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Riga Marathon: Symbol of Progress

Riga, Latvia town hall square

by Marc Latham

Looking at Latvian history from a British point of view it seems as if the formation of their country is about a tenth the age of ours, as Latvia became independent in 1918, while modern Britain started to form after its last invasion in 1066. Both regions had a lot of history before, and both have had a lot of history since.

Riga freedom monumentLatvia now attracts tourists with a mix of modernity at Riga bars and beaches; history in Riga’s Old Town, museums and countryside towns; and one of the most conserved natural habitats in Europe. I fitted in a little of each, but my main reason to visit the Baltic nation was to take part in the 2016 marathon.

The Riga marathon is a symbol of the Latvian success story, growing from a few hundred Latvian competitors in 1991 to 1700 runners from sixty-five countries in 2016. There were over 30,000 runners taking part in different races over the running festival weekend.

The author, Mark Latham, runningI completed a little personal history of my own with my fifth marathon at fifty, after setting a target of running one every three years until this year after running my first in 2004. The marathon dominated my five days in Latvia, but I still managed to see a lot of sights, while preparing for the run, during the event, and the day afterwards.

I arrived on the Thursday before the Sunday event, on a low-cost flight along with a stag party or two, with Riga having become a renowned city for such occasions. I found my hotel on the edge of the centre with the help of a couple of bus drivers, and caught up with some sleep after traveling overnight and early morning on train and plane. The en-suite room with television and wifi was luxurious compared to the hostels I usually use. I thought I needed some home comforts for the marathon, and think it was certainly worth it for the extra sleep I probably gained. The breakfast buffet was also good for a nutritious start to the day.

After leaving the hotel on the Friday aiming to pick up my race number and info pack at the expo I ended up seeing the Old Town first, and most of the centre too. It was hard to believe the city had seen so much war and occupation over the last century, walking around its green parks and cobbled streets in glorious spring sunshine.

St. Peter's churchI arrived in the centre from the eastern park belt, seeing the 150-foot high Freedom Monument without previously knowing about it. The next day it was the starting point for the marathon’s Parade of Nations, and during the marathon two lines of local volunteers in traditional costumes and enchanting music provided a magical passage at the end of the course. The monument was built in 1935, and wasn’t harmed by the Soviet army during its control of the region from World War Two to the Gorbachev presidency. The monument was a rallying point for independence rallies from 1987 to Latvia’s independence in 1991.

Continuing west, the cobbled streets of the Old Town are visible from the park under the monument, whose greenery is decorated with fountains, flowers and small statues. While Latvia’s independent history is relatively new, Riga has been in existence since the thirteenth century.

House of the BlackheadsWalking directly down from the Freedom Monument takes you between the two main historic sites in Riga: Doma Laukums (Cathedral Square) and Town Hall Square. In the former, Riga’s cathedral is the biggest in the Baltics, according to the Rough Guide, ‘…it was begun in 1211 by Albert von Buxhoeveden, the warrior-priest who founded Riga and became its first bishop.’ In the latter, St. Peter’s church combines with Melngavju Nams (House of the Blackheads) and City Hall to create an excellent panoramic circuit. Melngavju Nams was the meeting place for a 14th-century brotherhood of traders that venerated St. Maurice, a warrior of North African descent. The area has been extensively rebuilt since independence, after the original buildings were bombed and demolished during twentieth-century wars.

Farther west towards the Daugava River is Riflemen’s Square, centred on a statue leftover from the Soviet era. The riflemen’s first action was fighting against German forces in World War One, with the Kaiser’s forces having reached the other side of the city’s major river. Where the Latvian riflemen once faced their foe in deadly battle was now the start/finish area for the marathon, and the course took us back and forth across the 1500-foot cable-stayed Vansu Bridge joining west and east Riga. I have fond memories of the bridge; having found a second wind before returning across it, I felt as if I was running with the wind only a few miles from completing the marathon and my ambition.

I unfortunately only had one day left in Latvia after the marathon, meaning I missed the historic town of Cesis, and the coastal resort of Jurmala. That’s because I chose to visit Sigulda, after reading of abundant nature in the Gauja Valley. The train journey just over an hour inland (33 miles) was punctual and pleasant, seeing ample evidence of Latvia’s prestigious woodlands along the way. About forty per-cent of Latvia is still wooded, with half of it pine forests.

Riga city hallI was impressed by Sigulda’s wide spaces and parks as I walked towards the Gauja River. Paramount was Walking Stick park, a colourful tribute to the region’s top souvenir, with cane-making having a 200 years history in the area. Sigulda is also the adventure capital of Latvia, with summer and winter activities, such as cable car bungee jumping, tobogganing and a ski slope. I had intended taking the cable car across the lush Gauja valley, but instead found myself hobbling down the steep slope to the river. Seeing a little beach on the other side drew me across the bridge, and I sat in the sun on the sand for a little while.

I saw the top of a castle in the distance, and after checking the map realised it was Turaida, which is considered the best of the three Medieval castles either side of the river. A scenic two miles away, mostly through a wooded park trail alongside the Gauja, the views from the castle tower alone were worth the walk and entrance fee. The Gauja river was visible in the distance to the east and west, snaking its way through dense forests for miles around, including just to the south of the castle.

Walking Stick parkThere was much more to see and read though, starting with an old church, and followed by an excellent little museum tracing the ancestry of the region over its last 1000 years. The Gauja Livs who built Turaida were of Finno-ugrian heritage, in the southern Urals, like many in the north-east of Europe. They were a pagan people who resisted Christian crusaders, but were eventually integrated into western Medieval European culture. A film in one of the rooms showed how the castle looked in its prime, and it was easy to imagine the inhabitants of 800 years ago riding into the forecourt and dismounting after a long ride through pristine forests. The castle was centrally heated below the archbishop of Riga’s room, in the south of the castle, overlooking the valley. The castle was a refuge for the archbishop, as well being economically important.

From the Archbishop’s room and tower, Sigulda Castle was visible across and to the east of the bridge, so I walked back to the town that way, passing under the colourful castle framed beautifully by blue sky. I hadn’t expected that day to include so much history, and walking, and didn’t know, or remember, until now, that the Rough Guide describes Sigulda as ‘…not so much a town as a vast leafy park tastefully scattered with a few houses and apartment blocks.’

I hope Latvia can retain its natural beauty, and that its example will lead western Europe, rather than it being forced or persuaded to deforest, and lose its impressive amounts of wildlife.


Best of Riga: Riga City Tour by Coach and Foot

If You Go:

References
♦ Guide Book: The Rough Guide to Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
♦ Riga
♦ Turaida museum
♦ Guaja National Park

Getting Around
♦ There are cheap flights from the U.K. I flew with Ryanair
♦ I stayed at the Baltpark hotel
♦ Riga tourist office is on Town Hall Square

 

About the author:
Marc Latham travelled to all the populated continents during his twenties. He studied during his thirties, including a BA in History, and spent his forties creative writing. He lives in Leeds, writing from the www.greenygrey3.com/website. He has had a Magnificent Seven books published, most recently completing a trilogy of comedy fantasy travel by web maps and information. The blogged book’s theme might have inspired the return of the X Files. The Truth is Out There and all that, and the books are available on Amazon and other bookstores.

All photographs are by Marc Latham:
Town Hall Square
Freedom monument
Latvia marathon
St. Peter’s Church
House of the Blackheads
City Hall
Walking Stick park

Tagged With: Latvia travel, Riga Attractions Filed Under: Europe Travel

Riga, Latvia

St. Peter's church, Riga, Latvia

Former Soviet City With A European Heart

by Giuseppe Raudino

I was walking around the historic center of Riga, Latvia, when something weird caught my attention. Just behind St. Peter’s church, in a little courtyard, I noticed a bronze sculpture which represented four animals: a rooster on a cat, the cat was on a dog, the dog on a donkey’s back. I immediately recognized the main characters of a well known fairy-tale collected by the brothers Grimm: “The Bremen Town Musicians.” However, I was in the biggest city of the Baltic nations, not in Germany. The Russian border was a couple of hundreds kilometers away. I expected to find many Soviet signs instead of a thing that clearly linked Riga to the heart of Europe. A few days later, though, I learned the reason of that sculpture, finding out how Latvians’ roots and aspirations for the future are deeply tied to Europe.

By the end of the 12th century, the Archbishop of Bremen appointed his nephew Albrecht von Buxthoeven as Bishop of Livonia. Livonia was the ancient name for the area today occupied by Latvia and the southern part of Estonia, which was inhabited by animists. Supported by German King Philipp and Pope Innocent III, Albrecht joined the so-called Baltic Crusades, founded Riga in 1201, convinced the pagan folk to become Christian and built a magnificent cathedral, the biggest in the Baltic states. Therefore, the first link between Riga and Bremen, and more generally between Latvia and Europe, dates back 800 hundreds years ago. Afterwards, the Hanseatic League kept Riga’s relationships close to the Westerner countries for many centuries: again, in this way Bremen and Riga strengthened their mutual connection for business purposes. The last seal of this long friendship was ratified in 1985, when the two cities signed a town twinning agreement despite the Soviet rule.

shopping at a Riga marketIn 1997, the old town of Riga was made a UNESCO World Heritage site. I explored those neat streets in a cold November afternoon. Old buildings and beautiful monuments stood behind every corner. I crossed the Daugava river to have a look at the wonderful skyline of this city, which impressed me with its sharp and long towers.

People there are kind when it comes to asking some information, but still cold. I believe that the Soviet rule – which lasted until 1991, the year of Latvian independence –scarred not only the surrounding landscape of this capital, full of chimneys, ugly factories and anonymous dormitory buildings destined to the laborers, but also the people’s souls. Smiles are rare; everybody on the street looks completely lost in their thoughts about everyday-life concerns. As a matter of fact, richness is very unevenly distributed, quality of life can be improved and many political problems are not solved yet.

art nouveau architecturePerhaps the way towards diffused wellness is still long, but during this attempt it is possible to see many surprising contradictions. For instance, prices are rather low for a European capital (Latvia joined both the NATO and the European Union in 2004): you can have a dinner for less than 20 Euros, drink half a liter of beer for 2 Euros and take a coffee in a sophisticated bar for the same amount. However, only a little part of the population is able to afford such things and, those people who can, seem really concerned in showing their money and their bohemian lifestyle. Supermarket trolleys are so small that they appear ridiculous to a westerner. For example in Rimi, an expensive hypermarket chain available in the old town, well dressed Latvians load their carts with few, counted treats and cross the store in a hurry, reaching the cashiers and their short conveyor belts.

House of Blackheads at nightOne way or the other, all the people I met in Vecriga (as the historic center is called in the indigenous language) were busy with their hi-tech mobile phones or lost in front of their laptop screens, surfing on the Internet through the Wi-fi network supplied by almost any coffee shop and restaurant. Even though the luxury megastores can appeal with their charming shops and beautiful showcases, I preferred to go everyday to the daily market hosted by former zeppelin hangars, near the train station. There it was impossible to find electronic devices, jewels or Armani suits, but I breathed the authentic Latvian atmosphere: the smell of the local food, typical artifacts on the booths such as gloves and candles, and Latvian gossip in the background.

Soon after the sunset of my first day in Latvia, I started thinking about dinner. I avoided all the tourist-targeted restaurants suggested by my travel guide and looked around, gazing through the windows of numerous pubs and restaurants, especially those located in secondary streets, until I found the right environment which suited me. In this manner, and completely trusting my insight, I stepped into the Hanza, a cozy bistro that serves good beer, wine and some typical dishes. The smell of pancakes, dill, pommes frites and pork meat was irresistible. Latvian cuisine is simple but heavily tasty. A gorgeous English-speaking waitress took the orders. I was the only tourist and the place was crowded with Latvians. I enjoyed the food and some live music; the rest of the evening flowed smoothly and pleasantly.

gate in Riga city wallThree days are more than enough to visit Riga. Whether you like museums or discos, historical places or shopping centers, long walks or lazy afternoons spent in comfortable tea-room, Riga will appeal to you. Besides the Cathedral, St. Peter’s church is worth a visit, because you can take a lift to climb onto the highest tower of the city, from where the view is amazing (the steeple rises to a height of 123.5 meters). Just out of the center, it is possible to visit the interesting Art Nouveau district or the Orthodox Cathedral, built between 1876 and 1884. The latter is in good shape and it is reminiscent of Russian architecture. Five impressive cupolas catch everyone’s attention, while several nice icons, painted walls and ceiling frescoes make it very beautiful inside.

If you like museums, the one dedicated to the occupation of Latvia is not to be missed.


Best of Riga: Riga City Tour by Coach and Foot

 

If You Go:

Riga international airport. Many low cost airlines connect the Baltic capital with several European cities.
Baltic Times – News about Latvia and the other Baltic nations.
Museum of the occupation of Latvia.
The Brothers Grimm story about the Bremen Town Musicians.

Riga Tours Now Available:
Riga by Canal Boat Sightseeing Cruise
Riga Central Market and Food Tasting Tour
Riga Highlights Tour with Art Nouveau Museum

About the author:
Giuseppe Raudino graduated in Communication Science from the University of Siena, Italy. He lives in the Netherlands, where he works as a freelance writer. Besides traveling and writing, he holds a black belt in karate and plays the trumpet. His web page is at www.raudino.webs.com

All photos are by Guiseppe Raudino.

Tagged With: Latvia travel, Riga Attractions Filed Under: Europe Travel

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