Eastern ✔ (NOT Central) Europe: Day 6: Free day in Rīga

It was great news last night just on going to bed to hear that Ash Barty had won the French Open.

This morning, even though it was a free day, we went down to breakfast early which was a good move as the hordes descended shortly thereafter. It was a surprise to find glasses of Prosecco as an option which seemed like a good way to start the day ... In fact it was a very good breakfast. This has been a good hotel and the first one in the Baltics with aircon. (yay!!).

Shortly after breakfast we hauled the bikes out from the garage down below and set off for Jūrmala on the coast, the largest resort in the Baltic States.

It was good to be on the way early so we could make the most of the day and re-laaaax!!

It was just a delightful ride, and we have been blessed by the most gorgeous day too (it was forecast rain at one point but this shifted to overnight).

We rode initially through the city (quiet, it being early Sunday morning), through the lovely Botanic Gardens which line both sides of the city canal (Pilsētas kanāls) which was the city’s moat in medieval times, past the tall 42.7 m Monument of Freedom honouring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence, then over the huge cable Vanšu Bridge spanning the Daugava River which is very wide at this point as we are not far from the sea.

From here, we cycled through Soviet block apartment suburbs of Imanta and Zolitūde then on through fields, gorgeous forest with birds twittering and past small villages of summer cottages.

Close to the coast we reach the Lielupe River, crossed this near Priedane and cycled along it into Dubulti.

MF’s MapMyBike app which he had downloaded last night was making navigation a dream, albeit a guy tore past on his bike with a big beach umbrella strapped on his back which would indicate that we were headed in the right direction!

On arrival at the coast, we headed for the station to check the timetable (I loved the train that went past as we cycled in with the girl train driver complete with long ponytail!! Go girl!) and then to the beach via the lovely Dubulti Evangelical Lutheran Church (built in 1907) which had a service in progress; it is noted for its Art Nouveau architecture.

The beaches along the Gulf of Riga stretch as far as the eye can see in both directions. There were scores of people enjoying the sand and sun: walking, jogging and even cycling along the beach; but not the sea, so MF declined to go swimming - he tested the water and proclaimed it a tad cold.

The beach was great: wonderful facilities and despite our packed picnic, we sat beachside at one of the many restaurants and had coffee, beer with some dark brown rye bread toasted and rubbed with garlic (Ķiploku grauzdiņi) and 2 types of soup: one a bright pink beet soup served with a topping of a cut up hard-boiled egg (Chlodnik), the other more like the Russian soljanka, a sweet, spicy, and sour soup with red pepper, tomato, and chopped Sauerkraut.

We could have ridden back but decided to take the train. It was hot by now and we wanted a free afternoon. It was a huge step up from the platform into the train carriage and then when we got into Rīga, we had to get the bikes down the stairs. We’ve done this many times before, but not this trip thankfully.

Had a rest mid-afternoon (MF out like a light). Then into the Old Town (which is just around the corner from our hotel) for a drink and a yummy appetiser before our Whitsunday concert at the Rīga Cathedral.

The Evangelical Lutheran Riga Cathedral (aka the Dome Cathedral) has the second largest pipe organ in Latvia. It was a wonderful program showcasing the talents of the Schola Cantorum Riga choir and the organist Larisa Carjkova with a programmā of Bach, Grigny and Vierne: some superb singing and when the throttle was pulled out on the organ, the hair stood up on your neck.

We walked the long way back to the hotel searching for a block of the local Latvian chocolate Laima, called into a pharmacy out of interest and via the Opera House alongside the city canal. Lovely evening.