Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

2010-08-28 Outing, Saulkrasti and Sigulda, day 2

2010-08-28

вылазки фото природа сигулда латвия байк туризм

Two blue camping tents stand on a green clearing against the backdrop of a forest, a bicycle lies on the grass nearby. In the background behind a wooden fence, a road with parked cars is visible.

More pics, from the second day.

Several colorful canoes lie on the grassy bank of a river under the shade of trees. In the background, calm water reflecting the surrounding forest is visible.

A wide river with dark water reflects a dense green forest on the far bank under a bright sky. In the foreground, a sandy shore is visible, an orange buoy floats on the water, and a tree branch hangs into the frame from the top left. A calm river with dark water flows between densely forested banks under an overcast sky. On the left in the foreground, a sandy shore with grass and overhanging tree branches is visible. A wide river flows under an overcast sky, reflecting high, densely forested banks. On the right, a sandy beach is visible, on the left - a steep cliff bank with trees, and an orange buoy floats in the water.

Here's that same recumbent bike.

A yellow recumbent bike (ligerad) with panniers stands on a green clearing at the edge of a forest. In the background among the trees, information boards, a wooden table, and boats are visible. 

This is our tent from Maxima for 4 lats.

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This is Auks

A young man in an orange t-shirt and shorts stands near a red mountain bike and a wooden table with a blue spiral lock on it. In the background, a river with overturned green kayaks and a dense forest is visible. 

This is us near the campsite deciding to ride the rodelbahn (Rodelbahn) (Rodelis in Latvian) at the amusement park tarzans.lv

For those not in the know, a Rodelbahn is a self-rolling sled on a monorail where you can brake with a lever. I'd already ridden these in Germany before, but it wasn't as fun there, it's cooler in Sigulda.

A view from a height over a wide forested valley with a winding river in the distance under an overcast sky. Thick cables run diagonally in the foreground, and several buildings and a parking lot are visible below. A panoramic view from a chairlift descending over a green summer slope, with buildings, a road, a parking lot, and a winding river among forested mountains visible below.

The rodelbahn monorail is visible.

Empty cable car chairs ascend a green hilly slope next to a dense forest. On the slope below the lift, a winding metal rail for summer sleds is laid out. 

The metal monorail of the summer toboggan run (rodelbahn) gently curves on a green grassy hillside along a wooden fence. The track leads to a wooden trestle surrounded by trees. 

Actually, it's a bit scary on the rodelbahn, and people brake all the time. The sleds hold onto the rail very tightly - the design is similar to a roller coaster, so you don't even have to brake at all. But we all braked, except for Alisa. She's really crazy - she rode it, and says it was even too slow, needs to be faster.

These are the caves in Sigulda. Some of the inscriptions on the clay are completely ancient, they're already a couple of centuries old.

The entrance to a cave in a rock of red-yellow sandstone, covered with numerous carved inscriptions, names, and drawings.

A small arched stone bridge spans a stream with stone-fortified banks in a green park. A large rounded stone lies in the clear water of the rocky-bottomed stream in the foreground. 

Nearby, on the way to Turaida, another campsite.

A dark brown campsite sign with a teepee logo, the words 'Dainas' and 'Camping KEMPINGS', a right arrow, and pictograms, stands on the side of a dirt road. Surrounded by dense green trees and a bright green field. 

This is us having finally reached the most famous castle in Latvia - Turaida Castle. I hadn't been there before. It's definitely worth a visit, but it tires you out. By the way, be careful - you used to be able to get in without a ticket if you climbed over the fence, but now ticket checkers in national dress are standing everywhere so nobody freeloads. I don't mind the money, it's some sort of development after all. It's just a pity it's not in Latgale, but in Sigulda, which already sees crazy crowds of tourists. (Although by European standards it's not that many - there were even vacant hotel rooms on the same day).

Two men stand in a green park on an overcast day. The man on the left in a bicycle helmet looks at his phone, while the man on the right, standing on a paved path, examines the contents of a plastic bag. 

There's a big park around Turaida Castle, you can walk around all day and look at all sorts of things. It's tiring, of course, riding a bike is easier, even though you have to pedal.

A small pond in a park with a round cluster of water lilies with pink flowers on the water. Near the shore, an old stone well overgrown with grass protrudes from the water, and a wooden fence runs along the right grassy bank.

 A metal information plaque in Latvian and English with a historical note about a bathhouse, attached to a log wall made of darkened wood.

Auks in a punk helmet.

A young man in a gray bicycle helmet and orange t-shirt sits on a gravel path, looking directly at the camera. In the background — green hills with trees and a small stone sculpture.

The sculpture park. I remember it for the grass being wet, and I soaked my feet.

In a wide green field surrounded by dense trees under an overcast sky, stands a large, light-colored abstract sculpture resembling a human head. 

The castle itself.

A view of an ancient red brick castle: on the left, a round semi-ruined tower with a stone base, on the right, a tall tower with a conical roof. A sandy path leads to the complex, surrounded by lush greenery, under an overcast sky.

Many buildings have been restored, the difference  between the old and new brick is clearly visible.

A fragment of a semicircular wall made of old, uneven red brick with a partially restored section of new, neat bright orange brick in the lower left part. In the upper old part of the wall, two small rectangular niches are visible. 

A top-down view of a medieval red brick castle with a tile-roofed tower and defensive walls. In the background, a winding river flowing through a dense green forest in a hilly valley is visible.

 A top-down view of the stone and brick ruins of an ancient fortress with remains of walls and foundations against the backdrop of a green lawn with sparse visitors and a dense forest.

On some of the castle's bricks they found prints of animal and human limbs like these. Why this was done is unknown, but it's amusing. I think our ancestors were just having fun.

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Latvia's crazy storks again. The sheer number is off the charts.

A green tractor plows a large field of dark brown earth, followed by white birds against the backdrop of green hills and a blue sky with clouds. 

This is us already back in Saulkrasti, we'll be heading home soon.

A sunny day on a sandy beach, where many people are relaxing by the water and swimming in the water reflecting the bright sun. In the foreground, a man in swim trunks walks on the sand, green branches are visible on the right.

A young man with glasses looks up against a bright blue sky and green trees. Two mountain bikes are secured on the trunk of a green car, view from inside the cabin over the rear of the car. Behind them on the road, several passenger cars are visible, including a blue Mazda, and a dense pine forest on the sides.

Next are Auks's photos.

This is me charging my iPhone at the campsite.

On a gray metal box mounted in the grass on supports, a black device lies charging from a white adapter plugged into an outlet on the front panel. A white pole rises from the top of the box. A man with glasses, a blue sports tank top, dark shorts, and a bicycle helmet stands on the sandy shore of a lake, smiling and holding a blue cord in his hand. A wide calm river flows among green forested banks under an overcast sky, reflecting trees in the water. A sandy shoal is visible on the right bank, and forest-covered hills rise in the background.

The punk in the rodelwagen.

A smiling young man in a helmet and blue tank top sits in a yellow car on a rail slide, looking at the camera. In the foreground, a part of another person's back is visible, and in the background — a green grassy slope. 

Inside Turaida Castle there are all sorts of museums and exhibitions of ancient frying pans and spoons.

A mural imitating cave painting, with red-brown stylized figures of people and animals. The images are painted on a light, cracked background resembling stone.

Several ancient, heavily corroded metal artifacts, including spearheads and tools, are displayed in a museum display case against a light background, some numbered.

All in all, the trip turned out pretty well.

By the way, near the castle, there's a Soviet canteen. It has pots and other utensils from those times, posters and photos, and the decor of the room is in that spirit. The prices are unrealistically humane - I ate solyanka, grey peas, and kompot for 1.5 Ls ($3). I haven't seen prices like that for about 5 years, since my dorm days. Back then I once had a set meal for 1.20 - but that was a lot of money for me, since my whole stipend was about 70 lats.

When we were driving back, all the way from Pļaviņas to Daugavpils there was a huge and scary thunderstorm front on the right, lightning was flashing every five minutes. It was beautiful beyond words.

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