The most correct comment
Dear friends!
Speaking about our trip to the Republic of Latvia, I immediately want to say that this is the only time when we already wanted to go back home during the trip.
That is, as usual: the day before the end of the vacation you start to whine, I wish I had two more days and three hundred bucks. And then: well, when is it home already?
On the other hand, to each his own.
So, the flight from sunny Odessa towards foggy and rainy Riga is already very well displayed by photos directly from the window of the plane, so there are so many of them.
Frankly, the weather in Latvia was not something new for us, we even planned to buy umbrellas there, if anything, and we took raincoats with us - cheap and convenient. They don’t take up much space - we flew without luggage.
As you know, the climate of Latvia has a transitional character from maritime to continental, which is softened by proximity to the Baltic Sea. The prevailing southwesterly winds bring a significant amount of precipitation from the Atlantic. The sky is often covered with clouds, the number of sunny days is only 30-40 per year. The sunniest and driest month is May, and we were in mid-October. Winter lasts from mid-December to mid-March.
Therefore, before winter began, we decided on the weekend in October to see what kind of Baltic it is and, of course, there was a selfish, or rather jewelry interest - well, at least if you don’t find a sun stone on the coast, thrown ashore by the surf, then at least buy yourself some souvenirs from amber mined directly in Latvia.
TIP: upon arrival at Riga airport, do not rush to look for buses and do not contact the taxi drivers standing right at the entrance. You can ask the locals for the phone number of any service and call them and say that you want to get to the city at a fixed rate. The trip cost us 6 euros. By the way, the price from the taxi driver just before leaving the airport was 8 euros (back and forth 1-2 euros, here's a souvenir for the money saved).
We got a Russian-speaking taxi driver. As a matter of fact, as we came across all the other 99.9% of the police, sellers in supermarkets, cashiers at the railway station and bus stations, grandmothers in the market selling mushrooms and berries, and all other residents of Latvia. In general, this taxi driver told us how best to get to Sigulda (because there was a road repair on the way there) and suggested where some promotions take place, such as fairs and sales, and also told us about the concert theater program, which, unfortunately, we did not use it - there were only three days.
Well, we don’t pretend to be aesthetes from Leningrad, as in the famous joke, that is, we don’t go to the conservatory, because we don’t like canned food...
In general, there are no problems to find mutual understanding with the inhabitants of Latvia (the total population of which, according to an estimate as of January 1.2020, is 1.908, 100 people) - only young people suffer from ignorance of languages u200bu200b(English, Russian and Ukrainian), like idly wandering through the streets and parks, and worthily working as consultants and sellers in grocery stores and shopping centers, for example, in Riga, which has a population of more than half a million inhabitants, but they say that the whole million.
In general, we saw and heard from the words of local residents quite a lot of dissatisfaction with the level of development of the country, and we ourselves, in search of goods produced directly in Latvia, were limited to the choice between sprats, Riga balsam and knitted socks - everything else is made in China, even amber was brought from Kaliningrad.
For what you can specifically praise the people of Riga, and all Latvians in general - it's for cleanliness. Streets, parks, any lanes between houses are cleaned to a shine. At the same time, we even saw how a man walking in front dropped a check from a store from a bag with purchases, and a young mother walking behind with a baby carriage leaned over, picked it up and threw it into the trash can after a few meters.
By the way, despite the cleanliness of the city, in particular, and the whole country, in general, finding garbage cans is not an easy task. They have some kind of problem with this (during the entire trip, we always carried pieces of paper, paper bags, etc. in the back pockets of our jeans, because trash cans were extremely rare for us). With such a situation, they can probably even carry out something like a quest to find garbage cans.
They say that for this (author's note: to find garbage cans) you need to look at the walls or look around the corner, like they hid it away, but who would believe that?
Also, about the quest, you can also come up with a search for cheap stores with high-quality Latvian goods. We didn’t do very well with this task - it’s hard to find, almost all of them are made in China.
Oh, we almost forgot what you need to pay attention to: there is an opinion that scammers and petty thieves can hunt tourists in Riga. We asked the locals, like, do they steal? Some said no, others said that if the group of tourists is large enough, pickpockets can join it.
The result is this: we have seen in practice that they steal. We were pulled out of the backpack behind our back money for more or less worthwhile purchases. But the thief turned out to be so polite that when addressing her (it was a girl), he returned the confiscated item to us with the explanation that something had fallen out of our closed backpack and she ran after us from the station itself to give it back and thank her for this good deed no need. . .
Be careful, especially near the railway station, please.
We packed light on our trip to Latvia. Without luggage. We didn’t take a tour - we bought a flight and paid for the accommodation on our own.
It took a long time to choose. I read reviews, probably, about all the apartments in Riga - we decided to choose in close proximity to the city center.
We took an apartment near (opposite) the Powder Tower.
The Powder Tower is the only tower that has survived to this day, an element of the city fortification system in Riga, which today is a branch of the Latvian Military Museum. Along the continuation of the quarter from the tower there will be a fortress wall, on the back of which there is a monument to a ghost.
Specifically, the sculpture with the name "Ghost" is located on the territory of the so-called Old Riga on Troksnu Street, near the Swedish Gate and, accordingly, the Powder Tower.
The monument is made of pure bronze, the total weight is approximately 500 kilograms, it was installed as part of the Art in a Public Environment program.
The guide, whom we independently found on the central square of Riga (we will tell about this a little later), told us that in fact this monument is a tribute to events that took place in ancient times, as one of the urban legends says, and is dedicated to an unfortunate story the love of a young girl who lived at that time in Riga, and one of the soldiers named Karl, who was in the service of the garrison and served in the very fortress of Riga, at the remains of the fortress wall of which the monument itself is located. According to legend, the girl was executed - she was walled up in the fortress wall.
And at night, on a full moon, when the wind blows, here, in this place, sometimes a ghost appears who whispers: “I love you! I love you! I love you! ".
Right there, near the Powder Tower, there is Latvian War Museum - one of the oldest and largest museums in Latvia. Founded in 1916. Since 1919, the museum has been located in the Powder Tower. A large and significant part of the museum's fund is made up of objects about the military-political history of Latvia in the 20th century. The main fund of the museum contains more than 25.400 items, systematized in 22 collections. The Latvian War Museum is proud of its collections of weapons, photographs, documents, orders and uniforms. The museum presents permanent exhibitions dedicated to the First and Second World Wars.
That is, for children and adults who, as the Caucasian proverb says, also become children at the sight of a weapon, one of the necessary and very useful places, as they say, cannot be lured out with a kalach.
That is, we chose a very romantic and at the same time historical place in the very center of the city near the so-called Old Riga.
In general, we settled in Yakovlevsky barracks or Jekab barracks.
Jekab barracks were built at the end of the 17th century for Swedish soldiers who defended the city from the invasion of enemies from the northeast. It was these barracks that previously almost closely adjoined the defensive city system. Between the barracks and the city defensive wall there was a narrow passage, which is currently Tornia Street or, as it is also called, Tower Street. Initially, the barracks were wooden.
At present, the Yakovlevsky barracks are no longer used for their intended purpose, they house souvenir shops, shops, offices, cafes and restaurants, as well as institutions and representative offices of Latvian cities, and our apartments, respectively.
It's a bit funny, but when we were passing by the barracks with the guide, she so significantly, pointing at the barracks, said: "And here we still have very expensive hotels for tourists! ". And we're like, "Well, well. . . ". And they could not help telling that we live here in a two-level apartment.
After that, sadness somehow took our guide, either she decided that she took little money from us for the excursion, or she took pity on us because of the high cost, in her opinion, of accommodation - we do not know. In general, some sad guide walked with us for a while, and then departed instantly, as soon as we extended the tour, and she tore off another 5 Euro from each of us.
Let's return to the architecture, namely: due to the construction of the barracks, many restaurants and shops are located in the basement.
The coats of arms of Latvian cities are depicted at the end of the building of the Yakovlevsky barracks.
So, Old Town Apartments.
We rented a two-level room, where on the second floor there is only a bedroom, and on the first floor there is a studio-kitchen and a small sofa. Apartments for a comfortable stay of 4-5 people. Everything is fairly new. Purely. It was, however, a little cold, but we contacted the apartment management and after our return on the same day, the temperature inside the room increased significantly.
To a greater extent, we were more interested in the surroundings, as well as the location, but the living conditions turned out to be decent.
View from the window, of course, directly to the Powder Tower.
OVERALL RATING of Old Town Apartments: 4+ (VERY GOOD).
P. S. : we lost our Zara blouse there, but after our investigation, among those present at that time in the room, that is, us and our friends, we decided not to blame each other or the apartment cleaners, but agreed with a dubious, invented explanation that , they say, lost themselves, sitting in one of the restaurants.
Active rest has begun - everyone needs to go to the very center of Old Riga!
The Old Town in Riga or Old Riga is the oldest part of the city on the right bank of the Daugava River, famous for its cathedrals and other historical buildings. The borders of Old Riga are the 11 November embankment, 13 January street, Krishjan Valdemara street and Aspazijas and Siegfried Anna Meierovits boulevards. The historical center of Riga (Old Town/Old Riga) is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Somehow illogically, the boundaries of the district are obtained, it seemed, since they started from the streets in honor of November and January, then on the other hand, at least it should be March or at least August, but no (see above).
Walking through the narrow streets of Old Riga, you can immediately feel the warmth of the residents' care for their city, which mixes different styles in the architecture of different nations.
The buildings and structures of Riga were badly damaged during the Second World War and were restored to their original appearance with great meticulousness in order to please the eye for a long time.
If you go from the Powder Tower, and not bypass along the traffic, then you will pass along the city wall with the Ramer Tower, which is located on the opposite side of the Jacob Barracks, just across Tornja Street, there is a part of the defensive wall - a fragment of the former fortification of Riga . In general, in the entire Old Town, only a few fragments have survived from the former fortress wall to this day, one of the clearest examples of which is this particular part.
In the center of the city wall there is a defensive square tower of Ramer. This tower and wall were previously used as a defensive fortification of the city. The fortress wall with the Ramer tower was restored either in the 80s or in the 90s of the last century.
From the back of the fortress wall, you can also see how today, while maintaining the appearance of buildings, for example, the same barracks, the buildings are used to accommodate shops, shops and taverns, or simply as housing.
Next to the Swedish Gate, there is another attraction of Riga, less known even to the inhabitants of Riga - The House of the Riga Executioner. It is located at 9 Troksnu Street.
That is, upon entering the territory of Old Riga, in the direction of travel, immediately on the right side, you will see the first house with a very small window.
According to urban legends, a local executioner lived in this house, and through this window they passed him either a message about the upcoming work or he himself warned about the upcoming execution in the near future, namely:
According to one of the legends, a young romantic guy was once an executioner in Riga, so on the night before the execution, he put a red rose in his window, warning the inhabitants of the city about the upcoming execution. Romantic, in short…
Another legend says that through this small window, the leaders of the magistrate (or whatever they had there) at that time, leaving the glove, warned the executioner about the upcoming work shift.
And we are moving further to the city center.
The reference point for moving towards the central square of Old Riga is both the spire of a majestic building that rises above all other buildings - St. Peter's Church, and the Dome Cathedral.
Central Square, or Dome Square is paved with cobblestone pavement, where you can see the contours of the buildings that used to be here and were dismantled during the expansion of the Dome Square of Old Riga.
As you can see, the streets of Old Riga were much narrower than they are now. A more compact residence is mainly due to the fact that the buildings were located inside the fortification, which is confirmed by archaeological research, for example, during excavations, tunnels are found under the road level, which not only pass from building to building, which were located on different sides of the same street, but also indicate that all the buildings were previously located very close to each other.
By the way, on the opposite side of Dome Square from St. Peter's Church, you can walk through the most narrow street of Old Riga.
Rozena Street is considered the narrowest street in Riga, in the historical area of the Old Town. It is located between Š kü nu street and Kramu street. The length of the street is just over 92 meters. However, local residents say that there are narrower streets.
TIP: here, on Dome Square, you can find guides who can offer you a walking tour and other entertainment. What is the advantage of finding such services here: firstly, you will have a choice of guides; secondly, these guides can have quite significant discounts when buying souvenirs or tickets to museums and theaters; and thirdly, in case you do not have enough time for the tour or you decide to extend the time of communication with the guide, then you will pay less for additional tour time if you purchased such services from a travel agency right away.
In general, this is not our discovery, but we also read about walking tours in Old Riga and about finding guides on Dome Square. We simply confirm that this recommendation is justified and we do not regret at all that we did not take the tour in some agency or via the Internet, but used the services of a guide we found ourselves.
St. Peter's Church is one of the oldest and iconic buildings in the Baltic States, a symbol and landmark of the capital of Latvia. Also, St. Peter's Church is a valuable example of monumental medieval architecture.
The church is especially famous for its original, widely recognizable spire. The total height of the tower of St. Peter's Church is 123.5 meters, of which 64.5 meters are the spire itself. The tower is decorated with a public clock, which was installed in the 14th century. And the spire is decorated with a golden cockerel, which also serves as a weather vane indicating the direction of the wind.
By the way, the previous rooster-shaped weather vane is located inside the church, and in shops and souvenir shops you can see souvenirs with the image of this particular weather vane.
Also outside (at the altar of the church) there is a monument to the Bremen town musicians. According to the guide, this gift to the residents of Riga was made by the municipality of Bremen.
It is believed that rubbing the noses of animals will bring happiness - that is why the faces of the Bremen town musicians are polished to a shine.
You can also climb to the observation deck at a height of 72 meters, which offers a unique panorama of the Old Town, the Western Dvina river embankment and the surroundings of the city of Riga.
The ticket price is 9 euros. Children under 7 years old are admitted free.
There is an elevator.
So, in the very heart of Old Riga is its largest square - Domskaya, in the very center of which rises another symbol of the city of Riga, respectively, Dome Cathedral with its world-famous organ. Tourists from all over the world come to Riga to see this beautiful square and the most beautiful Dome Cathedral in the whole Baltic.
The stained-glass windows of the Cathedral were made in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, at a time when restoration was taking place in the ensemble of the church. The restoration was carried out with money from donations.
On one of the stained-glass windows you can currently see the Madonna with a baby in her arms and representatives of the Tizenhausen family. The stained-glass windows also depict Bishop Albert and the first builders of the Dome Church.
You can get around Domskaya Square through narrow streets and small courtyards swarming around, without repeating entering and leaving the square through new alleys and gates.
For example, behind St. Peter's Cathedral there are small courtyards of the Set Conventand Jan Set. Both courtyards are architectural monuments and sights of the Old Town.
These two charming courtyards are located next to each other so that you can walk from one courtyard to another. They are separated by a low wall with arched gates.
The main entrance to the yard of the convention is located directly opposite the monument to the Bremen town musicians.
In terms of size, Jan's farmstead is small, much smaller than the courtyard of the Convention. It has two entrances, not counting the passage that connects it to the courtyard of the Convention.
Here you can go through the arch and if you turn around, you can see a weather vane on the temple building in the form of a figure of St. Peter holding the key to paradise.
When you go inside, you plunge into the atmosphere of the comfort of life in Riga, starting from its founders, for example, you can see how smart Rigans got out of the situation after the introduction of a tax on windows - window openings were laid and windows were simply painted on top of them on the walls of houses, and beyond painted windows do not need to pay tax!
I wonder if those residents of Riga who guessed by chance were not from Odessa?
The answer, 99%, which is no coincidence, but on purpose, hehe!
Here you can also find an amber shop-museum, where there is a room, the decoration of which, including all the furniture, lamps and a fireplace, is made of various varieties of amber, even the floor is lined with carefully selected plates of amber, only 650 kilograms.
Hmm, almost got the verses. . .
Well, okay, let's go, dear reader, further!
Among these buildings is one of the entrances to the bar Riga Black Magic, which has a unique design and atmosphere of magic, even, they say, witchcraft.
The Riga Black Magic bar is small, it serves coffee, tea, various sweets, cakes, cakes, Riga balsams of all varieties and stripes, as well as many different drinks based on the famous Balsam Rigas Black (black Riga balsam). In the bar you can taste each balm and, if you like it, buy a bottle or two. Prices for bottled balms are more expensive than for the same balms in stores in Riga. If you are assured that these are the only natural balms in the city, and there are fakes in stores, do not believe it, this is just a trick, the balms in this bar, in supermarkets or on the market are absolutely identical, they are imported from the same factory.
During the tour, you will be told about the history of the bar, secret rooms that you can enter through a bookcase by pulling a figurine, about alchemists and secret societies. Everything is interesting. In addition to Riga Balsam, you can also buy a new product here - moonshine on honey.
By the way, we can honestly admit that we ourselves were drawn into the use of Riga liquor and vodka souvenirs, but most likely because of the weather: it was cloudy and rainy, some kind of sadness, and then everything turned pink , more precisely classic or blueberry, like balms!
Another entrance-exit from the bar goes straight to the street and is very interestingly decorated. Curved glass is not only associated with the name of the bar, that it is supposedly magical, but it is also a tribute to tradition - this is how window panes looked like when they first began to be produced, and they say that window glass at the exit of the bar to the street is not simple window glass, rather crystal!
Further, when walking along the streets of Old Riga, one must carefully examine both the buildings and the accompanying decoration, for example, cannons buried with muzzles down into the ground, which Peter I allegedly ordered to be buried with the words "So that there is no war ”, and passing through the through front houses with an original solution for supplying daylight through the so-called light wells, which seem to be only two in Riga.
By the way, the figure in the photo is a work of art "Gondola" by the world famous Russian artist Dmitry Gutov.
The 11-meter "Gondola" is a frozen explosion of a real Venetian gondola: both spatially and linearly understandable, readable message, like all the works of the famous artist. This is the universe of the artist created from the chaos of the explosion – the ordered world of culture. There is nothing superfluous in it, its form is clear, because in the artist's brain there is clarity of what is happening.
According to the perception of the result of this modern art form, it seems that the artist took it and blew up the cannon with dynamite, and then collected the pieces and restored the moment of the explosion itself, which symbolizes, perhaps, the Great Bang in the Universe, or maybe he just got tired of this cannon , they say, it takes up a lot of space: you can’t put a big one on the balcony, you can’t move a ficus to the window, and the front door to the apartment doesn’t close: the paddle interferes...
You should also see three houses called "Three Brothers".
Three Brothers is an architectural complex located in the center of Old Riga on Maza Pils Street (Small Castle Street). A characteristic example of the architecture of medieval Riga.
As for the originality of this ensemble, it is that in close proximity there are three buildings that reflect not only the achievements in architecture or the inherent style of the era when they were erected, but they also indicate changes, for example, in requirements on the payment of taxes for the width of the land on which the building stands, or for the number of doors, which clearly led to a change in the very design of subsequent buildings built later than earlier ones.
Walking further, you can go to Livov Square and look at Cat's House.
What is interesting about this square is that it was created on the site of the demolition of part of the city building, which was destroyed during the Second World War.
The design of the square itself, namely: waves in the form of planted shrubs and flowers, as well as wavy benches symbolize the waves of the river that once flowed here.
There is a complex of charming 17th-century residential buildings along the border of the square.
Here, in addition to the buildings of the Small and Large Guilds, you can already see Cat's House. Well, who hasn't heard about the Cat's House in Riga?
One very interesting story is connected with this house, or rather a black cat on the spire of the building. One wealthy homeowner Blumer (Plume) really wanted to become a member of the Riga Great Guild, but he was constantly denied membership. After several refusals, he became very angry, and decided to arrange an act of retribution. He ordered sculptural images of black cats with arched backs and raised tails and placed them on the pointed turrets of his profitable house, located directly opposite the Big Guild building, so much so that these cats were turned with their tails towards the windows of the office of the elder of the Big Guild. The elder was very annoyed by this trick and a lawsuit was started against Blumer. However, legal measures failed to get Blumer to turn the cats around to face the guild. The court ruled as follows: cats are creatures that walk by themselves, they are free animals and sit as they please. A peace agreement had to be concluded with Blumer, he was eventually accepted into the guild, and the cats were deployed in the right direction to the Big Guild.
It is also interesting that there is not one cat on the house, but two, on each corner of the facade of the building, looking at the building of the Great Guild.
You should also walk to the Town Hall Square.
The Town Hall Square is the most beautiful square in Old Riga and its oldest cultural and representative center. Initially, on the site of the modern Town Hall Square, which can be seen at the present time, there was a city market. Merchants from all over the area flocked to the bazaar, bringing goods for trade. Based on the direct purpose of the square, for many years the square was called the Market Square. It served not only as a trading point, but also as the administrative core of the city.
Over time, the area developed and expanded, it was given increasing importance. Subsequently, wealthy German merchants began to buy up plots of land in the square and build rich houses in these places. Throughout the entire period of the Middle Ages, carnival processions, guard reviews, city competitions for the title of the best defender of the city and other city celebrations were held on the square. The main object of the square was the City Hall, after which the square was named.
The Town Hall Square itself is legendary, but its iconic building is the House of the Blackheads. It is because of this famous house that hundreds of tourists flock to the square.
The house of the Blackheads got its name because at the end of the 13th century there was the Brotherhood of St. George, which accepted young, unmarried foreign merchants. Initially, the brotherhood's patron was Saint George, the patron saint of knights and warriors, later became Saint Mauritius, whose symbol was a black head, which found its reflection in the coat of arms of the Brotherhood. That is how the name of the Blackheads stuck to the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood of the Blackheads was engaged in the purchase and delivery of goods to Riga, later they created the Blackheads company in Riga. In 1477 the Blackheads rented a room on the top floor of the New House from the Riga Magistrate. Previously, the house of the Blackheads was called the New House. Gradually, members of the fraternity invested in decorating and rebuilding the building. So the house got its former name - The House of the Blackheads.
Another recognizable and well-known symbol of the Town Hall Square is the statue of the knight Roland.
The statue of Roland is set in the very center of the square and is a symbol of the freedom of the medieval city. Currently, the original granite statue of the last Riga Roland is kept in the museum exposition of St. Peter's Church. A copy of it is installed on the square.
Moreover, this is not only a monument, but also a fountain, or rather a source of drinking water - a tap is located at the foot of the monument. Now the water will flow only if you move your hand - a photocell is installed.
Also, when walking around Old Riga, you should definitely find buildings that have been immortalized in the cinema.
For example, you can find the same house number 221b on Baker Street from Igor Maslennikov's films about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Immediately opposite, you can look into the pet store, where in the film "17 Moments of Spring" Soviet intelligence officer Maxim Maksimovich Isaev, real name Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov, aka SS Standartenfuehrer Max Otto von Stirlitz, examined living creatures (birds in cages), and opposite, across the street, there is a house with a safe house, where, according to the plot of the film, Professor Pleischner was sent.
It turns out Jauniel Street, aka Blumenstrasse, aka Baker Street!
In general, many films were filmed in Riga, except for those about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson or "17 Moments of Spring", as well as "Secret Mission", "Murder on Dante Street", "Old Fashioned Comedy", "An Ideal Husband" , "Shield and Sword" and "Arrows of Robin Hood", "Prisoner of If Castle" and others.
In general, there are many interesting things to see in Old Riga!
We recommend dining in the Riga wine cellar (medieval restaurant "Rozengral"), which is located at the intersection of Rosena and Kramu streets (Melochny Lane) not far from Tirgonu Street (Merchant) .
Medieval interiors are recreated exactly according to historical documents: brick vaults, beams, and so on. The lighting, of course, is only candles, the waiters are dressed in medieval clothes, and at the entrance guests are greeted by a doorman in knightly armor.
The restaurant's menu is also designed in the style of medieval traditions: smoked venison, rabbit stewed in prunes, pig on a spit according to an old recipe and, of course, a carefully designed wine list.
We liked the dinner very much, especially non-alcoholic fruit drinks, they say, also according to old recipes.
I also really liked the serving of bread or bread rolls wrapped in burlap (we didn’t eat everything, we took some with us on the road).
We say right away: there is no Wi-Fi in the restaurant. And what could Wi-Fi be like in the 13th century, huh?
TIP: when there is an influx of tourists, you can only get into the restaurant by appointment, there are always no empty seats. We also advise you to sit on the aisle - the dungeon is not very well ventilated and can be a little stuffy.
Yes, by the way, don't forget your Zara blouses so you don't think about anyone later.
And one more thing: some waitresses can be rude, we are rude, but let's not be strict with them, maybe they have become very common people, who knows...
Well, if you don't have enough game served in the restaurant, you can try your luck - get something yourself.
The pleasure is inexpensive - 2-3 euros for a set of arrows.
In addition to the indicated place, you can also go to Riga Central Market and Amber Museum.
The first event is free to enter, but you will have to pay an entrance fee to the museum.
The market is located near the railway station. Not far.
Do not forget to keep the pocket wider, that is, as Carlson says, “Oh, brother! They are crooks. ”. We remind you: they steal!
Central market in Riga –? one of the oldest and largest markets in Europe, distinguished by the original design of the pavilions. The area of the market is 5.7 hectares. The market consists of several covered pavilions, between which there are also shops with both raw products and ready-to-eat products.
There was an abundance of mushrooms and knitted socks in October.
TIP: to bring home ready-made cold-smoked or otherwise smoked fish, there is a purchase vacuuming service on the market.
The cost is 2 euros if you did not buy from this seller, and 1 euro if the purchase was made right where the service is provided.
By the way, there is a real problem with bags on the market. We don't know why. When we were there, the bags were really “left”: uncomfortable and not the ones that we are used to, and then they fell apart and turned into tatters, we almost lost all our purchases.
In general, there is also a problem with bags in Riga: in the store they ask separately whether you will take a bag, for example, when buying a knitted coat.
How to carry it?
At the same time, we are not talking about a discount at all, but to buy a bag - be so kind!
TIP number two: there is a boutique with alcohol on the market, where you can buy the same Riga Balsam at the lowest price that we found in Riga. In addition, here you can also buy fortified Latvian wine in the original packaging - mini-bottles of 50 grams.
Readers of other reviews are also recommended to buy the famous cheese. We bought and bought. Moreover, the one that they bought at the market and ate while riding the train is delicious, and the one that they bought to bring home probably tastes like bags in this market.
We also advise you to go to the Amber Museum, only in addition to what is located in the courtyard of the Convention, and additionally to the one located on the second floor of the Amber Queen jewelry store in the center cities.
Here you will see fragments of the amber room, unique pieces of amber, very rare inclusions, a large collection of antique amber items.
We did not find any other entertainment in Riga and decided to go to Sigulda.
Sigulda is very well written in Wikipedia, there is little to add:
- national park
- cable car
- Turaida Castle
- Sigulda castle.
Well, and all sorts of luge and bobsleigh tracks, cycling and hiking trails. Small amusement park. Cafe.
You can go, maybe even better, by train - it’s convenient, there is wi-fi, the speed is low, you can safely see everything along the way, and old women with baskets of berries and mushrooms easily jump in and have time to jump off at stops. Such a retirement train is, baby, not a tram in Istanbul!
And the beauty of nature is very beautiful and everything is so natural!
The beauty of Sigulda’s nature distracted us so much that we didn’t even notice our tiredness (almost every passer-by in Riga, with whom we spoke, and who found out where we had already been and where we were going, advised us to go to Sigulda, but added that there it's even more beautiful when the flowers are in bloom, but even though it's cold now, you still need to go).
Well, we are gullible and let's go.
In the station building, when you exit to the right, you can immediately go to a mini-supermarket to drink coffee or buy more food.
The town is very clean and tidy.
In a small camp in front of the church, a flock or whatever they have, a flock of ducks - to feed, if you don’t have supplies with you, you could buy bread in a shop at the Sigulda railway station.
When riding a cable car in Sigulda itself and then examining the ruins of the fortress, if you go, for example, on the right side of the cable car, then the path will lead you out of the forest, then there will be a meadow, then you can find a good cafe by the smell of food. Lunch will be quite dense and quite inexpensive. You can also sit down on the street or near the cafe, or a little in the back of the courtyard in a circle of giant oaks and recharge with natural energy from them.
For extra money (something around 50 euros per person) on the cable car from the top of the hill you can ride on a kind of wing that glides over the abyss along the cable car cable, and when the trailer brings you back to the park, these flying flyers through a special device will rest against the roof of the cabin and the cabin will push them up the lift, and the extreme sportsmen will hang in front of the front window of the funicular cabin while you are climbing uphill. We waved to them. They answer us. It was fun for the first two minutes. Then they drove quietly. We were waiting for them to be removed already.
