Baltic bound

Back on the road again after a London sabbatical. Actually mostly on the rails as I take the long route to Borneo. Raleigh training weekend has built the anticipation and from there I was straight onto the Eurostar to Brussels.

Boarding in St Pancras

For the first time on this trip I was visiting somewhere I'd been before & it brought back a few memories of new year with Steve, Matt & Charl. The drugstore is still there, manneken piss is still tiny & I still love the tintin art on the wall.

wall art in Brussels

Manneken Piss, Brussels

Next morning it was onto Cologne. As previously advertised the cathedral was huge and situated next to the train station there was no missing it. I was also struck by the number of cyclists and just how cycle friendly the city is - a recurring theme in Denmark & Sweden.

Cologne rail bridge & cathedral

Little mermaid, Copenhagen

But time is a ticking and I have a train to catch in Russia, so that night I was back on the train for an overnight to Copenhagen. For the record nearly every train was late that evening - Deutsche Bahn has no one told you you have a stereotype to maintain?

Wonderful Copenhagen was waiting in the sunshine. The 2-3hour walking trail took about 5 hours and so I had to hot foot it back to the station for the train across the bridge to Sweden. Incidentally, their little mermaid is many times bigger than Brussels' effort at a bronze statue

Nyhaven, Copenhagen

A day in Stockholm took in some of the waterways of the capital and a tour of the city hall - the location for the Nobel prize banquet each year. It's also the place most proud of its monarchy from my non scientific observations, postcards proliferate.

City hall, Stockholm

Time for a break from the train and onto a huge ferry (41) I'm counting this on sheer scale, 2 decks of restaurants & bars. Another overnighter & another time zone to arrive in Latvia.
Riga old town is fantastic, full of beautiful buildings and live music, it's definitely on the list for a return - maybe 2014 when it will be European city of culture.

Daugava river, Riga