Monday, 3/31/25 - Most of the day was spent driving, but the views were nice. Simona was accurate when she told us these 3 Baltic countries are "flat as a pancake". The highest point in the country is a 965 foot hill, no mountains, though they do have lots of lakes, forests, and rivers.
We saw many storks in nests up on telephone poles or in very tall trees. Storks are beloved by Latvians and they sometimes build areas that might encourage the storks to build a nest; much as we do in the U.S., Latvians believe storks bring babies. Before crossing into Lithuania we visited the delightful Rundāle Palace (roon-dah-leh) designed in the Baroque & Rococo styles. Built by the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johan von Biron, in the 1700s (when the Duchy of Courland & Semigallia were still independent), it survived Napoleon and both World Wars mostly intact!
The architect was the Italian, Bartolimeo Rastrelli (he also helped design the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg Palace). After the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, Catherine the Great presented the palace to Count Valerian Zubov, the youngest brother of her lover, Prince Platon Zubov.
They used it for many things over the years (besides a palace), but it is now fully restored in the 18th Century style. Spectacular and spacious, colorful as well. Seeing how Baroque isn't my favorite, the variety of parquet floors was one of the things I loved most, along with the huge windows and tall ceilings.
We stopped for a quick lunch in Girelė and then were on to Šiauliai (show-lay) to see the Hill of Crosses. Although the exact origin is uncertain, its roots are related to the 1831 uprising, and when it began it was more of a memorial. The Hill of Crosses is a difficult place to describe, so I'll do my best through photos and videos.
Today the site is more of a pilgrimage for Lithuanian Catholics. I had never seen any photos and didn't know what to expect. It's quite astounding - there are easily 300,000 crosses, some as small as 3 inches and some over 15 feet tall, and they're all over the place. Intricate, simple. small, large, wood, stone, metal, plastic, you name it! "Over the generations, not only crosses and crucifixes, but statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. Due to the symbolism of cross-crafting during the Soviet occupation, UNESCO named Lithuanian cross-crafting in the lists of good safeguarding practices and intangible cultural heritage."
Back on the bus we soon arrived at our next Radisson Blu, in the capital city Vilnius. To Simona's credit she did give us a lot of good information on the ride. A very brief history (that doesn't start at the beginning): In 1569, established by the Lublan Union, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, joined forces. Sometimes known as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, it was among the most populated and largest countries in 16th-18th century Europe. Because of this, other European powers wanted to split them. In 1795, after successive partitions by their neighbouring powers, Prussia, Russia and Austria, the commonwealth permanently ceased to exist. Even between the world wars the Baltic nations were still fighting off Russia. Thus, Latvia became the first Baltic country to declare independence from Soviets ( on March 13, 1989), and in 2004 they joined the EU.
Unfortunately for us North Americans, Latvia had Daylight Savings time last night, so we lost an hour of sleep last night, and boy did I feel it! A quiet breakfast alone was welcome after such a night, and I soon rejoined the crew for our morning tour of the old town. Our local guide for the morning, Ieva, was a nice woman, and knowledgeable. She is also a Tour Director with Gate1, but Simona is still my favorite.
Rīga has three parts: City Center, Old Town, and New Living Districts. Of the three Baltic countries, Rīga is the largest city and was founded in 1201 by German Crusaders (Livonian Brothers of the Sword). Latvia has been ruled by Germans, Poles, Swedes, and Russians throughout its history. The country's main waterway is the Duagava River (which means "much water") and the river basin covers more than one third of their territory and they also use it for hydroelectric power. "The great river as a waterway and a rich fishing ground has attracted
many, both in the ancient past and nowadays... The Viking Saga has more detailed information on the Daugava waterway
than other rivers in Eastern Europe, demonstrating the importance of the
Daugava in its trade relations at that time. Freedom
battles took place on the banks of the Daugava River and the Republic of
Latvia was proclaimed" (source).
Statue outside Museum of Occupation
The First National Awakening began in the 1850's and after WWI and two years of the Latvian War of Independence they were finally free in 1921. That independence was brutally interrupted in June 1940 by the Soviets, then in 1941 by the Nazis, and again by the Soviets in 1944. By 1991, they had managed to restore their independence and have since joined NATO and the European Union.
Rīga, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, is known for its architecture. It has around 800 Art Nouveau buildings currently on the UNESCO World Heritage list! The style flourished in the early 1900s and the first one in this "new" style in Rīga was built in 1899.
10b Elizabetes Street (M. Eisenstein – 1903)
Ieva told us how the buildings were originally private residences built by the owner who lived on one floor and rented the remaining floors for income. When the USSR took over Latvia they deemed owning an entire building and living on one entire floor wasteful. The government then deported the owners or moved in three other families to join them on that one floor of the building. Ieva remembers living in one with her grandparents and other families. Now mind you, the other families they shared with were not relatives and these were originally built as one family homes so everyone was sharing one kitchen and one bathroom. She remembers waiting in line for the bathroom to get ready for school in the morning. Once Latvia regained independence her family tried to prove that her grandparents were the pre-Soviet owners of the house, but unfortunately the records had been lost or burnt so they were unsuccessful. Many of the buildings are still unclaimed and state owned. She can only imagine how her grandmother felt sharing her home with strangers and being confined to two rooms of her house.
Most of our morning tour was concentrated on the Art Nouveau buildings on Alberta Street (with most of these being built between 1903-1907. The street is lined with Linden Trees and most of the architects were Latvians who had studied at the Rīga Polytechnic Institute. There are several sub-styles (or divisions) of Art Nouveau that we were able to see in Rīga: Decorative, Romantic, Eclectic, even a Perpendicular Art Nouveau.
entrance at 8 Antonijas Lela Street (K. Pēkšēns – 1903)
Because Latvia has lots of sand and clay, and not a lot of natural stone, much of the decorative work on the buildings is actually stucco.
As we ended the Art Nouveau portion of our tour we came upon a unique example of the Latvian people expressing their displeasure with Russia's current actions. When the war with Ukraine started Latvia renamed the street Ukrainian Independence Street so the address of the Russian Embassy is now No. 2 Ukrainian Independence Street. *interestingly enough, they weren't alone in this, Wikipedia has a list of streets renamed since the invasion. Since Russia technically owns the building they refused to put the street name on the wall (that's how streets are posted, on the corners of buildings), so the city simply put the street name on a pole next to the building. Additionally, the Russian Embassy is located in a gorgeous building with Art Nouveau elements and across the street is the Pauls Stradins Medicine History Museum. The museum put up a gigantic poster of Putin, with a skeleton jaw, outside on the wall so that any time the ambassador enters or exits the embassy he can see the poster.
We then continued our tour with the other highlights of the Old Town, stopping first at the Town Hall Square. The square also contains the House of the Blackheads, which was originally a warehouse in 1334 and in the 15th century the brotherhood started using the building. The "brotherhood" was a guild (union) of unmarried, foreign merchants and ship-owners. The patron saint of the Brotherhood of Blackheads is the black Egyptian Christian, Saint Maurice whose head is also depicted on the Brotherhood's coat of arms. The building, and much of the town, were destroyed by the fighting Nazis and Soviets in 1941.
Brotherhood of the Blackheads
We soon saw the "Three Brothers" buildings, the oldest complex of dwelling houses in Rīga. The oldest is from the late 15th century (Gothic-Renaissance style), the next from about 1646 (Dutch Mannerism style), and the last is a Baroque building believed to be from the 1740's.
The Three Brothers
The last stop on our morning tour was a private organ concert at St. John's church. She played a selection of Mendelssohn, Bach, Handel, and Baptiste Loeilllet. According to our program she was finished, but then she began playing "America the Beautiful". It was quite the juxtaposition, I've never heard that song on a pipe organ before, and certainly didn't expect it in a Latvian church on Sunday morning!
Our next location was a visit to the famous Central Market (converted from old German Zeppelin hangers). It is the largest market in Europe and is on the UNESCO list as well. The optional tour for the afternoon wasn't to my taste, so I had the rest of the day free. After doing some wandering I walked about 25min to the Art Nouveau Center (Latvia did not have über).
Rīga Central Market
Art Nouveau Museum
The museum is housed in a stunning building designed by their most
prolific & prominent Latvian architect, Konstantīns Pēkšēns. I found both floors of the the place delightful (the stairwell is beautiful) - the bottom floor was more informational on the style itself, Latvian architects, etc. and the top floor was a refurbished apartment in the appearance of a early 20th century flat in Riga.
Since I had walked all the way across town and the Latvian National Museum of Art was nearby, it seemed only sensible to investigate. Another stunning entry and staircase (this one I recognized from a blog I had read before my adventure) and the soon-welcoming news that, for whatever reason, the 3rd and 4th floor exhibits were free. The parquet floors were incredible and many of the paintings were to my liking as well, so I'm very glad I stopped to visit.
I had not eaten lunch and the afternoon was waning, but I couldn't
decide what else I wanted to do (i.e. what I was willing to walk to
see). I determined that if I didn't pass a kebab shop en route I'd try
the Lido restaurant near our hotel which Simona had recommended to our
group. The inside was beautiful - plants, tile, old decor, stained
glass - and the food options were almost overwhelming. You couldn't
beat the price and the food was delicious. As I was walking back to the
hotel, I came upon Roz & Irv, Mary Ann, and Rose. They had just
returned from the Ethnographic Museum tour (which they didn't
particularly enjoy, so I felt justified in my aversion to it) and were
heading to Lido for dinner. They insisted I join them, and having no
other plans, I acquiesced. I became their unofficial guide through the dinner-purchasing process (it's like a cafeteria where you choose all your dishes, put them on a tray, and then go pay). Despite having already eaten, Roz insisted on buying me dessert since I had helped her charger her phone the other day. We ended up sitting around talking for almost 2 hours before we all headed back to the hotel. My phone says I walked about 7.5 miles today, so I think I deserve to be in bed at 9pm.
This morning I enjoyed breakfast with the couple from Brooklyn. After checking out of our rooms we were on the bus with 'Magic', our bus driver, heading south to Latvia. Simona let us know that we were expecting an unusual weather day for this time of year - warm (low 50's) and sunny! With such good weather she arranged for a stop at Vitrupe Beach, on the Baltic Sea, so that we could at least see it up close and take some photos; we could even touch if we so desired. While enjoying the sea breezes Simona had some special Estonian liqueur called Vana Tallinn for everyone to taste. It was incredibly sweet, and the herbal taste was hard to describe. It didn't taste bad, but I did not finish my shot - reminded me too much of cough syrup.
Back on the bus Simona told us about the sea. It is known for the sand dunes that it creates along the shore as there are a lot of strong waves. A unique feature of the Baltic sea is that there is only 7grams of salt per kilogram of water (very low salinity), due in part to the multiple, large rivers that flow into it. When she was a child she used to spend her summers by the sea. It was very common for Lithuanian families to do that back then, but prices have now risen (unsurprising) and many resorts have been built. For anyone who loves amber (fossilized tree resin used in jewelry), over 90% of the world's amber comes from the Baltic region! As such, there are a myriad of amber options available all over Tallinn, Rīga, and Vilnus as they're a sought-after souvenir. Pieces of amber torn from the seafloor (often during harsh winter storms) are cast up by the waves and collected by hand, dredging, or diving. There are nine countries with Baltic Sea access: Germany, Poland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
Latvia has about 2 million people and 300 miles of coast on the Baltic. There are many mixed families in Latvia (Russian-Latvian) because of their time under Soviet Rule. Rīga has had a high population of Russians living there for many years, and in the 1980's it was nearly 50-50 (Russians-Latvians). Still today there are a lot of mixed families because the Soviet Union chose Latvia to build lots of factories and sent Russians there to work. After the collapse of the USSR most Latvians chose Latvian passports (they had previously had both as the Russians allowed them Russian passports). As a result, you can hear quite a bit of Russian spoken today, despite Latvian not being a Slavic language or having anything in common with Russian. As it was in Estonia, the Latvians are very pro-Ukrainian because of their not-too-distant time of oppression by the Russians. Many of the Baltic countries are attempting to become more energy independent, despite the increased costs of doing so, because they do not want to support Russia by purchasing their oil and gas.
The capital of Latvia, Rīga (pronounced "ree-gah"), is known as the Art Nouveau capital of the world, and quickly became my favorite location on this trip. I've also heard Rīga called the "Paris of the North" due to roughly 1/3 of the buildings in the city centre being in this delightful architectural style. We arrived at our hotel (Radisson Blu Latvija) and shortly after I was heading to the Old Town for some wander-time.
Gorgeous afternoon sun today and clouds in the forecast for tomorrow, I determined to take full advantage of the stunning facades and cobble-stoned streets around me. Photo opportunities were abundant and my handy Maps.me app gave me freedom to wander without getting lost. For those who don't know me well, despite having nearly 30 countries under my belt I'm still horrible with directions and am very, very easily lost. The top of the St. Peter's bell tower gives you 360-degree views of the town, so the clear, sunny skies spurred me to do that today too. The 9€ entry fee was well worth it on such a fine day, and my one dimensional photo cannot do the real view justice.
Rebuilt after WWII
The first mention of the church is from records dating to the early 1200's, but it's current footprint was mostly created during renovations in the 15th century. With a history of that many years, the church took several hundred years to be fully built and has been partially destroyed and rebuilt numerous times (fires and wars, more fires and more wars). The most recent renovations were finished in the 1980's, and the church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997. At
the back of the church they had a very fascinating display pertaining
to the Reformation in this area of the world (St. Peter's is a parish church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia).
We have an Old Town Rīga tour tomorrow, so I knew I would be able to get the "facts and figures" tomorrow, but I believe I hit the highlights today. Back at the hotel I rejoined my group and we headed to Piazza Italiana where we enjoyed a lovely dinner together. I sat with Irv & Roz (the more I get to know her the more she reminds me of my Grandma Barb), Bob and Bernadette (the couple with whom I had enjoyed breakfast this morning), Rose (from Chicago), and native Floridians Jack & Yvonne. The food was delicious and the company was nice as well.
