Easter in Latvia

by Maxine Bates

Finding our own way to the hotel from the airport we soon discovered that we could not communicate well with many of the locals. The older people tend to speak Russian whilst the younger ones speak Latvian so, even using our Eastern European phrasebook, we weren’t sure which language we should be attempting. We stayed at the Toss Hotel – booked via the Ryanair website – which is a converted flax mill on the outskirts of the city. It was clean and comfortable, provided an ample breakfast, and even had a small leisure club with lap pool, sauna and steam room.

Art Nouveau District

 The city is easy to explore on foot, but don’t navigate by churches as there is at least one on every street! Your first stop should be the tourist information office in Town Hall Square where helpful staff can provide free walking tour leaflets. We followed two routes and walked miles seeing all the main attractions. The Town Hall itself was originally constructed in the 14th century, destroyed during World War II, and reconstructed in 2003. Nearby Liv Square is named in memory of the Liv tribe who were the original occupants of Riga and now has lovely flowerbeds surrounded by restaurants. On the edge of the square is the bizarre Cat Building where cat sculptures perch on each of the corners of the tower. The next square is home to the Riga Dome, the Latvian Evangelical cathedral, and when the organ was installed in 1884 it was the largest musical instrument in the world with 6,718 pipes.

The Gunpowder Tower once guarded the main entrance to the city and now houses the Latvian War Museum which is free to enter and covers five floors of exhibits. There are English translations. Other museums are dedicated to art and design, photography, pharmacy, occupation and more. Too numerous to visit during a short break when it is pleasant enough just wandering around the cobbled streets and parks. Various styles of architecture can be seen throughout the city from Roman and Gothic to Renaissance and Baroque, but the most prominent style is Art Nouveau, particularly around the Alberta Street district which now houses university departments. At the end of one of the main streets, Raina Boulevard, stands the Monument to Freedom. This tall obelisk is topped with a woman holding three golden stars above her head. The stars symbolise the historical regions of Latvia – Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale – and the monument was funded by the Latvian people in the early 1930s as a symbol of their desire for freedom. Two guards stand at the base.

Be sure to visit the Reval Hotel and take the lift to the top floor for stunning views over the city, including a bird’s eye view of the ornate Orthodox Cathedral of the Birth of Christ with its onion-style domes. There is a viewing window directly out of the lift, although we visited at the right time to treat ourselves to cocktails in the penthouse bar with floor to ceiling windows. For other interesting viewing, visit the Central Market which is housed in several former zeppelin hangars and has stalls selling everything from locally made honey to pig’s trotters! Even higher than the Reval Hotel is the TV Tower on an island in the Daugava River. The tower is 368 metres high and there’s a lift to a viewing platform. We ended up with our own guide who did not speak English, but luckily we both spoke some German so I did a little impromptu translating.

Orthodox Cathedral

 One day we took the train out of Riga to the countryside of Sigulda where we caught a cable car over the river and followed a walking trail to Turaida Castle. En route we saw Gutmanis Cave and stands selling handcrafted walking sticks, and once at the castle wandered around the sculpture garden and climbed the tower for spectacular views. However, we didn’t see any lunch options and had to settle for chocolate and crisps from the only shop in the area. Definitely a gap in the market! Another day we caught the bus to the outskirts of Riga and visited the Latvian Open-Air Ethnographic Museum where traditional buildings from all parts of the country are displayed over several acres and craftsmen hold demonstrations. Being Easter there were also displays of rabbits and eggs! You can spend a whole day here for a very small amount of money.

We found that whilst Latvia on the whole was quite inexpensive, restaurants in the city centre were higher than UK prices. After eating small portions of overpriced bland Italian food on our first night, we then discovered the Lido buffet restaurant near our hotel and ate our evening meals there for the rest of our trip. There are several of this restaurant chain around the city, but the one we dined in is housed in the largest wooden building in Northern Europe. There are three floors with live music downstairs and a small amusement park outside. It’s a little confusing upon entering as there are no greeters. You simply find an empty wooden table, select from the huge buffet counters and pay at the till. There are hundreds of dishes to choose from including traditional cold pink Latvian soup and grey peas, as well as starters, salads, fish, meat, poultry, desserts and more, all at very reasonable prices. The restaurant has its own brewery and the Latvian sparkling wine is ridiculously cheap at 1 lat (approx. £1.20) per glass.

We can all recommend Latvia as an interesting destination.

First published in VISA 88 (Dec 2009)