ManVanNoPlan Visits Malbork, Kaunas, Hill of Crosses, Rundales Palace & Riga
ManVanNoPlan Visits Malbork, Kaunas, the Hill of Crosses, Rundales Palace and Riga.
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Day 19 – Saturday 22nd July
Gdansk to Malbork Castle (54.045072, 19.026561 ) ( 37 Miles)
After saying our good byes to our Kiwi and Dutch neighbours we set off before 9am, which for us was unnecessarily early given we were only driving just under an hour. It was with some reluctance we were leaving Gdansk today as we have thoroughly enjoyed visiting this beautiful city, at least the centre is!
There is a huge festival beginning today and hundreds of stalls have been erected over the past few days and it would have been great to attend it, but we must move on or we will grind to a halt…
If I were to ask what was the world’s biggest castle, what would you have replied? My money would have been on Windsor Castle, but I’d have been wrong, and no Scottish castle comes close, so where is it I hear you all ask?
Like so many places on this trip, we had never heard of it before, but its listed on all the guides to Poland as a sight not to miss and as it was situated in the general direction we are heading we thought we’d check it out, having seen a fair few castles in our time.
To be honest, we weren’t going to stay here tonight, but simply visit the castle and keep driving, but when we arrived there was a campsite right on the other side of the river from it and only a five minute walk to the castle so we booked in and paid all of 70 Zloty (£ 14) for the night!
We had a spot of lunch then set off to explore the castle, along with half the population of Poland, because what we didn’t know, was that once a year, on the third weekend in July (this weekend) there is a historical re-enactment display with hundreds of people dressed in mediaeval costumes doing all sorts of activities and it was quite a spectacle.
To get from the campsite you cross footbridge, and although it looked substantial enough, it bounced slightly as we crossed it due to the number of people crossing it. As we crossed the bridge a rowing boat race started and it was quite entertaining watching them row to the beat of a drum and much vocal encouragement.
There were hundreds of tents in and around the castle, some had craft demonstrations and some had all sorts of things for sale. There were knights in armour having sword fights, jousting on horseback and some very noisy canons being fired regularly.
More than thirty food trucks were selling every type of street food you could imagine and dozens of activities for children, all of whom got a certificate when they completed a task. A bird of prey display was pretty impressive and you could hold some of them for a small consideration.
All of this and more was completely free to see and wander around and you only paid for entry to the castle, which we did, with a superb audio guide describing everything as we followed the route around the rooms of the castle. There are no rooms with antique furniture and artefacts as you would see in many castles and palaces, but the sheer scale and variety of the rooms was fascinating.
As I described when touring Gdansk, this whole Baltic Coast is famous for Jade and there is an amazing display of Jade objects and jewellery which was spectacular, as was the Armoury display. The tour lasted around two hours and was well worth it, but exhausting at the same time.
In 1945 the retreating German Army and the advancing Russian Army had a battle in and around the town of Malbork and the Castle was a casualty and the picture on display above shows how well it has now been restored. By late afternoon we had seen enough and decided to head back to Bessie and sit outside with a refreshing cuppa until a sudden downpour forced us inside. The timing of our visit to Gdansk was off by a day or two and we missed the festival that was taking place this weekend, but we were fortunate to be at Malbork Castle on the one weekend in the year when the place comes alive with historical events.
Day 20 – Sunday 23rd of July
Malbrok (Poland) to Kaunus (Lithuania) (54.916029, 23833852 ) (303 Miles)
Today we are crossing into the first of the Baltic States, Lithuania and our longest one day drive to date. When I was planning this trip, the objective was to visit the three Baltic States, but events not a million miles from here in neighbouring Ukraine gave us second thoughts last week when it was reported that the Russian Wagner mercenaries were now in Belarus and threatening to block the strip of land that makes up the Polish / Lithuanian border. This was followed up by reports yesterday that Poland was sending extra troops to fortify its border with Belarus in the area where the Wagner Mercenaries are training in Belarus.
So, if it all kicked off, I had devised a Plan B which would abandon the Baltic States and head south in Poland, maybe visiting the Czech Republic and back through Germany but two events convinced us to stick with Plan A. First, was receiving a Rough Guide to the Baltic States guide book for my birthday from daughter, Emma, and the other was speaking to Gary and Dianne, our Kiwi neighbours in Gdansk, who had just come out of the Baltic States and were enthusiastic about the time they had there visiting the three countries.
So, today we are heading off bright and early for Lithuania, and the delights of the Baltic States. I say bright and early, but in reality, although early, it’s far from bright as its dull and raining! The first part of the route took us north on the road we had come down yesterday from Gdansk until we hit the motorway 7 which we joined to head east. The journey was due to be the best part of six hours but would end up being seven and a half taking in a lunch break and a mid afternoon cuppa.
The journey was uneventful, if long but we did have a few wildlife encounters along the way. Small Deer were to be seen in the wheat fields with only their heads visible if they were in the crops but many were at the edge of the fields and easily visible. White storks are a given in this part of the world and we’re too numerous to count, either perched on street lights or in their massive roadside nests on top of poles erected by locals to encourage them to breed locally.
The Navigator began to get a tad uneasy when she saw road signs for towns in Russia (in Kaliningrad) and no signs for towns in Lithuania where we were supposedly heading, and she was relieved when she saw the first sign with a Lithuanian town on it.
Also a given, were birds of prey perched on the fences beside the motorway keeping vigil next to the wheat fields for mice or rabbits. What we didn’t spot until the last hour, were other British vehicles then a campervan and two cars passed us in Lithuania.
The Poles are spending a fortune on new motorways but probably about a hundred miles in Poland were on normal country roads which had to be driven with care as they were not the widest, but in a couple of years the motorway should be fully completed from the German border to the Lithuanian border. There was only one memorable town we passed through, Mikotajki, a bustling holiday town that was packed with tourists enjoying the riverside cafes and restaurants.
The last twenty or so miles of Poland was on the new motorway again but as soon as we passed the sign saying we were in Lithuania, the motorway abruptly stopped and Lithuania welcomed us with a scruffy, pot holed road. There were loads of petrol stations on both sides and scores of lorries parked up, probably more because it was a Sunday than because of customs checks.
After a few miles roadworks started on a new stretch of motorway which in time should join up with the Polish motorway and it eventually will be a seamless drive through Poland and into the Baltic States. As I said, earlier in the drive we saw quite a few deer and as we approached our destination of Kaunas we saw the head of another deer in a wheat field and it looked odd to see just the head above the crop.
Did you know that when you cross the border from Poland into Lithuania the clocks go an hour further forward so we are now two hours ahead of the time in the UK. However, for some reason, and don’t ask, The Navigator is lingering on Polish time this evening, but hopefully when she wakes up tomorrow her brain will be re-calibrated! Mind you, finding out what time zone she is in is a marginal improvement on the usual question of what planet is she on!
We found the campsite without any issues and booked in for two nights to give us a full day to explore Kaunas tomorrow. The campsite is good value at € 21 (£ 18.14) including electricity. The first pitch we picked was perfect with good views over the lake but our electricity cable wouldn’t reach to the mains outlet so we had to move.
We are on the side of a lake with an artificial beach of fine sand and there is a cabin on the beach and when we went down to check it out a guy was barbecuing what looked like pork kebabs and if they tasted as good as they smelled, they will be delicious.
Day 21 – Monday 24th of July
Kaunas (0 Miles)
After such a long drive yesterday we both slept well, but woke at 7am as the road behind the campsite burst into life with Monday morning commuters. This is our first full day in Lithuania and we are looking forward to visiting Kaunas.
Before we proceed any further though, a few words on Lithuania itself. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region and is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest (Kaliningrad).
In 1772–1795 the Russian Empire annexed most of Lithuania’s territory. As World War I ended, Lithuania’s Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied, first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. Towards the end of the war in 1944, when the Germans were retreating, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On the 11th of March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania passed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, becoming the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence.
Nowadays, Lithuania is a developed country with a high income, advanced economy, and ranking 35th in the Human Development Index. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Eurozone, the Schengen Agreement, NATO, and OECD.
We chose to visit Kaunas first in our foray into Lithuania rather than the capital Vilnius, the capital, which is a two hour drive further east. Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. During the interwar period, it served as the temporary capital of Lithuania, when Vilnius was seized and controlled by Poland between 1920 and 1939. During that period Kaunas was celebrated for its rich cultural and academic life and fashion.
When we checked in the guy gave us a city map and full instructions on which bus to take and where we were to get off near the old town. The fare was only € 1 and is probably the reason the bus was busy, although it seemed we were the only ones parting with cash, everyone else having passes.
After only a couple of minutes we found the remnants of Kaunas Castle, a Gothic remnant along with an impressive statue known as the Vytis Monument, the “Warrior of Freedom.” It is one of the most iconic monuments in Kaunas and was designed by Lithuanian artist Antanas Vivulskis and was erected in 1931 to commemorate the independence of Lithuania. The monument is a symbol of Lithuanian freedom and is a source of national pride for the Lithuanian people.
This whole area beside the river Neris is beautifully maintained and a squadron of remote grass cutters were keeping the grass neat and tidy. From this area we walked the short distance to the main square which was almost deserted, understandable for early on a Monday morning. We walked on to see the other river, the Nemunas which floods part of the town from time to time.
A pedestrianised street heads towards the main tree lined shopping street which seems to be miles long, and we walked to the very end.
Lunch was taken sitting on a bench with sandwiches bought from a little supermarket and for less than € 7 it was well worth it. The Navigator had to cool down as it was a warm day, and of course, visit every Flying Tiger she can find!
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel is the focal point at the end of thus street but is not looking its best as its being renovated at the moment.
It was now mid afternoon and as we retraced our steps we could see it much busier than earlier with many people sitting outside having lunch and enjoying the sunny weather.
We stumbled, almost by accident into, what for us was the outstanding highlight of our visit to Kanaas, the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, a magnificently decorated church and the biggest building of Gothic sacral type in Lithuania. Although the Cathedral was built in the 15th century, it was reconstructed several times and acquired Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, Neo-Gothic and Neo-Baroque architectural features. It was stunning.
By this time we were flagging, having taken 15,500 steps so we took the bus back to the campsite, the best Euro spent today in Kaunas. The Navigator and I had mixed views of Kaunas, I liked it, but she not so much, although she did rave about the Cathedral-Basilica of St Peter and St. Paul and as ManVanNoPlan’s resident religious expert, Kaunas’s Cathedral-Basilica gets a big thumbs up, from both of us.
We sat outside Bessie and watched the campsite fill up again, with the outstanding outfits a Finnish Adria Alpina caravan which was massive and a German Concord Centurian which was incredible. We spoke to our German neighbour who was on his way up to Tallin in Estonia to take the ferry to Helsinki then on to Sweden and Norway. A barbecue rounded of our day in Lithuania’s second city.
Day 22 – Tuesday 25th of July
Kaunas to the Hill of Crosses (56.014245, 23.408766 ) (115 Miles)
The Navigator eventually woke at 9.10am this morning. After a night of heavy rain, it’s another lovely day and we are moving on to the Hill of Crosses, a two hour drive away.
“The Hill of Crosses is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first crosses were placed on a former hill fort after the 1831 Uprising. Over the generations, not only crosses and crucifixes, but statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. The exact number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006 and it is a major site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania.”
The first part of the journey was on the dead straight motorway that heads to the coastal city of Klaipeda, and although it was a bonus being straight and not too busy, the surface was terrible caused by a patchwork covering of different colours of tarmac. We came off after about seventy miles and headed north on a perfect surface on a road that varied between single track and dual-carriageway.
It was a pleasant drive through the Lithuanian countryside and a chance to see the rural side of life here. We arrived during a rain shower and had lunch before venturing out. We will be spending the night in this car park so bought a 24 hour ticket for all of € 3. There are public toilets at 50 cents entry but we are self contained and serviced the van before leaving Kaunus in anticipation of “wild camping” for the next two nights.
We parked near the visitor centre with a view over a rapeseed field, and as you would expect it was busy during the day, but only three of us stayed overnight. When the visitor centre is open you have to buy a parking ticket as it has to be scanned to lift the exit barrier, but the barrier is lifted when the staff go home for the night!
In a way the Hill of Crosses reminded me of Stonehenge, with an underground visitor centre, and a short walk to the attraction, and what an attraction it is. We had seen YouTube videos of other motorhomers visiting it so we knew what to expect, but until you actually see it the scale of the number of crosses is hard to fathom.
From the visitor centre you walk down a path and from a distance it does not look that impressive until you get right up to it.
As hills goes it is not that big, but the sheer number of crosses, both old and new, is staggering. The last official estimate was 100,000 back in 2006, but is now probably north of 250,000. Beside the visitor centre there are vendors selling both amber products and crosses too so that you can plant your own in memory of a loved one.
In all honesty, although a spectacular sight, and a great testament to those of a strong religious belief, it is actually a bit tatty and in need of an upgrade. The wooden pathways are rotting and there are piles and piles of broken and discarded crosses which adds to the sense of neglect. From being a place of devotion and remembrance it is becoming just another tourist attractions where tour busses dislodge their passengers for an hour to stretch their legs.
The Hill of Crosses became famous around the world when Pope John Paul II visited it on September 7, 1993. In the chapel built opposite the Hill of Crosses, John Paul II celebrated Holy Mass for a gathering of 100,000 pilgrims. The Pope blessed Lithuania and all Christian Europe.
By 10pm there were only three motorhomes in the car park and we all enjoyed a quiet and peaceful night’s sleep.
All in all, it is worth the effort to come and see the Hill of Crosses, and that’s a non religious person speaking. Apart from the miniscule payment for parking, it is free to enter and see the amazing spectacle, over a hundred years in the making.
Day 23 – Wednesday 26th of July
Hill of Crosses to Rundales Palace – (56.414563, 24.021889 ) (115 Miles)
Early to bed means early to rise and we were both awake by 7am to a grey sky, but at least it wasn’t raining and another bonus this morning was that The Navigator made bacon butties, a rare midweek treat on foreign shores!
Today’s journey will take an hour according to Google Maps and will see us cross another international border into the second of the Baltic States, Latvia, and a visit to what is known as the Latvian Versailles, Rundales Palace. On the way I would stop for diesel and The Navigator cleaned the bottom two thirds of the windscreen!
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A quick word on Latvia,
“Latvia is a country on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Estonia. Its landscape is marked by wide beaches as well as dense, sprawling forests. Latvia’s capital is Riga, home to notable wooden and art nouveau architecture, a vast Central Market and a medieval Old Town with St. Peter’s Church.”
And an equally quick word on Rundales Palace,
“The palace was built in two periods, from 1736 until 1740 and from 1764 until 1768 for for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia. After the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, Catherine the Great presented the palace to Count Valerian Zubov, the youngest brother of her lover, Prince Platon Zubov.”
The Palace changed hands to another family and remained so until the German occupation in World War I when the German army established a hospital and a commandant’s office there. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the palace was used as a hospital for Napoleon’s army.
The Palace suffered serious damage in 1919 during the Latvian War of Independence and had a checkered existence from then on including being used as a school and grain warehouse, before the Latvian Government restored it to its initial glory.”
We are on a bit of a go slow few days in anticipation of visiting Latvia’s capital, Riga after this stop, so after driving just under fifty miles to get here, we relaxed in Bessie until after lunchtime before heading the short walk to the Palace. There are four official car parks here and we are in number four, with a handful of cars and a few motorhomes. The word on the street, well, the Internet actually, is that you can park here overnight for free and that is our intention. There are five official spaces for motorhomes in the main car park with all the necessary facilities, but as Bessie was fully serviced before we left Kanaus, there was no need to shell out € 15 for facilities we didn’t need.
It is warm, very warm, but there are clouds keeping direct sunlight off us thankfully. Latvia is pancake flat and the scenery consists of wheat fields and forests and so it puzzled me on arrival at Rundales Palace why the original gentry, the Dukes of Courland, came to chose this particular area to build their summer retreat as the landscape is completely featureless.
That said, wow, what a building and gardens. After a turbulent period in its history when ownership fluctuated between the Russian Empire, various Russian noble families before Napoleon’s Army used it and in 1919 the retreating Russians partially burned it down.
The restoration is believed to have cost € 8.5m and today it is one of the major tourist destinations in Latvia as well as being the residence of visiting leaders of foreign nations, although it was not busy at all today. On entry you have to put blue disposable overshoes on, why is a mystery as you are walking on newish wooden flooring all the way round the Palace.
We had a couple of coffees before venturing out side to the incredible gardens. If you are a regular reader of these blogs you will know my hot beverage of choice is always tea but when ordering my cup of ‘black tea’ it somehow was translated in the woman’s head as ‘cup of chino.’ Being British, I accepted the mix up with good grace as if nothing untoward had happened.
The gardens are every bit as stunning as the Palace and they too have been restored to their original glory. The rose garden, with over 2,200 varieties, including many from British nurseries, had peaked a few weeks ago by the look of it and it must have been a spectacular and colourful sight to see them in full bloom. The other outstanding feature of the gardens were the symmetrical lines of trees, all cut into a perfect shape which The Navigator admired greatly and I expect our one bush in our front garden will now be trimmed in such an expert fashion from now on.
Thankfully we had seen everything we had wanted to see before the rain came on, but the bonus was, as people ran for cover I managed a few pictures with no-one in them.
After 8pm there were only us and another three vans in the overflow car park and it was a beautiful sunny evening which made me walk round to the Palace to take some more pictures, sans people!
The idea was good, unfortunately the sun was dipping in the wrong position to cast a glow on the best sides of the Palace but at least the side of the Palace was lit up and it was a pleasant walk before bed. The Navigator rightly commented that you would never get to park for free so close to a nationally important building in the UK, or, get to walk around it with no security guards challenging you.
Having been lucky enough to have visited Versailles a few years ago, this Latvian version is worth visiting if you are in Latvia, but it’s not a patch on the real thing.
Day 24 – Thursday 27th of July
Rundales Palace to Riga (56.955898, 24.078180 ) (48 Miles)
Nothing was planned for today apart from driving into Riga, the capital city of Latvia which was only fifty miles to the north.
As there was no rush, we didn’t set set off until 10am and headed towards Bauskas, the nearest town. Apparently there are a few Lidls in Riga but no Aldi or Netto stores in the whole of Latvia. We needed a few groceries and as we passed through Bauskas there was a large supermarket on our right hand side so I pulled into the car park.
As well as the large Rimi superstore there was what looked like a discount store called Maximus X so we tried there first. Obviously it had lots of products and brands we had never seen before but with the help of Google translate set to the camera function we managed to get everything on The Navigator’s list. We put that shopping in Bessie then out of curiosity as much as anything we went into the Rimi store as well.
It was a huge store and remined me of a large Carrefour and we bought a few things that Maximus X didn’t stock. The prices in both stores were not cheap compared with the UK, Germany or Poland especially for fresh meat and wine.
Bauskas was what I think an average provincial town in Russia would look like, but then again Latvia was controlled by Russia until fairly recently by historical standards.
“The First Latvian National Awakening began in the 1850s and continued to bear fruit after World War I when, after two years of struggle in the Latvian War of Independence, Latvia finally won sovereign independence, as recognised by Soviet Russia in 1920 and by the international community in 1921.”
“Military presence and control by the occupying forces of the Soviet Union lasted from 1940 to 1991, when Latvia regained its independence. The Russian Army, the successor of the Soviet Army, left Latvia only in 1994, three years after independence was restored.”
We passed through other neglected looking villages and towns and it was really only on the outskirts of Riga that buildings of a modern design were seen. The road was single carriageway and had a surprisingly good surface for most of the way and on the approach to Riga there were long stretches of roadworks where it was being upgraded to dual carriageway, maybe even motorway.
The campsite we had chosen was found easily enough and we serviced the van before booking in for three nights to give us two full days in Riga, which is on the other side of the Daugava River from the campsite. The Navigator, not the most confident of cyclists, has agreed to cycle into the old town tomorrow if it is dry but the forecast is for rain in the afternoon.
The campsite had plenty of spaces when we checked in but was almost full by the evening. There is one other British registered motorhome on the site, a really old one with an ‘E’ registration and left hand drive.
Day 25 – Friday 28th of July
Riga (0 Miles)
Day 1
A big day is in prospect for The Navigator as she cycles into Riga city centre but it turned out to be a piece of cake. There is a cycle path all the way, even over the huge bridge called the Vansu tilts, which keeps cyclists and motorists well apart. We chained the bikes up near Riga Castle under the watchful eye of a policeman who was on traffic duty keeping cars away from official looking buildings. Spot The Navigator in the picture below peddling like clappers!
A short cycle brought us in the centre of the old town, and as you’d expect it was full of tourists with English being the most common language heard. There was a TUI owned cruise ship, the Europa, moored next to the bridge so a fair number of the tourists would have been from that ship.
There were some fairly spectacular buildings in the old town, most restored to their former glory including the House of the Blackheads, built in early part of the 14th century. The Navigator knew a lunch out was on the cards so menus were studied avidly as we passed them outside restaurants.
We lashed out € 3 a head to visit the imposing St Peter’s Church, but it was a disappointment and was not as lavishly adorned as others we had seen on this tour, but on a positive note we had made a € 6 donation to its upkeep!
Every corner we turned led to another square with attractive buildings and restaurants with people sitting at tables outside. There was one new looking mall in the centre of the old town and we took the escalators to the 4th floor food court to see if there were any outlets serving traditional Latvian dishes but, although there were impressive looking dining establishments, they did not fit the bill (get it!).
We wandered about a bit more before deciding to cut our losses and try and find a restaurant we had passed earlier in the morning which had a good selection of dishes at reasonable prices. It was eventually found again and we sat down at a table outside before realising it was self-service inside. With my hat and sunglasses left on the table to reserve it we joined the queue. Everything was self-service including wine and beer as you took a glass and filled them yourself.
When it was time to chose our main courses, and although we had studied the menu outside, either panic or memory loss kicked in and we were just pointed to whatever looked good, whatever it was! My choice was a rack of ribs (not particularly Latvian I know) with boiled potatoes smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce and The Navigator had a very meaty burger (again, not particularly Latvian) but with a mystery sauce with what could have been raisins adding to the flavour and she chose a mixed vegetables dish that was excellent. Two desserts and two soft drinks accompanied the main course and where the Cathedral was not value for money, this meal was well worth the € 27. (£ 23)
We lingered as long as possible, enjoying the ambiance but also resting our feet at the same time. We were both wearing Sketchers, the most comfortable shoes on the planet, but old town cobbles are pretty brutal on the soles of your feet.
We set off for another couple of hours of taking in the sights and one of them was the Freedom Monument.
“The Freedom Monument honours soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920). It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia. Unveiled in 1935, the 42-metre (138 ft) high monument of granite, travertine, and copper often serves as the focal point of public gatherings and official ceremonies in Riga.”
It is an impressive monument and is located next to an attractive parkland area. As we admired the monument and I took a few pictures, we were approached by a young woman who wanted us to answer some questions for the Riga Tourist Office and we were bribed by the prospect of a free fridge magnet if we gave up five minutes of our time to answer the questions.
Three o’clock was approaching and that means a cuppa and a latte were required, along with another sit down. We found a superb bakers shop where the aforementioned drinks were accompanied by a superb apple strudel.
Two tables from us was another British couple and it was fascinating listening to their conversation which consisted of him reading out a list of European cities where an unspecified artist / band were performing with the cost of the tickets and air fares to the designated city. The cherry on the top was when he discovered that said artist / band were performing at some point in the future in Australia and he worked out the logistics of a trip down under to see these mystery performers.
I don’t think I’d go to the end of our street to see any modern day performers, far less the other side of the world!
And that just about wrapped up our first day in Riga. I’ll give you our considered opinion of our first Baltic capital city at the end of play tomorrow. The cycle back was as uneventful as the cycle in and we sat outside for a while on our return until a light shower forced us inside.
Did I just say light shower? It may have started as a light shower but it turned into a monsoon by early evening. We had managed to get the chairs and the bikes in the garage while the rain was still ‘light’ but I had left the bikes on charge from the outside power point with the cable trailing into the garage. Someone, had to go out in the monsoon to pull the plug out and put the cable in the garage, lock it, and return inside before drowning.
That someone wasn’t The Navigator!
Day 26 – Saturday 29th of July
Riga – (0 Miles)
Day 2
Today’s mission is to explore the areas of Riga we didn’t get to yesterday, starting with Riga’s Central Market, said to be the largest covered market in Europe. Following yesterday’s triumph for The Navigator cycling into the city centre, we set off from the campsite to venture further as the market is on the far side of the city from where we were yesterday. Fortunately there is a park that runs right around the old town and we cycled through it before finding a place to chain up the bikes.
It was rebuilt in the 1930’s using the former German Zeppelin hangers which obviously were no longer needed for their original purpose.
The approach to the market is not particularly enticing as there is a massive construction project underway to rebuild the bus and train stations that has to be navigated before you reach the building.
Before you get inside the building, there are stalls outside, manned by mostly pensioners selling what appeared to be fruit and vegetables from their garden or allotment. Blueberries and blackberries were obviously in season as they were piled high on virtually every stall.
The covered ‘hangers’ are themed in that one was for butcher meat, one for fish, one for clothing and the best one by far was the food court which also had cheese and dairy products.
We had seen a YouTube video of a couple of foodies who had visited the food court a few weeks ago and this had given us a good idea of what to expect. It was now late morning and we were peckish so the first stall we visited had traditional Latvian snacks of a sort of doughnuty consistency with assorted fillings. The Navigator had one with a cream / cottage cheese filling and I had one with a sausage inside. It was very different to a British flakey pastry sausage roll, and once you got used to the texture, it was pretty good, although I would still prefer one bought from John Law’s. (Ardrishaig residents will know what I mean).
We walked around the other halls before returning for another delicacy called Pelmini dumplings which you could get either boiled or fried and we chose the fried version filled with chicken, accompanied by a dip of sour cream And a tea and latte. My tea was the cheapest of this holiday at eighty cents, but would it be too much to get anyone in Europe to actually make the tea for you rather than give you a cup of boiling water and a teabag!
P.S. They had the boiled variety but I think our choice looked better.
After a further lap of the market we headed back to the bikes and cycled back towards the Old Town for another tour of the cobbled streets there. They do add to the ambiance of the narrow streets and are in keeping with the old buildings, but they are tough on your feet. It was a beautifully sunny warn day again and because it was Saturday afternoon, it was much busier than yesterday, with a fair few hen and stag parties walking about.
We did get lost on a few occasions as we wandered the lanes and alleyways, but there was always a local on hand for The Navigator to ask directions! We did see a new bride and her father taking pictures of them selves so I stepped in to take pictures of the two of them together as there was no sign of a groom or a photographer..
In the afternoon we headed back to the restaurant we had lunch in yesterday for a strawberry tart, apple strudel and two soft drinks for all of € 6! (£ 5.17)
The streets were getting really busy now and we headed back to the bikes to cycle the short distance to the shady park to sit and people watch for an hour or so before cycling back to the campsite where we sat out in the shade of Bessie until late in the evening.
A chat with our Dutch neighbour who had just completed a tour of Scandinavia towing a caravan rounded off the evening before we stowed the bikes and chairs away as we are moving on tomorrow. We missed out the coast of Lithuania on the way here, but we’re going to follow the Latvian coast north into Estonia, heading for it’s capital, Tallinn.
We (I) have also been busy working on new ranges for Fyne Editions and one such new range is the 2024 Week-to-View Diaries There are over 50 published so far with more to come soon. You can see a small sample of titles below but check out the full range HERE.
This map shows the approximate route we have taken on week 3 of the 2023 Road Trip…
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COMING SOON ON THE NEXT BLOG...
From Riga we will head up the Baltic coast and have two stops before we reach Tallin and the furthest point we will be from home.
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REally interesting stops on this leg folks.
You must have felt at home when you got to Lithuania and met the potholes!
What a Cathedral in Kaunas…..magnificent.
Actually the towns looked fairly quiet, mind you I suppose they busy up later in the day?
Blueberries! blueberries! blueberries!
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