Gauja National Park

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007--Sigulda, Latvia

It's ånother beautiful day. It is perfect for hiking in the national park. And I slept so well last night that I am very rested and ready to go.

I followed a loop trail through the woods. It started at what I thought would be a castle. Instead it was a castle "mound." I went down, down, down from there on my way to Artists' Hill. It being a hill, I had to go up, up, up to get to it. From both the castle mound and the hill, I had great views across the treetops to REAL castles and vistas of trees in autumnal colors. Fortunately, Artist's Hill turned out to be a POINT. That means there was no down, down, down followed by up, up, up. I just stayed up walking back through the woods toward town again.

There are many nice, new homes in Segulda. In fact, they are HUGE homes--American size! I wonder where the money comes from for those? Could it be EU money? If so, have they gotten it legally or illegally?

I ate meat balls, potatoes, and creamed carrots and peas for lunchy with apple juice. I ate at a bistro in one of the supermarkets where I could see everything and just point for what I wanted. That made it so easy!

After a short rest, I walked across the river to the north side of the park. It is more peaceful and quiet there, since the town is all on the south side. I followed a trail that took me by two caves and beside two lakes. The caves are considered big tourist attractions, but there really isn't much to see. They are just holes in the side of the rock. One has graffiti from the 1600s, though. It also had a man playing a flute for money, and the sound was quite nice. I sat on a bench by a lake where there was a swan and some ducks and read from one of my books. Then I headed back toward town.

I encountered two men who asked me the time. I am sure they saw my guidebook in my hand and figured I was a tourist. I am guessing that maybe they suspected I would show them my watch knowing that I could not tell them the time, and I bet they planned to try to steal it. I always carry a cheap watch that only costs about $8 at Wal-mart. When the guy saw the time (the watch), he turned and said something to the other guy--maybe that it isn't worth trying to steal. Then he started giving me a sob story. He pointed out indentations on each side of his head and said it was due to torture. He said that his parents were murdered by terrorists and that he is now responsible for his 92-year-old grandmother. He said a pension has been approved but would not start coming for 28 days. Then, of course, he asked if I could help. My standard reply to a story like that is that I have heard such stories before and that it is better if they go to a church or some charity organization that helps people temporarily. Then I walked away.

I went back to the same bistro for dinner and had chicken cutlet, mashed potatoes, and gravy along with another apple juice. I barely got back to my room before the thunderstorms began. They lasted most of the night.

Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007--Sigulda to Riga

I awoke early, so I got ready and left for an early train. I caught the one at 8:11 and was in Riga before 9:30. I had no problem finding the apartment building where I had reserved a room. Unfortunately, the lady was not at home. She had given me the code for the front door, so I sat on the stairs and read. I figured she would come home at noon if not before. Sure enough, she arrived about 12:15. Since it was raining outside, I didn't mind sitting on the stairs and reading as I waited.

There was a discrepency with the price of the room. My receipt showed that I owned her only °54.50 Euros, and she had a receipt from someone else showing it should be 76 Euros. She kept wanting me to pay, and I insisted that we call the office. When we called, she was told that her receipt was wrong and that mine was right. That saved me about $38. Through the experience and observing her related to other matters, however, I can tell that she is very particular about how things are done. It may be a long 5 days staying with her.

The sun kept coming out and then rain returning. I tried to go out to explore, but soon rain came again. I ate while out--meat with boiled potatoes and mushroom sauce. But I spent most of the afternoon in the room. It is now evening, and I have walked into town. I will try to go to a concert at the cathedral tonight on its organ which is the 4th largest in the world and was the largest when it was installed.