Accommodations: Metropole Hotel by Semarah

I didn’t get the best night’s sleep last night, but I did get a lot of reading done from 1:30 am till about 4. LOL!! Then I had a few good hours until morning finally broke and we dressed and went down to breakfast. We met five more people on the trip who will be traveling with us, and then we sat down for breakfast. They serve mimosas if you desire (we didn’t have any), and the choice for breakfast was regular breakfast fare that you would find anywhere. It was enjoyable.

After breakfast we met Eero in a conference room for an orientation meeting of what to expect during the next few days and then we went around the room telling everyone our names, where we lived, and our hobbies.

After the meeting, we boarded a mini bus and met our local guide, who took us on a city tour of Riga. Riga was an important trade port which made it a prime target for nearby countries to try to take over and these countries have, in the past, claimed Latvia for their own. Russia, Sweden, Lithuania, and Germany have over the span of many years, set claim to Latvia until Latvia declared its independence.

Latvia endured Soviet occupation in 1940, German occupation in WWII, and Soviet Union occupation in 1944-45. Under German occupation, 30,000 Jews were killed during the Holocaust and another 30,000 from the Riga ghetto were killed in the Rumbula Forest in November and December 1941, to reduce overpopulation in the ghetto and make room for more Jews being brought in from Germany. The Soviets reoccupied the country in 1944–1945, and further deportations took place.
Latvia’s independence was fully and finally restored in August 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Our minibus allowed us to get out periodically to walk around Riga and see some of Riga’s collection of Art Nouveau buildings. There are about 800 in all, but of course we only were able to see a few of them. The buildings are unique and each building was more beautiful than the next with gorgeous windows of different sizes and shapes and gargoyles carved into the facades.

We then drove through the old town and walked along the cobblestones to see the sites. You had to pay attention because the cobblestones are uneven and one could easily stumble and fall.

Next, we walked to the Central Market, which is one of the largest indoor markets in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Interestingly, the market is housed in former zeppelin hangars. The smells of black rye bread, herbs, baked goods, fresh coffee, and fresh vegetables assaulted our senses in a good way…but not so with the fish market. The fish smelled very fishy. Eero gave us all a slice of rye black bread. It was delicious.

We boarded the minibus again and drove to Kipsala Island. It is a prestigious area with wooden buildings that are being restored by millionaires. It has a beautiful view of the Old Town of Riga which we could view across the Daugava River.

We rode to the Old Town of Riga and walked past St. Peter’s Church as well as the Riga Cathedral. Since it was a Sunday – and a beautifully sunny one to boot – people were out and about enjoying the rare warm and sunny day.

Allan and I ate at a place called Lido which is like a cafeteria. You get a tray and then walk along, choosing foods you might enjoy as you walk past all the offerings. The food was okay for a quick lunch, but not someplace I’d yearn to go back to for another meal.

Allan and I had tickets to hear the organ concert at the Riga Cathedral, also known as the Dome Cathedral, so we walked over to get a good seat. Originally of Roman Catholic denomination, it is now Lutheran. The organ of the Riga Cathedral was built in 1882–83. It has four manuals and one pedalboard. It plays 116 voices, 124 stops, 144 ranks, and has 6718 pipes.

The recital was beautiful, especially the organist Ilze Reine’s last selection – Handel’s Hornpipe from Water Music. It sent chills up my spine it was so magnificent. Huge screens were set up throughout the cathedral so everyone could watch the organist as she navigated the four manuals and the foot pedals.

After the recital, a few of us took a tour of The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, an historic educational institution. It was established in 1993 to exhibit artifacts, archive documents, and educate the public about the 51-year period in the 20th century when Latvia was successively occupied by the USSR in 1940, then by Nazi Germany in 1941, and then again by the USSR in 1944. I was so glad we signed up to have the docent guide us through the museum since he imparted so much knowledge and information in a respectful and sensitive way as he talked about this very horrific time in Latvia’s history. It was a poignant afternoon and we came away with an understanding of Latvia’s fight for independence and how the lives of so many were lost to gain it.

We left the museum and joined Eero for our Welcome Dinner that was held at the restaurant Tavern Lasite, housed in an authentic medieval cellar, replete with armor and medieval weapons on the walls. We enjoyed venison sausage kabobs and vegetables and everything was delicious.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and bid everyone goodnight. Hoping to get a better night’s sleep.

Art Nouveau buildings

The Pauls Stradiņš Medical History Museum in Riga, displays a banner featuring a depiction of Vladimir Putin’s face merged with a skull. The banner faces the Russian embassy. The banner is in protest of the war in Ukraine. Interestingly, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on March 10,2022, the Riga council renamed a section of that street, where the Russian embassy is located, to “Ukrainian Independence Street”.

View of Old Town across the Daugava River.

The fish market.

Riga Cathedral

The pipe organ

According to a decree by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as of August 1940, all Latvians are also citizens of the USSR. The passport of the Republic of Latvia must be exchanged for a USSR passport.

Lasite restaurant. They even had real candles on the tables.

Our meal

The granite and copper monument in the center of Riga symbolizes Latvian statehood, national unity, independence and freedom.

Arrive Riga, Latvia • Accommodations: Metropole Hotel by Semarah
Our flights were very nice. We were on a double decker Lufthansa plane which was very roomy and we were on the top level. We did get a little sleep on the plane after we had dinner, but the bed wasn’t the most comfortable.

We were late taking off in Newark, so we were hoping we wouldn’t have a repeat of our last trip where we missed our connecting flight. Fortunately the captain made up for lost time, which was a good thing since we landed in Frankfurt at Gate 62 Z and had to get to Gate 62 A to catch the plane to Riga.

Getting on the plane in Frankfurt was an experience. The plane was booked solid and they were asking people to give up their seats for 250 euros remuneration. That was a pretty good deal, but we of course couldn’t take them up on it since we had to get to Riga to meet our guide.

They started to call groups to board the plane and we thought things were going really great until we had to walk down flights of stairs out of the terminal with our carryons and then board a bus that went for what must have been miles to our lonely plane sitting out on the tarmac. We had to climb the stairs to enter the plane, and then we sat on the tarmac and waited, and waited, and waited till the next bus with passengers arrived. We were so glad we didn’t have a connecting flight because again, the flight was delayed.

We arrived in Riga and met our driver. Only three of us flew in today…the rest of the group came in a day early. We usually do that but since we are spending a few days in Riga, we didn’t think it was necessary.

Our hotel is centrally located and very near to the many sites we are looking forward to seeing. The city is very clean and our driver pointed out sites along the way.

Our guide Eero met us when we pulled up to the hotel. We were able to check into our rooms and then Eero sat down with us and gave us many maps and pamphlets of things to see and do in our free time.

He took Allan, myself and Sue, (the other lady that came on the plane with us) on an orientation walk. Everything is very close by and easy to get to by walking.

There is an opera house down the block from our hotel and tonight my favorite opera, Madama Butterfly is being performed. I would have loved to have gone (and now sorry we didn’t come a day early to get time acclimated), but I knew we were very tired from our travels and would probably be asleep by the time Butterfly sings Un bel dì, vedremo in Act 2.

Weekends are apparently meant for rowdy celebrations here in Riga and there were kids out in the streets enjoying the sunshine, drinking, eating, and cheering the hockey game between Sweden and the USA. The town puts port-a potties around so that people don’t wind up peeing in the streets during the weekend nights of revelry. Eero said on Monday morning, the town won’t look as clean as it does now.

During our walk we saw some interesting statues of animals. Apparently the statues are depictions of the animals from the movie Flow, a 2024 Latvian, French, and Belgian co-production. The film has no dialog and is about a cat who is trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The film broke several Latvian box-office records, becoming the most-viewed film in Latvian theaters in history. At the 97th Academy Awards, the film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature film and was also nominated for Best International Feature film. It was the first film from Latvia to ever win an Oscar as well as receive a nomination. It also won a Golden Globe award for Best Animated Feature film. As you can imagine, Latvians are so proud of this recognition, they have erected large statues of some of the animals portrayed in the movie.

After our walk, Sue joined us for dinner at a local restaurant and then it was back to the hotel. Our hotel is in the style of art nouveau, built in 1871 and has obviously been renovated a few times. It is quite cozy with a beautiful bathroom.

We straightened out our luggage, brushed teeth, and went to sleep.

We asked our driver what the yellow patches were that we saw as we flew into Riga, and she said that they are canola fields and they are harvested for the oil.

College kids having fun drinking, singing, and pedaling through the streets. Everyone sits on bar stools and they pedal furiously to make the truck move.

The dog from the movie Flow

The cat from the movie Flow

TV screen in the middle of the square with the hockey game being broadcast live

Allan insisted on taking the obligatory pic in front of McDonalds. No…we didn’t have dinner there.

We are leaving today for our trip to Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – leaving on Lufthansa airlines. Newark airport has been having so many problems…we are hoping we get off the ground on time. Fortunately, we are spending a few days in Latvia, so if we happen to be delayed, it won’t be a big problem.

We are looking forward to learning about the indigenous traditions of the Sami people in Swedish Lapland and hope to have hands-on encounters with a reindeer herd to discover their importance to the Sami people’s way of life. And in Norway, we’ll learn about the controversial topic of whaling, which is a traditional and hotly contested practice. And…we might even visit Santa up in the North Pole (but he might still be vacationing in Bermuda. Who knows).

We’ll spend a day with a community in Swedish Lapland and learn how they raise huskies and hopefully enjoy some hands-on activities. We’ll also join a Swedish family in the mining town of Kiruna for a home-hosted dinner for a taste of home-cooked cuisine.

C’mon along as we travel to a unique part of the world.

PS Recently I was speaking to some of the folks who read my blog (all 5 of them) and they were amazed when I told them that I compose all the posts on my iphone – and usually at night – after a long day of touring. I don’t bring my iPad nor a computer with me, so I just depend on my iPhone to type on. It isn’t the easiest since many of my posts are lengthy, so please excuse any misspellings, etc. that might be apparent, (although Allan does a great job proof-reading for me and he is invaluable to my blog, as is my son Jamie, who set the blog up for me and does a fantastic job whenever I have a problem with it).