35. Riga Part 1

My first daytime rain in two and a half weeks! That's what I saw when I opened the curtains. After two and a half weeks of dry weather (except for the evening downpour in Torun) it was a shock to the system. 

I had to root around in my baggage for my waterproof jacket before leaving the hotel for the short walk to Vilnius bus station. There was no other option than to take the coach to Riga. I chose LuxExpress over FlixBus as the departure and arrival times were good. The trip was expected to be 4 hours and 15 minutes. 

My LuxExpress coach to Riga was boarding and I found my reserved seat. The service  really did match its name! 

There was unlimited free coffee and bottled water available, and good coffee it was! There was rapid phone charging, fast wifi, and a wide range of movies to watch. The cost of a single ticket was only €9.90.

As the bus was practically empty, I could recline my seat and enjoy the countryside views. 

These same views became quite boring after a while. They were mainly of large flat agricultural land, interspersed with birch forests. The isolated farmhouses all looked like industrial units, so it is obviously farming on a large scale.

The rain was pouring down when I arrived in Riga in mid afternoon. I decided to get a Bolt taxi to the HomeExchange apartment rather than try to navigate public transport in the rain. On top of that, the Riga transport app that I downloaded wouldn't work with an Irish phone. 

My first impression of Riga was that it was a much bigger and more cosmopolitan city than Vilnius, even though their populations are practically the same. 

I had booked a beautiful modern apartment through HomeExchange with Laure - a French national living in Riga. 

It was on the fifth floor and had a lovely view over the Riga rooftops to the Old Town and the parks. It was very central, so everywhere was walkable. 

Laure's instructions for accessing the apartment were excellent but I hadn't anticipated the 129 steps that I had to climb to the top floor!

Practical considerations came first and I immediately put on a clothes wash. There was no clothes dryer so I hung the items up on hangers all over the flat. 

I had read all about the self-service restaurant Lido that is a Latvian institution and was keen to try it. It offers home cooked food using only natural products and without any flavourings, colourings or enhancers. There are several branches in the city centre and the nearest to me was only a 250m walk. 

I could not believe the range of dishes on offer, maybe a dozen hot and cold starters, three soups and at maybe 20 main courses, including vegan and vegetarian options.

It was fabulous food, tasty, wholesome and amazing value. I can't think of a need to eat anywhere else while in Riga. 

The next day, the weather was still quite drizzly in the early morning and despite there being an umbrella in the apartment, I didn't fancy heading out. The forecast said it would clear later in the morning. So I made some coffee and read through the great selection of guidebooks in the apartment. 

I decided I would first walk to the Daugava river to get my bearings. 

On the way back I headed for the "Quiet Centre” where there is a large concentration of Art Nouveau buildings, though they can be found all over the city. 

Several guidebooks say that Riga is a city where you spend your time looking up, this is so true.  

This is one of the wealthiest parts of the city, and is where most of the embassies are located. It reminded me a lot of Paris.

Below is a selection of Art Nouveau buildings that just stood out from the others. 

Some tree-lined streets actually spoil the look of the buildings. 

So here is a photo of one through a gap in the trees. 

Around the corner from here, I came across the Irish Embassy, in a very impressive building, on a prominent corner. 

In front of the Russian Embassy there were signs of protest posters. 

On a side street directly facing the Embassy was the following large poster.

Then directly in front of the Russian Embassy, the city showed its support for Ukraine with a large display of Ukrainian flags. 

My late morning stroll helped build up a huge appettite and as I was still in the same area, I returned to Lido without hesitation. 

I had borscht to start, with a bread roll and a spiced red cabbage salad. For main course, I chose catfish in a spicy sauce, a cheese pancake and ratatouille. The great thing about Lido is you can mix and match, trying whatever combinations you wish. Every item is individually priced. I finished with a cross between cheesecake and tiramisu and some coffee.  

I still had two hours before my guided tour, so I headed off to explore areas that wouldn't feature on it. 

To cross from the embassy quarter into the Old Town involved going through an extensive city park, with a canal at its centre. 

This was the best use for a dead tree that I have seen in a long time, there were maybe a hundred brightly painted bird boxes on the remaining branches. 

Like in other cities on my trip, there were lots of bronze sculptures dotted here and there.

I particularly liked this armadillo, but didnt care too much for "The Ghost of Riga" (2015), though it was very well executed. 

I walked on towards Riga Central Market, which was widely recommended.

This is a huge indoor and outdoor market, spanning four interconnected Zeppelin Airship hangers built between 1924 and 1930 in an Art Deco style.  It is now on the  UNESCO World Heritage Site list. 

It looked as if the whole of Riga was there doing their weekly shopping. 

The busiest kiosks were the ones selling alcohol, and there was no shortage of those. 

A handful of tourists were propping up one of the craft beer bars, so I thought I would take the weight of my feet for a half an hour, before my guided walking tour.