RIGA, LATVIA

We came out of the hotel in Kaunas and heard church music in chant style.  It gave a nice "ring" to the start of Sunday morning and our 4 hour drive to Riga, Latvia.  The sky was black with intermittent blue sky surrounded by white cumulus clouds.  It was cold.  Riga is a city built by a big river and near a bay in the Baltic Sea.  It was a holiday there ( an annual celebration of some kind).  We got to park for free Sunday and Monday because of it.  YAY!  It  was bitter cold, but we had a nice stay in an old hotel and enjoyed seeing a few sights.  After a big dump of rain, the sky cleared and it warmed up a bit and we sat by the river and enjoyed watching the people and the activity on the river. We think that Riga is a destination for sport activities, especially in the summer.  Tourists from all over Europe like to go there.
Leaving there by noon, we headed for Tallinn, Estonia.

Tallinn, Estonia:  A port on the Baltic Sea.  We stayed here two nights in a very nice apartment, however a bit ill equipped in the kitchen.  Funny how one can get creative on how to use what one has.  We liked it here very much.  The business part of town is modern and driving in we immediately liked it.  There are some beautiful houses with yards and trees.  Something we hadn't seen in many of the places we have been.
The oldest part of town is situated up on a hill just beyond the port and is quite fairy tale in sight and feel.
On Tuesday we came into the town square from our dwelling and a band was marching up one of the streets.  I saw Norwegian flags!!!  I ran to grab a photo.  It was a youth band of 45-50 strong with ages ranging from 10 to 17 ( we were told by their leader).  They stopped in the square and played about 5 marching-type pieces and were delightful.  A great start to a warmer day.  We walked down to the harbor where we purchased tickets for the ferry to Helsinki, Finland.  We window shopped a bit, took some photos, had lunch and the day came to an end quicker than we realized.  I must say, however, it is odd to have it light outside at 10:30 pm.