Riga, Latvia

Last weekend, we embarked on a little weekend getaway to Riga, Latvia a two and a half hour flight from London.  We enjoyed Estonia a couple of years ago and wanted to explore another Baltic country–so off we went!  We arrived late on Friday evening.

The next morning, we decided to get a lay of the land by ascending the tower of St. Peter’s church for a bird’s-eye view of Riga.

Next we took a short walk to the Riga Central Market, housed in former zeppelin hangars.  This was one of my favourite experiences of the trip.  The market was one of the best organized I’ve seen–each hangar had a specific type of good it was selling.  One sold fish, another meat, another spices and breads, etc.  This is still the heart of Riga local life.  We barely heard any English spoken here, mainly Latvian and Russian.  We tasted a couple of baked goods and soaked up the culture.

After our snack, we headed back to the main square to see one of the main sights of Riga:  The House of Blackheads, a guild house for unmarried German merchants.  The original structure was destroyed during the Second World War.  This impressive reconstruction was finished in 1999.  We couldn’t go inside, as it is now the Presidential Residence while the permanent residence is under construction.

Next stop:  lunch.  I’d read about an amazing Uzbek restaurant around the corner from the House of Blackheads so we gave it a try.  The restaurant is called Varzob and it’s a mom and pop restaurant.  I’m pretty sure the man who waited on us was the owner and he was truly proud of his food.  His recommendations were spot on and the food was delicious and very reasonably priced!

The Georgian sparkling water had a different flavour than traditional sparking water.  The owner warned us about the taste, then stayed at our table while we tasted it to make sure we were satisfied.  The water had a very strong mineral taste, which we enjoyed, but I’m not sure we will be consuming it on a regular basis.

Next, we went to Black Magic, a coffee and chocolate shop in the Old Town.  There we tried several chocolates including one made with Black Balsam–a local liqueur.  I can definitely see why it is considered an acquired taste.

After a short break in the afternoon, we were back out to eat some more!

For dinner, we went to a place called Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs, a basement Latvian pub.  There we sampled the local wines, which are made from fruits.  We tried apple, black currant, bilberry, and raspberry wines, plus John tried the local beer.  The wines were all quite sweet and easy drinking.  Our favourite dish at the restaurant was the potato pancakes served with cranberry sauce and sour cream.  Delicious!

After dinner, we were in for a special treat:  one of the most popular folk bands in Latvia played at the restaurant!  We enjoyed their music so much we stayed for both sets.  Watch a video of  part of the concert here.

After the concert ended, we weren’t ready to turn in just yet, so we headed to the Skyline Bar for one more drink and beautiful views over Riga.

The next morning, we awoke to a snow covered city.  With the cobblestone streets and beautiful architecture it looked like something from a storybook!

The morning of our second day in Riga was dedicated to art nouveau.  40% of the buildings in the centre of Riga are considered art nouveau architecture, so it was the perfect place to learn more about this style.

On our way to one of the main art nouveau sections of town, we encountered the Freedom Monument, built in 1935 to honour those lost in the Latvian War of Independence.

Alberta iela is one of the main streets to check out if you want to see art nouveau.  The Art Nouveau Museum is located here.

On our way back to Old Town, we stopped through the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.  On all of our trips to countries that were once occupied, we try to visit a museum like this as a reminder of the not-so-distant past.  These experiences are sobering and a great reminder to protect our freedoms and what it looks like to have them taken away.

Sadly, we didn’t get to visit the museum in the soviet area building as refurbishment works are under way.  Thankfully, they had an exhibition open in a temporary location.

Our final stop before heading to the airport was the Apsara Tea House.  After about 10-15 minutes of smelling all of the teas on offer, we got some guidance from the staff and selected a couple of local teas.  Mine was made from the national tree of Latvia.

We settled in to watch night fall over a snow covered park and enjoy the tea.  The second floor of the tea house is entirely covered in pillows, so we removed our shoes and curled up for a couple of hours.  It was tough to get up to head to the airport!

Riga was a very interesting city full of kind people, good food, and beautiful art nouveau.  Our two nights there was the perfect amount of time–such a lovely get away.

As always, thanks for reading!  🙂