.Flying from Tallinn to Vienna was a bit of a screw up. The airline attendant at Tallinn airport told us that we'd have no problem making our connecting flight in Riga, but that even if we did, the plane would wait for us because we were four people and that's the way they do things. The attendant was friendly and reassuring. That probably should have been our Murphy's Law tip off. Our flight to Riga left 45 minutes late. When we touched down, Ellen s...

Countless stories have been written and movies made with the night train as a backdrop. For me it's a romantic adventure, hurtling through the night from one town that I've just gotten used to, to another that promises to be more exciting, or sometimes scarier than the one I've just left. We were stopped at the Russian border on our way to St. Petersburg. It was just after 1:00am when the knock came on our cabin door. Ellen was sleeping like a baby; I...

"Is that the only shirt you brought with you?" Ellen asked as we walked hand-in-hand along the canal in Riga, Latvia. "It says where I'm from and I'm proud of that. I wash and dry it in the night while you sleep, my pretty little bird."Beautiful Old-Town Riga has been found by both the Germans and the British. I sometimes feel fortunate that the world has adopted English as the global language. It's so amusing to watch and listen as the Germans strugg...