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As we chugged along the choked country roads, the Latvian flag was conspicuously absent. Entering the outskirts of Riga, gloriously present were both Rimi and Maxima, the two supermarkets whose salads and smoked salmon I had fallen in love with. Arriving at the bus station, I decided to once again take a taxi to the guest house as it seemed quite far to walk. And what a great place this was. The reception area was rustically wooden, with tall green trees around the entrance and all the way down the street. The rooms were also rustic, with rough concrete finishes on the walls, hessian curtains and glassed-in bathrooms. The receptionist was friendly to a fault, helpful, herself well-travelled, easy to talk with and knowledgeable.
I fell in love with Riga. Not only was its Old Town magnificent, the beauty spilled over into the parts developed in more recent history. There were plenty of bicycles and motorbikes on the roads, and the bikers seemed to enjoy showing off the speed and roar of their man-toys. The streets were broad and clean, and buses, trams and trolley buses carried tourists and residents around in a flurry of activity. A Riga Card gave one access to all public transport at a discounted rate. At each stop, the name of the present stop and the next were announced. I just loved the sound of "nākamā pietura" - next stop.
Tram Announcement - Uzvaras bulvaris - nakama pietura, Nacionala biblioteka
Some of the tram stops are in the middle of the street; all traffic behind grinds to a halt no matter the colour of the traffic light ahead, and passengers alight in complete safety.
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| Streets of Riga (more) |
Best of all was an early discovery, shortly after arriving in Old Town. I passed by a souvenir store and happened to look through the doorway. There to nourish my eyes and empty my pocket was a wall lined with music. CDs of Baltic pop, traditional Latvian folk, and classical music by Baltic composers filled my vision and my imagination. As if that wasn't enough, the clerk spoke good English and was well informed about the offerings on that wall. I spent perhaps an hour there, listening to their recommendations on the headphones they offered, and left with a lighter wallet and a treat to look forward to upon my return to Taiwan. I am happy to say that each and every track is a delight. In my bag were: 1) Margarita Sakina and 2) Smite Karkle Cinkuss - both Latvian folk singers/groups; 3) Amber Songs - choral music by many composers based on Latvian themes; 4) At the Foot of the Sky, by Eriks Esenvalds, a Latvian composer; and 5) another CD by a variety of composers based on Baltic themes.
Margarita Sakina - Latvian folk singer
Although the weather was a roast here too, I was much more gleeful than I had been in the sandy countryside. I realised that I am most certainly a city critter. (I know the expression is "city slicker", but I don't feel I qualify for that designation, as I don't wear expensive suits or drive a glittering car. I quite like the sound of critter. It's guttural and edgy.)
I came upon what had once been the city wall. Only a portion was still intact, making it all the more intriguing. A canon stood beside it, lending weight and historical significance. At the end of this wall was the Powder Tower, which dates back to the 14th century. Nine Russian cannonballs from 17th and 18th century attacks are embedded in its walls. It has served as a gunpowder warehouse, prison, torture chamber and frat house. Today it houses the Museum of War.
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| Old city wall, Riga (more) |
It was at the base of this tower that I first heard South African accents. A young family - Mom, Dad and two primary school kids - wandered by exclaiming at the marvels they saw. I noticed another older couple look at them the same moment I did and quietly say "South African". The family were off quickly, but I decided to go over to the older couple (again attracted to people who have years on me) and had a chat. Turned out they were from KwaZulu-Natal. Retired, they liked to travel in Europe whenever they could, and they were heading to St Petersburg, as was I, and were going to see a ballet there, as was I. It was enjoyable meeting them, though our conversation lasted only as long as it took me to finish my ice cream cone.
Exposure to South Africans did not stop there. I heard Afrikaans on the trams and saw groups of black and white children walking about with their teachers and waving South African flags. It was then that I realised what was happening. The last thing I had done before leaving Taiwan was to zero in on performances that I might attend while I travelled. As it transpired, I was in Riga on the day of the opening ceremony of the World Choir Games, and I had bought a ticket to that and one other performance that formed part of the competition. Four hundred and twenty one choirs from 74 countries gathered in the Latvian capital. A total of 27,000 singers took part, among them the members of 15 South African choirs. It was all so festive and exciting. Choirs were practising in the parks, and shouts of joy and fun were heard throughout the area. That coupled with the revelry associated with the World Cup Football made the city a-buzz. It was indeed an excellent time to be here.
Kearsney College (South African) practising in the park
One drawback in Riga was that few signs were translated into English. All service personnel spoke it, but to find things independently without asking questions was not a simple matter. Another oddity (though this applied in other places too) was the symbol for the men's and women's restrooms. Perhaps I am just dumb, but I really could not understand how one of these meant ladies and the other gentlemen:
Another befuddling and unwelcome observation was that pay toilets in almost every place that had them (i.e. not just in Riga) were dirtier, smellier and more poorly maintained than the free options. In some places there wasn't even a toilet seat, or it was so loose that a nasty slip ending in a disgusting wet flop seemed inevitable. On the other hand, I was astonished to find hot water in the faucets. Thinking back, I guess South Africa offers both hot and cold in public facilities, but in Taiwan with its tropical climate, that is yet another feature that I have grown unused to.
After the first afternoon I retired to Two Wheels for another early night. I was again too hot, so I pulled the mattress to the floor to try to get cooler. It didn't really work. The next morning I hopped on an early bus to Bauskas, whence I would get a connection to Rundale Palace. There were road works along this route, too. Were they repaving all of Latvia? It was 70 minutes to Bauskas, a 30 minute wait, and then another 15 minutes to the palace. What a spectacle! Ostentatious and fantastic! Rundale was built for Baron Ernst Johann Biron, Duke of Courland. It was designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also designed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg (to which I was still headed) and Peterhof Palace near St Petersburg, which I did not get to visit.
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| Rundale Palace(more) |
I had lunch at the restaurant in the palace basement. It was delicious if a little pricey. Returning to Bauskas by bus, I fell asleep and missed the stop, though fortunately the bus seemed to be parking at the station, and I eventually woke up to get off. I returned to Riga with enough time to have a shower, wash clothes and head to the Riga Arena, where I would watch the opening ceremony of the World Choir Games. I got there way too early because I was unable to judge the distance from the guesthouse. The excitement surrounding the venue and within was palpable. Curiously, the people collecting the tickets were massive men who could fight a charging rhino. I guess this was, after all, principally a sports venue, and we all know about football fans. The first snippet played during the introduction was a recording of a South African choir. South Africa has achieved very well over the years at this competition. There is usually one if not more of the choirs from my homeland that come first in various categories.
The ceremony was conducted in English, mostly. Present were the president of the games, the mayor of Riga and even the president of the Republic of Latvia. Each dignitary gave a speech and then the show began. Various songs were sung and dances danced. The most exciting for me were two classical pieces by Latvian composers, one accompanied by graceful dancers, and later a group of 5 traditional singers who wandered through the audience as they bellowed ancient Latvian tunes (I had already had a taste of that in the CD store the day before, and the elderly Latvian gentleman beside me, who reminded me uncannily of my German uncle Gerhard, attested to the ancient nature of the music- it was wonderful! Sadly, no DVD or audio CD from this show is available for purchase). Representatives from each participating country paraded in with their flags. I howled at the entrance of both South Africa and Chinese Taipei. (My heart bleeds for Taiwan that it has to be given that silly designation at international events, but good on them for not letting that stop them!) I felt energised after the show and ended up walking most of the way back to the guesthouse. It was here in Riga that my feet and legs started to work and enjoy the motion.
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| Riga Arena, World Choir Games 2014 (more) |
Kearsney College, South Africa, at the World Choir Games
The next day, I followed a route through mostly Old Town Riga recommended by the Lonely Planet to take in the Art Nouveau features of its architecture. Flourishing around the turn of the 20th century, this garish decorative form is said to be more prevalent in Riga than any other European city.
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| Riga's Art Nouveau (more) |
On one of the tram rides, a family from Taiwan was traveling together. The patriarch arose and told one of them to press the button to tell the driver to stop, which I read as my cue to practice my Mandarin. I told him that it was not necessary to press a button, and at first he just repeated what I'd said. Then the penny dropped and his amazed response was "He understands!" I explained that I also live in Taiwan, at which point all the younger ladies (there might have been three) wanted to take a picture with me. When I told them that I'd lived in Taiwan for 13 years, they called me Taiwanese and got all the more excited. As it transpired, they were in Riga specifically to attend the World Choir Games, and they hailed from Kaohsiung, the largest city in Southern Taiwan.
Later, I had an early dinner at Gutenbergs Restaurant on the rooftop of a hotel of the same name. Bread was brought to the table in a fabric basket. Each individual baby bread looked like a mini muffin, and they were served, naturally, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I came here for traditional Latvian fare, and perhaps it was, but the menu read like those in many (good) restaurants. My leg of lamb was tender, juicy and scrumptious. There was revelry galore going on in the streets below. I could hear but not see. Was it to do with the football or the choir games?
After dinner, I headed over to the Great Guild to see the second performance I'd booked. On the program were a Spanish choir, one from Singapore, a Canadian ensemble, and another whose nationality I cannot just now remember. The final group was the Stellenbosch University Choir from none other than the Republic of South Africa. I enjoyed all (despite not really being a great fan of watching choirs - I prefer there to be action or at least different instrumentalists to watch), but I was most overjoyed at the Stellenbosch performance. Of course, I am biased, but I will say, no choir sings like an African choir - there is just something about the music and the voices that sing it that outshines all others.
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| The Great Guild (more) |
It was with a heavy heart that I departed Riga the next morning. If I ever have another opportunity, I would gladly go back and spend more time exploring. But there was still much to see and do, so I boarded my bus to Pärnu in Estonia. Before getting on, I had to show my passport to the conductor. It surprised me because neither had I been asked for it nor had I thought to ready it when I passed from Lithuania into Latvia. The roads north of Riga were obviously repaved earlier than the ones to the south, and it was a smooth ride. Here slower-moving traffic edged onto the shoulder of the road, allowing faster vehicles to pass. I have only ever witnessed this behaviour in South Africa, and I was very impressed with the considerate use of motorways. Crossing into Estonia I was not asked to show my passport - there was no border control - and here, too, headlamps shone throughout the day. It was then that I started to expect it throughout my trip, and I was correct - in Helsinki, Reykjavik and St Petersburg the same law applied.
