Riga, my pearl.....!

What Lotto King Karl sings about Hamburg, the Balts say about Riga: the Latvian capital is the pearl of the Baltics. It has a 'heart of wood' and is known for its culture, the medieval old town, and the Art Nouveau villas. But first, let's go back to the beginning:

Still somewhat shocked by our Russian booking experience, we set off for Riga on Sunday to first redeem the promised swimming pool visit for the kids. For a mere 85€ in the family rate, you could slide and splash for two hours to your heart's content...all with a wide view of the Lielupe River, which flows into the Baltic Sea after 119km.

A short detour to the beach, which serves the residents on a Sunday for 'seeing and being seen!'. Drinking alcohol in public is prohibited, as are dogs on the beach...all well controlled by the local police on their quad bikes. Bicycles, electric unicycles (so-called e-wheels), fancy clothes, and high-heeled shoes, on the other hand, are allowed. And everything is clean and tidy, just like in the whole of Latvia.

Honestly, the bike ride to Riga caused me a few sleepless nights. I read on several blogs that traffic around Riga is dense, dangerous, and chaotic. Many bike tourists therefore switch to public transport shortly before Riga, which of course was out of the question for us. So I was somewhat apprehensive about the 26km from the beach to the accommodation...but we were rewarded with a kind of bike highway all the way to the accommodation - what an example and what a welcome!

After a day of sightseeing by bike and plenty of time on the 7,000sqm children's playground (modeled after the city of Riga, free of charge and right outside the door), it can be said: Riga is very green, manageable, relaxed, cozy, yet lively, very clean, has beautiful historic houses, magnificent buildings, friendly residents, a good infrastructure, and a very worthwhile old town. It's just beautiful here!

Tomorrow we're going to the zoo...enjoying the perfect t-shirt weather once again. The rain is supposed to come back on Wednesday.