Latvia: Cesis, Riga, Sigulda and Jurmala

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After Tartu in Estonia, it was just short train journey to the border with Latvia at Valga. The border between Estonia and Latvia actually goes straight through the middle of this town, which must have made life for the locals really fun before the border controls were removed a few years ago. From Valga I caught a Latvian train for the town of Cesis, which is about halfway between Valga (or Valka as it’s named in Latvian) and Riga. Cesis is supposed to be one of the more beautiful Latvian towns, as it has a preserved medieval centre and not one, but two castles. The first impressions however weren’t the best – the area around the station was filthy and full of inebriated Russians, and unlike Estonia where there were tourist signs everywhere, I had no clue where to go. As the town turned out to actually be quite small, I eventually found my way to the centre, and from then on in Cesis became a lot more attractive. The centre did feel very old, but it was clear that a lot of the buildings, especially the town church, needed some attention. The ruined castle was the most interesting part of the town, but the second castle just turned out to be a small manor house attached to one side of the ruined castle. After a couple of hours I had more or less seen the whole town, so continued on my journey to Riga. The trains in Latvia are a lot more modern and comfortable than in Estonia; however for some reason the platforms are so low, so there is a 4 foot drop or step between the train and the platform, which a lot of the older travellers seem to be struggling with. The platforms are probably that low as you have to walk across the rails to get to the platforms at most of the stations (luckily they don’t use the third rail here).

A couple of hours later, I arrived in Riga, which is by some distance the largest city in the Baltics (twice the size of Tallinn). I didn’t quite know what to make of Riga at first – as it has a UNESCO World Heritage Old Town like Tallinn, I was expecting something similar to the Estonian capital. In fact Riga is a world apart from medieval Tallinn, with the city having knocked down the historic town walls in the 19th century and replaced them with German Art Nouveau architecture. There is just one tower from the old city walls remaining, which is a museum of some sorts. Even though it wasn’t what I was expecting, I did really like the city. The old town, which is on the east bank of the River Daugava, is quite compact, so was easily explored in a short space of time. The city is dominated by the spires of the medieval churches as well as the large open squares which are dotted throughout the city. The most beautiful building was the 13th century St Peter’s Church, especially as the views from the top of the spire are probably the best in Riga. Just next to St Peter’s is the Town Hall Square, which besides the Town Hall, is also home to the House of the Blackheads (a home for merchants). Although this decorative building looks ancient, the original from the fourteenth century was destroyed by Soviet bombs in WW2, but this replica was built in 2000 as Riga started to open itself to the tourist market.

The Doma (cathedral) and most of the many other churches in the Old Town don’t really stand out (in architectural terms at least), nor did Riga Castle, which is the residence of the President. When first exploring the city I walked straight past it without realising it was actually an important building. I did the same with the Parliament building as well in fact. I visited just one museum in Riga – the Occupation of Latvia 1940-1991 museum, which portrayed the sad story of Nazi and Soviet genocides during their times occupying the country (a third of the population died in that period). The legacy of the Russian occupation is still evident simply with the number of Russians in the city. I was approached by countless Russian beggars in the old town, and in the parks there were groups of Russians seemingly occupied with either drinking or playing chess. Unbelievably nearly a third of Latvia’s population is actually Russian.

The highlight of Riga for me was the Midsummer’s celebrations which were going on when I arrived. This holiday seems to be as big as Christmas in the Baltic States, and I arrived on the night of the main festivity, which involved a large concert on the riverfront. The tradition seems to be to decorate your hair with as many leaves and flowers as you can, and if you have a car, do the same to that. In a country where the winters are so severe, I can understand the reasoning behind celebrating so vividly the summer. The Latvian singers were all really good; what surprised me was how early everything seemed to end and how sober most people seemed to be throughout. Riga seemed really quiet for the following days, which I was told is because everyone goes to the countryside for the long weekend off, so more or less everything in the city was shut. But following the Rigans’ example, I also headed out of the city to explore a bit more of Riga.

Just 25km from Riga is the city of Jurmala, which translates into English as “seashore”. Although technically a city, Jurmala is really a collection of 12 or so small towns which together form the largest resort in the Baltics – a sort of Latvian Riviera if you will. With 33km of sandy beaches, bordered by pine forests and dotted with attractive historical wooden buildings, Jurmala certainly does have a lot going for it. I visited a few of the areas of the “city”, and although picturesque in parts, there really wasn’t much to do. The beaches were quite full, despite it being not that warm and the sea absolutely freezing. This didn’t seem to deter the locals though. Most of the towns are crammed in between the beach and the Lielulpe River, which runs parallel to the cost before emptying into the Gulf of Riga, with only 300m between the river and the sea at the narrowest point. I imagine Jurmala must come into its own when the weather is hot and sunny, but being dreary and slightly cold when I was there, I didn’t stay there too long.

The last town I visited in Latvia before moving on to Lithuania was Sigulda. This town, just over an hour away from Riga by train on the way to Cesis, is situated in the picturesque Gauja valley and is nicknamed “The Switzerland of Latvia”. I personally wouldn’t go that far, but it was a really nice town – definitely the highlight of Latvia for me. As Sigulda is quite touristy, there were lots of marked trails to explore – I started by taking a quick look at the ruins of a 13th century stone castle, which boasted a panoramic outlook over the valley, as well as the adjacent 19th century “New Castle” (essentially a manor house). From here, I took a trail along the edge of the valley through pine forests and with amazing views over the valley and across to another castle on the other side in Turaida. Directly opposite Sigulda on the other side of the Gauja River is yet another ruined castle, Krimulda Castle, which is also adjacent to a more modern manor house and is connected to Sigulda by Latvia’s only cable car for those who don’t want to do the short walk over the bridge. Krimulda Castle turned out to be no more than half a wall. This part of the world is certainly rich in castles, if only some of them were in better condition! Turaida Castle is the 3rd castle in the Sigulda area, and the only one that isn’t in complete ruins. It doesn’t look very old as it’s made of red brick, but it does date back nearly 800 years – that said a lot of the site was rebuilt so isn’t original. The castle looked a lot more impressive from a distance than close up – especially from the other side of the river valley – but the views from the top of the main tower over the valley did make the visit worthwhile. Between Krimulda and Turaida there are a couple of caves which they’re tried to make a tourist attraction out of – the biggest one (an incredible 18 metres deep!) has a fairy tale associated with it, which is the only reason I can think of why there were so many people there. After a full day in Sigulda I hadn’t really seen everything I wanted to do; it’s such a beautiful area, full of hiking trails and ruins – it’s a shame I wasn’t able to spend any more time there. But I’m glad I saved Sigulda for the only complete sunny day I had in Latvia.

I’m now about to cross into Lithuania, heading for the city of Klaipeda. My next blog will come from there.

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Photos

Freedom Monument
For some reason, never torn down by the Soviets

Soviet skyscraper, nicknamed "Stalin
Only building left in Riga with Soviet emblems on it