On our last night in Seduva, Lithuania we ate ate a nearby restaurant. Like many European restaurants, it is set in the country and caters for summer outdoor entertainment as well as providing food and drink. There was a huge playground, and a number of outside sitting/eating/drinking spaces. Typical of the area, almost everything is made of wood and a lot of effort been put into carving almost everything.

So to dinner. I had seen 'Peas and crackling' on various menus and decided we should try it before we left the country. Turned out it was cooked dried peas with tiny bits of bacon. A bit like pea soup but not soup. Roast pork was interesting as well - very lean meat plaited into a roll shape. Very tasty. And in a lovely venue.
 


 
Next morning we woke to rain, and so it stayed most of the day as we drove back into Latvia. This time to a guesthouse in Sigulda in the Gauja National Park. Enroute we passed through a lot of farming country. Endless kilometres of grain plantings just coming through the soil, so I am assuming this rain would be very welcome. Then there were apple orchards near the border. Lots of them. We saw very few animals. Sometimes a couple of horses, a few cows, but nowhere near as many as we would expect. And as we entered Latvia we noticed the change in the roads.They were definitely better in Lithuania. 

Next day more grey skies, but we took a drive around some of the attractions in the National Park. Sigulda has hills (we haven't seen many) and here are signs for wintersports. Apparently the Russian bobsled team trained here at some stage. There are are a number of castles and manors, but it is the stunning green of the scenery that is the highlight. How can it be SO green? 

We continued on to Ligatne. Here was a Paper Factory that is Latvia's oldest industry. It has in the past printed Russian Army maps and Estonia's paper money notes, and is still a working operation. A bit further along is 'The Pension',  a Soviet Bunker that remained a secret until 2003. It is all still as it was.

In Cesis we wandered the Old Town. Once again wooden houses, cobbled streets and a castle. Outside  St John’s church stands the sculpture called 'The centuries'. It is of an old man carrying a lantern, and I wondered what it represented. Found out it was created for the 800th anniversary of Cesis. Standing there in the rain he seemed a strange figure. 

 
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The clouds remained as we entered Estonia. Now the language really became a challenge. The words have no relationship to anything we know. Like in any flat countries, the scenery can be much the same, but the forests here are beautiful. And at this time of the year the various shades of green make it stunning. 

And then a few days in Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia. It is a university town, and at once felt different to the other cities we have visited here. My 'Smile' project, which is standing at a score of 3, may be abandoned, as here it seems younger and more multicultural. 
 
Tartu is a very attractive town. The Town Hall Square is large with lots of outdoor dining areas and the popular Kissing Students Fountain. European cities seem to have so many more sculptures than Australian cities but in Tartu they seem to be everywhere. And of varied styles. All good to see. And we can access all the sights easily as our room is in an old wooden house right near the square. 

We had a late lunch at a restaurant in a historically significant building. The Beer Pub is in the Gunpowder Cellar , which is was completed in 1778! Nice venue and a popular student haunt, though today we shared the place with only a few other diners. We did not go the usual beer cafe menu route but caught up on our vegetable intake. A good day.