Riga is small, cheap, cheerful, contrasting and utterly charming.
Old town.
After a measly 3 hours at the border (again, apparently that’s pretty good), we crossed back into the EU and Schengen Zone from Russia into Latvia. Our destination was its capital Riga. An interesting city of contrast. Riga is part old, part new and part art nouveau .
The 3 brothers.
Riga is a good looking city. It has the charming cobbled streets and town squares that I have now come to expect from any place that has an ‘old town’, but Riga’s point of difference is its contrasting styles; art nouveau, medieval and modern all sit comfortably on the same street. The old walls of the city were destroyed, but a few ivy covered guard towers and gates still stand. 3 houses built in the 1600s are near by, as is the headquarters of a merchant group that has a cat perched on its roof . There are lots of small details for those willing to look. And look I did! Wandering around Riga was wonderful and relaxed and I enjoyed many of these small details and the bigger ones like the town’s squares, churches, parks and public buildings. My other favourite thing about Riga was the abundance of flowers that adorn its cafes, restaurants and squares. Beautiful blooms, especially of pansies, were everywhere.
Colourful blooms.
On our first night in town we went for food and I was shocked that the waiter smiled at me and those around me. After a week in Russia, seeing smiling faces is now officially a novelty. The smiles were plentiful around Riga and the delightful Latvian people sometimes break from their smiling to share a joke or give you encouragement with learning the Latvian language. I found the people who I came across to be delightful. This is interesting because like their Baltic friends to the north and the south, the Latvians have been through a lot. Years and years of occupation by Soviets and Nazis had destroyed major parts of the city of Riga and damaged the culture by restricting old traditions and language. I visited the occupation museum, an interesting and informative look back at the eras of occupation and its end. It was a confronting look at the past, but the museum curator made sure all information was delivered in a factual and unbiased way. The spirit of the people is evident in this museum and through the famous ‘Baltic way’, chain of people holding hands that stretched from Tallinn to Vilnius via Riga. I think it perfectly sums up the warmth of the people of the Baltic states. Non-violent protest and a show and strength and unity.
Spot the cat!
In case you haven’t noticed from my photos, I love a good view and I’ve climbed lots of things to get one. This was no church bell tower and was probably the easiest climb, up to the top of the Raddisson Blu hotel to visit the one of the highlights of my time in Riga. The Sky Bar. 26 floors up it offers amazing views of the city. You can really see all of the styles of buildings across the whole city. I sat there and watched the sunset over Riga with a cheap and delicious cocktail in my hand. After that we decided to hit up Riga’s famous nightlife. Which although not my scene, was good fun. Until we went downstairs to do some karaoke, which is entirely my scene. The only downer on the evening was the vast number of prostitutes and scam artists that were accosting the boys who were in our group. It wasn’t dangerous, just annoying; and I guess another way to get some cash out of the tourists.
Sunset over Riga.
Also around town there was a lovely park with a canal running through it filled with locals sunning themselves. The park also had a range of sculptures and a tree covered in colourful ribbons that had messages written on them. The city’s big squares are filled with pubs, cafes and restaurants with lots of international options. We lots of cuisines from Italian to Mexican, all at really cheap and decent prices. Riga has a good contingent of tourists that frequent it since its admission into the EU and I was told that the prices have risen. I can’t imagine how cheap it would have been previously.
Esplanade park.
It is easy to be charmed by Riga with its beauty, but I think the thing I liked best was the warmth and kindness of its people.
Ali's adventure 