Kuldiga was not far from Ventspils so we started the day with a long walk through the town and down to the river. Over SO many cobble stones! 

The Venta River was flowing high and fast after the melting snow - or that's what I think an elderly lady was saying. She said a word like the Dutch word for 'snow' and arm movements said the rest. I was glad she 'chatted'. We found locals in Latvia very wary, really it is as if we are invisible. Have all the invasions over the years made them resent any foreigners? Maybe...I am still hoping for a returning smile from someone. Am making it a project.

 
 
 
Back to the waterfall in the river, the Ventas Rumba is supposedly the widest waterfall in Europe. But at only a a metre or so high not that spectacular. But the view from the lovely old lookout was gorgeous as all is so green and lush, and every hillside has multiple shades of green from trees returning to leaf after the winter.
 
The next town, Karosta was very interesting. The only reason to go here was to see the onion-domed St Nicholas Cathedral, and it was worth the diversion. This is a church that was used by the Soviet Military as a gym and a cinema at the time 40,000 personnel were based here. Now that they have all left, the surrounding area has streets of abandoned buildings. Many of these are very rundown but it does seem a waste when housing is desperately needed in other parts of the world.

It was lunchtime, and we chanced on a Latvian cuisine Restaurant in Liepaja. We wanted to try the local delicacy for the town, Liepajas mencini. This was salted cod, potato and dill baked with cream in a special little earthenware pot. Delicious. As were the potato pancakes with smoked salmon which we also tried. But we were bound for Palanga in Lithuania and needed to get a move on. 

In Palanga we stayed in a place right opposite a pine forest by the sea. Lovely beach once again. It is a beach resort town, and has a very long pedestrian street lined with eating and drinking places which leads down to a very long pier. Lovely weather to be out as well. But no eating and dining for us after our lunch. A snack in our room did us fine!