24.7.
GDANSK
A bus gave me a quick ride from Hamburg to Gdansk. Gdansk at 6.00 o´clock is a bit like seeing another kind of city - only some early travellers, slight smell from bakeries.
It is not the first time I am in Gdansk. Still the sillouhettes of the shipyards on the one side, and small streets in Oldtown, remembering old times, and advertising amber, icecream and Neptunas.
Quite a lot boats at the harbour, close to some remainings of historical buildings, and Zeman Club (which we later visited after special recommendation). Gdansk is trying hard to make a most possible attractive picture to all its guests - the question “won`t you like to go to Hell?” is quite common here, and says in fact nothing about whether the devil is on the steps to come.
25.7.
The Gdansk shipyard still is like a symbol, even it is not much left about building the big ships. We indeed even met Lech Walesa at the entrance - not waiting for us, but being busy with another group of foreign visitors.
Artists and creative people had to leave some of the buildings at the shipyard already, but in some other bulding WYSPA Institute found a place here. Quite a number of rooms, mostly painted white (the colour of the creative people?), really like “open doors” to visitors. Here definitly is the place of art. Leftovers from different artists, catalogues, invitations to upcoming events. Meeting with people who perhaps thought we would ask all artists to become sailors …. 
26.7.
GDANSK - KLAIPEDA
We are on our way! Quite good winds helping us sailing from Gdansk to the open sea. Being at Sea, one quickly can get an understanding about man being really small. It is said that the distance one can see with own eyes is about 5 to 7 km - up to that what seems to be the horizon (that what separates water from sky). Some birds flying, some smaller insekts resting at the boat for a while. Nearly no other ships. After sailing the whole night, Klaipeda port welcomed us with quite nice weather.
28.7.
KLAIPEDA
The place for boats, yachts, sailing ships is right near the historical remainings of an old fortress - it is said that Klaipeda wants to rebuild the old Castle of Memel. But first of all Klaipeda prepares for the Tall-Ship-Race next weekend - several bigger sailing boats are expected to arrive from Turku / Finland (race started in Gdynia, from there to St.Petersburg and then Turku). But we still don`t see much of them - except the people at the harbour being quite nervous on preparing different things for the big event. It is not much to compare with Gdansk - less industry, less of the services of leisure industry. But we found Saulius offering us very good bicycles for rent, and we spend some hours at the Kuronian Spit, enjoying the soft waves rolling to the sea shore, the smoked fish, and the nice nature.
Later a meeting at a Cultural Institute in Klaipeda. They have different galleries connected to their place, even food and drinks would have been waiting for us less than 10 steps outside of the entrance door. But first we introduced the “Approach at Sea” to some Lithuanian guests; artists, designers, and one gallerist. What is the Lithuanian way of living at the seaside? Yes, one has to remember, that this was a borderline before, not open for the public. Most of the Kuronian Spit now is a National Park, but most of the Klaipeda area seems to be taken over by private owners, ships, different buildings, and tourism industry. None of the artists we met had been at the open sea, watching Klaipeda from the seaside. Would it have been similar in older times, times of “Hansa” sailing along the famous “amber-trails”?
29.7.
KLAIPEDA - LIEPAJA
We left Klaipeda early in the morning, which gave us a whole sunny day at Sea. Where comes all the Blue from? Is it Sky-Blue, or is it Water-Blue? If being on a white ship, in between all this endless Blueness, what makes man dream about any other colour?
Clouds seem to be made at the place where land and Sea meet. The Latvian Sea-Shore was providing some clouds for us while sailing. The fish and the seals living at Sea never speak to the sailors, don`t they? Is it totally silence under water? I will not try it. It reminds too much to all people who never returned home…
Place for Sailing boats right at the City Center of Liepaja. Quite colourful harbour, some older ships for fishing, some military, some industry. It is already the third place where a wooden ship, build like “historical style”, waits for guests to be taken on a short trip. Or may be these boats are rather for celebrating parties, better not moving to far from the harbour?
30.7.
LIEPAJA
We met Martins Urdze, a Latvian grown up in Germany, living in Liepaja now since 1995. “I don`t expect any soon wonders to come to this country,” he says. He says he need his sceptical view on society for his own survival. And it has to do with his job: he is a priest working for two Lutheran Societies here, being busy also for some humanitarian projects, and help for homeless and poor people. Not all people find it easy to survive. “The Latvian Society is quite conservative now,” says Martins. “Too much of changes recently, and not all to the good. People are seeking for values who last for a while.”
31.7. The main news: Culture Centre K@2 is closed. Those creative people, who run this place for some years, seem to be stuck in some local beaurocracy, non-sensitivness and corruption of minds. We came to late - now Karosta is again nothing more than a former War-Harbour (the remaining warships and submarines I saw here 15 years ago, half-sunk into the harbour). But doesn`t matter whom we ask: “we will not give up”, artists say. “Something always pops up here and there”. Also the University of Liepeja had to make plans a bit smaller - projects will not happen in Karosta, and the financial crisis this year let all people concentrate on pure survival. In Karosta I found a huge sign: “Since EU in Bruessel did not want Liepaja to have a sugar-production any more, here will be used some money for improving infrastructure.” I did not see much of it - just some hundred meter new asphalt on streets. But nothing more? What about culture?
What else about Liepaja? It has lightened up much in recent years. One could even say: WHITE could be the right colour for that town. This town has a character.
1.8.
Sailing from Liepaja to Ventspils. This time the Sea turns from blue to green and silver. At the evening the sky is grey, and we found shelter in Ventspils yacht-harbour. Quite near to the Fishermen`s harbour - and to places of work. It seems also here is something alive. Krisjanis Valdemars still waiting for visitors (on his bench), cows too.
2.8.
Peoples day! More than 10 visitors on the boat, and even some other also at a meeting in Ventspils town, arranged by Green Movement Latvia. Very lively discussion! Why not asking the fishermen for ideas, and the artists for visualisation! Nice proposal. Some Ventspils people seem to be ready for cooperation FROM NOW ON (next minute!). It reminds us to be quite serious, not just talking. Here people will wait for our next meeting, and concrete action!
3.8.
Evening sail (2.8.) from Ventspils harbour to Ruhnu. What means silence at Sea? The wind calms down totally, the sun is spending a fabulous golden light. No birds, no people, no ships around, clouds fading slowly away. Could Baltic Sea look like a big swimming pool? A golden-red fireball declines into Baltic Sea …
We go along the lighthouses - up to Kolka. Kolka lights three a clock at night. Sun coming up again over Estonian waters. “Tere, Ruhnu!” A nice, little harbour awaits us, just three or four other ships. The Harbour Master is quick: just five minutes after our arrival he put up the Swedish flag. Ok, with some few ships as guests only (the ferry-line to this island had to close down, we heared later), it is easy to welcome everyone personally!
It takes some time, walking the only Ruhnu street “to the village”. In former times also some Swedes settled here, and the style of houses and gardens still has saved something Swedish (or “nordic”?). But also two not so nice matters: waste-site in the middle of the Forest, not secure (nice hills of coloured bottles 
), and wastewater going directly into the Baltic Sea at the East part of Ruhnu. What a smell!
4.8.
Wind from North. On the way to Riga. No coastline at the horizon, no clouds, some birds resting at the water surface. Wind from North! In opposite to Northern Germany, this seems to be a promise for continuous good and sunny weather. The northern wind helps us to raise a spinnaker for first time - white, red, blue (russian colours?).
The spinakker changes the counting of time. When we started at Ruhnu - with motor - we expected to arrive in Riga at 9.p.m. in the evening. With Spinnaker it could have been 4 hours earlier! It is sometimes hard to say, how quick a ship moves, if looking constantly just to the water, the waves (or the no-waves), and the horizon. We take the spinnaker down at the estuary of river Daugava, at the Daugavgriva lighthouse. Now it is like a film, which somebody prepared for us at the river shore: big, colourful cranes, ships, storehouses, trees and bushes, trunks, all moves slowly in front of us (or parallel to us). We met two ferryboats leaving Riga for Sweden and for Germany. A sightseeing boat heading for Jurmala also. Then finally the Riga TV-Tower, the Peter-church, “Vanšu tilts” (Shroud bridge) and the Swedbank (prev. Hansabank-) building mark the approach to Riga City. We have arrived!
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