When trying to decide where to go for this trip, I wanted to go somewhere different and a country I had never visited before. I looked at the map and for some reason Riga stood out – that was where I was going to go.
I guess i’ve always had a fascination with the former Eastern Bloc/Soviet countries and more so since our Baltic Cities cruise. Not that I am a fan or lover of communism per se, but more of the architecture of communities that were built up around communism.
Whilst I mostly had a good time on this trip, I probably shouldn’t have gone as I wasn’t too well before, during, and after it. I had a fever in the few days before I went. I also had a slight temperature on the day I left and the trip to the airport and flight wasn’t very good. Getting to the hostel wasn’t the best either. I still felt really rough.
The hostel was really nice and clean (once I had found it that was). I got to where it was – or where the map said it was and couldn’t see it. I ended up sitting in Liv Square whilst I called the hostel [Thank you EU and abolishing data roaming charges in the EU] and one of the workers came out and met me. Turns out, the hostel was only a few metres away from where I was sitting.
Against my better judgement, I decided to head out on the tram whilst it was raining. I love visiting cities that have trams. I love riding around on the trams in foreign cities.
As was usual, I decided to head out to the end of the tram line and in to the suburbs. I jumped on the wrong tram as it turns out as it took me out to the middle of nowhere – except a garage and a McDonald’s.
I decided to head back on the tram and I got on but started to feel sick. I decided to head to the embassy (ask Jamie) so I could be sick.
After I was done there, I decided to head back to the hostel so I could take some pills and lie down. The whole time on the tram I was still feeling sick, but not as bad as I had felt.
I decided to have a wander to the mall to see what it was like and to get some food for while I was at the hostel.
I got some groceries and decided to have a wander round the side streets on the way back to the hostel.
When I got back I was sick and decided I would just lie down and stay in for the day. I showered and went to bed.
I started to feel a lot better towards the evening so decided to head back out. I managed to find a Costa and sat in there for a couple of hours watching the world go by and staying dry.
I then headed back to the hostel for the day and just chilled for the rest of the day.
I was feeling a lot better today so decided today would be as full a day as possible.
I was told that there was a walking tour of the Vecpilsēta. I decided that I would like to do that. I have done that where they have been offered in other places I have visited and it generally entails a concise, but interesting, history of the city.
We met at Rīgas Sv. Pētera baznīca at 11am and it turns out there was quite a group of us that wanted to do the tour.
I didn’t quite dress for the occasion and it was quite cold. I was there in shorts and a fleece top. Brrrr.
Old Town Tip
If you do decide to do a tour of the Old Town, wear sensible shoes. There are a LOT of cobbled streets!
The highlights were as follows:
Brēmenes muzikanti Svētā Jāņa baznīca Riharda Vāgnera zale Līvu laukums Lielā ģilde Rīgas Doms Trīs Brāļi Latvijas Republikas Saeima Zviedru vārti Latvijas Kara muzejs
The tour took about 2 hours in total and ended right near the hostel.
The guide pointed out that the city was built on an old river and there are signs in the wave shape of the plant beds and the streets where the river once ran.
As we were by Richard Wagner hall, we were in for a spontaneous surprise. An old Latvian prime minister/president (I didn’t hear the name) was there with Eva Wagner-Pasquier. If you Google her, you will find out that she is the great granddaughter of Richard Wagner. I was really excited by this as I like the music of Wagner – most notably The Ride of The Valkyries (vid below).
She was visiting Wagner hall and had asked our tour guide if we wanted a picture with her. I thought it was pretty amazing that she would even offer. Our tour guide jumped at the chance and we all huddled for a picture.
Our next stop was by The Great Guild and across there was a building that had 2 black cats on it. Story has it that the owner of the building with the cats on it turned one of the cats so that the tail was showing to the building of the guild as he was not allowed to be a member. The only people allowed to be members had to be German.
Riga is also part of the Hanseatic League.
Next stop was Cathedral Square. In the square, they have markings to show where the houses used to be before they were taken down. It also shows how low the streets of Riga used to be.
We then went to see the Three Brothers. This is an example of the medieval houses of Riga and they were originally on the outskirts of the city.
The oldest brother dates back to 1490 and is in Dutch Renaissance style. The middle brother is from 1646 and is in the Dutch Mannerism style. The youngest brother dates back to the second half of the 17th century and is in the style of Baroque. The buildings are located on Pils iela.
Once the tour was complete, I decided to head to the small park by the hostel and just have a wander around. For being in the city, it was quite peaceful. There is a canal that runs through the park and goes out to the Daugava river.
In the park, there was a small stream that decended from Bastion hill out in to the canal. It was really well kept and the water was nice and clear for the most part.
I then went and had some lunch and went back to the hostel to chill for a little bit before heading back out to the park and on a canal tour.
I had the boat to myself and it was a really peaceful boat ride – that is until we got on to the Daugava and the choppy waters due to a boat that sped on by.
Once I was done with the ride, I then went back to the hostel to chill for the rest of the day.
I left and decided to head to Cathedral Square to pick up the little trolley tour bus they had there. It was €5 for a trolley around the Old Town. The tour was roughly 35 minutes and took us to places the walking tour didn’t.
I am glad I did it but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. A stroll around the Old Town would be better than the trolley. That being said, it was a welcome relief from the rain.
When the tour ended, it was raining slightly – not enough to stop me walking around and heading towards the Resistance Museum where I saw the sightseeing bus.
I took the bus and it was almost 2 hours long. I couldn’t get very good pictures from the bus as the rain was way heavier at this point and I was just glad to be inside in the warmth and dry.
Once I got off, I headed to get some coffee and more warmth.
I made a plan that there were places I saw on the bus that I wanted to go back to.
I decided to walk up to Brīvības piemineklis and then to the Rīgas Kristus Piedzimšanas pareizticīgo katedrāle. It is very ornate with its golden domes.
I decided that I also wanted to head back to the Jēkaba kazarmas and head round to Latvijas Nacionālais teātris.
Once I was done there, I hopped on a tram round to the Rīgas centrāltirgus. The market was so overwhelming. It was huge. It is housed in aircraft carriers that were once used for housing Zeppelin’s. That’s how huge the buildings and the markets are.
Once I was done here I headed out on the tram to get out of the rain. I spent about 30 minutes on it and then turned around and came back to the hostel. I spent the rest of the day just relaxing and packing before I had to leave the next day.
Here are some pictures from today
All in all, I would highly recommend Riga and this is somewhere I would come back to without hesitation.
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