Gulf of Riga

We managed to see 12 or so of the top 15 things to see in Riga (according to the tourist leaflet we picked up) in a 3 hour walk about session last night. The old town is pretty quaint once you've fought your way through the newer, more heavily-congested part of the city. (It also has the added bonus of not smelling quite as fecal as some parts of the "new" town we had to weasel through earlier in the day. !🙊🙊)

We were super happy to pack up and head down to the ferry terminal this afternoon, being the first to board.

We have a nice little cabin (B class with no window being poor bike-packers;) ) so where the window would be is a mirror instead (hopefully not 2 way glass!). The Pesar express mini bar is open and we are celebrating leaving Eastern europe with a bottle of Bicycletta - Chilean wine chosen from the array of 100s in the supermarket because it has a bike on it and a screw top. 😁😂

We also have a few bottles of beer to keep up with our Russian Genossen on board, although I failed the lesson of "how to open a beer bottle like a German" by not being able to use a water bottle to release the cap.
Many more days practice needed.

The ship is travelling slower than our average bike speed, (probably as fast as we cycle uphill in a headwind) but every meter closer to Sweden heightens the anticipation. 16 hours to go!

Today is midsummer in scandinavia which is a big celebration involving crowns of flowers and trees / a frog dance (?) and general merriment. There is some entertainment on the ship which we will probably have to frequent later, partly for the joy of people watching which has been pretty interesting so far.

A Scandinavian lady with long blonde hair in 2 plaits - check.
Russian couples consisting of a bulky gentleman and an even bulkier wife.- check.
Double denim - check.
Babushkas wearing the eye-watering colour clashes from top to bottom.-check.
Boob jobs and lip fillers - check.

To add to the hilarity we've just discovered one of the channels on our cabin's tv is a live feed from the camera in the nightclub. How bizarre! We're off to go and see the fusion of european /scandi / latvian / Russian music and dancing in person!

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