A CITY WITH A SMILE ON ITS FACE

As we approached Cape Kolka we noticed how much better the roads were.  The coastal road still had 20 km of gravel surface until this year and the beautiful new tarmac is still being laid in places but most of it is excellent.  We passed through dense pine forest, stopping at the oldest operational lighthouse in Latvia. 

Oviši Lighthouse

The view from the top gives some idea of the size of the forest – the only other man made object visible being the one Russian radio telescope remaining from a group of three used to spy on Western satellites during the Cold War.  The others were taken back to Russia but this one was too large to move and is now used for radio astronomy.

Irbene Radiotelescope

Cape Kolka is not like the rocky outcrops we have seen elsewhere.  Like most of the land here it is sand with forest right up to the beach. 

Cape Kolka

From there we headed down the Eastern coast of what here is the Gulf of Riga, catching glimpses of the sea through the trees, to the capital city of Riga. 

 Riga

We were told that during the Soviet occupation no-one smiled but now it is definitely a city with a smile on its face!  The early twentieth century must have been a time of some prosperity here and many of the lovely buildings of the time, often decorated with elaborately carved figures, have been carefully restored.  This one is on the University of Economics.

Riga University of Economics

And nearby in Elizabetes iela ...

Riga - Elizabetes Street

... huge faces were carved at the top of the wall.

Riga - Elizabetes Street

Even the main Tourist Office was rather grand being in a building that once housed a Gentlemen’s Drinking Club – “The Blackheads”.

 Riga - Tourist Office in the Blackheads' House

But painful memories lie just below the surface.  We visited the Museum of the Occupation which gives a vivid and disturbing description of life during WW2 first under Russian and then Nazi rule when many thousands of people were deported to the Russian Gulags (work camps in Siberia), imprisoned or murdered by both the Russians and the Germans.  They included Jews, Roma (Gypsies), the elderly, young children, the mentally ill and those accused of collaborating with the enemy.

Riga - Museum of the Occupation

While we were there the streets and parks were crowded for a celebration of the 810^th Anniversary of the foundation of the city.

Riga 810 Celebrations

Like any other capital city there are areas that are quite run down and driving out through the suburbs reminded us of how much could still be done but even there people had a spring in the step and a smile on their faces.

Our route took us inland to Sigulda were we stayed a night by the River Gauja.  This is the Latvian winter sports area and Sigulda has a ski slope and toboggan track where the Russian Olympic Toboggan team train.  It is a lovely little town with three castles, one in ruins, one now housing a restaurant ...

Sigulda "New" Castle

... and one, a short distance away at Turaida, being a tourist destination!)

Turaida Castle, Sigulda

Between Sigulda and Cēsis (our next destination) we visited the Gauja National Park where an excellent nature trail wanders 5½ km through the forest.  As well as seeing many different mushrooms growing in the forest, there are large enclosures containing some of the wild animals that inhabit the forest there.  Among them are brown bears ...

Brown Bear

... and wild boar.

Wild Boar

We needed to stop and catch up so spent three nights at a very peaceful site on the banks of the Gauja River before heading north into Estonia.