Riga and the birthday no one will forget!

We arrived in Riga and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The border crossing the night before had been interesting. It began at 2 in the morning and there were two checks. One with the Russian border. And one with the Latvian border. They were an hour apart. Fun. The only thing I really remember was when the Russian border patrol lady asked me a question about my visa in Russian. I stared blankly at her. I turned to Monna and Sven (we were all in the same cabin this time)and Sven immediately tried to tell me what to do. But the words came out of his mouth all wrong. I didn't understand him! It took me a couple minutes to realize that he was speaking to me in German, which he obviously didn't realize himself. Anyway, it was too much for my brain to be processing at 2a.m so I just nodded my head. Not really sure what I nodded about.

Our hostel was really close to the train station and it was another winner! Thanks Monna! It had internet in every single dorm room and leopard everything! From the toilet set cover to the stools in all the rooms to the comforters on the beds. Awesome.

** You can see the bedding... wild!

Riga is a small city. Similar to Tallinn, the city is centered around an old town area. However, unlike Tallinn, Riga surrounds the old town with canals and beautiful gardens!

** Gorgeous!

We walked all over the city and eventually settled down in one of the cute town squares to have a pint of cider and (beer for Sven).


It was sunny and beautiful. And I could feel the ocean air. I always forget how important the sea is to my state of being. It was strange in Moscow because, obviously being inland, the only body of water it had was a river that ran through the center of the city. Unfortunately, a river is not enough for me. I was glad to be by the sea again.

The next day, we traveled to the beaches about 45 minutes outside of Riga. Growing up in San Diego, I had no expectations of what the beach was going to be like. All I have to say about it is... go there. It was amazing. The shoreline stretched for miles and was covered with beach goers. Monna pointed out how it felt like Spain but more green. Crazy.


*** Don't check us out! Check out the beach behind us! :)

Not only was it a great beach day, but this day was a very special day for another reason. It was Monna's 25th birthday! And the last leg of our trip together. Fortunately, and unfortunately, both cameras ran out of batteries. So we have only a few pictures of the events that followed our day on the beach. What I can say of the evening is this(sorry to be so cryptic):
- Champagne with a cherry in the glass?

- The trip: In Review
- "Two for one" at the Cuban Bar
- The Orange Bar and the New Yorkers
- The club (what was the name?) and the South Africans
- The walk home, "What was his name? I think it was Alex." and the poor guys walking behind us, at least they were entertained!

Monna and I woke up the next morning in the worst states I think I have ever seen us! The day was rough. Our flight did not leave until 11:30pm so we had to figure out what to do with ourselves until then. Let's just say Monna wanted to check into another hotel. For the day.



Needless to say, as awful as we felt that morning, our time in Riga was definitely a success. Monna had a wonderful and absolutely unforgettable birthday which was all we could have hoped for! :) Happy birthday honey!!!