14 July: Riga, Latvia (10 miles; 839)

After breakfast, John and Stuart went to the airport by bus to confirm that Baltic Air will accept unboxed bikes. They will.

I disassembled my trailer, cleaned it and the bike, and then went out to explore. I followed the canal boat excursion tour route that circles central Riga, essentially following the river, a canal, then to the central market and neighborhoods south of the market.

Riga

Riga Church

Riga Mural

Our Riga Hotel, the Garden Palace. 100 euros per day for three.

Riga Park Along the Canal

Love Locks. While Paris had to remove similar locks due to weight, the practice continues in Riga.

Freedom Monument.

Changing of the Guard at the Freedom Monument

Riga features the largest public market in Europe. The market comprises five large pavilions, hundreds of outside booths, and tens of surrounding buildings divided into stalls and stores. Entire pavilions offer fish and seafood, fruit and produce, meats and cheeses, flowers and herbs, and clothing. The outside stalls are grouped by common offering and also offer flowers, produce, clothing, crafts, hardware, etc. The market was mobbed every day that we visited. Neighborhoods featured similar markets similarly organized, just smaller.

Riga Public Market. Outside flower vendors.

Fish Vendors

Largest Public Market in Europe

You can get anything you want at . . .

Dog and Cat Food Vendor of the Day. Pet supply vendors had their own section.

Science and Technology Building. Pretty grim appearance, this building was built by the Soviets.

13 July: Jelgave, Estonia;-Zagare, Lithuania; Jelgave and Riga, Latvia (60 Miles; 829)

Our route today was a round trip ride to Lithuania, from Jelgave, Latvia, to Zagare, Lithuania, lunch, return to Jelgave and then train to Riga. We had perfect weather, light wind, and partly cloudy. The only unfortunate portion was the poor road surfaces, ranging from patches-on-patches to a few miles of gravel. Traffic on this Monday morning was light after leaving the Jelgave ring road, and with the poor surface, we could hear cars coming as we wove about seeking the least-rough surface.

Poppies. The gravel road proved to be as smooth as many paved portions. Seems the Latvians did not want to encourage citizens to drive to Lithuania, or Audi was conducting suspension tests. In general, Audi seemed to have the largest market share, Volvo fewer as we moved south, as well as Toyota, Subaru, Kia, and Suzuki.

Southern Latvia is predominantly flat farm country with a belt of forest about 5 miles from the border. We speculated on the placement of the border, likely related to prior land ownership rather than geographic features. We left the panniers and trailer at the hotel; riding without the load was a pleasant respite.

Welcome to Latvia

Dog of the Day. This basset was having a bad day. He looked friendly, then lunged three dog steps. Positively frightening for John and Stuart.

Barrows. The four mounds.

Grave Stone with Hebrew Inscription. Same location as the barrows. Just inside Lithuania.

Zagare was an interesting town, the first of it’s size organized around a large central square. Their Cherry Festival was celebrated the prior weekend, and many of the residents competed in a scarecrow contest. The red balls represented cherries, although no real cherries were available.

We paused for lunch at the local café and had a pleasant talk with the waitress, the only person with any English. In general, the ability to speak English is common but far from universal for those under 40.

Our Waitress with John

Owner with John. When John asked if the waitress and owner would pose for a photo, the owner disappeared, so we thought she was shy. We took the first photo, and as we were leaving, the owner appeared. She wanted to have time to comb her hair and apply makeup.

Guestbook. Apparently, few American bike travelers visit Zagare.

Zagare was the first town in which all of the older men seemed to be riding bikes, and they all wore orange or yellow reflective vests.

Wall Art in Latvian Hamlet

Typical Wood Frame Construction

 Zagare Street #1

 Zagare Store

 Zagare Street #2

Wall Detail, Zagare

Rooster of the Day

Mushroom Hut

Troll Hut. Located a few mile insist Latvia, the chimney was emitting smoke in the morning.

Grain Fields Predominate

Well-kept Barn

Jelgave Town Sign

TV Anyone? This apartment building on the southern edge of Jelgave is built in the Soviet-era style, with brick-clad walls, balconies that were probable added along with improved windows, and multiple antennas and satellite dishes. 

Enterprising Marijuana Farmer

I met a fascinating marijuana farmer on the return train from Jelgave to Riga. He was bound to catch the bus from Riga to Kiev, 10 hours, to visit his girlfriend. Sorry to admit I did not remember his name.  His story was similar to Monica’s in Estonia. Here are the key points:

• His grandfather was a land owner, so when the Soviets occupied Latvia, his grandfather was send to Siberia, better than being shot. While entire families were often sent, his grandmother was able to stay in Lithuania, but their land and buildings were seized.
• His grandfather described conditions on the trains to Siberia. People were confined in slatted cattle cars without food, water, or sanitation. The weakest died and were removed from the cars when the train stopped to refuel.
• Anyone with any education or who owned property of much significance was arrested and shot or sentenced to the camps in Siberia. The Soviet theory was that the uneducated could be persuaded to follow orders and support the Soviets; the educated were ungovernable and needed to be removed.
• Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania had similar experiences. Latvia's population declined approximately 550,000 during Soviet occupation. In turn, the Soviets supported the immigration of Soviet citizens from other USSR countries, approximately 500,000, and placed them in management and governing positions. Many of these Russian immigrants remain with varying loyalties to their former homeland. 
• His grandmother was evicted and local people moved into their home and other buildings. Occupants had no incentive to maintain anything, so if the roof leaked, they moved to another vacated home.
• Upon perestroika (literally, reordering), prior owners could reclaim property if they could prove ownership and present affidavits from others. He was born in 1982, independence was in 1990, so the worst occurred earlier. He was close to his grandfather and promised to care for the treasured family land. Upon finishing university, he returned to the farm, converting it from the usual grain to marijuana or hemp. Since the drug variety is illegal, he focuses on fiber and food/oil products. The fiber-producing variety reaches 10-ft before harvesting. The other variety reaches 3-4 ft and the focus in on seed, which is processed to extract oil, milk, protein, etc. His farm is entirely organic, and he markets the output himself, mostly in village and regional markets.

We exited the train station, aiming for the towers of Old Town, the site of our hotel. Rated 3 stars, it is quite plush, centrally located, and 100 euros per night for a triple room, including ample room to store our bikes in the room.

Old Town comprises nearly 100 percent cobblestone streets, not the best for bikes, and worse for a small-wheeled Bike Friday and trailer. The streets were filled with people on a Monday evening, as Riga is a popular vacation spot and quite affordable for in-the-know Europeans and wealthy Russians.

John was longing for some Asian cuisine, but we are in Latvia. So we opted for Latvian-Asian fusion, which proved to be excellent.

Latvian - Asian Fusion

12 July; The Castle, 10 miles south of Limbazi-Stalbe-Riga-Jelgava, Latvia (35 miles; 769)

We left a bit earlier than usual, about 7:45 am on a Sunday morning. After heavy overnight rain, the roads were wet and the sun was mostly out with rare, short showers. We biked to a Stalbe, a city recommended by another bike tourist, and took the train into Riga to avoid city traffic. Then our plan evolved to visit Lithuania, so we had lunch in Riga, then boarded a train to Jelgava. Both were short train rides, perhaps an hour for the first and 40 minutes for the second. We have a nice hotel in Jelgava. Monday's plan is to leave our tour gear at the hotel, take a 60-mile round trip with unloaded bikes to Lithuania, have lunch, return, then train back to Riga where we have a hotel in the old city center for 3 nights. That permits 2 days to explore Riga, reputed to be nearly as interesting as Tallinn.

The Castle, Our Humble Lodging for the Night. Built by a young wealthy noble's son who needed something to occupy his time, the Castle consists of this house, stables in back, and a restaurant across the grounds and pond nearer the road. We tried to stay in Limbazi, but found it to be a depressing Soviet-style town without lodging. The Tourist Information official suggested 4 possible lodgings but refused to call to determine if rooms were available. A number of people we meet are friendly but could use some customer service training. We rejected one possible lodging 3 miles back up the road, 2 youth hostels that she said were not very nice, and proceeded to the recommended sports complex, about 2 km away. The sports complex proved to be hosting the Baltic States rowing championships, plus a beach volleyball tournament, and they said that everything was fully booked at all Limbazi lodgings. And tourist information didn't know this? However, the competition organizer was extremely helpful and suggested the Castle,10 miles further toward our destination, and even called and reserved rooms for us. The rain had stopped, we had a tail wind, but the 65 miles proved to be our longest day.

The Castle was hosting a wedding. Lots of noise until about 3 am, but very quiet in the morning, so hooray for ear plugs.

Sunday Breakfast Stop. Nothing else was open.

About 8 miles further, we ran across a great restaurant, but we arrived after a large tour bus. Seeing no perceptible movement in the cafeteria-style line, we cycled on.

Seems the restaurant owners had a close association with a wood carver.

Wood Carving #1

Wood Carving #2

Wood Carving #3

Wood Carving #4 and Dog of the Day

Wood Carving #5.  Men's room.

Antique Mail Box

Stork Nests. We saw numerous stork nests in the area and frequently startled them in fields and along the road. Bicycles seemed to frighten them to flight more than cars, trucks, and farm tractors.

Lawn Ornaments for Sale. Not the one dressed in yellow.

Sigulda New Castle (Latvian: Siguldas jaunā pils). Built in 1878 in the Neo-Gothic style as the living house for the owners of the manor, the Kropotkin family. The building has changed its owners and functions several times. Since 1993, the Sigulda Region Council has been located in the castle.

During World War I this building was destroyed. In 1922, following the agrarian reforms, New Castle became the Writers’ Castle because it was used by the Latvian Union of Writers and Journalists. The building was in unusable condition after the war so the Union had to invest a large amount of money for restoration. In the 1920’s and 30’s, full room and board was offered to writers and literary types as well as other visitors.

During World War II, the New Castle was used as a headquarters for the Nord division of the German army. After the war, the USSR Council of Ministers made it a recreation house for high state officials. In 1953, the Health department of the Latvian SSR established the Sigulda rehabilitation center which was in operation until the restoration of Latvian independence.

 

Sigulda Medieval Castle (or Old Castle) was built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword who were later incorporated into the Teutonic Order of the castle, thus the castle eventually became the property of the Livonian Order. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, officially known as The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order composed of German "warrior monks.” They later became better known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword due to the symbols on their white capes: a red sword and cross. The order, founded in 1202, was the first "warrior monk” order formed outside the Mediterranean region. Historical documents indicate bishop Albert of Riga and Cistercian abbot Theoderich were the co-founders of the order. The military order’s mission was to remain in Livonia to protect the land and conquer new territories.

As part of the land division between themselves and Bishop Albert in 1207, the order gained the territory which stretched along the left side of the Gauja River. In the ongoing competition to determine hegemony between the Bishop and the Livonian Order, castle placement became a strategic factor. According to the Rhymed Chronicles, Sigulda Medieval Castle was erected sometime between 1207 and 1209 under the direction of Master Venno of the Order of the Brethren of the Sword. The Livonian Chronicle of Henry says that the castle was in use by the Brothers of the Sword as a base while battling revolting Livonians that were invading from a nearby castle. Sigulda Medieval Castle was initially built to monitor and control the water ways of the Gauja River and to fend off any invasion attempts from the nearby bishop’s castle in Turaida which was located on the river’s west coast. In 1224 the Pope’s legate, Wilhelm of Modena, stayed at the castle and established both a church and parish. In 1237 the lands of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword become the property of the Teutonic Order who continued to conquer additional territories in Latvia up until 1290. Since 1432 Sigulda Castle was the residence of the Land Marshal of the Livonian Order (Latin: marsalcus terrae Livoniae), the second highest officer of the order, after the Livonian Master, who lived in the Cēsis Medieval Castle.

At the very beginning of the Livonian war, Sigulda Medieval Castle was damaged. In 1562 it became a part of the Duchy of Livonia and from 1566 the residence of the governor of Livonia Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz. At the end of the 16th century, the Poles repaired the castle and its surrounding buildings. During the Polish – Swedish war the castle was seriously damaged. After the war, the Swedes reported that the castle was empty and destroyed. In the 1622 it was again restored and a new residential building and sauna were built. In 1625, the King of Sweden bestowed Sigulda as a gift to his Privy Councillor Gabriel Gustafsson Oxenstierna, however, after the manor house reduction program it once again became state property. A layout of Sigulda Castle, created around 1680, is stored in the War Archive in Stockholm. The castle was abandoned again during The Great Northern War.

Sigulda Medieval Castle Art Gallery

Water Tower

Latvian Rail Stop. Trains stop at small stations. Buses seem to stop nearly anywhere, with numerous  bus shelters along the highways. The elderly who could not afford to move to towns remained in their rural homes and buses are their only means to get to church, medical appointments, and shopping.

Our rail coach to Jelgava. Except for the trains in northern Sweden, all other trains have accepted bicycles. The better cars have hooks to suspend them vertically—more secure and they occupy less space.

Our Rail Companion

Jelgava Church

Jelgava Town Hall

Jelgava Town Age

Jelgava River from Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge

Jelgava Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge

Tonight's Restaurant. Billed as one of the best in Jelgava, it was truly excellent. Hard to spend more than 15 euros per diner, including beer or wine.

Path by Flowers

What's This Worth? I managed to use a card for everything in Denmark, got Swedish Kroner in Sweden, could use kroner on the Aland Islands, Finland, but they prefer euros, so we had to use the Swedish kroner on the Tallinn Ferry Service on the way to Estonia or exchange them.