Sunday 10 June
After motoring the whole 56M passage yesterday, we paused to catch our breath in Liepaja and took the opportunity to follow a well-marked walking trail around the town centre, taking in the ancient timbered buildings and cobblestoned roads and pavements. Tsar Nicholas II once stayed in a small guesthouse in a quiet side road. There are some good examples of original Art Nouveau architecture, and probably the first elegant Communist building we have seen, now the university, and stark Modernism in the Amber theatre.
Our overall impression on this warm, sleepy Sunday afternoon was of peeling run-down faded grandeur, not improved by large areas of roadworks disrupting the smooth running of the trams. We didn’t spot a single food shop, or ATM.