There are
countries you think of a lot and then those that rarely enter your consciousness. Latvia is probably a good example of the latter. I
have only ever met one Latvian - a civil servant visiting Japan on a study tour in 2007. But when considering a mini-break from UK last year, and with the criteria of 'less touristy
country with direct flight from London', for some reason Latvia came up as an
option. After a bit of 'what on earth goes on in Latvia?' research, it was a done deal and we were on an
Air Baltic flight with frighteningly tall stewardesses marching up and down the aisle.
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| Old Riga |
It really was an
unexpected treat. The countryside was lush and green (it’s what I imagine Scandinavia to look like), within which you could find quaint towns and villages nestled
among the hills. There was
Rundale Palace – a dramatic piece of 18th century architecture
that rivals anything else I have seen in Europe. The food was some German-Russian hybrid cuisine, which would not get the approval of Weight-Watchers, but was actually
quite delicious, with lots of fish (salmon especially), sausages, rye breads
and pastries to die for. Much of the older architecture and customer service screamed ex-Soviet scariness and we certainly came across our fair share of gloomy officialdom,
but that itself was an interesting aspect to experience. And there were a fair few tourists - especially giggling Italian aunties, for some reason. In a few years’, Latvia could well experience a tourist boom,
which is all the more reason to go now.
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| Pastries to die for |
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| Rundale Palace |
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| Flowers at Rundale |
The old town in Riga is the main draw. A UNESCO world heritage
site, it's a magical maze of streets and squares, full of cobbled streets and
pastel-coloured facades and perfect pavement cafes. You could imagine the
Pied Piper of Hamelin appearing at any moment from
behind a wall. Some of the establishments were clearly marketed towards the
stag-party crowd from Britain (with copious beer
and cottage pie being advertised) but for the most part, old Riga was a place of elegant restaurants
and cafes, narrow streets and beautiful plays of light and
shade in the afternoon.
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| Twilight in Riga |
A little outside the
centre, there was the art-nouveau district with its amazing statues and sculptures
adorning the decadent facades. We took a barge
trip along the canals and river, enjoyed several
of the cafes and their products containing ‘bienspiens’ (cheesecake, I think) and visited the central market. This was the most Soviet-like atmosphere of all, with aunties shopping for sausages and cheeses wearing fashion crimes that were indescribable. A true gem was an
old cinema hall that had so much atmosphere and panache it was hard to believe that it was used to
show films. I also managed to meet Mara, the civil servant mentioned above, who
seemed to be absolutely delighted that I had chosen to come to her country. She
showed us the Ministry of Education where she works, housed in an old building right
in the centre of the old city.
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| Old Riga streets |
It just shows it pays to take a
risk now and again. Both Latvia and the Baltic states are now places I want to return to soon. Tallinn is meant to be even more
beautiful...
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| River Daugava seen from the barge trip |
