Latvia
Inside the dry bus we headed toward the border town of Valga/Valka, a unique town split directly between Estonia and Latvia. We hopped off the bus and casually walked across the border into country #60 — Latvia. Naturally, many of us took the opportunity for highly sophisticated tourist photos straddling the border line while pretending to be in two countries at once.
Back on the bus on the Latvian side, we travelled to Ragana for lunch. We attempted traditional Latvian cuisine, although I’m not entirely convinced it will become part of my regular meal rotation back home. I ordered something resembling a hedgehog-shaped chicken creation — essentially seasoned diced chicken and cheese wrapped together and coated in crunchy croutons.
Since the morning ride had been shortened because of rain, we added an extra afternoon ride completely off the official itinerary — which ended up being one of the highlights of the trip.
I layered on every piece of windproof, waterproof, and thermal clothing I had packed and we headed into Gauja National Park, Latvia’s largest national park, known for its forests, sandstone cliffs, and river valleys.
Along the ride we stopped for photos at several scenic sites, including Krimulda Manor and Sanatorium, Sigulda Castle, and Gutman's Cave, the largest cave in the Baltic states. According to legend, the cave’s spring water supposedly has healing properties. Given the amount of cycling we were doing, I was tempted us to bathe in it.
After the ride, we continued on to Riga and checked into our hotel, located just across the bridge from Old Town. The hotel featured a rooftop restaurant with magnificent views over the city skyline. We enjoyed supper — chicken skewers — while looking out across Riga’s church spires and rooftops as the evening light faded.
The next morning, the cycling group headed to Jūrmala beach for a ride, but Cathie and I decided we wanted more time to explore Riga itself.
Armed with a bag of laundry and Google Maps, we crossed the bridge into the city. We started our washing and instead of waiting we decided to check out Riga’s Central Market, one of Europe’s largest markets. The market halls were originally built as massive German Zeppelin hangars during World War I before being repurposed into market buildings in the 1920s.
We moved our washing into the dryer and walked to the towering Latvian Academy of Sciences building, often nicknamed “Stalin’s Birthday Cake” or “Stalin’s Wedding Cake.” The Soviet-era skyscraper was presented as a “gift” from Joseph Stalin to Latvia after World War II. Like many gifts from dictators throughout history, it arrived with complicated political baggage attached.
After retrieving our laundry, we checked explored Old Town Riga on foot. Some highlights included Riga Castle, the medieval Three Brothers houses, the towering Freedom Monument, St. Peter's Church, and the stunning façade of House of the Black Heads, originally built for an association of unmarried merchants in the 14th century.
We ate our picnic lunch overlooking the Daugava River while watching the wind create waves that appeared to move against the river’s current. The wind in Riga was relentless.
Later that afternoon, we joined a guided cycling tour that took us beyond Old Town to explore more of the city. During the ride, we crossed the river four separate times and came dangerously close to being blown sideways off our bikes. At some points, simply remaining upright felt like a major athletic accomplishment.
One of the highlights was seeing Riga’s incredible Art Nouveau architecture. The city contains one of the largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in the world, filled with elaborate facades, sculptures, dramatic faces, and decorative details that make modern buildings look painfully unimaginative.
One particularly memorable and very Latvian moment was spotting the enormous satirical poster of Vladimir Putin hanging on a building near the Embassy of Russia in Latvia. In addition, the street beside the embassy was renamed Ukranian Independence Way, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Subtle? Not exactly. Effective? Absolutely.
After the tour, we battled the wind one final time while walking back across the bridge to our hotel. By this stage, even standing still required effort.
Back at the hotel we rested after 21,000 steps and a 2.5 hr bike ride in the wind, and then just headed to the mall food court for supper.
Unfortunately, our time in Latvia was far too short. Tomorrow we continue onward to Lithuania.
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