Sigulda (Latvia) and Valka (Latvia) / Valga (Estonia)

We made our way out of Sigulda with some trepidation. In theory, we should be able to make it all the way to Viljandi in Estonia with public transportation. However, the details were sketchy at best, and our guide book had already proved more out of date than we liked. The first hiccup we had noticed when we arrived in Sigulda - the train station was closed for renovation. After wandering around a bit, we found the temporary office. We boarded the train bright and early. The carriage was never more than a third full, but as the stations ticked away towards the Latvia-Estonia border, it became emptier and emptier until there was no one left on the train except us and the two ticket checkers. Each station we passed was more remote and didn't even appear to be connected to any town or village. The only sign of civilization would be the lone station agent greeting the train in uniform and cap, holding a colored circular paddle like something out of Thomas the Tank Engine. I did get to see a couple of antelope through a clearing in the pine forests though.

Luckily, Valka (in Latvian), or Valga (in Estonian), magically appeared more town-like on the border. Of course, we had exhausted all the highlights on the visitor's map within the 2.5 hour wait for the next leg of our journey. But the slightly desperate ladies in the tourist information center were really friendly, and the cafe they recommended served us almost a taste of North Carolina - hamburgers with cole slaw! Best of all, catching the coach bus onto Viljandi ended up being relatively cheap and painless. This low season, off-the-tourist-trail plan was becoming easy peasy.