Baltics - 19 June 2012 (4)

Winding down in Sigulda

Our final stop was a ride in the cable car.  The cable car arrived at the same time as us, but there was only enough space left inside for 14 people.  Luckily, there were enough volunteers to stay behind.

Goodbye to Those We Left Behind

I stood at the back of the car and waved to the others as we set off.  At first my view was not that exciting, but then the car got further away from the ground as we crossed the river valley.  We could see the River Gauja, the road and a bridge below us.  We were well above the tall trees of the forest.  As we got near to the end, I got a good view of where we had been and the cable.  I thought it was a great trip.

View over Trees, Gauja Valley

We had a short wait at the other end for the bus to arrive with the others.  Aija then took us to the bobsleigh run.  We could have got out, but everyone was too tired with all the exploration we had done that afternoon.

View over Trees, Gauja Valley

Finally, we were heading for our hotel: Hotel Aparjods.  It comprised several buildings, including a restaurant.  The single rooms were in the same building as the reception, but us twins and doubles were in another building with the doubles upstairs.  At first glance, the rooms seemed OK, although the bathroom was a bit small with little shelf space.

Looking Back Along Cable

May and I walked to the nearby supermarket.  It was in a shopping centre just up the road.  We ran into Ian just as we went in.  May started browsing for presents, so I left her and got some water.  When I was in the queue for the checkout, I could see her looking at the chocolates, but, when I came out, she had disappeared.  I waited by the check outs; I waited outside the shopping centre; I went back in and waited by the supermarket.  Eventually, I spotted her and Ian still inside the supermarket.  I waved and they spotted me and came out.

River Gauja & Bridge

We looked at the shops upstairs and at the bookshop downstairs.  Nearly all the books were in Latvian, which surprised Ian, but not me.  A few of the books were in Russian.  I saw a cup with a built in tea strainer and bought that as a present for my friend who drinks real tea.  Together with the tea I had bought for him in Ooty, India, it made a good birthday present.

River Gauja

Then we went back to the hotel and, after leaving our purchases in our room, headed for the restaurant.  Aija said that the meal was very good, if a little expensive.  I agreed that it was expensive compared with the other meals on the trip, but I thought it was one of the worst – if not the worst – meal of the trip so far.

Cable Across River Gauja

Although there was a vegetarian section on the menu, it didn’t have much that sounded appetising.  The limited section was mostly mushrooms and I wanted the mushroom julienne as a starter.  The menu didn’t mention vegetables, so I pointed to the veggie menu and asked the waiter whether the veggie things came with potatoes and vegetables.  He obviously misunderstood and assumed that I had ordered the first item on the menu, so I got friend camembert.  At least the veggies, which cost an extra lat, were edible, if a little dry and boring.  The desert menu offered nothing appetising and they took my empty fresh orange juice glass away without asking if I would like another drink.  It was a long time before I was able to attract anyone’s attention to get a peach juice.  Finally, they didn’t bring Ian’s change until he asked for it.  We really shouldn’t have given them a tip, but we were using up our lats.  My meal came to LVL14.10, which was really expensive for what it was.

Our Room, Hotel Aparjods

We had eaten with Sue and Flo.  After they had left, David and Dulcie joined us for coffee.  Then they too left and Ian, May and I joined Charlie, Susie and Sarah at their table.  They were drinking mojitos to use up their lats.  Charlie told me to try his, but I didn’t like the alcohol under-taste.  We chatted about films, designer stubble (mostly Ian’s) and other stuff and finally went back to our rooms at 23.00.

Back in our room, I thought we had elephants above us.  The floor boards creaked at every step they took.  We could hear them talking too – and Ian and Charlie next door.  Added to that, the floor boards near the door in our room also creaked, so it was impossible to sneak to the bathroom during the night or early in the morning.