Today was my day to explore Riga, from all directions.
Hello is Sveiki, Thank you is Paldies, Please is Lūdzu, and English is very common. Their alphabet has 33 letters, and it is a root Baltic language. Most other languages in East and Central Europe are Slavic languages, as is Russian.
My initial plan was an unscheduled morning…until I caught wind (ha!) of a hand gliding adventure. I don’t think I’m afraid of heights – I think I just have a normal amount of self-preservation, and that’s why my stomach was in my throat for half the flight. It was really beautiful though, and once my feet were safely back on the ground, I decided it had definitely been fun.
The airport was the original airport for the area; it did not instill a lot of confidence in me when I arrived.
From the air, I got to see Old Town, the Daugava River, the port, and other parts of the city. You can’t have your phone out for photos (for good reason) but they have a camera out on the wing that takes photos and video for you, though I don’t think it is the sort of experience you need photos to remember. At first I didn’t think we were very high, until I realized I was looking at trees and not plants beneath me. At that point, I determined I was better looking out – when I looked down, the height got to me a bit. The views were really beautiful, and when we were level it was great. When we turned, one of the wings needed to dip down, so you were at an angle. I did not enjoy turning. I considered asking if we could just fly straight instead, even if it meant going back to Estonia – but there was no way for the pilot to hear me. (If you needed to get down, you had to tap his shoulder. That was the extent of the communication abilities.)
After that I let my stomach settle and then had some breakfast. I actually tried to have coffee before I left, but it didn’t work – two coffee spots on the way to where I was meeting my Bolt driver both said they opened at 7, but neither were open at 7…or even 7:15, or 9:52. An Estonian had told me that the Finnish are very disciplined. They speak slowly, and they drive slowly, and they’re very organized. The Estonians are also very disciplined, but speak a bit faster and less monotone. They told me however that Latvians are like Italians. Loud and crazy, and never on time. I eventually got coffee and food though, including a choice of multiple fish for breakfast!
Then I toured Riga’s Old Town.
The Three Brothers is one of the oldest dwelling houses in the city. The story says that there were three brothers in a family, and each built their own part…but 100 years apart. So accept that for what you will. The oldest is from 1490, the middle from 1646, and the youngest from sometime in the 17th century.
And there are churches, everywhere. Like, for real. Everywhere. So many churches. The Lutheran church is actually credited with the Latvian language as it is spoken today; they translated the Bible into the Latvian, which was at the time a lot of regional dialects. Their translation became the accepted language of the region.
Most Lutheran churches in the area actually have a rooster on top, instead of a cross. This was done in part to differentiate the church, to show that it was no longer Catholic. However, it was also painted on one side, and was able to be seen from the water, so the sailors could see which way the wind was blowing and if it was safe for them.
This church forgot to add a bell…so they just added one after the fact, on the outside of the steeple.
Latvia’s history is even more confusing than Estonia. They also have two separate independence days, but in addition to being invaded by Germans and Soviets multiple times, they were also invaded by the Swedish and the Polish. Even before then though, back as far as 1201, they were a port city, which brought lots of outside opinions, including Egyptians and Greeks. Technically today, Vilnius might be a few 100 people larger, but everyone still says Riga is the largest city in the Baltics, and it has historically had the strongest economy because of the port.
There is a monument to the Latvian Riflemen from 1915. It’s complicated. They were an elite military group, made up of ethnic Latvians. They formed to protect Latvia from the Germans…but somewhere along the way, out of frustration with other leadership, they became advocates for Lenin, and by 1917 were called the Latvian Red Riflemen, defending Russia/the Bolsheviks. Not all were converts, but it is believed that the Red Riflemen are actually what allowed Russia to take control of Latvia from within. Many (non-red) Riflemen died while fighting the Germans, so the legacy of them is complicated. Not everyone appreciates their monument.
Another complicated monument is the Freedom Monument. When originally designed, the three stars at the top symbolized the coming together of the three different regions of Latvia. The motto “For the Fatherland and Freedom” is on the base. It was completed in 1935. This was during Latvia’s first period of independence, and was designed to celebrate the country’s right to self-determination and its cultural resilience. Great, right?
Well, not so much to the Soviets. As they took control of the region, they would send art scholars into areas to determine what needed to be destroyed. The person sent to determine which of Riga’s art to destroy actually knew the artist who had created this work, and felt it was too beautiful to be destroyed. Instead, they helped construct a story that said the main piece is actually mother Russia, and each of the stars represent one of the Baltic States being cared for by her. The Soviets bought the story, and it wasn’t destroyed.
Another example of Soviet greatness, but 200 years earlier. In this case, they didn’t want to tear down the building, even though it had an inscription in it to King Charles XI of Sweden. So instead they just added a BIGGER inscription above it, to Peter the Great.
And though not a monument, Cats are also very important in Riga.
One of the most well-known images is of a cat, on the top of Cat House, built in 1909. It was built by a wealthy tradesman, who was refused membership to the Great Guild. So, at the top of his building, he had two black cat sculptures installed – the cats are angry, with raised backs and tails, and their tails are turned towards what was the Great Guild Building.
The next important Cat is from a movie called Flow. This is an animated movie created and produced by Latvians in 2024, and has won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best animated feature. It was made on open-source software, and only cost about $3m to produce. The main character is a cat, who is trying to survive along with other animals, in a post-apocalyptic flood. There’s no dialogue to it, so though it is technically in Latvian, we can all still watch it!
A cat also makes an appearance in the art piece “Bremen Town Musicians Statue” along with a donkey, a dog and a rooster. You’re supposed to run their noses for good luck. The statue was a gift from Germany in 1990, and is meant to symbolize breaking through the iron curtain.
I am fairly sure this cat is lording her position over the neighborhood dogs.
From there I went to the Central Market. The market is actually 5 smaller buildings. The tops were initially built/used as the top portion of hangars from WWI, for German Zeppelins, at a facility in southern Latvia. Instead of tearing them down after the war, they were repurposed here. The buildings opened here in 1930.
Then, the Art Nouveau district. Riga has the biggest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in the world.
And then, I got some military-ish history. I got to tour the Sakaru Bunkers, for some more Cold War history.
The bunker was built as a back-up command center for the Soviets, to handle emergencies (like a nuclear war). It had communication systems, a water supply, an independent power supply, and food storage at the time. Planning for it began in 1968, officially operational in 1982, and was classified “Top Secret” until 1995. It’s only about 30′ underground – but 16′ of that is made up of steel and concrete plates.
Technically the bunker wasn’t open, but I had reached out via email and they agreed to let me come through on my own. Like, I literally turned on the lights myself. It started to feel like a bit of a questionable decision when I was using the flashlight on my phone, had no cell connection, and the door was closed behind me as I climbed underground, but I eventually found the lights.
It was creepy. Yesterday, I met someone who knew a Latvian doctor who was sent to Chernobyl, in 1986 – which is about 900 miles from here, in what is now (AND SHALL REMAIN) northern Ukraine. They were not sent with any protective gear, no testing equipment, and weren’t proactively (or really reactively) treated for exposure. Over 6,000 Latvians were sent – doctors, engineers, and other specialties. (7,000 Lithuanians and 5,000 Estonians were also sent) I asked, as a naive American who likes to believe the best in people, if it was just that Russia didn’t understand how bad it was? The response was that of course Russia knew – that’s why they sent Latvians and not Russians to help. 24 hours later, it felt pretty surreal to be in a crazy bunker full of a ton of expired gear and equipment that was meant to help prepare for a Nuclear war and to keep people safe, which wasn’t used when it could have actually mattered.
Riga is far more diverse than Tallinn had been, but also has a fair amount of ethnic Russians. Someone shared today that they’re worried – a bit like the Red Riflemen, these people could be used by Russia to take over Latvia from within. There is definitely some pro-Putin propaganda on some news stations. Even my TV in the hotel has some Russian channels. Most Latvians realize what could happen if Ukraine falls, and their loyalties are clear.
At today’s closest point, I was about 150 miles from Russia.