March 13-14 Latvia by Night and Day

And so, after two or so successful days in Lithuania, we arrived at 8pm on the 13th to Riga, Latvia. We had less time in this city so we elected to go exploring in the evening rather than relaxing. Thankfully, this city is smaller than Vilnius so we didn't need to tax ourselves.

The first sight greeting us off the bus was a very pretty lighted bridge. It was streaming blue lights onto the water and into the night sky. So, Riga looked promising. The hostel was also much nicer than in Vilnius and the staff were more helpful. However, maybe due to exhaustion or simply because of how much I liked Lithuania, Riga didn't really do it for me. The city reminded me of Tallinn, in size, and of Stockholm in building style but the magic wasn't there for me. Not that a city needs to be "magical" for me to derive enjoyment from it.

The best parts of the visit to Riga were the hours we spent just walking through art nouveau facade clad buildings in districts that skirted the Old Town, and the food, as well as the market. The food in Riga was fantastic, hearty and satisfying and so, so, cheap. Lido, on the first night was a buffet featuring traditional Latvian food and drink as well as interior decor. The same restaurant exists in Tallinn, as it's actually a Latvian chain restaurant but I'd never been there before. I loved the food, and made a mental note to visit the one in Tallinn before I leave. We explored the city after this and then made our way to the hostel to plan the next day and catch some much needed sleep.

Breakfast was a little hard to find on a quiet Sunday morning, but we eventually located a little cafe and got our munch on. The day was chilly, and windy so our wandering took a brisker pace and we spent a large part of the day indoors. We viewed the very well planned out museum of occupation and then made our way to the highlight of Riga for us, the market.

Located in three adjoining zeppelin hangars, the market featured fresh produce, meat and baked goods. I'm a huge fan of markets and despite being a little skittish about pickpocketers and that kind of thing, I thoroughly enjoyed looking around. We spent the last of our lats on dinner and some sausage to take home as well, as the rest of our time in Riga, here.

By the time we made it onto the bus, it was dusk in Riga and I couldn't help but take note of the coincidence that we arrived at dawn in Vilnius and were leaving Riga at sunset. A very poetic ending to a very lovely trip. I'm not usually so romantic but it seemed like something out of a Jane Austen novel.