Exceptional Experiences in Latvia

Checking what's on my computer I found this list of exceptional experiences in Latvia that was made many months ago for some other website... But it never got published anywhere, so I'm giving myself the green traffic light to share this list with you. Some adrenaline, some adventures, some childhood dreams that can become reality. Take a look at this list and let me know if there is something you can add!

1) Spending a night in a jail

In 2009 The Ghost Hunters International team announced: the Karosta jail in Liepāja is one of the most haunted places in the world. This KGB prison, where more than 150 people got shot, is one of the most unusual hotels you can find around the world. Entering this place every visitor becomes a prisoner, and staying overnight there you will get a real prisoners cell. It should be noted that this place is not recommended for emotionally sensitive people.

2) Flying with no belts, ropes or parachutes

In 1979 Jean St. Germain, Canadian-French inventor, built the first vertical wind tunnel, and last 30 years  ‘Aerodium’ in Latvia has been working to develop this invention and make flying real for any person with no special previous training. In Sigulda you can fly without safety belts and rubbers, no ropes and no parachutes – just jump into the vertical wind tunnel to enjoy adrenaline and taste of freedom.

3) Song and Dance Festival where thousands are singing like one

Since 1873 Song and Dance Festival in Latvia has been significant event which brings together more than 20 000 performers - singers and dancers in Riga – all dressed in traditional costumes from all parts of Latvia. The festival is held in summer once per 5 years taking over the streets of Riga, concert halls and even the public transport. The next festival will take place in 2018.

4) Midsummer’s Night

The pagan tradition of celebrating the summer solstice is absolutely alive in Latvia. 23rd of June people are getting to the countryside to make bonfires at night, to drink beer and jump over the fire, to decorate themselves with flowers, to sing and dance, to look for magical ferns in dark woods at night and run naked around meadows staying awake until the sunrise.

5) Park of modern arts

Pedvāle Open-Air Art Museum is the area of 200 ha full of original and surprising sculptures, installations and art objects created in workshops for specific place using mostly locally available materials. Be ready to spend your day in meadows, forests and hills on the banks of the river Abava observing wildlife and interaction between the nature and modern art where every step in the trail can bring new surprises.

6) Bobsleigh for speed lovers

1420 meters long bobsled track where high-level competitions are held is available also for non-professionals to enjoy adrenaline when bob curves down in landslides with a speed of 100kph. Accompanied by athletes, visitors can enjoy winter bob, summer bob on wheels or special tourist bobs in the track built in 1986 and regularly bringing here bobsled professionals from several countries for their trainings.

7) The Secret Soviet bunker

2000 sq m large bunker 9 m underground has been a secret since it was created in 1980-ies. It is located in Līgatne, and the veil of secrecy has been removed only in 2003. Soviet memorabilia, projections of what would happen in case of a nuclear war, telecommunication unit for communication with Moscow Kremlin and more original features you can see there now. For brave visitors there is a possibility to participate at the reality game.

8) Latvian Sauna

Traditional Latvian sauna is a real trip into the world of power of nature: right herbs and branches of trees into sauna open the world of aromas and natural healing, jumping into the water of pond or lake (even in winter) right after sweating in the temperature of up to 100° C strengthens body, and a massage with leaves and herbs (which looks more like hitting a person) removes the stress better than any spa.

9) Off-road driving with Russian military cars

Off-road park in Saldus district near the lake gives the adventure of off-road driving through forests and rivers in Russian military jeeps in the former military landfill Zante. There are special tracks for several difficulty levels, and after the training and orientation rides groups are also invited to challenge everyone's driving skills in a competition.

  

10) Lonely beaches and naturally blue cows 

Western part of Latvia – Kurzeme offers to enjoy beautiful, quiet, lonely beaches on the Baltic Sea – for hiking, bird watching, nude swimming or being alone with the wild nature.  This part of Latvia is also the only place to see naturally blue cows. The secret of this natural color is nothing else than the water of the sea.

 

Christmas Markets & The Nutcracker. Your Travel Destination in December: Riga

Already the next week December will be here and if you are coming to Riga on December, I’m glad you will catch our Christmas mood. Do you know from where comes the tradition of decorating Christmas tree?  The tradition spread all over the world comes form Northern Europe: the 500 years old story of decorating the Christmas tree comes from Riga!

I’m pretty sure one of the first places you will want to see will be the Old Town  where Medieval architecture lives side by side with Art Nouveau houses. And that’s the right choice – that’s where you will find Christmas markets filling cobbled streets with goods from Latvian ecological farms and hand made knick-knackeries (starting from 1st of December), that’s where you will be able to warm up with hot tea or wine. Do not forget to taste unique Riga Black Balsam, which you can get almostly in every cafe/bar with hot coffee, hot blackcurrant juice or in different coctails. One of options to enjoy it,  is Black Magic Bar (since 1752) where you will be able to get to know almostly everything about Riga Black Balsam (except its’ well kept secrets).

Another market: an old-fashion fair at Bergs Bazaar (at the city center) will be opened on 10th and 24th of December from 10am to 3pm at The Bergs Bazaar (Elizabetes Street 83/85) 

To enjoy Riga from height of birds flight, you can choose St. Peter’s church at the Old Town, you can get out of the city center to the TV Tower  or enjoy lights of Riga from the 27th floor of Radisson Blu hotel „Skyline” bar (working from 4pm, free entrance from Monday to Thursday). TheTower of the  Academy of Science is closed during this season. 

For enjoying  Christmas atmosphere with good Latvian food, Latvian music and people dressed in Latvian folk costumes you should  get out of the city centre to visit ‘LIDO’. If you are here with kids, it is a really good option: you will find there a lot of activites not only for you, but also for your kids: skating rink, place where to play with other kids (with a person who will look after children)  and other attractions. 

For those looking for entertainment with arts, you should check what Latvian National Opera (LNO) can offer you! Opera is also one of these things Latvia is famous aborad: Latvian opera singers are highly appreciated worldwide, singing on all famous stages of the world and great foreign opera singers are performing on LNO stage in Riga, historical building with pompous interior. If you like ballet,  in December 2011 LNO offers you to enjoy „Anna Karenina”, „The Sleeping Beauty” or (what can be better than this on December!!) „The Nutcracker”! Want opera? Here you are: „Don Giovanni”, „Madama Butterfly”, „Turandot”, „La Traviatta” or Latvian opera (also interesting for kids) „The Bird’s Opera”. Ticket prices from 1.50 to 18.00Ls. Check the calendar here. 

 

More options for your December in Riga on this blog coming soon! Feel free to ask, share your questions and impressions or experiences!

Red, Yellow, Gold - Must See in Latvia.

Your friend in Riga has been silent for some time. It doesn't mean that there was nothing happening in Riga. First and the most important things - Golden Autumn is here with all it's colors and cold. And yesterday finally even my house got central heating on. If we talk about enjoying colors of autumn I can not keep this secret - there is a must-visit place in Latvia to enjoy this season - and this place is called Sigulda.

53 kms away from Riga is "outdoor activity capital of Latvia and home to a Olympic standard bobsleigh track". As soon as people see first yellow/red/orange leaves on trees they are hedding to Sigulda. If you check the map, you will see that we have no mountains here and our highest point in the country is so "high" that I'm even afraid to mention it here, but it's located in Sigulda: the main reason for going to Sigulda is it's picturesque landscpes. Every step there can become a picture: medieval castles, river Gauja, nature paths, caves and hills - this place has inspired a lot of painters and makes you to take marvelous photos.

Why Sigulda is in my heart? Actually not because of autumn, but spring: I stayed a night at the river Gauja some years ago first days of June. And the early morning: was amazing: first sunlight,  fog, birds flying low over the water, roes on the other side of the river and these landscapes... It felt like in a fairytale. These really are fairytale views. And autumn makes this all to shine in gold.

This video will let you to see pictures of autumn in different places in Latvia: Riga, Sigulda and more. Song by Latvian band "Brainstorm", language  - Latvian.

 Start your trip here with 360 degrees virtual tours in Sigulda

Previously on blog about Sigulda: The Dream of Flying

The Midsummer's Night - Summer Solstice all over Latvia!

It’s today – Summer Solstice. And, yes, it really is important here: one of the most important holidays for people in Latvia. By the way of the Sun it’s usually on 21st or 22nd of June, when the day is longer than night. By calendar the shortest night over the year is celebrated on 23rd – 24th of June. These ar official holidays. It’s totally pagan tradition and we love it. If you are in Riga you will see different festivites starting from the 21st of June on squares, streets, markets, parks etc.

Summer solstice is the time when all powers of the nature are stronger than any other day, so you have to go to sauna with herbs, take herbs from meadows to dry them for tea, to decorate your home and yourself with flowers. Forget gardens and take all the flowers you can find in meadows. The main things on Midsummers celebration are beer, cheese, fire, flowers, songs and dances. And mistycal blossom of fern...

1)      Everyone has to stay awake all night long near the fire until sunrise;

2)      It’s the night you have to drink beer and jump over the fire;

3)      You have to sing and dance a lot;

4)      There are a lot of activies in cities/towns, but this is the time people really get out of the city to the countryside;

5)      Girls decorate themselves by flower wreaths on their heads, boys named Jānis are decorated by leaves of oak trees.

And these ferns... Actually  - ferns don’t have any  flowers. But this night they have. Not everyone can find them. Usually people go in pairs to look for these blossoms, some people say you can find them also alone – and you get luck for all the rest of life if you find it. But we all know – only going in the wood in a couple can help you to find the blossom of fern. Kids also can be found in ferns...

Swimming naked, dancing, singing about your neighbours and other Līgo songs, putting special branches at home that witches can’t come, eating yellow cheese – the symbol of the sun, cooking meet, looking for wonders, washing your face in mornings dew to be beautiful.. Names like Līga (for girls) and Jānis (for boys) are celebrating their names day on Midsummer. It’s a wonderfull night.

If you are in Riga these days – check the Old Town, The Central Market, actually – flowers, midsummers songs, traditional dances you will find everywhere. But better – get out of the city – closer to ferns.

There is a movie - comedy made about Latvian Midsummers traditions with popular Latvian, French, German and other actors – about foreigners who have arrived in Latvia at midsummer – all these traditions which seems so strange for foreigners, but they enjoy them. It is in English and it’s called „Midsummers Madness” . If you are a little bit scared of these pagan traditions, watch the movie and you will see how much fun (and how magic) this night can be!

Beaches: the seaside is within easy to reach

It’s hot here. And I should inform you about beaches you can find close to Riga. Just remember – the most popular beaches will be absolutely crowded when the weather is like this. We do have really nice beaches close to Riga and the seaside is easy reachable.

The hottest month in Latvia is July. On the internet you will find that the average temperature 21 – 23 degrees (Celsium) in Latvia on summer. Well... It’s not really true... Last years we have really hot summers. Right now already two weeks average temperature every day is around 30 degrees. Ok, that high temperature is not so common for the beginning of June, but 23 degrees is definitely not true anymore for summers in Latvia. So you need to know how to get to the beach.

The most popular beaches where you can easily get by train are located on Jūrmala – train stations called Majori or Dubulti. Another very popular beach easy accesible by train is Vecāķi. In summer  there are additional trains because the traffic to these beaches is quite busy. Don’t be surprised if on the way back from the beach, for example from Vecāķi, the train will be so crowded that you will have to stand on one feet to get back to Riga.

There are two beaches accessible by City's Public Transportation from the centre of Riga. You can go to the lake Ķīšezers, take the tram nr. 11. and get out at the last stop or near Riga Zoo. And you can reach the Baltic Sea by the bus which goes to Bolderāja. This definitely is my favorite beach close to Riga. No, it’s not just close – it’s in Riga! It's not so popular  beach and it's usually not mentioned in any advices for foreigners. But it's a nice place!

To get to this nice beach with  Blue Flag in Bolderāja you have to take bus nr.3 and go to the last bus stop. When you get out of bus on one hand you will see the meadow with  the land rote. That’s the way you have to go. Going through the meadow use the opportunity to check the view from the observation tower you will see there. It’s made for observing birds in these meadows. Then you will have to walk some more metres through the wood and you will reach the sea. Enjoy it.

Getting away in Latvia: absolute peace and simplicity. Part II

 And here comes some more pictures from the countryside. It's another life there. It's simplicity.

They eat more, but healthier food. They move more - not only to official work and back, but also in their gardens. They have more things to be happy about in a daily life: peacefull evenings when you can guess which is that bird singing there, first mushroom you find on summer growing next to your house, the smell of flowers in fields and the sound of flying bees... They talk to animals and trees (no, they are not crazy).


Actually countryside is all what you sometimes need to rest. Take a deep breath and open your eyes, ears and heart :)

Getting away in Latvia: absolute peace and simplicity. Part I

Last weekend I had a wonderfull trip away from Riga, away from masses, away from hot pavements. Close to the Nature. As I promissed before leaving - you will see some pictures of places where tourists haven't stepped - untouched nature, old countryside houses, green grass and peace, peace, peace... 

Too bad that I can't tell you that feeling, I just can't give you tohusands of birds songs at the midnight when you come out of sauna to jump naked into a small pound. The water is as warm as milk. (I'm just really keen on Latvian sauna - it's the biggest pleasure you can get. Don't  miss it when you are in Latvia! Go to sauna in a countryside, with herbs and flowers, and just relax...) But I can show you some pictures of what I call "Getting away" or actually getting closer to the nature and yourself. Romantics, peace & harmony betwean people and nature in the countryside of Latvia: best enjoyed slowly.

What to do when it's too hot in Riga?

Huh, it’s again really hot today! The best thing you can do is just to stay at the office/hotel/home behind dark curtains so the heat will not get you. Or you can enjoy it! Here is your how-to-enjoy-hot-weather-in-Riga guide:

 

Icecream. Everywhere and any amount of it. Our neighbours in Estonia say that Latvians are too strange with eating icecream (even in winter)  - and it’s normal, because we have sooo many sorts of it!

 Beer. What can be better than cold beer in one of these summer cafes! I usually go to „No Problem” at the Doma Square – the best place on summer with live music on evenings. Another popular and easy-to-find place is in Līvu Square. Ok, it’s not just one place, it’s more thabn one summer cafe, so choose which you like. But drink fast – in this sun beer will warm up quite fast.

Put your feet into fountain: near the Opera house you will find water nymph fountain, at the Vermann’s Garden you will see all 4 seasons in the fountain.

Since it’s allowed again to lie in the grass at the centre of Riga  - you don’t even have to go to the beach! You can stay near the Freedom monument, Bastion Hill, Opera House, Riga channel and catch the sun there!

Take the tram Nr. 11. or  take a Riga tour in a vintage tram to get out of the city centre - to Mežaparks – nice place near the lake: Riga Zoo,  roller skaters, water sports, children playing ground, wood... It will take around 30 min to get there from the centre.

Go to the Etnographical Open-Air Museum! One of the biggest Open-Air museums in Europe representing Latvian regions, traditions, household. It’s located near the lake and you will get there a lot of shadow. Houses, windmills, latvian traditions, people in traditionl costumes, folklore and events. To get there you should take a bus nr. 1 and get out at the stop „Brivdabas Muzejs”. It will take around 30-40 min. 

Ok, there is nothing else you want  - only The Sea, Baltic Sea, long white sand beaches, refreshing water, sun on your skin... Go to the train station and get a ticket to Vecāķi, Dubulti, Saulkrasti – the most popular beaches.... I think I’ll write a post about beaches close to Riga soon...

Well, you know – it’s the best to be at the countryside enjoying quite lakes, shadows from big trees and the smell of flowers when it’s too hot outside... Get out of the city!