Baltic States

City of Riga

Sacry Cats on roofs

Day 1:

I poured over the city map and mentally walk the trail. One lesson: move outdoors fast, as night falls rather quickly in winter. It gets dark by 3pm. The old town is actually small and can be completed in half a day. The streets of Riga are still paved with cobblestones and I marvelled at the Latvian women's agility to balance on needle-pointed stilettos on these pavements! ( It is true that one can tell the tourists from the locals by the type of shoes they wear. ) In the evening, I made reservations at Rozengral, a medieval themed restaurant serving cuisine of the middle ages. The restaurant is set in an ancient wine cellar, circa 13th century. Food was flavor full and featured a lot of mushrooms, pulses, lentils, berries: the sort of ingredients one would find in the forest? Pork is also very much part of the Latvian diet.

Day 2:

Is this a Medieval meal ?

This is bread paradise. Baked fresh and loaded with all kinds of grains, pulses, seeds, nuts. Bread is given the place of honor at the Latvian table. The black rye bread has a distinct flavor and very popular among the locals. I like the malty flavor, it reminds me of honey and beer. Setting out much earlier in the day, I re-traced my steps and visited sites that I had missed the day before. I checked out the Christmas markets and souvenir shops that littered the old town. I avoided the touristy souvenirs and bought artisanal handicrafts: linen table cloth, a miniature Latvian house which is a candle holder at the same time and some hand knitted woolies from the Christmas markets. I picked out two pairs of handcrafted glass earrings from Carre and a knitted cap from another local designer’s shop.

Medieval restaurant in a cavern

Day 3:

By now, I could navigate the old town blind-folded. I stopped by at Amelie, a tiny cafe for coffee and home-baked cakes and cookies. It was such a treat! I rode up 72m with the elevator in the St Peter’s Cathedral to get a sweeping 360 degrees view of the city. In the evening, we visited the highest bar in town, in the Reval Hotel, where we sipped cocktails and watched the city lights beneath us. It was a grand way to bid farewell to the city.

Day 4:

Next stop Vilnuis. We drove for 45minutes to the capital city of Lithuania. Vilnius’ roads were wider and seemed less busy than in Riga. Our host was on hand to greet us at the Novotel hotel located at the beginning of the main shopping street. This was a no-frill yet functional French chain of hotels. We went across the hotel into a local pub where we tried honey beer and some local chow.


Day 5:

Good piece of Steak Mignon

Breakfast at Novotel was run-of-the-mill. The plus points of this property is its location, hot shower that works really well and you get free wifi. Surprisingly not many Lithuanians spoke English especially since the tourist office assistant already seemed to struggle with it. I staked out my landmarks and headed on foot, first to the Gates of Dawn and then made a semi-circle of the old town. Distances here were much bigger than in Riga. Along the way, I gawked at the incredible number of church buildings. From Gothic to Orthodox, this really is “church” city. There were no Christmas market but plenty of souvenir shops and roadside stalls peddling handicrafts and tourist paraphernalia. The must see street is known as “citizen” street with its cozy coffee shops,restaurants and souvenir shops. Baltic Amber which is found in abundance in the Baltics is best purchased in Lithuania because of the cheaper Litas. Many big brand names are also found in Vilnius like Max Mara and D&G. By mid afternoon, I was half-frozen as the mercury dipped seriously southwards. I decided to head back to the hotel because the cold was unbearable around -20degrees Celsius. In the evening, we were treated to one of Vilnuis's well known restaurants. The bespoke restaurant had a menu that read like some of the Michelin star restaurants in Brussels, but with a “won't-break-the–bank” price list. We chanced upon the Minister of Culture who had his dinner party at the table next to us. Surely this must be a good choice of restaurant and it was!

Meet your meat power

Day 6:

Sunny days are a rare sight at this time of the year. I took advantage of it and went trigger happy with the camera. I picked up my traditional “Matroshkas” and more knitted woolies. This was becoming a fantastic way to buy Christmas gifts. In the evening we attended a Christmas concert by the Lithuanian Philharmonic Orchestra, another favourite pass time among the citizens here.

     

Day 7:

More photos and more churches. The Pauze Café, nestled close to the Gates of Dawn provided some mid-day snack attack and relief from the cold. Overall, the cakes in the local cafes were all too colorful and jazzy for my liking so I stuck to coffee.

Day 8:

We said our goodbyes to Vilnius and flew Air Baltic to Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. Tallinn is accessible from Finland by ferries and is a favorite hop-over destination for the Finns, Swedes and Danes. Thus, the standard of living is considerably much higher than the other two Baltic States. The cost of living is like in any European cities with a cup of coffee costing about 35Kroons. The souvenirs and handicrafts are of a higher quality and price. We arrived in the evening and were taken to our hotel, the St. Petersbourg. It was a very nice and cozy hotel situated in the heart of the old town with the town square just 100metres away. Tallinn's old town is as pretty as a picture with a Lilliputian atmosphere and it is no wonder that it has been declared a UNESCO heritage site. With tourism as the main source of revenue, there are plenty of chic restaurants and cafes to keep the tourists happy. The Estonians can be proud of their hi-tech city. They pioneered Skype and E-government and have the highest density of mobile phone per inhabitant. We went to a fancy Italian restaurant called Bocca. Food was of high standard and presented very nicely.

Tallin

Day 9:

In Tallin, majority of the businesses are owned by Finns. Franchises like Body shop and Lush Cosmetics are also represented. I headed to the bank to exchange my remaining Lats and Litas, which is, incidentally the only place anyone should go. Forget about the numerous currency exchange booths and especially the one at the airport which is sheer daylight robbery! I headed back to the old town’s Toompea area (upper city) and spent some time browsing through shops and winding lanes. In the evening, I headed for the Christmas markets which were brimming with handicrafts, woolies, hats and more knitted stuff. That evening we went on a private Tallinn-by-Night tour. It is possible, because the buildings and streets are all lighted up. Being such a medieval junkie, I made reservations at the Old Hansa, a medieval restaurant with waiters in costumes and cutlery used in that period. The food was yet again, like all the cities we've visited on this trip, yummy!

Old Centre, Katarina's Passag

Christmas Market

Day 10:

I spent the morning visiting the lower city, taking pictures of more buildings that fascinated me. I visited the Katarina’s passage where artists still practiced their crafts and sold their work at the Katarina’s guild house. Unique pieces of handmade leather bounded stationery, glass jewellery, hats, hand painted ceramics and stained glass hangers were things to buy here and i was very tempted, but the lack of luggage space was becoming a problem. So I ended up with fur caps, woolen socks and gloves … things that could be easily rolled up and squeezed into suitcases. In the evening, we attended a Christmas concert by an Estonian pianist and Austrian Soprano. It was a sweet and romantic way to idle an evening.