Riga is my last destination before I start my voyage home, although I have one more detour to make. There is a train from Vilnius to Riga, but it leaves at 6:30 in the morning, it is snowing and will be quite dark. Not for me - the desire for sleep triumphs over the desire for one last train trip. When I do start moving, I pop to the Caffeine café just down the street - the coffee is quite variable but it has a comfortable upstairs space and my phone connects automatically to its wifi. The barista today as the same one as yesterday, which is good, because she makes very good flat whites.
There are three bus companies running between Vilnius and Riga, with quite a price variation - I pick the cheapest (10 euro) and hope for the best. Ecolines is fine - a big double deck bus: although I accidentally book a downstairs seat, there isn’t much to see outside and I like my four seat space, plus the fact there’s no-one else down here. There’s even a functioning onboard toilet and wifi - the only glitch is when we cross the border into Latvia: presumably, the router needs to find the new network and climb onboard.
I have been in Riga before, but didn’t really venture into the Old Town - I was captivated by the newer, 20th century art nouveau architecture. This time, I barely venture out of the Old Town, except for one visit back to near the railway station for the famous Central Market. Originally, it had just been outside stalls along the riverside, but after World War 1 and Lithuanian independence, they wanted to do something a bit better. What could be better then five zeppelin hangars left behind by the Germans? Four are linked, with the fifth standing oblique to them. Obviously, there has been a certain amount of adaptation.
This standalone one is mainly butchers and smallgoods, although there is a fellow from Uzbekistan selling teas and spices and something very important, something I meant to buy when I was there and finally do here - a couple of the decorated bowls they drink tea in there.
One of these has a wee stand selling cooked items, so I grab a couple of sausages to try. They are quite tasty, but barely lukewarm - they stand accused of causing me a slight internal upset.
Next door is where I should have eaten, as there are actual food markets selling a variety of meals, like dumplings and properly cooked sausages.
I see a bunch of people leaning over the counter at Labietis, which is Latvian for heaven. Nah, just kidding - it is a local craft brewery which has a stall in the market. There’s a bit of mixed messaging in their marketing - a curious mixed claim to brew “pagan” beers from a time before they were sorted by style but also to be very modern because time doesn’t stand still, brewing “here and now”. Whatever - they brew more than 70 beers, although only half a dozen are at the market. I play it safe and have a Latvian lager (“a result of centuries of mingling among latvian and german brewing traditions”). There’s a space to sit round the corner.
Moving along, I smell something fishy - ah, it is the fish market. Many stalls have a wide selection of smoked fish.
Out the back, there are what look like warehouse buildings, logical because the railway station is nearby, although they don’t seem to be used for their original purpose.
My memory from my first visit is a crammed “mall” not much wider than a corridor running towards town from the railway station - it is long gone, and there are three connected malls which include the railway station. More interestingly, there’s the big Stockmann Department Store - the ground floor is called a delicatessen, and it is a wonderful space to explore: more to the fancy goods end of the spectrum than a normal grocery store, with a nice café. I do venture upstairs - there are several floors of mainly clothing.
Back near my hostel, there’s another mall promising an upmarket food court. It certainly looks a bit more sophisticated than the Meridian mall back home.
My other memory of my first visit to Riga is that eating out is expensive here, and I have seen nothing to contradict that. When I arrive, I eat at the Lido beer house near my hostel - its a canteen, where they serve up your choice of cooked foods. I end up doing the same in the mall. Both meals, despite being very simple, cost the best part of $40.
Next post, I’ll show you around the Old Town a bit.
Cheers!