A Latvian Escape (Riga Jan 2025)

 So Riga. For a few years I’ve wanted to go and explore the famous Christmas markets in this city but it’s never worked out. What I mean is, I’ve never actually set aside the time to do it. So, straight on the back of my last three months of travel (Oct - Istanbul, Nov - New York, Dec - Caribbean cruise), I decided to grasp the opportunity and go for three nights. I wanted to start the year with a trip that: didn’t cost too much, allowed me to tick a new country off the map and I could comfortably explore in four days. 

I booked flights and the hotel with BA - usually best as you get checked bags included. Not that I absolutely needed to check a bag, but hey, if it’s on offer, it saves pulling your case around the airport. The hotel only charged an extra £30 single supplement which was great. One of the disadvantages of solo travel is the extra you have to pay for single occupancy, which can sometimes be double so I’m always impressed when I see a reasonable price for a solo traveller. 

The flights there and back were great. About 60 people per flight, meaning everyone who wanted an entire row to themselves could have it. Once again, I paid economy prices but was able to stretch out on my flight just as comfortably as first class. Being 5 foot 2 definitely helps :). Customs was quick and then it was an easy bus ride to the hotel. Buses accept credit cards or you can purchase tickets from some stops before boarding. Wellington Hotel was easy to locate, right in the centre of the old town, and everything I did over the four days was within walking distance.

Here are some of the things I did in the capital town of Latvia.

Spot the Black - the little game I play when in countries with not much racial diversity. I saw three in total for my four days there. And fewer than ten people of other ethnic groups. While wandering around on my first day, I entered the food hall in a shopping mall a few yards from the hotel. As I walked, I became aware of the stares of diners. Nothing sinister, just curiosity about this woman with a skin tone I don’t think is too popular there or maybe just not at this time of year. One family (I’m assuming a father, mother and two daughters) almost made me laugh out loud. The father stared at me with an expression of excitement - ‘wow, who is that?!’ The mother’s expression resembled one of complexity, ‘I just don’t understand why she’s here!’ And the two girls, who seemed to glance momentarily at their parents to gauge how they should respond, looked at me as if to say, ‘Can we come closer to see if you’re real?’ If I’d been braver, I would have taken out my camera and tried to capture all these expressions. Or maybe even walked over to them and ask for a dining recommendation. Instead, I continued walking around looking at the various foods on offer.

Eating. What’s a holiday if you can’t enjoy the local culinary delights? Though in this case, I didn’t happen upon too many delights. One of the first things I sampled was the rye garlic bread. In a few words - ‘not for me’. It was extremely salty and a bit bitter.  I took a bite of one piece (about seven on the plate) and left the rest. The waiter insisted on bringing me another portion, allegedly with less salt. I still couldn’t eat it. The mulled cider, on the other hand… well, I would have to say, was the best mulled cider I have ever had. Hot, fruity and not too strong an alcoholic taste. The ham shank which I was warned fed two, would have easily fed a family of four in my opinion! This was a sit-down meal in a pub-like establishment on my first night.

My next culinary attempt was a buffet-style meal from a food hall. I pointed at things I thought I might enjoy and the friendly serving lady placed them on my plate. But my judgement was off. Nothing quite tasted like it looked, except for the coleslaw, which I did enjoy. The carrot juice was as lovely as I always find carrot juice. 

The walking tour guide had mentioned ‘the most romantic’ cafe in Old Town. I bravely entered to sample the famous Latvian Honey Cake and to my relief, it wasn’t filled with brooding couples. The honey cake was nicer than one I would go on to sample from a cake and pastry stall in the food market. Then there was the luxury version at the hotel’s restaurant - fancy but still not as good as my first experience. Three slices of honey cake in four days.

The drinks were also good. The beautiful mulled cider piqued my curiosity about their other hot cocktails. I’m not a lover of alcoholic drinks, unless they are very sweet with only a mild hint of an alcoholic taste. But hot cocktails in such a cold climate made sense to me. There was the Latvian black Balsam which was mixed with a blackcurrant juice and had apple and other spices. Lovely, but there was a bit of an after-kick. Then there was the sickly-sweet alcoholic honey latte style drink I had at the hotel’s restaurant (I forget what it was called). I loved the presentation - glass, spoon, piece of honeycomb on the saucer. I had to drink it very slowly and was glad I didn’t have to travel too far to bed afterwards. I’m usually comparing hot chocolates but on this trip I only had one - but it was a good one.

Culture. As always, I started this city break with a walking tour. These are a great way to familiarise yourself with a new city. You'll usually get great tips on what to see, do, eat, etc during your stay. There are lots of free ones where you tip the guide at the end, making it cost-effective if you’re on a budget.

The Old Riga Walking Tour took in the House of The Black Heads (which I was particularly interested in), Cat House, Dome Square, St Peter's Church, Riga City Hall, Riga Swedish Gate and more.

I love a good library on holiday, my favourite to date is the library in Helsinki. The Latvijas Nacionala Biblioteka - to give it its proper title - had a lovely architecture which I was fully able to appreciate as I approached it frontwards over the bridge. 

The popular Riga Central Market is housed in former zeppelin hangars, which give it a unique look.  I visited the outdoor and indoor markets, stopping at many of the food-related stalls. Pomegranates seemed extremely popular at every market stall, cut open in a fashion that reminded me of something from an alien movie and did not entice me to purchase any (shame as I really am a fan of pomegranates). I saw the most impressive-looking pies and other local delights.

I did the mindless wandering I do when away from home where I just walk around taking in the scenery with no real intention. I purchased a wooden Masterchef chopping board with a juice groove, but mine will be used for veg, not meat. Paid three euros and was delighted to see it on amazon when I returned home for almost thirty quid. And then there were the Christmas gift bags, window stickers and some other ornaments reduced to nine cents that I just had to buy because…they were nine cents from a shop similar to Boots. So I made a game of it, every time I passed one of the stores, I popped in to see if they had any nine-cent paraphernalia.

Definitely my favourite cultural activity on this trip was the traditional dancing at Folkklubs Ala. It’s a weekly thing on a Wednesday night, apparently. I was sitting at a table enjoying the line dancing and really wanting to join in but everyone was

paired up. A lovely lady sensed my longing and pulled me to the dance floor, where, after a few awkward steps, I got the hang of it. There was another friendly local who chatted to me about Latvia and London as he had visited a while ago. This was the same venue I had eaten in on night one. I ordered the mulled cider again but to my huge dismay, it was nothing like night one. Maybe because on a Monday night it was very quiet with only a handful of diners, compared to dance night that saw locals crammed in and hardly any space for manoeuvring outside the dance floor.

And that was Latvia. Next stop…. Morocco.