I passed my Driving Tests this year and got my Driving Licence! Yay!~
Other then that nothing else really happened in the latter half of this year. ...other then getting a tonne of YCHs which I'm now kinda regretting... However I do have some more ideas of proper art; so hopefully I can stave off the urge in order to get something more personal and meaningful. (Not saying that the YCHs are bad, of course)

As for my third and last holiday this year; I travelled to Riga, Latvia, with my close friend  Foxhound1710 at the beginning of this December. It was a nice break away from work in the snowy and cultural city. Although getting there was a pain, for both of us.

Spire (Foxhound1710) had arrived in Riga before me but his case was supposedly lost whilst connecting flights.

I on the other-hand was held up at London-Heathrow airport because the baggage staff were taking their sweet-ass-time loading the bags onto the plane, only for me to miss my connecting flight from Warsaw to Riga. The airline staff managed to get me onto another pair of flights that will get me to Riga but took me via Stockholm, Sweden, for a couple of hours. The Swedes were so nice, polite and chatty (and handsome)!

Despite an hours walk from one end of Stockholm airport to the other I still had an hour to kill and ended up in one of the airport's private lounges and tried Swedish meatballs for the first time! They were delicious~! I also had some delicious leak and potato soup to warm me up before getting on my last flight from Stockholm to Riga.

Finally I arrived in Riga International Airport tired and weary, wanting to simply find Spire who had been waiting for me for over 7 hours, only to find out that my suitcase was also lost. Fed up at this point and not believing the reasoning the staff gave (he sounded like he couldn't be ass'd either) I filled out my details for the bag to be delivered to the hotel were we would be staying. Finally meeting up with Spire (who somehow got lost in the airport?) we filled out his documents too before getting a taxi to the hotel; both knackered.

The following morning Spire's case turned up; but mine was still missing; It was on the afternoon of the fourth day before it arrived - nearly 4 full days of wearing the exact same clothes. (The one time I decide not to pack 1 set of clothes in my hand luggage for this very reason...)

However, as I said before, the holiday ended up a delight!



So here are my recommendations:

- On the first day we got up early and left for the train station to get on the earliest training possible to Siguda. We had some trouble finding the correct train to get on as we were told "11", however we were confused as there only 5 or so platforms. It turns out that we needed "line 11" which was right back at the front of the station which we had walked passed previously. Anyhow, The train was large, wide and slow; but it was on time and rediculously cheap at only €1.19 each. We kept stopping every now and then at stops at tiny little settlements in the middle of the snowy forest with no real platform. It was very unusual but quite intriguing. Finally arriving at Sigulda which took about an hour and a half, we made our way to the Sigulda Bobsleigh Track to see that it wasn't open yet and we would have to come back later. (Unfortunately when we did come back later the track was closed for preparations for the day after and were never able to ride it.)

- We walked through snowy Sigulda Castle Of The Livonian Order In Sigulda. Typically with our luck the manor and new castle were closed for repairs and were wrapped in ugly scaffolding. However we were still able to walk past and pay to enter the ruins of the old castle. This was quite cheap too. Walking around the courtyard looking up at the old masonry was quite inspiring. The Walls was supported by wood to try and hold the ruins together but it was very clean and well preserved. Going into the main gate house there were a few things to see including a very small but ominous room with a giant sword and throne.

- Finishing up at the first castle we began to make our way down the hill into the Gauja Valley following the path along the main road north out of Sigulda. At no point did this part of the walk feel long or tiresome; for me it was beautiful with the fresh white snow covering the path and fields by alpine trees and flora.

- We eventually found our next stop in the form of Gutman's Cave at the bottom of the valley. This large cave made of sandstone with a spring of fresh water is home to many old and new carvings of peoples names. It may not appear like much but when you consider how old some of the carvings might be (although some have been re-carved after being warn away) then it is also a awe-inspiring and a nice stop on the way to Turaida.

- The walk to Turaida from the cave did not seem particularly safe; walking along the side of the main road with no real pathway insight up the other side of the valley to the Turaida Museum Reserve. We could of honestly spend all day here but with the very little winter daylight left and the hope to go on the bobsleigh later (which we were not aware on that day was closed) we walked straight to the pretty pink brick Turaida Castle. Despite being newer I felt the castle had more charm and beauty to it then it's counterpart in Sigulda. That and there was many displays and detailed history too! Not to mention that every wall and window and door and stone had a plaque on it telling you what it is and why it's there. The displays also told you a lot about the history of Latvia and Livonia too from it's founding, to it's faith, to it's fall under Poland-Lithuania, Russia, Sweden and Germany. After reading every single word in the castle we made our way back to Sigulda via local bus (A mini-van driven by someone with no English what-so-ever and we struggled to find change for him after he rejected notes). To find that the bobsleigh was closed and then decided to make our way back to the station to return to Riga. (Perhaps a blessing in disguise as we might of missed the train back if we did go bobsledding).

- The Freedom monument is probably the most iconic part of Riga. This tall tower with a lady holding three stars sits between two pedestrian roads in the middle of park and garden to the north east of the old city straddling the Pilsētas kanāls (City canal) which acted as a moat up to the point of modern gunpowder when the city walls were removed due to the futility of them against arms. There are many green spaces along this canal you can see with their own inherent beauty. They all have many sculptures and statues in them to honer important historical figures.

- I had booked a guided tour of Riga Central Market with Raami Travel for a small group, however (luckily) it was only the two of us on the tour so we managed to have a more personal experience! We were shown around 4 of the 5 converted airship hangers (the 5th was being renovated so was closed to the public) eating grey beans (Delicious~ I'll be making this at home as a side), borscht, pickled herring beetroot salad (sounds disgusting but it's very nice! Can't have too much at once though), caraway seed cheese, pickled pumpkin (surprisingly delicious!), gherkins (Very common in the UK and under that name but also known as "pickled cucumbers" to most or simply "pickles" in the USA), local Latvian pastries, rye bread and rye butter. Once the very delicious and informative tour was complete I bought myself a Matryoshka, honey-wax candle (secret Santa present), 1kg each of wild cherry black tea and white Christmas tea before heading back to the room to go into a Latvian food comma. (I also finally got my suitcase this afternoon so could finally change out of my 4 day old clothes)

- Golden Coffee was a traditional Latvian restaurant our tour guide from the market recommended us when I asked. Found between the house of the Blackheads and Saint Peter's Church, this very small restaurant is catered heavily for tourists; the menus point out exactly what traditional foods and drinks they serve and have a TV display detailing all the sights to see in Riga. The food was great and an ok price and I would really recommend anyone travelling to Riga to visit Golden Coffee to try some more local traditional foods.

- Double Coffee can be found all over Riga. I'm not sure if it's specific to Latvia or if it's elsewhere in Europe; but you do see this chain here where everywhere you look (but perhaps note quite as much as Narvesen - the local corner shop) but for good reason. These little cafe-restaurant-bars are always full to the brim whatever time of day. They have a vast array of food and drink from sandwiches, snacks, starters, pizzas, mains and desert to soft drinks, coffees, beer and cocktails. The prices are also very low so if you went back every day for dinner there will always be something else you want to try without having the break the bank.

- Although we didn't go into the House of the Blackheads we did visit the plaza it sits on and observe the large very decorative building. Along side the Freedom Monument, and perhaps starting to sit in the shadow, this building has plenty of history behind it; one story of which describes the act of the inhabitants erecting a pine tree in-front of the building and decorating it in flowers to create the first ever recorded Christmas tree. That evening they bunt it down to ash - luckily something we didn't copy today.

- It was very... silent? I can't really find a word to describe the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum but I wouldn't say it's upsetting. I love to learn about history and I am fully aware of what the Nazis did so I don't quite feel as shocked as I once would have been had I not been bombarded with it all at school, but this place is defiantly a must see. Here you see personal stories about the people who got caught up the in the holocaust and learn how Riga played a part in it. There is also a whole room dedicated about the Ottoman cleansing of Armenians which I did not know of until that day. The museum is entirely free to which you can choose to donate via any of the many donation boxes dotted around. There is a lot of reading involved but tells you of a key and disturbing part of Riga's history.

- We were running out of things to do after the KGB museum was closed (still unsure if it was temporary or permanently closed) so we had to look up other alternatives to keep our interest. This lead us to the Latvian Railway History Museum. Now I love trains. I would of happily gone to this museum but I didn't know if Spire would hold the same interest; apparently he did! So we left the old city and walked across the Akmens Tilts bridge and past the "Castle of Light" library to the Railway Museum. Unfortunately all of the indoor attractions were all in Latvian so we couldn't read and understand them; however I was at least able to describe some of the things to Spire from my own railway knowledge to there was some sort of context. However out doors there were many large locomotives, carriages and utility vehicles used on Latvian rails. These signs were all in English so we could easily learn about them; why they where the way they were, where the came from and what they were used for. If you also like trains then spend a few hours here; I think the outdoor area is free.

- We walked along Jacob's Barracks past the Latvian War Museum to see that it was unfortunately closed; so we were quite surprised to see that on our last full day that it was open. Like the Holocaust museum, this is completely free and appreciate donations. The museum is on many floors and tells you the story of Latvia, Livonia, Sweden and Russia's influence and then a whole floor on WW1 and WW2 with lots of models, uniforms, weapons and other artifices to see. We unfortunately ran out of time here as the museum closed early. Defiantly worth seeing!



So finally; I also have booked my next 2 holidays! I'm first going back to Sicily, Italy, in May (Specifically, Palermo) and then off to Tel Aviv, Israel, in July to see Jerusalem and the Dead Sea!
I might also be going to Myanmar (Burma) to go on a boat trip up the Irrawaddy River hosted by my two favorite Youtubers, Kara & Nate! However nothing is confirmed yet and they are only getting a feel on the numbers to host the tour.


Wow... This journal is very long; but probably because it's more recent I can recall more. This has also taken my 3 days to write this and now it's Boxing day (day after Christmas).
So I hope you all had a very nice Christmas and have a happy new year!