"Woo hoo the first blog post" I hear you cry…or maybe not as to be fair we haven't even been away a week yet, and writing a blog post about our time in Riga and St Petersburg feels like we are cheating somewhat as it has all been terribly civilised so far, and we have to keep reminding ourselves that we are at the start of a larger, backpacking adventure, as opposed to an extended European mini-break. As such will try and keep this first post short and sweet so we don't lose everyone at the first hurdle!

Riga (Latvia) was absolutely beautiful and we were blessed with beautiful weather as we wandered around the city - still a bit shell-shocked that we were actually away after all the planning and farewells - and took in its beautiful architecture, drinks at the city's highest rooftop bar, good food and wine and even half a day at a beach just outside of Riga - Jurmala, the Baltic's version of the French Riviera…And amongst all of this, not one drunken stag-do gathering in sight, but then we were there during the week, maybe a weekend visit tells a different story.

Then the overnight train from Riga to St Petersburg - a 13-hour journey which we started with a very typical dinner in the dining carriage: pickled herring, rye bread, and a shot of vodka.

And now we are in St Petersburg, which so far has been fantastic - with its canals and impressive historic buildings, it feels like a mix of Venice, Paris and Rome. We've been brushing up on our art knowledge with a day at the incredible Hermitage State Museum - learning our Monets from our Manets - and we are going to see Swan Lake tonight at the Hermitage Theatre.

So far, so civilised…it's fair to say we have very much eased ourselves in to this trip, staying in decent hotels and enjoying ourselves on this 'mini-break' part….I'm sure once we start the backpacking proper on day 7 - this Tuesday with the first leg of the Trans-Mongolian railway trip - it will all feel very different!

So that's it from us, will now leave you with some vital stats:

• Number of impressive mullets seen so far - 30+
• Number of knee-high, white leather boots worn by locals - 24
• Number of times Simon has said: "it's so like Norway" - at least once a day
• Number of times we ask eachother: "has it sunk in yet?" - about twice a day but that is decreasing…