Latvia: on and off the beaten track. : Riding to Tukums 2

Tukums is a town, tidy, well-kept, even idyllic in some corners. Regardless the fact that it's small, it has sites to see.

First of all, it has a tourist information center with an extensive collection of brochures about Latvia's sites.

There is also a linen clothes shop, not a cheap one, but with an interesting collection of modern and stylish clothes for children and adults. Bags, scarves, tablecloth, hats... It's worth dropping in.

Horse riding school, classes at 8 lats per hour.

Minor sculpture here and there.

It order to get to Tukums you ride along the lake system Kanieris. When riding past the lake system Kanieris, you can go boating to break from the routine of riding. It's a bird paradise so you will undoubtedly see some swans, egrets. We saw a harrier once. Go there on week-days, since people go fishing there at weekends and scare away birds. Take along binoculars, a camera. You can spend some hours on the bird-watching tower nearby.

The cat at the boat center. He was unwilling to socialize but I got him against his will. I suspect he is too spoilt with all those fish he's treated to by fishermen at the boat station.

We always ride along outskirts of towns and villages. There's no traffic.

The tower for bird watchers.

The restaurant of the central hotel of Tukums, called Tukums, a room at 20 lats=40 dollars. The room was relatively spacious, and clean. However, the window was on the roof and, with the weather in Latvia being changeable, one can't leave it open at night or when going outside. It can start raining at any moment and you'll end up with a room full of water. So that was the only inconvenience we had there: always having to close the window.

The dishes were adorably cheap, beautifully served, tasty Have a look at the pie with strawberries!