This morning we said farewell to the delightful old town of
Tallinn, Estonia and boarded the Luxe Express bus for the four and a half hour
journey to Riga, Latvia – comfortable seats, wifi, individual screens with a
choice of films, music and other entertainment, toilet on board, tea and
coffee. A very pleasant trip. On arrival
we were met by our garrulous host Jev, who gave us a brief guided tour on the
way to our spacious 19th century apartment.
“Spacious” is hardly the word: 12-feet
ceilings, the lounge alone is larger than our entire three-bedroom Tallinn apartment,
and that certainly wasn’t pokey. The
main bedroom, occupied by Jenny and Steve, is only slightly smaller, with space
for a lounge suite, and its own attached bathroom that includes a corner spa
bath.
After settling in we headed out on the 15-minute walk to the
old town, stopping for a brief look inside the Old St Gertrude’s Church but
then contenting ourselves with walking past monuments, churches and other
noteworthy buildings in the knowledge that we will have plenty of time to explore
them over the next few days. We did pause
at the Freedom Monument, unveiled in 1935 as a national shrine to those who
died in the quest for Latvian freedom.
People now stop to place flowers at its base, an act that could very
well result in exile to Siberia during the Soviet occupation.
We stopped for refreshments, then continued on to the
Daugava River, spanned by some interesting bridges, then slowly made our way back
to our apartment, walking through a delightful park on the way abounding with
colourful flowers and shrubs, to the local supermarket to stock up on some
necessary supplies for the next few days.
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