From 12 to 17 January 2022 we explore Latvia. We drive from the Estonian border to the capital Riga and leave the country again at the southwestern border with Lithuania. We experience a beautiful mix of culture and nature in a winter landscape.
Our digital corona passport is checked at the border, which is also often asked for in Latvia later on.
Turaida
We drive along the coast of the Baltic or Baltic Sea, a good road with little traffic. Every now and then we see the sea through the trees, but we mainly drive through forests and farmlands.
After about 80 km our route goes inland, we want to take a walk in the Gauja nature reserve near the city of Sigulda. Turaidas Pils, the castle of Turaida, is also located here.
We park at the Gauja National Park information center and can stay there as long as we want. After consultation with the lady in the center we can also spend the night here, the nearby campsite is closed for the winter season.
The weather is beautiful and clear and although it is a bit later in the afternoon, we leave for a circular walk of about six kilometers. Our first stop is at Gutman’s Cave.
Here we have another interesting meeting with a Dutch family that lives all over the world. Mother, daughter and son are visiting their daughter in Riga and today they are taking a day trip by bus to Turaida.
The forest is bathed in the light of the afternoon sun.
A steep staircase leads us further into the forest, and after a long walk we arrive at the castle of Turaida.
These statues are exhibited in the park of the castle, the snow gives them some extra appearance.
Riga, the capital of Latvia
Day 1
We can’t find a camping spot in Riga, so we choose a hostel with parking. The first night we stay in Liberty Hotel, on the edge of the old town and with a room with a shared shower and toilet and without breakfast. We think the facilities are a bit too basic, but the location is of course fine. We can park the car in a private parking space about 700 meters from the hotel.
From the hotel we do a first exploration of the city.
It strikes us how authentic the city seems to us, despite the large-scale destruction during and the rebuilding after the Second World War. Independence in 1991 is commemorated in various places in the city.
At Gastro pub Duvel’s we drink a beer and later in the evening we also eat there, we like the cozy atmosphere.
Day 2 and 3
The next day we move from the hostel to Gogol Park Rooms. Slightly further walk from town, but with private parking at the hotel. Breakfast is included in the price of €28 per night and parking is also included in the price of the spacious room with private bathroom and toilet. We stayed here for two nights to explore the city, to recover and to do maintenance on the website.
The art-deco district makes a deep impression on us, the stately buildings have been or are being beautifully restored in the old style.
Here and there the remnants of the Soviet era are still clearly visible.
The contrasts in the buildings are huge.
At nightfall we cross the river to the Latvian National Library. An impressive building in modern architecture.
The figure in duplicate on the lawn in front of the park makes us smile.
The interior of the library is beautifully designed with an enormous collection thematically per floor.
Extensive attention has also been paid to other interior elements.
We wander for a long time over the 7 floors of the library and admire the view from the top floor. When we come out it is dark.
Every now and then we treat ourselves to an extra tasty meal, and so did this evening.
We reserve a table at Restaurant Forest, we have read good reviews about this on Trip Advisor. We choose the à la carte menu, the 7-course menu is just too much for us. And we enjoy everything we chose, delicious.
The city of Riga has spoiled us well.
Kuldiga
Our last stop in Latvia is Kuldiga. The city is beautiful, we drive through it and see an authentic Latvian city with many wooden houses and cozy places that are undoubtedly very attractive in summer. We choose to visit only the “longest waterfall in Europe”.
