Riga was more than we hoped for.

Riga was a relief from the moment we got in to the train station. There were people everywhere!

The first challenge, however, was already upon us. I had the address for the hostel, and knew that it was only a short distance away, but couldn't remember the exact directions. I knew we had to turn right, but after that, I couldn't remember. So, we decided to ask somebody, "Do you speak English? Francais peut-etre? Espanol?"

It might have worked out well, but Dan decided to ask a blind man! I kid you not. The man had dark glasses, one of those foldable sticks and a woman was leading him by the arm. Dan later informed me that he didn't realize he was blind, he thought he was just a little retarded or something. So, I ask you, blind or retarded, would you have followed the man around? Well, we did, but only for a block (and I think mainly because Dan felt bad for having asked the man in the first place). Then we sort of ditched them on a corner and went right. We found the street, but then when the wrong way down it. In the end it took us about 15 minutes to get to a hotel that was 5 minutes away. I'd say that's not too bad.

The hostel, was another small challenge as the owner tried to give us a six bed dorm instead of the double that I had reserved. I was irritated, but luckily it was Dan who really complained. I mentioned that we were supposed to have a double bed and the man said he would go and see if one was available. Of course, there was, and we moved in there to a big bed and a television.

We relaxed a bit and then ventured out in search of food. We found an Indian restaurant, but not in time. I had already become a raving bitch. Dan dealt with it remarkably well and we enjoyed the rest of the evening walking around the old town of Riga on very full stomachs.

The next day was spent in much the same way, walking. We spent the morning walking around Europe's biggest market, and let me tell you, it's HUGE! There were stands outside, but even the indoor part was the biggest I've ever seen. The stands sold things like black bread and black bread and honey and more honey and fruit and smoked fish and more smoked fish and loads more smoked fish and some cheese. I think you get the picture. Variety isn't necessarily the spice of life for everybody!

After the market tour, we decided to head for the beach. A half hour train ride (and some guessing which way to go) later, we arrived. Unfortunately, I don't think either of us had a really accurate idea of what it was going to be like. The beach was nice (overcast skies meant there weren't too many people out and about) but the sea was like an infinite sandbar. Dan must have walked out at least 50 meters before it was deep enough for him to swim, and due to the rivers that had outlets nearby, the water wasn't salty! What kind of sea is that? We actually enjoyed ourselves, but didn't stay too long.

On our way back to the station we took a stroll along the "strip" of the town and marveled at how American their little fair seemed (there were rides and vendors). They even had a group of Peruvians dressed up as American Indians playing flutes and things. It was funny.

That evening was also spent walking around and eating, and eventually we went to bed, knowing that the next day, the trip would be over.

The trip back to the states began painfully with a 4 a.m. wake up call. I was convinced that it was a long haired man who opened our door, but it was apparently the woman at the desk who was trying to wake us up. Where else in the world would they actually come in to your room to wake you up?!

We made it to the airport long before necessary and diddled around till our flight was about to leave. We made it to Prague bright and early and waited a painful four hours for our connecting flight. We struggled to sleep on the way to Newark and succeeded in turns. We ate horrible food and watched a pretty bad movie and a measly nine hours later we arrived! Dan was off to his brother's and I had one more flight up to Buffalo. Twenty-six hours after waking up, I arrived at my final destination.

That was two days ago, and I'm still recovering.