And then I crossed the border again…. of course as I was used in Western Europe… no one at the border! As if they just forgot to have borders… or was this on purpose? Soon I was going to find out in Latvia, Riga where my Couchsurfer was waiting for me. What a overwhelming welcome! Food, stories, photos were awaiting me which made time flying even more. One of the conversations was about the origin of Latvian. It seems to be originating from Sanskrit. An interesting idea which you can read here. Since I was talking about biology he pointed some interested places nearby Riga. Gauja National Park being the first, about 1 hour from from the capital. This a very special habitat for plants and animals because of the steep slopes along the Gauja River. It felt like being part of a fairy tail. Trees covered by snow and the river cutting its way through the valley with a bird’s eye view on the forested valley. Unfortunately the weather gods sentenced the day with a lot of snow and wind, decreasing visibility dramatically for wildlife watching. In contrary the more it felt like a fairy tail.
Also the next day in Jurmala I was astonished by the beaty of this old swamp. The place is very rich of sulphur sources which was easy to smell. Together with the city of Riga; Latvia is definitely a divese country which has a lot to offer.
What I noticed is that people are really outgoing, not shy and always ready to help you. English is widely spoken among youngsters and the people are so happy or at least positive.
Yep, the Baltics have swept away their Communist feathers and replaced this by a European coat.
In Estonia I met my mom, which was great too. Just for a week no foreign peple around me, neither Couchsurfers. In these quiet days I visited Tallinn. Best described as cosy, clean, and safe. The place where the human chain started, but my travels through the Baltics finish. Finally I got the real meaning of Stebuklas. “Not just a stone, but the road to freedom” as everyone told me.
Anyway, from here I took the Ferry to the rather boring Finnish capital city: Helsinki. Nice, but not spectacular. Well, the city will get a second chance when I’ll be exploring Finland. Or does this sound like a spoiled freak? 🙂
See you next time from Russia!
Ciau,
Amar