Our last two days in
Latvia were devoted to driving to and visiting the capital city
of Riga along with the nearby beach resort of Jurmala. We
traveled first to Jurmala, to take in the ocean air. After
parking in town, we made a beeline for the beach, which was
lovely -- despite a bit of rain and the cooler temps. The
coastline goes on for miles, a relatively narrow strip of sand
flanked by trees. Although there was not much activity on the
beach that day, tents were up and the music was pumping,
anticipating crowds that were sure to come.
In an effort to avoid the rain
and ease our hunger pangs, we journeyed northward along the
beach for about 200 meters, arriving at the Lighthouse Hotel and
Restaurant, the only permanent dwelling in sight. We sat down to
enjoy drinks and a fantastic lunch of fish and fowl. Sure
enough, shortly thereafter the weather turned sunnier as we
headed into Jurmala. The photo to the left is of the restaurant,
while on the right? Our view of the beach. To the lower left, a
sampling of our meal: Tracy's roasted chicken. Sated, we headed
off to see the town.
From the beach there is a
promenade (photo, left) replete with a water fountain leading
into the town. Jurmala is considered an entertainment hub with a
fine theater, one of several venues in which popular artists
perform each summer. From there, the commercial heart of Jurmala
is largely given to tourist shops, restaurants, and hotels. Most
retain their traditional look, as can be seen in the photo to
the right.
From Jurmala we traveled to our
AirBnB, located just outside the Riga's Old Town. While the main
attractions of our visit to Old Town are contained in the
virtual tour below, there were a couple of memorable stops in
addition to the traditional sightseeing. The first of these was
a visit to a chocolate shop, The Black Magic Cafe. Established
in 1752, I was heartened to learn that high quality chocolate
predates the Industrial Revolution! In addition to chocolates,
the cafe is known for its" balsam," a dark and astringent
liqueur made of 24 herbs whose recipe remains unchanged for 250
years. The cozy upstairs is lined with glass cases of
confections. However, entering Black Magic Shop there is a
bookcase to the left which swings open -- leading to a rathskellar
(basement cafe) with, yes, even more
chocolate! The waitstaff is in costume right out of Harry
Potter. We snacked on various chocolates, and quaffed down some
hot 
chocolate
for good 
measure.
The photo upper left shows Olga entering the shop, while the
photo upper right shows the bookcase passageway to the
rathskellar. At the bottom left is a view of the rathskellar and
to the right: the chocolates on display. 
The other departure from sightseeing, not
surprisingly, was also food- related. Just around the corner
from our Airbnb was the restaurant, Garage. Like the Lido which
we visited on our arrival in Latvia, it was also on the list of
dining experiences Tracy had just spied in the in-flight
magazine on the flight from Stockholm. Located in a small square
just behind our apartment, it is one of a host of eateries, as
well as one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World's. On
the night we dined at Garage, there was a jazz concert in the
courtyard, which we enjoyed from our vantage point in the
restaurant. The photo to the left shows a photo of Sergey's meal
(seared duck, if I remember correctly) while on the right, the
shows the stage from our table. Below is a video of one of the
performances. Great food, great weather, and great music--an
unbeatable combination!
| 1. Ratslaukums |
2. St. Peter's Church |
5.Riga Cathedral Square |
10. Powder
Tower |
| 1a. Town
Hall |
3. St. John's Church |
5a. Riga
Cathedral |
10a.
Jacob's Barracks |
| 1b. House
of
the Blackheads |
4. Large and Small Guilds | 6.
The Three Brothers |
10b.
Latvian
War
Museum |
| 1c. Christmas
Tree
Plaque |
4a. Small
Guild
House |
7.
St. James' Cathedral |
11. Swedish Gate |
| 1d. Museum of the Occupation of Latvia |
4b. Large
Guild
House |
8. Freedom Monument |
12. Riga Castle |
| 1e. Statue
of
St. Roland |
4c. Cat
House |
9.
Bastion Hill |
13. Central Market |
| 1f. Latvian
Rifleman
Monument |
|||
There is also
a version of this tour designed specifically for
VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, and it works
with both iPhone and Android devices. It may be
access by scanning on the QR code to the left. If
you are viewing this on a mobile phone, you may
access the VR tour by following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]