Latvia

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Saturday, 25 August: We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on our final morning at the Hotel Bern. Afterwards, we walked a short distance to catch tram no. 2 to the Bus Station. We had two bags as well as two pieces of carry-on luggage so it was a bit of a scramble to make our way onto the tram as it runs in the middle of the street with traffic on either side. Obviously, we did it and we rode the tram four stops until reaching the Bus Station. Once there, we found platform 8 and waited for the LuxExpress Bus to arrive to take us to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

At 12:30PM we boarded the bus and it left promptly at 12:45PM. We had booked seats in the “lounge” area which meant our seating was two across rather than four across. It gave us tons of room and we each had a window. En route, we were able to watch a movie via on-demand entertainment. About halfway through the journey, we passed into Latvia. There was signage but no official border crossing like in years past.

We arrived at our bus stop in Riga (the Radisson Blu hotel) at 5:10PM. From there it was a quick walk to Hotel Valdemars, our home for the next five nights. The hotel is a family-run operation housed in a building the family bought in 1910. The building was confiscated in 1944 as the family fled to Sweden to avoid the Nazi occupation. After the Nazi’s were defeated by Russian forces, the Russians used the building as a hotel for Russian military officers and it was no longer a residential building. So, when the liberation of Latvia occurred in 1991, the Cakste family officially got the building back.

Now, it’s an amazing hotel in a beautifully renovated building. While we knew that breakfast was included, upon check-in, we also learned that afternoon tea/coffee and sweets are served daily. Then, each evening a “light dinner” buffet is served from 6:00PM – 9:00PM. Wow, what a treat!

After we settled into our room, it was about 6:15PM so we decided to have dinner. It was delicious – a hearty soup to begin, then a great selection of cold salads, fresh breads and hot dishes such as pork loin, mixed vegetables and potatoes. It was a huge selection and the perfect end to our day of travel.

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	Lindy enjoying the LuxBus ride
	A glimpse to the Baltic Sea
	The wheat harvest is underway
	The harvesting is already done at this large farm
	Hotel Valdemars

Sunday, 26 August: After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we decided to explore Riga’s Old Town. To reach the old city, we walked a short distance to the Esplanade, a beautiful green park/walkway. In transit, we stopped to take photographs of the Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral. It was quite beautiful from the outside; however, no photographs were permitted inside. We continued towards Old Town and came first to The Freedom Monument. Built in 1935, it is one of Latvia’s national symbols. The statute of a woman holding three stars at the top of the monument represents freedom embracing Latvia’s regions: Latgale, Kurzeme and Vidzeme. An honor guard stands at the monument, and it changes hourly from 9:00AM until 10:00PM.

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Afterwards, we crossed the Riga Canal and officially entered Old Town. Our first stop was the beautiful Latvian Opera House; very nice! Next, we walked the quaint streets and stopped at St. Peter’s Church. The church dates back to 1209 and is Riga’s oldest church (and Riga has many, many old churches). It is a great example of Gothic architecture in the Baltic States. Our next stop was the House of Blackheads. It was first mentioned in 1334. The Blackheads was an organization of unmarried foreign merchants. The original building was destroyed in 1941 but was rebuilt to its exact specifications for Riga’s 800^th anniversary in 2001.

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	Riga Canal
	The beautiful Latvian Opera House
	A thriving pedway
	An empty side street
	St. Peter's Church
	The square in front of the Blackheads House
	Riga's City Council Building which sits on the square
	The Blackheads House
	A close view of the intricate time clock which includes a calendar
	A close-up view of the entry to Blackheads House

Our explorations along the quaint streets of Old Town continued and we passed many beautiful buildings and many, many churches. We also came upon Riga Castle. Afterwards, we walked to St. Jacob’s Church. It too is an ancient church which was first mentioned in 1225. It is now a Roman-Catholic Church (in the past, it had been a Lutheran church).

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	Another lovely street
	A beautiful building with an amazing window box
	The dome of Dome Cathedral
	Buildings nearby the Dome Cathedral
	The aptly named Blue Church
	St. Saviuor's
	A view of one of the towers of Riga Castle; the Castle is is now home to Latvia's president and it also houses several museums
	The towers of St. Jacob's Cathedral
	An inscription over the Cathedral entry attests to its existence in 1225
	Another view of St. Jacob's - the towers as seen from the front of the church
	The massive building beneath the towers; note how tiny the massive door appears to be

Beyond St. Jacob’s, we found three buildings known as “Three Brothers.” They are the best examples of residential buildings in medieval Riga. The oldest building (no. 17) was built in the 15^th century and is the oldest stone dwelling structure in Riga. The other two were built in the 17^th and 19^th centuries. From there, we walked to the Swedish Gate, the last remaining gate from the old city walls. In 1698, it was added to celebrate Sweden’s successful occupation of Riga. Nearby, was a restored fragment of an old fortification wall. Beyond it was the Gunpowder Tower. It is the only remaining tower of the Old Town’s fortifications.

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	The "Three Brothers" (Building 17 is on the right)
	Lindy in front of The Swedish Gate
	Original fortifications for the Old Town
	Gun Powder Tower, now part of the Museum of War
	Another amazing street

[ T O P ]

Since it was now late afternoon and we had been walking and walking since mid-morning, it was time to walk back to the Hotel Valdemars for a well-deserved break. We reviewed our photographs and contemplated how much history we had seen in such a compact area.

Monday, 27 August: We decided to leave the city for a bit and explore the Estonian seaside. The Central Bus Station and the Central Train Station are located near one another so we first went to the Central Bus Station to take a quick look around. We did so since we’ll be leaving Riga via LuxExpress Bus in a few days. After we got that bit of business out of the way, we walked to the Train Station. We went to an information office and found a clerk who spoke some English. She helped us purchase a round-trip train ticket to Majori and told us where to catch the train. The train ride took about 30 minutes. Majori is one of the small communities that make up a resort area known as Jurmala. Jurmala, and Majori in particular, is known for its sandy white beaches.

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After we arrived at the Majori train station, we found the pedway known as "Jomas Street.” This is a popular place to stroll and also do lots of shopping. Thankfully, we choose to go on a weekday so we didn’t have to fight the weekend crowds. Ultimately, we walked to the beautiful beach that provides a summer escape for the residents of Riga as well as many foreigners, especially Russians. Here the Baltic Sea is calm and swimming is encouraged. However, today was not a day for swimming as it was cloudy and cool. As we left the beach, it started to drizzle so we decided to head back to the train station to return to Riga. However, by the time we reached Jomas Street, we were in a downpour. Thankfully, we each had an umbrella so we managed to stay somewhat dry.

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As we arrived at the train station, the rain continued to pour down. So, we waited under the building eaves for about 20 minutes before the train to Riga appeared on the horizon. As soon as it did, the crowd that had gathered under the sheltered area, moved across the tracks to catch the train. Our return trip also took about 30 minutes. When we got back to Riga, it was pouring there too. We waited a bit in a nearby mall and then decided we would brave the rain and start the walk back to the hotel. We had to choose our steps carefully as the sidewalks had huge puddles and the cars splashed tons of water on them (and on pedestrians if you walked too close to the curb). As we got closer to the hotel, the rain started to subside; however, it never quit so we needed our umbrellas the whole walk.

After getting into our room and putting our umbrellas into the shower to dry, we went back to the hotel lobby. There we enjoyed a wonderful cup of hot tea. Also, the ingredients were out to make your own mini-waffle as an afternoon treat. So, we each enjoyed a hot waffle with our hot tea. What a great way to get over a cold, rainy afternoon!

Afterwards we returned to our room to catch-up on paperwork and relax until we went to the dining room for our complimentary “light dinner.” Again, it was a great selection of salads, a delicious soup, breads, vegetables and, amazingly, lasagna. Then, we enjoyed a glass of wine and called it a night after enjoying a long day of walking with only a couple of train rides in between to take a break.

Tuesday, 28 August: When we woke up, it was a cold and dreary morning and it looked like it would rain. So, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in hopes it would warm up and the sun would come out. Well, the sun didn’t come out so it was time to be brave and head out with our umbrellas in hand. We returned to the Old Town specifically to visit The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.

The Museum was established ion 1993 to show what occurred in Latvia during its occupations by the Soviets (1940-1941), the Germans (1941-1944/45) and, again the Soviets (1944/45-1991). The information provided by the Museum was excellent in terms of presentation and shocking in terms of content. It’s amazing what the peoples of Latvia withstood and overcame until ultimately gaining independence in 1991. We spent most of the day at the Museum; it was that good!

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	A cell to hold multiple prisoners
	One of the many displays to read at the Museum (the lighting is subdued so photography is tough)
	Latvia lost more than one-third of its population during the periods of Soviet & German occupations

Afterwards we took time to visit the Cat House – a spot we missed on our original tour of Old Town. It’s known for several black cats cut out of metal that sit on top of two of the building’s corners. At the turn of the century, the owner of the building was exiled from the Great Guild across the street. So, he had the cats placed such that their backs and tails faced the Guild. After a long court battle that resulted in the owner being admitted to the Guild, the cats were turned back to face the street (as they appear today).

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	The Cat House
	A close-up on one of the black cats atop a tower
	Ed enjoying afternoon tea with a waffle topped with home-made jam; yummy!

[ T O P ]

The skies continued to be threatening and a cold wind was blowing, so we decided to call it a day. We returned to the hotel and once again enjoyed some hot tea before heading upstairs.

Wednesday, 29 August: Today we choose to once again take an excursion. This time we headed to the town of Sigulda, located in a mountainous area about 50km from Riga. We caught a bus from the Central Bus Station and the ride to Sigulda took a little over an hour. Most of the time was spent making stops before leaving Riga and then making additional stops as we approached Sigulda.

When we arrived at the bus station in Sigulda, we went to the adjoining Information Center. From there, we were able to hire an English-speaking guide, Inese, who took us to the local sites using an electric golf cart.

We began our adventure as we entered the Gauja National Park, the largest national part in Latvia. It takes its name from the Guaja River, a beautiful river which holds brown trout. After we entered the park, our first stop was Gutmanis Cave. It is the deepest cave in the Baltics. The area we were able to access was one in which a spring flows from the cave year-round (despite Sigulda having snow throughout the winter months). The cave has long been an attraction as its water is believed by many to have healing powers. The cave also was a site for inscriptions (what we now call graffiti) since many individuals left their names carved into the sandstone walls.

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	The beautiful Guaja River
	Ed outside Gutmanis Cave
	Lindy just inside the cave entry
	A final view of Gutmanis Cave

Next we were driven to the beautifully reconstructed Turaida Castle. The castle was built in brick gothic style in 1214 under the Supervision of the Archbishop of Riga. It was continually expanded and developed through the 17^th century. However, it then lost most of its strategic importance. All wooden structures associated with the Castle were damaged by fire in 1766 and were not reconstructed. The castle fell into disrepair until restoration began in the 1970’s when its value as a possible tourist attraction became apparent. We enjoyed walking around its immense walls and, in particular, the beautiful main watch tower. After visiting the castle, we walked to the nearby Turaida Church, one of Latvia’s the oldest wooden churches which was built in 1750. The immediate area near the altar has never been renovated and dates back to the Church’s inception.

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	A map of Turaida Castle
	Approaching the Castle
	The interior walls of the Castle
	Lindy sitting inside one of the rooms inside the Castle
	Ed at an archway in the Castle walls
	The Castle tower through an archway
	Us at Turaida Castle
	Turaida Church
	The beautiful interior of Turaida Church

After viewing this area, we were driven back to Sigulda. We went by a small park decorated with walking sticks, a symbol of Sigulda and one of its favorite carved souvenirs. Then, we drove by the Sigulda Lutheran Church which is located in the center of town. It is a white stone church that was first mentioned in historical documents in 1483.

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Afterwards, we stopped at Sigulda Castle and visited both the original castle and the new castle. The original Sigulda Castle is a medieval castle that remains mostly in ruins. One tower and several walls have been reconstructed. The New Sigulda Castle is a former manor house built from 1878 to 1881. It was reconstructed in the late 1930’s and now houses the Sigulda Regional Council offices.

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	The gate to Sigulda's castles
	The "keys" to the Castles
	Sigulda's Old Castle ruins
	Another view of the Old Castle
	A reconstructed Tower and Wall of the Old Castle
	The White Castle, originally built for Latvian nobility, now houses the Nature Conservation Agency Office of the Vidzeme region
	The New Castle, former home of the Kropotkin family, now hosts the Sigulda Regional Council
	"Junk soldiers" protect the Castle
	Inese, our lovely guide, in her reliable golf cart

[ T O P ]

We had concluded our 2.5 hour tour of Sigulda so Inese dropped us back at the Tourist Office. We went to the adjoining Bus Terminal and purchased a ticket back to Riga and we were able to catch the 2:30PM bus. We didn’t ride the bus back to the Central Bus Station and instead got off on one of the main streets not too far from our hotel. We made a quick stop at the Rimi Market and spent the last of our Latvian currency there before leaving town.

We then returned to the Hotel Valdemars and enjoyed another delicious dinner later than evening. Then, it was time to pack and get ready for our visit to the remaining Baltic country, Lithuania. All and all, we enjoyed a wonderful visit in Latvia!

	The Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral
	The Freedom Monument

	Our train approaches the station
	The interior layout of the train

	Jomas Pedway
	Another section of the Pedway
	The beach at the Baltic Sea with the storm brewing

	The symbol of Sigulda, its walking sticks
	Sigulda Lutheran Church