Old Town and Central Riga

Sunday, September 30

We found a short cut to the bridge and crossed the river to the Old Town for a morning walking tour of Riga’s old city.  A group of travelers from around the world gathered at St. Peter’s Church, whose spire can be seen all over town.  Edward, our young guide, provided a capsule summary of Latvian history, which closely parallels that of its neighbor to the north, Estonia, beginning with a 13^th – century Crusade led by German knights and the Church to Christianize the pagan Baltic lands. Subsequent occupations by Sweden, Poland, Russia, Germany and Russia (again), broken up with a brief period of independence in the early 20^th century have preceded the independent nations of today.  This history has produced nations whose current political incarnations are young, but whose human history is ancient. 

A good bit of medieval Riga was bombed during the World War II, so much has been either rebuilt or restored.  The ornately decorated Blackheads Hall, built in 1344 was totally levelled by both the Germans and later the Soviets; luckily, the blueprints survived and the current rebuild, begun in 1999, is evidently a faithful reproduction. 

As we wandered the narrow, VERY unevenly cobblestoned streets of the Old Town, Edward stopped to explain the significance of Riga’s Three Brothers.  Side by side, the group of three buildings is representative of a progression of household and commercial architecture.  From the 15^th century warehouse-above-the living quarters to the late 17^th century residential townhome, they also reflect the increasing importance of the trading economy in Riga. 

In the Dome Square, we saw not only the largest medieval church in the Baltics, but the large, rather barren surrounding square.  During Latvia’s interwar independence, the last Prime Minister harbored ambitions of dictatorial grandeur and felt that he needed a suitably large public space where he could address the gathered masses.  Accordingly, he had the residential buildings surrounding the cathedral razed, enabling him to exercise his inner Mussolini and Hitler.  And those were the good old days…

Our tour ended in front of the only remaining synagogue in Riga. Prior to the war, the city’s Jewish population numbered 85,000; 200 survived. The synagogue was spared because burning it would have endangered many other buildings in the tightly-packed Old Town. We visited the synagogue on our own to see its lovely, pale blue interior, lit by a large stained-glass skylight and decorated in the Art Nouveau style.

The Old Town is separated from the city center by a small canal bordered by lovely green parkland.  We had lunch along the canal and then walked to Central Riga to see a concentration of the city’s extensive number of Art Nouveau buildings in the neighborhood of Alberta iela (Street).  It was hard to keep our eyes on where we were walking, as we tied to take in every detail of the intricately decorated facades.

When we entered the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, we were struck by more than the soaring domes and candle-lit icons; there were baptisms in process and the sounds of the priest’s murmured prayers were no match for the howls of the wailing infants.

The nearby Freedom Monument towers over the canal and parkland in the middle of a wide boulevard.  The monument’s granite base displays large friezes of Latvian freedom fighters in battle and in song.  The green copper Lady Liberty high atop the monument holds aloft three gold stars representing Latvia’s three original cultural regions.  Erected in 1935, the monument survived the Soviet era, though during those decades it was off limits and anyone caught placing flowers or other tributes at the base were persecuted.

After a stop for coffee on this chilly and windy afternoon, we went to the nearby Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in its temporary digs along the Esplanade.  The exhibits cover the years of Soviet, Nazi and Soviet 2.0 occupations of Latvia when the horrors that were visited upon the Latvians was matched by their patriotism, resistance and perseverance.  Decades of oppression, deportation, relocation, forced labor, family separation, Germanification, Russification, and mass murder failed to quench their national spirit and resolve.  Resistance took many forms, armed and unarmed, overt and underground.   

Among the most powerful events in the freedom movement was the Baltic Way, or Baltic Chain.  In 1989, on the 50^th anniversary of the German-Soviet treaty giving control of the Baltics to the Soviets, two million Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians (about half of the native citizens of the three countries!!) joined hands in a human chain that stretched 420 miles from Tallinn, through Riga, to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.  The event drew world attention to the three nations’ solidarity, quest for freedom, and to the moral injustice of Soviet subjugation.  The Baltic movement coincided with other events and currents destabilizing the Soviet world order and within two years, all three Baltic countries had secured their independence.  

En route back to our apartment, as we walked past a simple monument – the impression of two bare footprints in stone on a spot where the Baltic Chain had passed – we considered the powers of oppression and resistance.  We couldn’t help but wonder how we would have fared had our own time and circumstance been different.  There’s much to learn in these small countries.

To Riga, Latvia

Saturday, September 29

Most of today was spent en route from Kuressaare to Riga, the capital of Latvia.  Not far from Kuressaare, we took a short detour to see the Kaali Crater, the site of the largest meteorite of the ten that fell to earth over 4000 years ago within a square kilometer on the island of Saaremaa.  A small lake at the bottom of a round depression, the crater is referred to in Scandinavian mythology as the sun’s grave.  We were the only visitors to the quiet wooded spot this morning – a marked contrast to our stop at the much larger Crater Lake in Oregon a couple of months ago.  

Back on the road, we noticed a steady line of oncoming cars, many carrying bikes and other recreational gear.  We’d obviously encountered a morning ferry’s arrivals, heading for a weekend on the holiday island.  We took the 11:00 ferry to the mainland and headed south on a road that, for the most part, paralleled the Baltic coast.  

At lunchtime, we stopped in Parnu to see a bit of the town known as Estonia’s “Summer Capital.”  Parnu has a long stretch of sandy beach and promenade, bordered by a leafy green park; all was pretty quiet today, but it wasn’t hard to imagine crowds of summer sun-seekers.  

A bit farther down the coast, we crossed into Latvia, a passage marked more by large liquor stores on the Latvian side of the border than by any official station.  Certain items are evidently cheaper south of the border!  As we drove near the coast, we pulled over to enjoy another fine stretch of pine-bordered beach before reaching Riga about 4:00.

Temperatures in the 50's and a brisk wind

Our apartment is in a modern building just across the Daugava River from the Old Town.  We’ll start our explorations in this capital city in the morning.

Saaremaa, Estonia

Friday, September 28

We left Tallinn in the rain and throughout today’s travels, short bursts of rain alternated with bright sun and blue skies.  Our destination was Kuressaare, a coastal town on the island of Saaremaa, the largest of the Estonian’s islands in the Baltic Sea.  

We took a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland port of Virtsu to the small island of Muhu  (sometimes referred to as Saaremaa’s doormat), and then a causeway to the larger island.  Saaremaa is now a popular summer vacation spot for Estonians, and Scandinavians and its main town, Kuressaare, is home to many spa hotels, though things seem pretty quiet on this fall day.  Like all of Estonia, the island has been occupied by a series of foreign nations, most recently the Russians.  During the Soviet era, the entire island was a restricted zone and no unauthorized people were allowed on the island. 

We stopped to walk around the Bishop’s Castle in Kuressaare, which faces the sea on a manmade island surrounded by a moat. Founded in the 13^th century, it’s the best-preserved castle in the Baltics.  Currently, there’s a museum in the keep and a couple of war memorials on the grounds, which also serve as a concert venue.

From Kuressaare, we drove north through the center of the island to see the cliffs at Pranga.  The winds were blowing again and the cliffs were hard to appreciate as we were atop them; bending forward and craning our necks to get a good look at them.  As rain and sunlight played cat and mouse, we were rewarded by a beautiful rainbow arching into the low clouds over the sea.

Our last destination was the Sorve Peninsula on the southwest corner of the island.  At Saare, we braved fierce winds to walk out on a spit of land beyond the lighthouse to check out some of the decaying battlements of World War II; the island was the site of intense fighting between Germany and Estonian Soviet troops.

After checking into our apartment back in Kuressaare, we had dinner in a restaurant housed in a former windmill. The island is known for its home brews and craft beers, which we sampled, along with some of the local fare – wild boar and beef cheeks – delicious!

We enjoyed today’s look at rural Estonia, especially the touches of fall color, but we’d be happy for a bit less wind as we head to Riga, Latvia tomorrow!

Lahemaa National Park and Tallinn

Thursday, September 27

The rain and gray skies of yesterday had given way to a sparkling clear day this morning – probably blown to Siberia by the fierce and constant wind howling forcefully outside our windows; it was a perfect fall day to explore some of Estonia’s natural beauty.

Lahemaa National Park lies about an hour east of Tallinn and includes forests, marshlands and four peninsulas extending into the Baltic Sea.  As we traveled on a four-lane divided highway through very rural countryside, we noted  with some amusement at the bus stops, many without any obvious means of  access, along the freeway.  

We stopped at the Visitors’ Center, which is located inland on the grounds of one of the former German manor houses that dot the area.  The narrow lanes passed alongside green fields that were lined with stone walls and shaded by huge trees, reminding us of the rural roads we loved so much in Connecticut.  After watching a video presentation about the park’s various ecosystems, we decided to visit a couple of areas along the coast.  

We’d hoped to visit Altja, a traditional fishing village, but the access road was blocked by a fallen tree.  (I told you about that fierce wind!)  We headed instead to Kasmu, known as the Captains’ Village, which had once been home to a maritime training academy.  Today, it’s a lovely small village, much like New England seaside summer colonies that are oriented toward the shore and become very quiet once autumn arrives.  The single road that passes through Kasmu ends in a small parking lot and trailhead.  We walked along a wide trail through a pine forest bordering the shore.  The waters along the Kasmu coast are strewn with boulders left during glacial movement eons ago; on this windy day, the interplay of the whitecaps and the rocks was dramatic and Tom’s camera shutter was clicking nonstop.  As we walked, we were as windblown as the water, rocks, and trees – and the beauty of it all.

We decided to return to Tallinn so we could spend most of the afternoon back in the Old Town.  We began by walking back up to Toompea, the Upper Town, stopping along the way to take in the views of the Lower Town and some of the wall’s towers.  Unique among the medieval towns we’ve visited, Tallinn’s walls not only encircle the town, they also separate the upper classes in Toompea from the common folk down below.  

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, with its many onion domes topped by gleaming Orthodox crosses, dominates the Upper Town and the view from below.  Inside, candles burn, votive lights glow before the iconostasis, and we were able to listen to the chanted prayer of a robed priest as he blessed a couple of men standing before him at a side altar.

Toompea is a compact maze of narrow, unevenly cobbled streets, winding among government buildings, churches, small hotels, and a number of embassies and ambassadorial residences.  There are also several viewing platforms affording panoramas of the Lower Town, the port, and beyond.

Back in the Lower Town, we roamed through some of the less touristic lanes, as well as an area outside the walls, which really enhanced our understanding of their defensive capabilities.  We were also interested to see a row of what appeared to be currently occupied “townhomes” built into the exterior walls.

With that, we headed back to our apartment for happy hour, dinner, and preparation for tomorrow’s departure for the island of Saaremaa. Tallinn, despite the enormous cruise ships delivering hundreds of visitors to the Old Town every day, still feels very much as if it had been transported from the Middle Ages, rather than a Disney-like version of a walled town.  Even if you’ve never heard of it, you might want to put it on your travel bucket list!