an early morning cruise up the long and wide river to riga
it's a grey day in latvia and rainjackets are on as we head off
the plan is to first do the circuit on the hop-on hop-off bus
get a handle on the layout of the city and then target some points
not a good sign as the bus seems to take an age to fill and head off
then the first stop is the centre of town and another long delay
so in 30 minutes or so we have covered only a few hundred metres
and endured repeat plays of the welcome message on the audio system
tempting to jump off and do it all on foot but we have made a plan
so we stay with it and snake our way around riga on the double decker
the pre-recorded audio system is more about endurance than information
between the announcements a segment of electronica music is on repeat play
it gets a bit tedious fairly quickly and heavily outweighs the spoken info
but some interesting facts are picked up and parked in the memory banks
riga/latvia has had a long history of invaders/occupiers to cope with
sweden, poland, germany and the ussr have all had their time here
the german occupation quite prominent with memorials for the purged jews
an ugly tall brick building built by the germans for an admin centre
a large metallic statue on the riverfront a hangover of the soviet days
the commentary tries to talk up the architecture of various strips
riga is known for it's art nouveau buildings but not to these eyes
as we do the final hop-off we agree that the tour has not worked
apart from the central markets nothing we saw demands a re-visit
so grab a map and we go into cruise mode as we have a full day
within a few minutes on foot we have done a figurative u turn
pounding it out on cobblestone streets is a positive thing
most of the walkers we see are also fellow boat people
which makes me think this place is under seige again
with the upsurge in cruise trips there has to be an effect
in this city it seems many tourist traps are being tarted up
the need no doubt to catch the incoming money in some manner
we have learnt that the big name sights are not the best
much better for us at least to get down and amongst it
map in hand, a target in mind and just simply wander
we see a collection of rocks/metal as animal themed sculptures
a street stall offering the most delicious eclairs for 1 euro
asking a local for directions also yields a fun result
mention new zealand and he goes into raptures
he was a member of the national volleyball team
they played nz in a world championship and watched a dance
haka - when we finally figured it out back-slapping all round
he points us in the right direction and we part ways laughing
we drift into the art nouveau district and admire some buildings
but in general the feeling is this place has no clear personality
they say that riga is the paris of the north - not sure about that
at least on this grey day when all the outdoor cafes are empty
we need some local action so best way for that - food
so we decide to walk the distance to the local markets
5 very imposing buildings purpose built early last century
their role being as hangars for the then new zeppelin craft
once inside it is easy to imagine the craft under the arched roof
but now each hangar is crammed with vendors of like products
the first one we go into is dedicated to seafood - woo-hoo
it smells great and looks better - so much on offer
smoked seems to be a local favourite - everything
some herrings and caviar purchased and more resisted
4 more hangars - fruit/vege, meat/poultry, baking, clothing
strawberries purchased and also some latvia flat bread
a warning of pick-pockets constantly in mind as we wander
in people-watching mode and this is clearly grass roots stuff
we emerge feeling quite connected with the locals - good
time for a coffee/salad/wifi at a inner city cafe
then back on the hop-on hop-off bus to the ship
riga - kind of liked it but not all the way
a sunny day would have been a big plus
still - they can't all be 5 star
good to get our feet in latvia
next - lithuania
