the water come up, kiss the shore and run away again is so calming. Unlike other beaches the sand closer to the water line became hard like packed cement. We strolled admiring the small white shells, and searching the tide line with the romantic idea that some precious amber might have washed up (cheaper that way too 
. Can’t say that we were all that astonished to leave the beach empty handed.
We were not alone on the beach and found an embarrassing amusement in coming across women of older and larger inclination who had not thought that bathing costumes were necessary. They weren’t starkers, but their ‘white cottons’ were less suited to the sand and sea than a bikini might have been.
The weather continued to defy prediction and confused us all with moments of brilliant sunshine and cold showers, and as the sun slipped behind the horizon the temperature dropped with it. It was for moments like these when in need of cheering and warming inside and out that we had bought some packets of chilli con carne mix.
Knowing that we had quite a drive ahead of us yet heartened by last nights chilli we were up early, packed and on the road before nine – a trip record. .
After speaking to Julian on the road about our oil leak, we knew we would need to stop once again in Riga for some supplies, so back we went.
And then we were off again, heading north towards Estonia. Halfway through the day and around the coast we were continuing to see glimpses of the ocean occasionally while for the majority of the time it was hidden from us by fairly think forest. So fed up we turned left on a random road down toward the coast and take any off-road road that wasn’t marked no entry to the ocean for lunch. We never made it to the ocean, as we detoured past a lake that was so tranquil that it begged us to stop. We made sandwiches (with a somewhat odd cheese) and mused that this is what the trip was about: finding spots and having encounters which were spontaneous and where the worth is not equal to the fiscal value.
Further up the coast we stopped again, this time admiring brave and/or stupid kite surfers making the most of the wind that was whipping up the coast. Although how they manage to go both directions spurred much debate, and will remain an enigma until someone more knowledgeable enlightens us or we remember to google it.
Finally we made it to City Camping Tallin. Keeping accommodation standards consistent across the Baltic states we once again found ourselves in a bitumen carpark, attached to a commercial and seemingly unused building. The customer service was as severe as the prospect outside, but the showers were warm and the internet was free!
We had heard a lot about Tallinn, capital of the country that is famous for being the most connected in the world, it has recently joined the EU and tourism is pushed in England with posters in all the undergrounds, on taxi doors and the cheap airlines flying there. It was a lively reputation and is fond of a party especially if it involves European electronic music, so I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise to learn that many of the shops, restaurants and even cafes were open much later than they would have been elsewhere. This included the 24hr pizza house down the road.
Excited by our expectations of Tallinn and ready to explore, we headed immediately for a walk. We took our gortex jackets with us not trusting the northern coastal weather and thinking that surely if we take our rain gear it won’t rain. We were wrong, and we were not far into our walk when it did start to rain – heavily – we persevered looking at the clouds stating confidently that it would pass quickly – it didn’t. So eventually looking as though we had just stepped out of the shower with gortex jackets that were threatening strike action we gave up and headed back. This did give Gem the opportunity to do some necessary pre-Russia prep, while Dunc provided 24 hour pizza!