AROUND THE WORLD - Latvia-Estonia-Russia and changing guides

Country No. 6 on our list is Latvia,the "middle" one of the three Baltic states. We rode through the south-eastern part of the country which is sparsely populated and very pretty. Riga, the very cosmopolitan capital, will be our home for two nights. Tomorrow's plan? Sightseeing once again! We left Poland today and crossed the border to Lithuania. Since both countries are part of the EU and the Schengen Agreement there are no checkpoints anymore, just a few signs welcoming us to yet another country. Despite the straight roads riding is pure pleasure, not much traffic, beautiful countryside. Unfortunately, our rest day in Kolberg, a spa town on the Baltic Sea, did not deliver the kind of weather we have grown accustomed to. Instead of sunshine and 30+° it was cloudy and breezy, with temperatures barely exceeding 15°C. We still enjoyed our day off and gathered the strength to ride 360 km today. Highlight today was Malbork Castle, one of the largest castles in Europe and a major tourist attraction. Here are some impressions. Our day in Berlin was beautiful and very interesting, but we had to leave, had to ride, ride eastward. Poland is the next country on our list, and we crossed the river Oder, which serves as the border, on a brandnew bridge that is not even mentioned on the map. The regular Kings&Castles Edelweiss tour went from Prague to Dresden today, just as we did. And they had a picnic planned, so we coulnd't resist the temptation and joined in. It was good fun. Dresden welcomed us with a very relaxed atmosphere, a relief after the hustle and bustle in Prague. it was hard work to lead the whole group through the historic center of Prague, but in the end they came back to the hotel..... "The freedom to ride and meet the locals", a long-standing Edelweiss motto, has never been more fitting than today. Tour guide Tom took birthday child Otto and the rest of the gang to his sister's house, less than an hour away from Passau. Surrounded by chickens and horses we had coffee and some birthday cake, home-made just for Otto (thanks for sharing!). Almost the entire family cared for the travelers, only two important people were missing :-(  Well, maybe next time... Later today we reached Prague. Tempereatures topped 36°C/99°F as we rode through this gorgeous city to our hotel. Tomorrow a well-deserved rest day awaits us. Today we left Austria for good and headed back to Germany, or, to be precise, to Bavaria. But there were highlights on the way! In the year 304 a roman citizen named Florianus refused to renounce Christianity and was subsequently tortured and killed. A chapel was erected over his grave, later a small chruch, then a bigger one, and finally, in the late 17th century, a very large one. Much older is the blue Danube, which today was not blue but green. In Schlögen, where the river scenery is especially beautiful, we had our own private little picnic. And then Passau. Situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, Inn, and Ilz, this city is a baroque jewel box. From our downtown hotel we took a little walk, enjoyed a short but free classical concert in the cathedral and finally had dinner in a little square. It was another good day. It's not very far from Salzburg to Gmunden, but the spectacular scenery of the Salzkammergut justifies a detour or two or three. We went across the Postalm panoramic road to Hallstatt and on the the Dachstein mountains where we visited some of the famous ice caves of the area. After this refreshing experience the outside heat made us go straight to Gmunden, where cold beer awaited us on the terrace of our lakefront hotel. Another good day! the ice caves at Dachstein mountain are not only stunningly beautiful, they also offer reprise from the continuing heat outside. At 0°C/32°F we could finally cool down a little... From Mieming, home of Edelweiss Bike Travel, to Salzburg, home of the Edelweiss from The Sound of Music. If than's not a perfect riding day, then what is? We have to admit, though, that we did use the Autobahn for an hour this morning, to get around Innsbruck and through traffic quickly. Rudolfo, on his giant Harley, loved this part of the ride the most. Everybody else preferred the beautiful curves up to Berchtesgaden and the Windbeutelbaron. Salzburg, Mozart's home town, welcomed us with balmy temperatures (38°C/100°F). Can't wait to have a cold one in one of the city's many beer gardens. today  we had a beautyful loop around the Tyrolean Alps: Hanntenjoch, Furkajoch,Hochtannbergpass, Faschinapass and Silvretta Hochalpenstrasse, what a day!! and the short (cold ) shower was welcome refreshing.....   It's a long way to Moscow, and Bangkok is even further. Today several people asked us the question that we often hear, "hey where are you guys off to today?", and there was disbelief in their faces when we told them. What a great feeling! Here are some snaps from our beautiful first riding day.