Riga, Latvia

I was sad to leave Estonia behind but Latvia was on the horizon. For the first time on the trip I am now heading back to a place I have recently been before. The main road to Riga is rough and potholed and not a fun drive in the pouring rain but I arrived in the afternoon at the city camping ground on the west of the Daugava River and not far from the old city centre.

 Hmmm... memories

Riga is famous for it's old art nouveau buildings and many of the streets are lined with these grand, detailed and decorated buildings while the old town itself features lots of tall church towers and cobbled streets. The city is also one which is modernising quickly with big glass shopping malls and buildings popping up on the river's edge as these areas become more fashionable.

A canal runs around the old town area, seperating it from the city centre with a ribbon of parkland and trees while the Freedom Monument stands on the bridge linking the two together.

In the old town, the castle is actually one of the less spectacular buildings and is rather plain - although it does have a rather strange bright yellow tower. More interesting is the Powder Tower, a huge brick tower (and the last remaining one of an original 18) now covered with ivy and housing the War Museum. The museum is well worth a look around and mostly covers Latvian involvement in the first and second world wars.

Elsewehere, the "Three Brothers" consist of three buildings joined on the same street, each from a different century. The small windows are due to building taxes being proportional to the size of windows at the time. The opera house sits in the park on the edge of the canal and is well worth a look and also the Blackheads House which is actually a replica of the original 14th century building and only rebuilt a decade ago.

If there are two buildings to visit though, they are the Dome Cathedral and St Peter's Church. The cathedral is vast building (the largest church in the Baltic countries) on the edge of the main square in the old town. It features lots of old stone tombs and a courtyard full of historical items. A large part of the building itself was under scaffolding when I visited though. St Peter's Church is a tall baroque building with a great view of the city from the top of the spire - rebuilt now for the third time.

Tucked away in a little back alley is the Photography Museum but there is not a huge amount on offer, although the exhibition by Nina Korhonen is quite good. Not far from the museum, to the south, is the site of Riga's central market. The market sells all kinds of food as well as some clothing and other bits and pieces and is set in five huge old zeppelin hangers. Worth a look if you fancy trying fresh local produce.

No trip to Riga is complete without the nightlife and there is plenty on offer right through the night until the not-so-early morning on the weekends. One place that I didn't visit last time I was here was the Skyline Bar, set on the 26th floor of a hotel with a stunning view of the city lights at night. Meanwhile there are also lots of bars and clubs to suit just about anyone from live ska and punk bands to huge techno dancefloors.

Anyway, time to get on the road again as I head down to Lithuania.