Arrival in Latvia's capital Riga
Our journey through Latvia starts in the capital Riga. Here we went by bus from Vilnius (Lithuania) since this was the most relaxed travel option for us. We chose the bus provider LUXexpress, who offered the route at a good time and was also very cheap. For more than four hours bus ride we paid 16€ each. At the bus station of Vilnius we looked for a suitable bus platform and there the big black bus came around the corner. We had to show our passports at the entrance and could take the really comfortable seats. Every seat had its own little board computer with games, music, movies and of course there was wlan again. Some of the passengers wore masks - but this was not obligatory. The ride was fast and relaxing again and soon we reached Latvia's capital Riga. But we couldn't check in at our accommodation yet and just went with our backpacks to find a shady place to bridge the waiting time. What surprised us very much was that many people looked at us very strangely. We would have thought that especially in a big city like Riga backpackers are quite normal, but maybe it was because of Corona, we don't know.
Later we were able to check into our apartment and Tomek rested a little while I bought some groceries. In a small supermarket close to the accommodation we had a similar situation: The salesman didn't speak English and was quite insecure. Nevertheless he was very nice and I could leave the store with a full shopping bag.
The craziest accommodation experience (so far!)
But the first night was followed by something that we will probably never forget. Tomek had rested a bit before and he noticed a strange smell. When I wanted to get into bed with him, I noticed it too and at the latest when I lay in bed and wanted to cover myself, I noticed that the bed not only smelled strangely, but on my side it was unfortunately also very damp. We quickly realized that our bed was being peed into. Apparently the blanket, the cover and part of the mattress were affected. Totally disgusted, we didn't know what to do at first - it was night, the landlord was not reachable and on the small couch in the living room we could never sleep together. Fortunately we had a washing machine where we could throw the blanket and the cover directly in. We turned the mattress around and put it back in mirror image, which also gave us a better feeling. In the closet we found some sheets which we used as blankets. But we did not sleep really well that night.
In the early morning our landlord contacted us directly, who was totally shocked and promised to provide us with fresh bed linen. He came later, a young guy in our age, who could not explain himself. After all, he pays for cleaners and that she didn't notice anything is very strange. Maybe there was a cat in the room, at least that was our guess. He brought us a mattress protector and fresh bed linen and so we stayed in the accommodation.
Sightseeing Riga
Riga was a bit crowded compared to the other cities we had visited on our trip so far. We had our apartment just outside the Old Town, in a neighborhood with many beautiful art nouveau buildings. Therefore, on our first trip to the Old Town we were positively surprised how impressive and diverse the architecture in this city is. We really liked that. Also in the evening there is a lot going on in Riga and the atmosphere is very pleasant. Besides the interesting buildings in the Old Town, there is also the Central Market, where you can buy various fresh groceries in five old Zeppelin halls. We stopped at the sweet stand and tested Latvian cookies.
We had also read that just outside Riga there is an open-air museum, which is one of the oldest in Europe. So we decided to go there by bus. We stood at the nearest bus stop but could not find a ticket machine. Like in Lithuania, there was a website with information about bus connections, but unfortunately it was not possible to buy a ticket there. When the bus arrived, we just got on it in the hope to be able to buy a ticket from the driver. But far from it - due to the Corona measures the access to the bus driver is closed and there was no possibility to get a ticket there. We drove a few stops and tried again on our cell phones - but when we realized that it didn't work out, we got a bad conscience and got off the bus.
We just walked there and arrived in the village "Sarkandagauva" 5km away, where we also found a memorial stone of the victims of the concentration camp "Riga-Kaiserwald".
We bought some snacks in a supermarket, because we hadn't had lunch yet and walked the 5km back to the center of Riga. Even though there was not much to see in the village, it was still interesting to be away from the touristic Riga and to walk in a normal residential area.
We spent the third day at the beach in Jurmala, which is not far away from Riga. The weather was really nice and we took the train to the station "Majori" and enjoyed a nice day at the beach. After more than two weeks of travelling it was somehow very necessary to rest for a day to process all the impressions and experiences. We also found a quiet place by the sea and recovered.
The next day we continued by bus to Kolka.
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