Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
There are numerous places in Rīga, Latvia where you can enjoy traditional cuisine. Often with wooden outdoor areas in front of the restaurant as it is usual in Eastern Europe. A good one is the Vecmeita ar kaki (which translates to ‘maiden with a cat’) next to the unimposing but important castle of Rīga.
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When a German hears of a statue of St. Roland he will most probably think of the one standing at Bremen, Germany. But you can also find one at Rīga, Latvia between the town hall and the Melngalvju nams. The first version from the 14th century was a wooden one which was replaced in 1894 by a version made of sandstone. The current one is a replica – the original one from 1894 can be found within the St. Peter’s church.
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The most beautiful building of Rīga, Latvia can be found directly opposite to the town hall in the city center – the house of the brotherhood of blackheads or Melngalvju nams. It is a gothic style building first mentioned in 1334 and used by the merchants of the city. The facade has many nice decorations and sculptures and you can stand there for a long time and still discover something new. What is not obvious: the whole building was missing for more than 50 years.
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The tower of the St. Peter’s church (Svētā Pētera baznīca) is the highest church tower in Rīga, Latvia. It is around 120 meters high and you can go the second gallery by elevator to enjoy good views on the city. The church itself was first mentioned in the year 1209 CE and is built in brick gothic style. It was continuously enhanced as it should always be more beautiful than the cathedral of Rīga just some streets away.
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After visiting Tallinn, Estonia it was time to continue my trip to Rīga, Latvia and there are not too many options for that as the railway system is not as good as in other European countries. As often as in eastern Europe long-distance busses replace trains and there is a very good infrastructure for them. You can easily book this trip online with different platforms and operators. And you can choose different quality classes of transit.
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I really like the Estonian language. It sounds nice, it reads cute and it feels like they have too much vowels in Estonia. Or how do you explain words like ‘bussijaam‘ (bus stop)? Looking at the languages of the Baltic states you can see that Latvian and Lithuanian have some commonalities (even though they are very clearly different languages), Estonian is absolutely different.
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The Go Hotel Shnelli at Tallinn, Estonia is the perfect hotel if you travel by train – because it is located directly at the railway station. You’ve got a 50 percent chance to have a room with views on the railway tracks. But even if you arrive by plane or bus this hotel next to Balti Jaam station is easy to reach by tramway.
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Starting my trip to the Baltic states at Tallinn, Estonia (formerly also called Reval) was a perfect idea. Relaxed and rather quiet people, a wonderful city with a well-preserved old-town (Vanalinn, a UNESCO world heritage site), the Toompea hill and the parks around it and a tech-savvy nation that makes travelling easy. It already starts with the fantastic and small airport that is really welcoming and the cute Finno-Ugric language.
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In the northeast of Tallinn, Estonia you can find the city quarter Kadriorg or Catherine’s valley. When in the year 1710 CE tsar Peter the Great conquered Estonia which was by that time under Swedish reign he named this area after his second wife Catherine I of Russia and created his summer residence there. Still today you can find Kadrioru loss, the Catherine palace here – a nice baroque style palace with a beautiful palace garden and a vast park surrounding it.
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Outside of the city centre of Tallinn, Estonia and close to the teletorn (TV tower) you can find the Botaanikaaed – the botanical garden. It is a vast park with different sections and many green fields. It includes an arboretum, a beautiful rosarium and a greenhouse with succulents and tropical crop plants. Distributed throughout the park you can also find some interesting artworks.
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