Prague

The next morning after breakfast we wandered around to Wenseles Square and found a hop on hop bus tour.  There were so many to choose from.  Probably too many.  In the end we chose the one that included a free boat ride and the one that the hotel were promoting by having their brochure.

The bus had 3 lines to explore.  We got on the bus and rode it for 1.5hrs and then we got off near an outdoor café complex and we had a soft drink and used the bathroom.

We got on another bus on the red line and we got to the bottom of the castle complex we got off the bus and walked up loads of steps to the Castle and St Vitas Cathedral.  We went into the Cathedral.  You could go in a short distance and then if you wanted to walk around the Cathedral you needed to purchase a ticket.  We could see everything from where we were so we didn’t buy tickets.

St Vitus Cathedral is the biggest church in the Czech Republic and has a long history. It’s not a simple history, though. Construction of the cathedral started in 1344 but it wasn’t actually finished until 1929.

Inside it has tall vaults with diagonal ribs, peculiar column designs, vibrant stained glass windows and statues throughout.

Within these walls, the coronations of Czech kings and queens have taken place. Buried underneath it are several Holy Roman Emperors.

After our visit to the Cathedral we began walking down the stairs and there was a café with the entrance off the side of the stairs and it was a tiered café on the side of the hill.  We went in and found a table by the window with amazing views.  We thought this is going to be expensive but its worth it for the views.  We ordered and it was the cheapest drinks we have had in Prague, ridiculously cheap.  I took lots of photos of the fabulous views.

We then went to the bottom of the stairs to meet the bus and rode it around to the stop for the boat.  Colin had wanted to make it there for the 3pm boat but we didn’t get there till the 4pm boat and discovered that the 3pm boat had been cancelled so that was excellent outcome.

We waited nearby and eventually were able to board the boat.  It left a few minutes late and travelled very slowly up river a very short distance and turned around very very slowly and returned to the mooring about 5 or 6 minutes early, so a total of about 10mins was missing.  Had we paid extra for the boat ride we would have been really unhappy.  It was a boring ride that didn’t really go anywhere, just sailed along very slowly a very short distance under the Charles Bridge and back again.

We got off the boat and made a dash for the last bus to take us back to somewhere near Wenseles Square.  We then walked back to the hotel.  We were pretty exhausted after our long day on the buses.  We only completed two of the three lines available but felt that we had got our money worth.

Prague Castle

Prague Castle

St Vitas Cathedral

St Vitas Cathedral

St Vitas Cathedral

St Vitas Cathedral

View from Cafe

View from Cafe

View from Cafe

View from Cafe

Us on the boat on the river

Prague

We arrived in Prague and a driver was waiting with sign with my name on it.  He drove us to the hotel and it was a very long way.  Must have taken nearly an hour to get there.  I hadnt realised just how big the city of Prague is.

We arrived at the hotel, just around the corner from Wenseles Square it was only 9am in the morning and of course our room wasnt ready.  We didnt expect it to be ready.

They gave us some paperwork to complete and we left our luggage and went off exploring for the day.

Coming back just after 2pm they said they just needed to check something with the manager and if we could wait a few minutes. 

Shortly they came back and gave us the keys to the room. We went up to the first floor and opened the door to this giant suite. A lounge room with a sofa, a basic kitchen behind wardrobe type doors. A small room with a desk and then this gigantic bedroom with a giant bed and another sofa.  A big screen TV   A smartphone to borrow with Prague info preloaded. Then a small terrace with table and chairs. Oh wow!!  It's all antique, with heavy deep green drapes and thick patterned carpet.  All very elegant and plush.  I dont know how we scored this.  Maybe they saw it was my birthday from our passports. That's all I can think.  It is absolutely lovely.  So close to everything.  the staff are so lovely and helpful.  It is just delightful.

Riga to Prague

Here are some more photos as the plane was coming into Prague.

Riga to Prague

On our last morning in Riga we had to get up very early.  We set our alarm for 4am.  The airline, Baltic Air told us they were expecting the airport to be very busy because of the heavy metal concerts and recommended we get to the airport 3 hours early.  We thought that was a bit excessive so we arrived at the airport two hours before our flight which was at 7.30am.  As it turned out the airport wasnt too busy at all and we were soon through the immigration etc.  Then we just had wait for our boarding call.  The flight left on time and took about 1 1/2 hours to get to Prague.  I thought Air Baltic was pretty good.  If you wanted any food or drink you had to pay extra.  We didnt buy anything.

Air Baltic

Onboard 

View from the window as we left Riga

Riga

We spent two extra nights in Riga.  We did the hop on hop off bus around the town and we also went on a boat trip out into the river and along the canal.

We visited the St Peter and St Paul church which was holding an exhibition of textiles.  We stumbled across the exhibition attempting to shelter from the rain and this was the perfect solution, a lovely church with this very interesting exhibition.

We walked and walked through the streets, along the narrow cobblestoned lanes and through the picturesque squares.

Canal boat trip

Textile exhibition

Textile exhibition

Freedom Monument

Riga

We came back to Riga because the tour only stayed one night and we felt it deserved more of our time.

We booked into the Ibis Hotel a very short walk from the train station.  When we were making our bookings we discovered that hotel prices had gone through the roof and this was because there was a heavy metal rock concert on in the town.  Had we known that at the time we may not have come back to Riga.
As it turned out the concert or concerts had no impact at all on us and we werent even aware they were happening.  The only impact was hotel prices.

When we arrived at the Ibis late in the day we entered our room and were greeted with a bottle of champagne chilling on ice and two large plates with very yummy apple cake and strawberry coulis. Absolutely delicious.  We dont know why the hotel chose to spoil us, but so pleased they did.

Varga to Riga

After leaving the train at Varga we entered the vast waiting room at the station which had an information office that was locked and the lights were off.  There were people in there though.  They came out from time to time but they kept the doors locked and the lights off.   Quite bizarre.

We sat in the waiting room for a while looking around for any sign or information that confirmed there would be a train to Riga.  Eventually Colin spotted a tiny piece of paper pinned to a notice board that said there would be a train at 3pm to take us to Riga.

There were a few other people in the waiting area.  A young french backpacker who was also travelling to Riga but spoke only a smattering of English and a few people with no English at all.

There was a small kiosk selling food and drink and we bought some crossiant style rolls with ham and cheese that were absolutely delicious and cost almost nothing.

Colin was able to assure a local lady there was a train to Riga and showed her the little notice on the board.

Eventually the Riga train pulled up into the station.  A blue and white former Soviet era train, a bit battered and grubby.  We climbed aboard and found some seats.  We paid the conductor the fare of about 11 euro to Riga and settled in for the journey.  Amazingly this train also had wifi onboard.  we rattled and bumped along and a few hours later we arrived in Riga.  It was a great adventure.

We could have taken a coach in less time and for more money but it wouldnt have been nearly as much as the train ride.

Tallinn to Riga

Some people said it couldnt be done, but we did it.  We took a train, well actually two trains to get from Tallinn Estonia to Riga in Lithuania.

I read up on the website called The Man in Seat 61.  What he doesnt know about trains is not worth knowing.  He is the train guru.  His website said it was possible to catch at train from Tallinn to the border and then a train to Riga.

I also looked at the train websites and found they hadnt been updated since 2016 so not a lot of confidence in those.

The Man in Seat 61 said there was a train from Tallinn to Varga on the border with Lithuania at 8.30am every day and you could only purchase tickets from the station on the day of travel.

We arrived at the station and found the ticket office and told the man we wanted to go to Riga and he said you cannot go to Riga, there is no train to Riga.  Then he told us there was a train to Varga and maybe there was a train from Varga to Riga.

We purchased two tickets on the train to Varga for 20 Euro.  He told us the train was on platform 1 and there it was, all shiny and new.  A bright orange train.  We got onboard and discovered it was very comfortable and clean.  We settled into our seats and found there was wifi onboard.
The train departed on time and silently glided along the tracks barely making any noise.  There was a lot of people on the train getting on and off at various stations along the route.  About two hours later we arrive at the border in Varga.

Varga Railway Station

Tallinn

Tallinn

The hotel we were staying in had a rooftop bar on the 25th floor which provided us with magnificent views of the city and the sunsets were fabulous.  We went to the rooftop every night we were there.  It was pretty cold and windy but they provided blankets to keep us warm.

Tallinn Estonia

After visiting Riga we travelled by coach to Tallinn the capital of Estonia.

On our first morning in Tallinn it was very chilly about 12 degrees when we set off for a walking tour of Tallinn with our local guide.

We began at the top of the Toompea hill to see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the castle.  The Cathedral was completed in 1900.  It is beautiful, all white and red brick with giant onion domes with gold crosses.  Inside is all mosaic and gold icons everywhere.  The church has 11 bells as well as Tallinns largest bell which weighs 15 tonne.  The bells are rung before each church service and can be heard all over Tallinn.  Unfortunately I wasnt allowed to take photos of the inside of the cathedral. 

We then strolled along to a couple of lookout points where you could view the entire city and walked slowly downhill through 800 years of history strolling through the cobbled streets of the Old Town, a scene straight out of a fairytale.   

We visited the market square with its old German weighing house, pharmacy and Town Hall.

The Old Town of Tallinn is an exceptionally complete and well preserved medieval northern European trading city on the coast of the Baltic Sea.

We loved Tallinn and at the end of the tour we extended and stayed for another two nights to see more of the town.

My only negative was the cruise ships.  On one of the days there were 5 huge cruise ships in port and the town had so many visitors.  It was difficult to get around.

On our last day there we were treated to a free concert.  First there was a military band and then several groups of folk dancers.  Each group in a different costume.  We sat in the square and watched for a long time. It was very good.