Riga (Latvia) - 16th and 17th of November 2009

Thankfully, after a 300km journey that took 7 hours thanks to two very long border stops (including scary Russians and Latvians searching through our bags) our hostel in Riga had a room available that we could check into at 6am. So we spent the morning snoozing before heading out for a walk in the afternoon.

The first stop was the awesome central market which sells a bit of everything. Ange is in love with markets (in case you didn't know), so it took some doing to get her to leave!
But once we did leave, we spent a bit of time getting lost in the old town. Riga's old town is very impressive - lots of cool church spires, winding streets and colourful buildings, and arguably the best we have seen.

Just north of the old town is the old town moat, now a very picturesque park.

On the hour every hour they have a changing of the guard at the Freedom Monument, built in 1935, which was the focus of the Latvian independence (from the Russians) movement in the late '80s and early 90s.

Bit more of a walk around as the light was fading.

Although it was a Monday night, we thought we would give the Riga nightlife a shot. Started off with some very yummy cocktails followed by an awesome Italian meal (all at rediculously cheap prices) but unfortunately there was no nightlife to be found so we headed home at a reasonable hour ready for a big days walking the following day.

We jumped on an 8am bus out to the Gauja National Park, Latvia's first national park, founded in 1973. We got off the bus in Sigulda, and made our way past Sigulda Church to the New Sigulda Castle.

Just behind the New Sigulda Castle, on the edge of the valley, are the ruins of the Knights Stronghold, built between 1207 and 1226. They haven't been restored at all, so its amazing to think that this has been standing here for about 800 years.

From Sigulda, on one side of the valley, so Krimulda on the other side. We could have walked, but instead chose the much more exciting option of taking the cable car, which stretches for over 1km across the valley.

The ruins of Krimulda Castle.

From Krimulda, it was good hours hike along the river to Turaida. But it was a great walk, passing by some picture perfect lakes and a couple of very old caves, one with graffiti on it from the 1600's.

Feeling a little bit wary, we finally made it to Turaida, home to a 13th century red-bricked archbishop's castle. The castle is in the middle of some great gardens and has been partially restored, allowing us a great glimpse into the past. View from the top of the Doujon Tower.

Having walked all that way, we weren't planning on walking back, so we jumped in a cab for the 5 minute ride back to Sigulda. The whole area is known as a bit of a adrenaline-junkie spot - in summer you can bungee jump off the cable car. In winter, if you time it right, you can jump in the back of a bobsled and be taken down Sigulda's very own bobsled track, built for the former soviet bobsled team. We were both very keen to do it, but the track was closed because it was in use as a training venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Our two days in Latvia were arguably the highlight of our trip. Riga's old town and the beautiful Gauja National Park left us wanting more. Luckily Estonia was not to disappoint...

Pskov (Russia) - 15th November 2009

As a stopover between Novgorod and Latvia, we stopped in at Pskov. There were even fewer noteworthy sights in Pskov than in Novgorod, again only really an old Kremlin. We weren't staying the night in Pskov, so we dropped our bags at the bus station and went for a walk.

We had a few dramas in Pskov getting our connection to Riga, but we finally managed to get on the 10.30pm bus, arriving riga 5.30am. While we were waiting for our late bus, we had a few hours to kill, so we spent them at the bowling alley/pool hall eating pizza and people watching.

Novgorod (Russia) - 14th to 15th of November 2009

An early start on Saturday morning for a 4 hour bus ride southwest to Novgorod. Novgorod was the original capital of Russia, being the artistic and political centre for over 600 years. Today its a small town with not much to see other than a fantastic Kremlin of its own set on a great spot alongside the Volkhov River.

St Petersburg - 11th to 14th of November 2009

Arriving in St Petersburg at 7.30am, still very much in darkness, we navigated our way to our hostel which unfortunately wasn't quite ready to take us. So we had a quick shower, dumped our bags and went for a walk until our rooms were ready for us to catch up on some much needed sleep.It had been snowing overnight in St Petersburg, so everything was covered in a nice fresh layer of snow.

Looking over the water to the Peter and Paul fortress.

While the girls were keen for some sleep, I managed to sucessfully argue that there weren't enough daylight hours for midday snoozes, so I dragged them over to the Mikhailovsky Castle. Surrounded by a moat and snow-covered parks, it was quickly becoming apparent that St Petersburg was a far prettier place than Moscow.

Where's Angela...?

Quick stop-off at the Kazan Cathedral.

We made it back to the hostel at around 2pm, for a much needed sleep. But not before booking a tour and tasting at the Russian Vodka Museum. This is St Isaac's Cathedral on the way to the Museum.

Thursday was set aside for the Hermitage. Mainly set inside the Winter Palace, its the home to all kinds of art, but again it was the building itself that really captured our attention.

On emerging from the Hermitage we were hit by some serious snow. But we weren't going to let that stop us, so we continued ticking off our "to-do" list by jumping onboard a canal boat for a tour of St Petersburgs many waterways.

We woke up the following day and it was still snowing. Hard. So we put an extra layer of woolies on and out we went.

Our destination was the hexagonal Peter and Paul Fortress, dating from 1703, the oldest building in St Petersburg. Planned by Peter the Great as a defense against the Swedes, it never actually saw action and was mainly used as a political prison.

We spent our last afternoon in St Petersburg wandering the streets, getting wet from the snow, and taking photos of the awesome scenery.

Ange had been feeling rubbish all day, so on Friday night Nicola and I left her to have an early night while the two of us went out for a few Russian beers.

Moscow - 7th to 10th of November 2009

Our tour of the old USSR started at its heart, Moscow. After a 4 hour flight (and losing three hours in time difference) on Saturday the 7th, negotiating the Metro (which carries more people per day than the London Underground and New York Subway combined) and registering our visas (not only do you need a visa in Russia, but you have to register yourself wherever you go), we packed it in early Saturday night ready to get going early Sunday morning.

Trying to make the most of the daylight hours, Ange and I, and our comrade Nicola, were up early for a wander around the streets of the capital. This is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, typical of Russian Orthodox churches with its shiny domes. This one was actually only completed in 1997. A quick stroll along the Moscow River to the apex of political power, the Kremlin. ...and around the corner to the Red Square, lining the east wall of the Kremlin. Originally a market square, is perhaps now more known as the site of many military parades demonstrating Russian power.Nestled on the edge of the red square, right up against the Kremlin's walls, is Lenin's Mausoleum, containing the embalmed remains of the leader as it has since 1924 (apart from a retreat to Siberia during WWII). To enter, you have to go through multiple checkpoints and metal detectors, cameras are strictly prohibited (to the point of not allowing mobile phones either) and you are constantly under the close watch of dozens of guards. You get shuffled along, down a flight of stairs, quickly past Lenin under glass and then out again. All pretty scary really!After a quick lunch and a review of the guidebook, we jumped on another Metro north a few stops to the Armed Forces Museum. We arent usually museum types, but this one was a very good account of WWII and the cold war. Well, we think it was given it was all in Russian, but still very interesting.Monday morning we went out southwest, to the Novodevichy Convent. Founded in 1524 it was later rebuilt by Peter the Great's half-sister Sofia, who herself was imprisoned here for life in 1698 by Peter when he was just 17.Back to the red square in the afternoon, and through St Basil's Cathedral at the south end of the square. Its an amazing cathedral from the outside, but unfortunately the interior - a collection of little chapels - isn't quite so grand.With the light dimming, we strolled over to the north end of the red square and through the State History Museum. Its collection covers the Russian Empire from the Stone Age on, but the building itself is most impressive.Tuesday was our day to see the Kremlin. Unfortunately the grumpy little lady at the ticket booth told us "Kremlin closed". We later worked out that it was some kind of police day and therefore it was closed to the public to allow the police to use it. More than a little bit gutted (who goes to Russia and doesn't go inside the Kremlin!), we at least got to go inside the Kremlin walls at the far end for a visit to the armoury, home to an impressive collection of Faberge eggs. With more than a few hours to kill before our 11.30pm overnight train to St Petersburg, we walked through a different area of town, out to the former KGB headquarters.After a quick pint (or two) at the only pub we were brave enough to enter, we walked through the red square for some great night time shots of St Basil's.It was then back to the hostel to pick up our bags and get out the train station to catch our sleeper train north to St Petersburg.