Monday, August 3

Last night we tried a very small sampler-sized bottle of Black Balsam, Latvia’s national spirit. This morning, as I woke, I made a note to add it to Stroh, as an alcoholic beverage to avoid at all cost.

After a late breakfast we walk through the Old Town, where I see this graffiti. For some reason it amuses me so much that I walk back a couple of hundred metres to photograph it. It has to do with the lettering, the message, and the perfect grammatical error in the middle of the three words.

We will wander around the city, taking in Stockmann and the five former Zeppelin hangars that house the huge central market. There, among many other things, we will see pigs’ snouts on sale for 0.40€ a kilo.

The hotel has a terrace restaurant on the fifth floor. We will eat dinner there.