Friday, September 20th

Leaving Vilnius, Lithuania, we returned to Lativa's southeast corner

Daugavpils is very close to Russia 

 Latvia's "Little Russia"

It was only a 112 mile drive from Vilnius, but top speed here is 56 miles/hr (90kms)

Dropping to 70 kms (44miles/hr) at every intersection on two-lane highways

Arrived in time for lunch at the towering Park Hotel

Business lunch menu 3 courses for 4.5 Euros - Menu in Latvian & Russian 

Great view from 10th floor

Shopping at the mall on the left, consisting of hundreds of individual stalls 

Sandy bought shoes that don't hurt ($24) and we each found gloves - Definitely colder 

Then on to investigate the imposing Daugavpils Fortress outside of town

Plan for its construction approved in 1810 under Tsar Alexander
When all of Baltics under Russian rule

Plans for this fortress included everything
Interior ramparts high above ground encircling a vast grounds

Exterior bastions with cannons above, passageways below, and surrounded by a moat 

Protecting dozens of buildings housing thousands of troops, officers, and their families
Complete and isolated community

Many of the structures now derelict - Block after block of them

It's quiet and desolate but intriguing because it's so big and complex

Mark Rothko put his museum inside the fortress walls

Tried to understand his thinking, but its hopeless for my mind

Only one night in Daugavpils 

Apartment $33/night clean & nice

A half-dozen buildings in our  complex

To date, no heat in any apartment

Mid-40s at night - Low 50s during day

 It's cold