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Published: October 21st 2023
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In general drivers have their eyes on the road. Navigators however have their eyes everywhere. That is why Linda sees more than me, while we are driving from Tallinn in Estonia to Riga in Latvia. Now and then she shouts things out, like: ‘Wow, a herd of deer there in the fields. Maybe ten.’ Or: ‘Look there, a flock of cranes’. Or: ‘What a beautiful dunes there behind the trees.’Or: ‘Oh no, thousands of birds there in the swamps. Cannot we stop here?’
‘Impossible’, I say. To stop on these narrow roads with a big truc behind you means euthanasy, or better: just thanasy. But when we drive along the Baltic coast there is an opportunity to make a stop indeed. There is a beach. Linda is full enthusiasm. ‘What a beautiful beach!’ It is cold and drizzling. ‘Cannot we go back to the car?’, I mutter.
Riga Our appartment is right in the old town of the city, in the Kalēju iela. The Rixwell Konventu Seta Hotel is its name. It is a 15th century convent for nuns, I read in the Lonely Planet, with small and primive cells as rooms. When we enter our room however it
is a large and luxurious appartment. It just have been renovated. You can still smell the paint. Around the hotel are Medieval cobbelstoned streets and everywhere are restaurants and pubs. Nearby is the Gothic St. Peters Church, with its 800 years one of the oldest medieval buildings of the Baltic, according to the Lonely Planet. The inside is sober. There is an exhibition on the history of the Reformation in East- and Central Europe.
In the afternoon we make a Jugendstil walk across the city. There are hundreds of Jugendstill buildings in Riga. Most of them in Central Riga, which lie on a walkable distance of the old town. We start at the Aspazijas bulvāris where the Opera house is, then via the Teātra iela and our own Kalēju iela we walk slowly out of the old town. In the Jekāba iela we stop for a cup of cappucino and some sweets in a jugendstil café. Then on we go via the Kronvalda parks to the city center.
Imposing buildings with fine linear ornaments and sculptures caress our eyes. Often scuptures of women. Once they had a Miss Jugenstill Contest. The the woman at Smilšu iela 8, carrying
a crown of leaves, won the game. The architect of the building is Konstantīn Pēkšēns, according to Wikipedia one of the most prominent Latvian architects of all times.
The summit is the Alberta iela. Here are the real masterpieces. Some of the buildings is designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, the father of film director Sergej Eisenstein (known of “Battleship Potemkin” with the famous scene on the Potemkinsteps, Odessa). At number 14 of Alberta Iela he created a mix of styles, which is actually too much.
Nearby Alberta iela is the Art Nouveau Museum, where we see that Jugenstil is not only architecture, but also furniture, fashion, a way of life actually. There was an exhibition on Jacquard, a technique where Jugenstil dessins are transferred to a loom.
We hardly went to restaurants during our trip of a month. It would have become too expensive and cooking for ourselves is a joy in itself. This evening we did however. We had a very nice dinner for 98 euro, including a bottle of wine.
Now we have seen all three capitals of the Baltic. All three were phantastic. But if you ask me which one you liked most, I
must say it is Riga. ‘Of course it is a beautiful city like the other two’, says Linda, ‘but it is the atmosphere which makes Riga so attractive. The only thing is that they should take more care for their beautiful buildings.’
We regret to leave Riga. And I suspect Miss Polo of thinking the same. When I want to drive away from the parking lot, the motor runs, but she doesn’t move a single centimeter. I know this problem. Had it before. Because of the rain there is got rust on the break discs. The best is to talk to her. I promise her we will return once. No reaction. Only when I use some force, she finally gives in.
There are torrential showers when we drive to Ventpils, in the west of the country. Sometimes we cannot see a thing anymore. And when a truc from the opposite direction is passing we get a complete carwash and lose all orientation. It lasts three hours before we reach Ventspils.
Ventspils Actually we don’t like to be in Ventspils, but our ferry departs from here. A cold gale jerks at us when we walk across the
deserted streets of the harbour of Ventpils. At the other side of the water is an ugly factory with fat brown rusted tubes. The harbour is ice-free. Minerals from Russia are shipped here. Now because of the sanctions against Russia due to the war against Ukrain, it is quiet. According to Wikipedia it is the richest town of Latvia. If so Latvia must be very poor, while it looks worn out here.
Luckily we find in the Liela iela a little shop, called "Karumnieks", where we can warm ourselves and eat soup. To kill time we visit the House of crafts. There is not so much to see apart from an old classroom in the original state. At the first floor a woman is working at a loom. She speaks a bit English. She has been in The Netherlands, she says, in Delft. For the rest we don’t understand her Latvian English.
We have dinner in a little restaurant, called "Meison". At 6 p.m. we check in at the terminal of Stena Lines. The “Scanda” will bring us to the other side of the Baltic Sea, to Nynashamn in Sweden. The ship leaves at midnight the harbour of
Alberta iela 13
Architect: Mikhail Eisenstein Ventspils and at the same time the three Baltic countries: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Three pearls on a string or maybe I can better say three precious amber stones with three different colors. However different they are, they still have a lot in common. Like a rich culture, a wealthy nature and not to forget the appletrees along the roads, so that you always have some fruit at hand.
Anyway tonight we will sail to a country which is more terra cognita to us: Sweden. A heavystorm is looming.
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