Latvia

I had the unique opportunity to participate in an Airline Ambassadors trip at the end of June to Riga, Latvia.  A small country located on the Baltic Sea, formerly part of the Soviet Union, Latvia is now part of the European Union.

Getting over there was quite a challenge (although it paled in comparison to getting home).  I flew on my own airline to Chicago and Helsinki, Finland.  From there I was supposed to connect to an Air Baltic flight to Riga.  My flight to Helsinki was delayed by over 4 hours so I missed my connection.  The agency for whom I was doing the trip had paid for my ticket from Helsinki to Riga, but it was a non-refunable fare, so I ended up having to buy a last minute walk up fare on Finnair for about $300.

The flight over to Riga only took about an hour from Finland.  It was a clear day and I had a wonderful view of the Baltic Coast during the flight.

The population of the town is about 700,000 people out of total population of 2.2 million.  The city center and "Old Town" are part of UNESCO and has been listed as a World Heritage Site.

My hotel, the Maritm, was an old Soviet tourist lodge in it's former life and was located near Ķīpsala, a small island on the Daugava River, opposite downtown.  It was in a quiet little neighborhood and sat across from Usvaras Park.  The park still has a monument to Soviet rule that is affectionately or not so affectionately known as "Stalin's Finger".  There was an electric tram line that ran in front of the hotel that would take you downtown in about 5 minutes, all for the price of .70 Lats (about $1.40).  Even though Latvia is one of the developing EU countries, the prices are very high for everything.  I can only imagine what life is like for the everyday Latvian who makes an average of $14,000 a year.

Another volunteer from Airline Ambassadors, Ingrid, had arrived the day before me.  She was a retired agent for Lufthansa in Atlanta.  She would be bringing a group of orphans out of Riga to Atlanta the same day I was traveling home.  She was waiting for me when I arrived at the hotel.  She had spent the day at Jurmala, a seaside town on the Baltic coast.


After getting unpacked and changed into some comfy clothes we took the tram into town and headed for a Russian restaurant that had been suggested by a girl at the Front Desk.  The weather was pleasant, probably in the low 70's, and we sat outside and enjoyed caviar with chilled vodka, and pelmeni (Russian dumplings served with sour cream).  Of course I washed it all down with a local beer.

Because the city is so far north, the sun is up from about 3am to about midnight.  It was nice to be able to walk around into the evening and not worry about it getting dark.  On the way back, we met a Canadian woman named Eva, who was staying at our hotel.  Both of her parents were Latvian and she was over here for a month to visit with relatives and do some sightseeing.


The next day we met up and made our way back downtown.  It was actually kind of warm once the clouds cleared away.  I purchased a ticket for a ride on a double decker bus.  It was one of those hop off, hop on, deals.  It provided a great way to see most of the main sights of the city.


St. Peter's Church is one of the most famous landmarks of the town.  The oldest parts of the building go back to 1209, although very little of that part remains today.  Over the centuries, new additions were built.  The church burned down in 1941, but in 1955, renovations began and the church for the most part is restored.  The unique clock tower only has an hour hand.

The Powder, or Sand Tower, is the only surviving tower from the original city walls.  It was used to store gun powder.  

The House of Blackheads was a German guild hall.  It was constructed in the 14 century, although largely destroyed when the Germans bombed the city in 1941.  The newer structure was build in the late 90's.

The Museum of the Occupation highlights the rule and occupation of the Soviets in 1940, the Nazi regime in 1941, and again the Soviets from 1944 to 1991.  I was surprised to learn that the Latvians initially greeted the Nazis arrival because it meant an end to Soviet occupation.  Those sentiments quickly changed and by the end of the war, the Nazis had killed 70,000 Latvian Jews.  Also highlighted where the Latvians shipped off to Russian gulags, or work camps.  These gulags were a popular place to send dissidents who were critical of communist rule.

The Riga Circus is the only permanently situated circus in the Baltics.  It has been at this site for over 150 years.

The most famous monument in the city is the Freedom Tower.  It honors the soldiers who died in the Latvian War of Independence of 1918-1920.  It was constructed in 1935 and is 138 feet tall.  The  monument sits on a Rotary thru the main street in town, Brīvības iela (Freedom Street).  Fortunately, the monument was left standing during Soviet occupation.  Russians tried to change it's meaning to better fit communist ideals, but the symbol of Latvian independence prevailed.

We made a stop at a Russian Orthodox Church, the most popular place for Russian worship in the city.  No photography was allowed inside, but like most Orthodox traditions, there were lots of icons and portraits of the saints, incense, and relics.

There are numerous public parks and gardens in Riga.  They are very popular with the locals and there are always people hanging out enjoying the good weather on a beautiful day.  The canal that runs thru the city even provides an opportunity for paddle boating and canoeing.

One of the most notorious buildings in town is the "Cat House".  It's actually not a brothel, which is what first came to my mind.  It is called the Cat House because of the feline statues that sit atop the turrets.  Legend has it that a wealthy tradesman was denied access to the local merchant guild, so to get his revenge, he constructed this building across the street from the guild hall.  He had cat sculptures put on the top of the building, with their butts pointed at the guild hall.  

After spending most of the day walking around, Ingrid and I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.  I had a Philadelphia Pizza, which was a white pizza with salmon, cream cheese, and sesame seeds.  It was outstanding.  We made our way back to the hotel and met up with our new Canadian comrade Eve for drinks.  I turned in early since I was leaving on a 6am flight and needed to be at the airport by 4am the next morning.