On the home stretch! Last week of the trip. And by this point, I was really starting to feel it. My mornings started later than I wanted them to, I spent more time lazing about, and my mind always seemed a little jumbled. Six weeks on the move seemed to be taking its toll on me.

My bus from Vilnius to Riga was about four hours long, and it was honestly one of the most luxurious rides I’ve ever had. They don’t call it LuxExpress for nothing! The seats were roomy and comfortable, outlets and wifi were provided, and the bathroom was actually kind of nice. These factors all made this an above-average bus journey, but on top of that, there was a FREE hot drinks dispenser (coffee, hot chocolate, tea, etc.), and there was a screen on the back of every seat with a really decent movie selection! Seriously. Can we spread this Baltic bus company to the rest of the world?

We arrived in Riga just after ten at night, and the walk to my hostel showed me that even at this hour, Riga was a more lively city than Vilnius. It is the largest of the Baltic capitals, after all, and I could see a lot more modern touches spread throughout the old town.

I really needed to do laundry, but it cost seven euros (about eight bucks). This seemed way over priced, but I didn’t have an option since I was running out of underwear. I agreed to the service, and the hostel worker told me I could leave my laundry with her and she would have it washed and dried by morning.

“Oh… You’re going to do it?” I asked. Little did I know just how full service this laundry deal was. In the morning, before I settled down for my free breakfast buffet, I was presented with my bag of laundry, washed, dried, AND folded! Even the socks were paired up, and everything was organized by clothing type! What the heck??? Definitely worth the seven euros.

I had a late start (slow moving, as I said), and I found it hard to leave my book. Around one in the afternoon, I managed to pry myself from my seat at the kitchen to bundle up and head outside.

On my way to the bus stop, I passed by the Freedom Monument, a Russian Orthodox Church, and a couple city parks. I also filled up a water bottle with some fresh orange juice. Yum.

I was venturing across town to the Kalnciema market, a weekly farmers market held every Saturday. There were pretty coats (I really wanted one), some super yummy looking fish that seemed impractical to buy, and lots of baked goods.

For lunch, I got a burger and some warm fruit juice. “It’s very sweet,” the booth worker said of the juice, and he wasn’t kidding. It really hit the spot in the cold though, and the burger was honestly one of the tastiest burgers I’ve ever had. The sauce and toppings were amazing and mouthwateringly savory, but the burger itself was also top-notch. I knew it would be special since the stall also sold freshly butchered meat, but dude. This was some gourmet stuff. The patty practically melted and fell apart in my mouth. Ugh. So good.

In Vilnius, while I was raving about the food to some people in my hostel, one boy had complained. “I’ve decided that food in the Baltics is meant to be consumed, not enjoyed,” he’d said. Also, “The last meal I had in Riga was a burger that tasted like cigarettes.” He was clearly eating at the wrong establishments, because so far, I’d had nothing but success and deliciousness.

After the market, I planned to bus back across the water to climb a church tower, but the last stop before the bridge crossing was at the national library, so I excitedly jumped off early.

Very beautiful piece of architecture, if you ask me. (If you were to ask the Belgian architect in my hostel, he would say it was ugly, but we’re all entitled to our own opinions.)

It wasn’t the most unwelcoming library ever, but it was one of those weird ones that is hyper sensitive about book thievery. All bags and coats (including my tiny purse) had to be checked into lockers or coat check, and any belongings brought inside had to be carried in a borrowed, see-through briefcase-like bag. Then, I had to get a guest pass and badge in. The librarian at the front desk told me I could go to the eighth floor, so I confusedly went there first.

There was a small exhibit on library history in Riga on this floor, but I wasn’t able to access anything else. Since the librarian had specifically told me I could go to this floor, I thought that meant maybe I wasn’t allowed to visit other floors, but that also seemed silly. I carefully explored the floors below me, one at a time, until I came to a reading room with a great view of old town across the water.

I plopped down in a big pink couch at read until the library closed just a little while later, and I admit that I did feel kind of cool with my badge on.

After we all got kicked out, I walked back across the water and admired the pretty bridges.

My destination was St. Peter’s Church, but it was closed! The hours posted were 10-6, and it wasn’t even five yet! I was not pleased. Not one bit.

Sad about the early closure of the cathedral, but unsure how else to spend my evening, I resigned myself to some shopping and wandering.

Luckily, it was a lovely day for it, and it was nice to stroll the quiet streets, ducking into churches here and there whenever the doors were unlocked.

I made it all the way to the water to see the Dome Church and Riga Castle.

Yesyes. Lots of pretty things. I forgot my disappointments and enjoyed my walk instead.

I found a spot to eat along the old city walls, and I tucked into some bruschetta and wine with the restaurant all to myself.

After a long and wandering day, a warm shower and my cozy bed were welcome friends, indeed.

My next day started with another lovely breakfast and some lovely conversation with a kindly Belgian man. He told me of his year long honeymoon (I’ve seriously been talking about this for a while – doesn’t it sound heavenly???), though he admitted that after a year, he and his wife got back to Belgium, looked around, and said, “Nah,” before heading back out for another six months. He did admit that it took several years to get used to a standard work week and ‘normal life’ again, so that part doesn’t sound so great. Give and take. Give and take. He also gave me a hardboiled quail egg to snack on that he had purchased at the Kalnciema market the previous day.

I was hoping to catch a 10am walking tour, but I just wasn’t moving fast enough. I did manage to make it out the door in time for the 11am, though, and my guide’s name was Toms. We started back at St. Peter’s Church.

Then we made our way along the perimeter of the church…

And came upon this statue representing characters from a German children’s book. Apparently rubbing their noses is good luck:

According to Toms, the building on the left is the oldest in all of Riga, approximately a thousand years old:

Then we made our way through some ancient archways to the spot where the river which gave Riga its name used to run.

Next, past the square near my hostel…

As we approached the old merchants’ guild, I asked Toms why so many souvenirs in Riga featured a tall black cat, but little did I know that we were, at that moment, approaching the historical landmark that was the reason behind these souvenirs.

You see the cat up above on the top corner of that yellow building? The story goes that a wealthy businessman was denied entry to the merchants’ guild, so he built this building directly across the street and had this cat positioned on the top of the building with its tail pointed to the guild. After some dispute, the city ordered the man to turn the cat so that it faced the guild instead.

Some more wanderings and stories I can no longer recall…

And then we came upon the Three Brothers, three houses built next to each other but during three very different architectural periods.

And even more wanderings… (I stopped taking very good notes because it was raining and rain was chilling me to the bone. I seriously wanted to get the walking tour over and done with, as much as I really was enjoying the tour itself. I was just so stinking cold! Also, does it still count as wandering if someone in the group knows exactly where they’re going at all times? Hmm..)

This is the Swedish Gate, and there was a lovely saxophone player inside:

We came upon the old city walls, this time in the daylight…

And after some more city walking, we came upon the marker commemorating the Baltic Chain, or the two-million-person-long line of hand holding protesting the Baltic occupation by Russia in 1989. Riga was the middle spot, in between Vilnius and Tallinn.

We stopped in a pub to warm up for the last of our stories, and for this, I was grateful. I was even more grateful that the pub was just around the corner from my hostel. When we were released, I all but tossed Toms his tip before sprinting to my bed to decompress, warm my toes, and munch on European goodies.

Once I was properly rested and fully shameful of my junk food binge, I wrestled myself up and out to finally climb that silly tower in St. Peter’s Church.

It was a beautiful sight from the top, despite the fog, the wind, and the rain… Haha.

I had the place mostly to myself. I suppose standing at the top of a building in this wicked weather just didn’t sound super appetizing to the other twenty-or-so tourists in the city. (The empty hostel beds said it all – it was definitely the off season for tourism in the Baltics.)

I didn’t last long up there, but the church was holding a lovely photography exhibition inside, so I took a minute to check that out.

Next, I found some really pretty architecture, including the famous House of the Black Heads and this random rainbow bear.

I then did some more wandering and found my way back to the Dome Church, since this, too, had been closed the evening before.

And then I trekked along the water for a while, very narrowly avoided being doused by several passing cars as they zoomed through puddles, and found refuge in the central market hall.

Seafood, baked goods, fruits, vegetables, spices and meats.

Oh, and some tongues.

Why, Europe? Why the weird meats just out and about like that???

There were pretty pastries, too, though, and I grabbed an apple tart. It really hit the spot. I wish it had been warm!

Can’t complain as much as the poor folks who had their stands outside of the market hall…

After this adventure, I snagged another few pastries, hopped on a bus, and headed across the water again.

This time, I was headed for Latvia’s annual international book and publishing fair. I saw a flyer posted in my hostel, and it sounded fun. I missed all the author and workshop events, but it was still fun to walk among all the books and see all the slashed prices for the end of the fair.

I snacked on some ice cream and was kindly asked to leave the carpeted area until I finished. Ugh.

One of my favorite exhibits was one of a children’s book illustrator. She had painted her characters and scenes on canvases and had them on display. Pretty neat.

It also turned out that when I purchased my ticket, I accidentally let the ticket lady confuse me into purchasing a joint ticket to both the book fair and the college fair on the other side of the exhibition hall. Not one to waste a good ticket, I spent some time wandering over there, too, pretending to be considering a college education in Latvia, but trying very hard to not seem so interested that I would be questioned by one of the booth volunteers. Tehehe.

Well. Enough adventure for one day, right? My body said yes, but I said no! Time to walk for half an hour in the rain on the side of busy streets in search of some magnificent Orthodox Cathedral I had spied the day before on the bus!

Not the most pleasant walk, but the cathedral really was magnificent.

I slipped my scarf over my head and slipped inside for the ceremony, but no pictures allowed. The outside was much more glamorous, though, so no worries here.

I then had a very unfortunate incident where my bus stop was moved due to construction, but there were no signs posted, so I missed the bus and the driver wouldn’t let me on at the stop light, so I had to wait for the next one, and I cried a bit. It was just so cold, and I was super tired…. Twenty extra minutes in the rain is no fun in that state.

My visit to another Orthodox Cathedral across the water put me in better spirits.

Properly tuckered out at this point, I wasted no time in hopping into the first restaurant I spied. I ordered a delicious warm alcoholic punch and some tagliatelle pasta… YUM!

It wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it, and it was still affordable. Thanks, Baltics. I even topped it off with a dessert of a “kruffin,” or a krumpet-muffin… Haha. Was tasty. Chocolate covered strawberry. Yum yum.

On my way back to my hostel, I refilled my fresh-squeezed orange juice bottle and then very quickly passed out (in bed).

I had an early morning up next, but I was surprised to see the sun well and risen. The seasons had started to change while I was on this trip, and I hadn’t even seen it coming.

The waters were still icy, though, and the duckies stood around awkwardly, likely waiting for it to warm up already so they could swim again.

And then I boarded another delightful LuxExpress! The kicker is that this bus ride was only €7 since I bought it in advance! Triple score, if you ask me. I caught some pretty sights in Riga that I’d missed on foot on our way out of the city.

And we passed another river packed with crazy Latvians ice fishing.

At some point, we passed a giant mug of beer…. I wonder if it’s just for show, or if it doubles as some sort of water tower??

We also passed through the famous “beach town” of Estonia, Parnu, and I laughed haughtily at the snow while I sipped my complimentary bus-vending-machine cappuccino. It amazes me that this snow-covered land could ever be home to a proper summer beach. I really do need to return some time in the warmer months!

But that’s for another time… Until then,

Labākās vēlmes/ best wishes,
-Lizzy-wa