Oct 31 Sat - Riga, Latvia

Flower market by the playground park

First surprise of the day go to use my rail pass first time Vilnius to Warsaw all the trains are sold out ! Now what ? look for a while go through Interrail it's funky how it works on International train tix you always have to change trains because they use different size rails, well not always, but the case between Lithuania and Poland have to change at Mochava ... so will I get a bus or what ? try the PKP Poland app, no you can only get domestic Poland trains there... 

Finally on Interrail i set up and activate my pass and get a ticket on the 12 to 7 Vilnius to Warsaw for Weds 4th 2nd class only availble... 

Ok now that that's done and blog pics sorted kinda i'm off for the day just one stint i guess now that it's noon til darkish 6 or 7, guess I'll get dinner out come back to pack tho I can sleep in tomorrow with the bus at noon and less than 30 minutes by tram tho rather. not drag my bag over that dirt and going the other way the sidewalks are so hideously cracked bumpy and uneven and all the streets right here are big old bricks you can't pull a bag across I may just get a bolt tho the route I walked last night in the rain to the Agenskalns market wasn't too bad and theres a 8 tram stop down there 500 meters or so... anyway that's tomorrow. Let's go get some pics of Art Nouveau and if time permits Riga Castle Latvia History Museum... 

Got pics of art nouveau area ok I get it pretty cool... but cooler was a park with old trees and a plaque said Csar Peter the Great laid this here monumental stone to a elm tree in 1727 or so... lol... the elm is gone but other trees in the park were nice. Ritzy area art nouveau, I saw a line of about 10 cars mercedes, bmw, porsche, bently, lexus... not stopping here for a coffee and snack lol... lots of well dressed people walking fancy looking little doggies... 

So just got to Riga Castle 417, they close an hour early today 5 not 6. The old lady at the desk was kind of snotty too late! Come back tomorrow. Well the website says you sell tix til 430 ? And close at 5 and I'm traveling tomorrow so ... the kinder woman behind the counter was happy to sell me a senior ticket for 5€ and away I went... saw what i could of the castle and old basement was the most original part... it's been destroyed and rebilt most of it... and the exhibits, the guard was just locking up the tower so didn't get all the way up for the grand view but I got a few looks out the windows at the river and rooftops... nothing too new, the history back to 10,000 bc not a lot of records but some pottery shards and a few pieces of iron utensils and descriptions of how they lived. Lots of items from the middle ages costumes and decorative tea sets silver beads... 

On the way out at 450 I walked past the old grouch and loudly thanked the woman behind the counter for her kindness and good night ! lol

Pounded the pavement back over to the central market no deals to be had on belts or jackets, some really good ones on bags but lord knows I don't need any more bags, wish I had brought my tour de france messenger bag tho for walks about town and groceries... recycled plastic Lidl bag works ok just kinda frumpy. Had some more fried dumplings with sour creme in the market cafe area and got another thick wire charge cable at Fixed Price upstairs... then I just rode the #1 Tram out toward Jugla see what was there and it was a mall every 4 or 5 stops I went in one H&M no belts there and the pants were meh so they have a board listing all the trams and buses coming by outside showing when they were coming so that was handy got out a minute before the 1 going back to old town, and it was full of people dressed up in costumes and some of them drinking pretty heavy already (not supposed to eat or drink on the trams or buses so they were conspicuous, and loud, and you could smell the liquor).

I thought about getting off at the national library see what was going on there it's 3 stops up from my apt but decided go beyond and walk around the Agenskalns neighborhood back to the Agenskalns market (used to be train station) so I did walk in circles for a while lol end up back where I got off the tram but then righted myself and found it, lots of kids out trick or treating, well not lots, but a fair number on each block looked like the parents had their phones out trying to find certain places so they must have had some sort of app or social thingie showing where to go... 

Finally got to the market and wanted wood fired oven pizza but lines were too long and next door was potato pancakes with mushrooms and greens thick soft in the middle and crunchy around the edges perfect. 

Walked across the street to the supermarket replenish muesli milk and a snack for the bus ride and saw a drunk bum asleep on the bench he fell off and ponked his head you could hear it, didn't even wake up... when i came out on the way back to the tram stop they were already putting him in a ambulance I guess someone called 112... 

Got the next 8 tram they have these apps for the trams and buses show you where they are when they will get to where you are so no waiting and when you get on you point your camera at a rf id and that's your ticket validation. 

Got back and packing up travel day by bus tomorrow to Vilnius only 4.25 hours tho from noon and it's rained some so the mud road won't work to walk to tram I'll need to get a Bolt to the bus station. 

Wow what a good bus ride that was, glad I paid extra for the "RELAX" seats they were like airplane seats but bigger with footrests and a screen with tv movies music all kinds of stuff, wifi and charge ports... since i was in the last row i even had a little table .... comfy ride just about like a train but more through the middle of towns and not always the industrial sites and back yards you see on the train. Anyway, got here nice modern apartment 6 grocery stores within a 600 meters (tho some are the small "express" type stores... ) got my groc cooked dinner tho i was up late for the F1 Race in mexico didn't end til after midnight..