Relaxing in Riga

Riga: Day 3. We didn’t have a full day since our flight left at 6 pm, but we had a few ideas of what to do. The free walking tour was a firm maybe. It starts at noon everyday and is two and a half hours long. The maybe comes in the form of the small person in the pram who needs to eat and sleep sometime around noon. We decided to start with the botanical gardens and go from there.

We took a tram to the gardens. We had purchased a three day pass for public transit at the airport for 10€ each. (Little Man was free.) There are two types of trams in Riga: the really nice new trams, and the old Soviet-style trams that make me nervous. The Soviet-style only have steps to get inside.

It’s a good thing there were two of us! They were pretty cool, once I got used to them. Not literally, it was baking inside. But they’re very clean and well-kept. They even play cartoons!

The botanical garden cost 4,90€ per adult, but was 30% off because it was Monday. At first, it didn’t look like much. As we kept walking, I was struck by the magnificent colours and variety of flowers. (Be prepared for pictures.)

There were random statutes through the gardens. They were part of an “art in public” project.

There was an old building that looked like it could be a cafe, but it also looked deserted.

We wound our way to the hot house and saw even more beauty. And a cat, living the good life while having a nap on a wicker bench.

Then there was the butterfly pavilion.

The grounds were gorgeous as well.

Another amazing building,

some beautiful water plants,

and the desert plants and we were done.

We got back on the tram, which I haven’t gone into detail about. The tram tracks are mostly in the middle of the road, with car traffic on either side. This means you’re crossing in front of cars to board the tram. Everyone knows to stop when the tram does, but when you’re not used to it, it can be a bit unnerving. Especially while pushing a pram!

Another pram struggle is those pesky underground street crossings. You actually have to go downstairs to cross the street in certain places. If there’s no lift (or when it’s not working), you use the ramps.

Great for all those four-wheeled prams, not so easy with our three wheeler. With some excellent team work, we safely navigated these ramps on many occasions.

We’d spent about two hours at the gardens, which meant we’d missed the start of the walking tour. Instead, we headed for lunch. As much as Riga was not very crowded, I opted for the completely vacant Jamaican restaurant.It was decent, with an excellent tequila sunrise. It was the only restaurant we’d gone to that didn’t have a high chair available; at least they didn’t think they did, until someone found it. Little Man was a little too tired and restless to put up with it though, so he spent most of the time in his pram.

We walked through some more parks after lunch, mostly hoping to get the little one to nap, then realized that it would take an hour to get to the airport. Luckily, we had plenty of time, and checking in with Finnair was quick and painless. I grabbed some last minute souvenirs, and before you know it, we were back on a plane.

Hello, Helsinki!

Roaming around Riga

Our second day in Riga started delightfully late, seeing as Little Man slept in until 7:30. (Yep, that’s late.) We enjoyed breakfast in the hotel, then wound our way to the central market. Oh my goodness, it was HUGE. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as there are market halls in Helsinki, and we visited a similar style market in Tallinn. This surpassed them both. The majority of stalls were outside, with people selling everything from fruits and vegetables, to amber jewelry, flowers, and a variety of clothing.

I love how organized they are! Strawberries and cherries were prevalent; the air was full of the sweet smell of fresh fruit. And the flowers! They were so colorful!

There were also five indoor market halls, containing pastries, meat, more vegetables, and fish.

It was interesting to see entire pigs hung up and ready to be sold. We wandered around most of the market, and it seemed like it went on and on. We kept finding new things!

All that wandering made us hungry, so we went to Kid for a brunch buffet. It was highly rated, but despite the name, not super kid friendly. It is, however, always enjoyable to see what types of food different counties provide in buffets. I don’t know what most of it was, other than delicious. Included in the price are certain items from the kitchen. I ordered the potato pancake with bacon. It was a very thin, crispy pancake, with a pile of bacon on one side, and baby spinach sprinkled over the whole thing. I think that’s my new favorite way to eat spinach.

Having learned from the day before that the little one wasn’t napping well in his pram, we went back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. It was quite refreshing.

Upon waking up, young sir, who is clearly working on producing some more teeth, decided that my phone should be sacrificed to the cause. Suffice it to say that we spent a couple hours researching phones and where to buy them in Riga. After purchasing my shiny new phone, we continued venturing around. We visited a couple cemeteries, located in beautiful parks, and took a tram back to old town.

For dinner, we went to Lido. It’s a chain that we visited in Tallinn because my in-laws had discovered it when they were in Riga. The closest thing I can compare it to in the States is Sweet Tomatoes, except it’s not all you can eat. You go through the buffet area and fill your plate(s) before going to the cash register. It’s quite good, especially if you like trying new foods without necessarily knowing what you’re getting.

Some riverside wandering through picturesque parks, and our second day in Riga drew to a close.

Ready for Riga!

In celebration of our ten year wedding anniversary, Husband and I decided to go to Riga, Latvia for a weekend. Little Man would be, of course, joining us. Being the seasoned travelers that we are, we fit all of our necessities into a back pack and my purse, and set off for the airport. (After having had our luggage lost for the entirety of our honeymoon, Husband and I both loathe checking bags.) We were required to check the pram, as the Helsinki airport will not let you take it through security.

It was an hour long flight on a prop plane, which was surprisingly smooth. And voila! Welcome to Riga!

We hopped on bus 22 and headed toward old town, where our hotel was located. Since it was only 11 in the morning, and check in wasn’t until 3 pm, we stopped for lunch on the way. Having actually put some planning into this trip (not our normal style, it should be noted), we knew exactly where to go: Big Bad Bagels! Who knew Riga had a New York-style bagel place?! I was not aware how much I missed bagels until I sunk my teeth into that perfectly dense, chewy piece of heaven. You cannot find bagels like that in Helsinki.

We took these bits of deliciousness to a nearby park so Little Man could crawl around after the flight. He was amused by the pigeons awaiting our crumbs. Feeling powered up for the rest of the day, we continued walking toward old town, admiring buildings along the way.

I love European architecture.

The closer we got to old town, the more elaborate things became.

Seriously, it’s beautiful!

During our meandering, Little Man fell asleep in the pram and we decided it was a good time to stop for a beer. It was ~22°C (mid 70’s for you Fahrenheit fans), and humid. It wasn’t difficult to find a bar; basically throw a rock and see where it lands. We ended up in an obviously touristy spot, but it was outdoors and in the shade, so we were happy. Not long after our drinks arrived, Little Man woke up. It didn’t take much longer for us to decide that it was time to get to the hotel. With a fussy baby, two tired adults, and a wait staff that couldn’t be bothered, we ended up leaving without paying our bill. It was the first time I’d ever done that.

Our hotel was super quaint yet I completely failed to get any pictures. We had the old fashioned suit, which was nice and roomy, with a bathroom big enough to hold the hotel-provided crib. (These are the things we now think of when planning vacations. Plus, it gave us a little separation at night, and Little Man got to have a dark room.)

We hung out for a while, then found a place with an awesome-looking Latvian tasting menu for dinner. Needless to say, we high-tailed it there. It was only about 6 pm at this point, so we had the restaurant to ourselves. I love the outdoor summer seating in Europe. Along with the tasting menu, we each ordered the flight of Latvian liqueurs.

Four different liqueurs with water and coffee to cleanse the pallet between tastes. They were all at least 40% alcohol, and all delicious. I aimed to have one glass per plate (pacing is key). The first dish was herring with roast potato and cottage cheese.

Keeping in mind that Little Man tried all of these, I’m impressed that he liked just about everything. (He must’ve gotten his great-grandmothers dislike of herring.) Next up was black peas with bacon.

Superb. I think the little one ate about half of the peas. Cream of pea soup followed, but was devoured before a picture could be taken. (It looked like soup, feel free to use your imagination. ;-)) The main dish was salmon cake and potato, with a cream sauce.

I’ve always been told that you either love or hate salmon. I grew up with it and am a big fan. Dessert was Latvian bread pudding. It was unlike any bread pudding I’ve ever had in that I actually liked it. The flavor was good and it wasn’t too sweet.

After dinner, we walked around for a little bit, then went back to the hotel. You can only push a one year old so far before sleep is completely sacrificed. Little Man actually slept very well, only walking up once and going right back to sleep after I checked on him. Our first day in Riga had been a success!