TRAVEL: Riga, Latvia - cathedrals, classic cars and cold weather

It seems that Riga didn’t quite get the message that Spring has arrived, as we stepped off the plane to freezing weather and blustery snow. I’d known that it was due to snow whilst I visited the city, I just hadn’t quite realised that there would already be plenty of snow on the ground when we got there… Normally I’m pretty organised when it comes to packing, but I already knew that I was going to regret not having brought extra layers and a winter coat with me!

We headed down to the bus station where a small minibus heading into town was conveniently waiting for a minimal €2 fare, much much cheaper than anything you’d find taking you from a London airport into town. Once the bus was full (with the driver seeming to play ‘how many people can I fit in the minibus') we headed on our way into Central Riga.

We were dropped close to the Central Station, a very convenient location which was only a short walk to the Old Town where I aimed to pick up a Free Walking Tour (which anyone who reads my blog will know is a must for any city visit for me) in front of St Peter’s Church. We were slightly early for the noon start, so rather than hanging around in the freezing cold, took a quick jaunt around the town before returning back to find someone with a yellow suitcase as the internet instructions had told us.

Our guide for the afternoon was Kasperz, who explained that this was actually an ‘alternative Riga walking tour’ and we wouldn’t be shown around the Old Town, which I hadn’t realised, but didn’t mind as I was sure we would get our fair share of Old Town during the long weekend there. Instead, we headed off first to the Central Market, a group of large disused military warehouses which had been converted into various parts of the market, with each hall holding a different type of market, ranging from dairy, fish, meat and vegetables.

We headed further into the suburbs of Riga, with Kasperz stopping to explain at each stop various parts of Latvian life, including the livelihoods of Rigans, their eating habits and customs, and the influences of various occupations throughout history which had shaped Riga to the city it is today. Kasperz was both humourous and knowledgeable and we were able to see plenty of sights during the 3 hour tour, finishing at the Freedom Monument just in time to see the changing of the guards and tip Kasperz for his insights.

As check in for our Airbnb was at 3pm, and desperate to put our bags down somewhere, we headed back to St Peters Church which was literally right next to the apartment we would be staying in. Always being keen to be frugal on my weekends away (particularly when we were travelling over Easter, when the flights themselves were very expensive), I’d chosen what looked to be a pleasant room located very centrally, which is exactly what ours turned out to be. The room was perfectly pleasant with the only downside being the noise from clubs and bars outside at night, but a good pair of earplugs coupled with early mornings and late nights meant this wasn’t much of an issue during our stay. 

Having dropped our bags, we headed back out into the blizzard to check out the Old Town, admiring St Peters Church, the Cathedral, Riga Castle and its riverside location, the Old City Walls and Swedish Gate, and even the famous Cat House, whose story goes that the owner of the house held a grudge against the nearby house of the Great Guild, and so purposely positioned the cats with their backsides in that direction.

Having walked our socks off, and in need of warming up, we headed to dinner which I had booked earlier in the day (you can never be too careful around busy weekends!) at Zviedru varti, near the Old City Walls. I was glad to have booked as this tiny place looked like it could fill up fairly quickly and so we were whisked upstairs. I opted for traditional potato pancakes with sour cream followed by a yummy pasta and vegetable dish (unsurprisingly one of the few vegetarian options on the menu) whilst my travel buddy chose a sorrel soup followed by perch.

Always one to try local delicacies, I also had a glass of kvass, a rye bread based drink, which tasted exactly as it sounds. Perhaps not something I’d have again, but interesting to taste at least. It was a very pleasant meal, only marred by the fact that I got the feeling the staff wanted us in and out of there as soon as possible, as we were not offered bread as other guests were, and handed the bill even before my friend had finished his meal.

Having had an extremely long day, it was then back to bed before our early start the next morning in order to catch the 7:54 train from the station. Our destination was Sigulda, with a day trip certainly something I would recommend for a long weekend in Latvia (or any other city for that matter). I hear Jurmala is also a good destination if you have even more time!

The scenery changed dramatically as soon as we left Riga, and we rolled through almost endless forest – very pretty in the snow, particularly when one was camped up inside a warm train! This was punctuated with the occasional tiny town with a literal hut serving as the train station. After an hour, we arrived at our destination, which was even more snow-covered than the city we’d left.

We trekked through the snow (difficult to do when wearing Adidas sneakers and not hardy walking boots…) to the Luge and Bobsleigh track which has been the training ground for plenty of Eastern European athletes, including Latvian skeleton racer Martins Dukurs who narrowly missed out on a medal position at this years Winter Olympics, and the Bronze medal winning two-man bobsleigh team. For a small admission fee, we were permitted to head up to the start of the mens track, and even walk down the side of the turns (again not recommended in Adidas sneakers); as well as check out the womens track lower down. There was also a modern bobsleigh outside, which was great fun to take photos in.

We continued on our journey through the snow to two of the towns many castles, which sit next to one another. The modern castle I don’t think is accessible to the public, with its outer grounds now housing a Creative Quarter with a few hip shops. However, the ruined Krimulda Castle is open, and so we passed some time walking around the stone walls and taking photos across the gorgeous valley below us.

Our next stop was the Cable Car which transports passengers across the valley with Gauja National Park stretching out below us. Whilst not the cheapest 5 minute journey (€7 one way) the view is unparalleled and it’s certainly a unique way to get around.

A minutes walk away from the terminal is Krimulda Mansion, which now houses a rehab centre, but guests are allowed to walk around its grounds, admiring the Sun Balconies of what appeared to the guest rooms (ironic given the place was covered in snow). There’s also a conveniently located café called Milly where we stopped for some authentic goulash and a chance to warm up before setting off again.

We then began trekking through the National Park, heading down steps to the valley floor and Gutman’s Cave, the widest and highest cave in the Baltics with inscriptions from the 17^th century etched on the walls. What goes down must come up, and we then began to ascend some more slippy stairs to reach Turaida Castle, which was visible from the other side of the canyon and certainly seemed far away enough.  

Its red brick walls provided an interesting contrast to the grey stone castle on the other side of the river, and the tall tower at the entrance offered stunning 360 views all around. Certainly worth the long walk, particularly given that there was no admission fee (although this may not be the case year round when the rest of the exhibitions are open).

Given that the trains back to Riga were only every 2 hours, I was keen to try and catch the 3:30 back than be stranded at the station for longer than I wanted. With this in mind, we’d heard rumour that there was a bus that would take us back to the first castle we’d visited, and managed to catch it just as it arrived at Krimulda. For a measly 50c, I couldn’t have been happier with the trip back, and even better, it took us directly to the train station, saving us from more traipsing through the cold and snow.

Our train back was older than the one we’d taken on the way there, with a more Soviet style look (and unfortunately not as good heating!) but I enjoyed cruising back through the villages and imagining the lives of their residents. Arriving back in Riga in good time, we made the decision to head up the Panorama Observation Deck housed within the Latvian Academy of Sciences building, which is itself a building building to admire.

A €5 admission got us up to the 16^th floor and its spectacular views of the city and river. From up here, we could see all of the places we’d walked around, from the bridges and market, to the various churches across the city. Plenty to see in a city where there is plenty to do! We headed back to the apartment via the Laima chocolate shop, where I picked up a couple of bars of the brands most recognisable chocolates including the delicious Serenade bar and Sarkana Magone. A must for any visitor to the country!

Dinner was at Riits, a hip joint which served only locally sourced food. My friend opted for a ‘Latvian snacks’ starter with sprats, potato and of course, sour cream, followed by a lamb shank; whilst I chose a lentil based dish for my main and a berry crumble with a heap of whipped cream for dessert.

Whilst a lie-in would have been pleasant, there was yet more to see in Riga on Day 3, and so it was another relatively early start to head back to the train station, but this time to catch a bus. We were headed out of the city to visit Riga’s #1 attraction (according to TripAdvisor) – the Motor Museum. Whilst not a particularly big car enthusiast, I thought why not see what all the hype was about.

Regardless of my indifference towards cars, the bus ride there was in itself interesting as we passed stacks upon stacks of Soviet style apartments, giving a better insight into what lies beyond the city limits. We arrived as the museum was opening (I don’t think I’ve ever been the first person in a museum before) and spent the next two hours walking around.

I have to say, the museum was very interesting and well put together, with 3 floors charting the evolution of the car as a whole, as well as Latvia’s involvement in the motor industry. There were plenty of pretty cars to keep me occupied (I’m sure their mechanics were also noteworthy) as well as interactive sections such as the opportunity to have your photo taken as if part of an army parade and using projections to ‘paint’ a van. Definitely a fun way to spend the morning.

As we were flying out in the evening, I’d booked lunch instead of dinner for us, and so we caught the bus back to the centre. Arriving a bit ahead of schedule, we returned to the Central Market to get a better look at the stalls (although I rushed through the fish market due to the strong smell!) before heading to Milda for lunch. The restaurant had a traditional menu, and we both ended up choosing potato based dishes, him meat filled potatoe skins, and myself cottage cheese filled potato dumplings in a buttery sauce. Given this was to be my last meal in Latvia, I splurged on dessert, a tasty cold bread pudding punctuated with fruit.

With a few hours to kill, we decided to head further afield for the afternoon, first visiting the stunningly beautiful Latvian Orthodox church, with an interior covered in glorious paintings and gold accents, as well as a small shop selling icons and Faberge like eggs with delicate glass churches inside – something I definitely would have considered buying had it not been for the price!

We continued on to the district famous for Art Nouveau buildings, winding our way along streets with pleasant facades before jumping inside the Art Nouveau Museum as the rain began to fall. The museum was unique, with a video downstairs demonstrating the influence of Art Nouveau in the city, and the upstairs kept in its original form as an early 1900s style apartment. In many ways, it was quite like the Stately Homes you can visit through the National Trust or English Heritage back home, and offered an insight into life in the last century.

The rain had only increased in frequency by the time we exited the museum, and not wishing to saturate my backpack and its important contents, I made the executive decision to head to the airport slightly early, conveniently catching one of the city’s airport bound minibuses (again, €2 per trip! Not a chance you’d get that in the UK!) which brought me a different route, this time through the Soviet style and wonderfully named town Zolitudes.

Even better, we drove right past the Riga Aviation Museum, where you could easily see the impressive aircraft through the chainlink fence, ranging from rusty fighter jets to what I have been told is the largest helicopter in the world. Quite the sight, and a nice ending to another pleasant city break!

Tips for visiting Riga: Check the weather forecast! Clearly the city has no qualms about not abiding by seasons, so make sure you know what to expect when you arrive, as we were told that just the weekend before temperatures had been as low as -20’C. Secondly, plan a day trip – there’s plenty to see and do in Riga, but if you want to ‘do Latvia’ it’s worth heading outside. I loved visiting Sigulda and its stunning National Parks, something you wouldn’t discover in the city limits itself. Finally, bring walking boots, both for the weather and the amount of walking you’ll no doubt do. The city is extremely walkable (isn’t that great!) and we definitely cranked up tens of thousands of steps throughout the weekend.

I hope you enjoyed today’s travel blog to Riga! I’d love to know where you recommend visiting if you’ve been to Riga, and what other cities I should visit next – I’m open to anywhere! Make sure to stay tuned for further travel blog excursions either on the blog or via my Twitter @CiarasCountry, and let me know what your 2018 travel plans are too!