Latvia

Latvia is a country of big contrasts and during a motorcycle journey you will have a chance to enjoy everything from sleepy villages with old wooden houses to the cosmopolitan and beautiful Riga.

In some villages there is an abundance of patina and it seems that the average age of its inhabitants is 75+. In other places, such as Kuldiga, there are some careful attempts to initiate some kind of tourist attraction. At the other end of the scale you can find places like Jurmala, where you will have big problems finding a hotel because the russians are all over the place with their black Mercedes G55's. When I tried to book a room in July the answer was simply: "No, sorry...Roman is here." (Abramovich that is, and he and his friends had booked most of the town.)

Compared to its neighbours Lithuania and Estonia, my experience is that you will se a whole lot more dense and dark forest whilst driving in the Latvian countryside. If you prefer a more open landscape, Lithuania is probably a better option.