In-between Day. Riga stop-over

We'd spotted signs in Oslo's central train station for the Airport Express, and had checked the details online yesterday, so we were well prepared this morning to get our packing done, bid farewell to our Oslo apartment and make our way in to the centre of Oslo for the last time. Signage and everything to with the train were excellent and brilliantly efficient, and the train itself was really impressive.

We flew airBaltic tom Oslo to Saint Petersburg, via Riga in Lativa, with a three and a half hour stopover. Rther than hang around the airport twiddling our thumbs we decided to make our way in to Riga, a decision which worked out really well since our luggage had been checked in right through to Saint Petersburg and we already had our boarding cards for our second flight. We got a shuttle coach in to Riga and had enough time to wander the streets there and stop for a pleasant beer in one of the city squares. We'd got a map in the tourist office when we arrived and noticed that this sculpture of the Bremen Musicians was included, so we stopped there for a blipportunity, along with most of the other visitors to Riga (the sculpture was a gift to the city of Riga from the citizens of Bremen, and reputedly brings good luck to anyone who rubs noses with the animals).

We got back to the airport with plenty of time to spare and had a problem-free flight to Saint Petersburg (both flights were with Bombardier, turbo-prop planes, small, but comfortable). ArrIval in Saint Petersburg was remarkably quick and efficient. We'd expected a delay at passport control, but we actually got through really quickly, and the rest of the airport experience was equally speedy, with no delay at all waiting for our luggage and a remarkably speedy taxi transfer tin to the city.

What with time changes (one hour forward in Lativa and another in Russia), it was 10.30 pm by the time we checked in to our hotel. We immediately encountered problems. The hotel itself was fine, and the standard of the room was also fine, but the room wasn't what we'd booked, and the heating wasn't functioning in the one we were switched to. It took a long, long time before that problem was solved by our being given a portable radiator, by which time it was way too late to do any exploring of our neighbourhood apart from getting a couple of cans of beer in a nearby 24-hour shop. Not an impressive start to our stay in Saint Petersburg, at the end of a long and tiring day.