We continue to be blessed with excellent weather. Boarded our bus at 0900 for an hour's drive east to Gauja National Park. Turaida Castle was our first stop. This partially restored fortification on a hill also boasts a very unique sculpture garden, exhibits on the local tribes that first inhabited the area and a medieval sauna. (Medieval not in the sense of torture, those those birch leaf branches did seem a bit hard after 800 years.). On next to Gutamis's C...

Off at 0900 on our bus for a tour of the Old Town. Our first stop was in the Art Nouveau district. Most buildings date from the early 20th C, and have been recently restored. We toured one where the ground floor had been restored authentically and is being used as a museum showing the furnishings of the time. On next by foot to explore the highlights of the Old Town. Along with the obligatory churches and old buildings, we toured a fabric and traditional clo...

Our group dinner last night was near the hotel in Vilnius. We got to try the Lithuania delicacy named the Zeppelin. It is a mashed potato dumpling in the shape one would expect by the name, with a ground meat filling. Bet you can only eat one! On the road for Riga at 0800. We have a large tour bus all the way to St. Petersburg, with 2 seats per person, so everyone gets a window to look out of or lean against to nap. After a potty stop, we arrived at the Hil...