Seems like here in Jekabpils i finally arrived i a true Latvian city.

It already started in the Czech Repulic, the intensive use of 'vintage' cars and agricultural machines...but this harvester in action was just too much. What a machinery!

Also quite nice to see, the flock of storks in the field going in for 'unprotected' food.

I passed quite a tough morning today. The streets not always in a decent state and front wind almost the whole time. After lunch came something i would never had expected. About 25km of freshly paved, proper street. No bumps, no holes, quite wide and extremely few cars. That's the stuff cyclists dream of...ok some of them at least. =o)

PS. According (well...as far as i was able to decypher the Latvian text) to the signs before this beautifully crafted track, this track was realised with funds of the European Union.
...finally an utterly wise investment. =o)

It's not just the streetnames on the signs, written in Latvian and Russian nor the cars with Latvian numbers but Russian flags everywhere else.
It's rather the fact that in a supermarket near my hotel, there were more different vodka brands than fizzies...no kidding.

...although this, i've been informed by a Latvian guy (i met in Warsaw) before that Daugavpils is rather Russian than Latvian.

Another border crossed today, the one between Lithuania and Latvia. A bit out in the green, this time. Therefore also the road conditions changed again. What was (according to the road map i use) a proper, paved (well..most of the time at least) road in Lithuania seemed to be a dirtroad in Latvia. So i had to cycle about 10km on gravel, sand and dirt (for those who don't cycle these kind of roads with well inflated tires but without suspension that much - it feels like sitting on a powerplate while consuming speed and agility) until the pavement started again.
...well i won't complain..at least the pavement started somewhere again. And it wasn't in a bad condition either, to be fair.