Riga, Latvia – A Beautiful City with Colorful Culture

As hard as it was to leave Georgia, Latvia had been on my bucket list, so I decided to save a few days for a stop in Riga on my way out of Europe (for now ;-). As we made the final approach into the airport, a wave of excitement passed through me as I saw the beautiful, quiet coastline.

I took a local bus from the airport to my apartment and was able to drop off my bag a few hours before check-in. Hungry and anxious to see the city, I chose a restaurant and headed out on a walk in that direction. I only made it about 1 block to the nearest park where there was a huge arts and music festival going on for the week…. perfect! I was so excited, I abandoned my food plan for an hour or so and detoured through the park. The vibe was so positive and happy as people browsed the booths, watched the traditional singers and dancers, and ate some of the local fare. I even found a few new sound healing tools for my growing collection! It was really fun and so much community, I knew I would be spending much more time here in the coming days/nights despite the off/on rains. These people are tough and nothing was going to stop the party!

Finally, after some time at the festival, I continued into town to get some lunch and see what else Riga had to offer. It was so refreshing being in a clean and organized city. The architecture was so diverse and beautiful and I ended up with an amazing seafood stew which was the perfect way to start my culinary experience.

Over the next couple of days, I ventured out a bit more, one morning, taking the 5AM train to Kemeri National Park to explore the bogs. After a lonely hour on the train and a 3km walk through the cemetery, I reached the park around 6:30AM. There was one woman leaving as I was entering, then I had the whole place to myself. It was absolutely amazing! There is a 3.5km raised trail through the bogs with a lookout tower about halfway through the loop. There are also several sitting areas and platforms perfect for some peaceful meditation! Another good decision to get up early and explore!

After my time in the bog, on my way back to the train station, I noticed there was a trail leading into the woods on the opposite side of the road from the main cemetery, leading to some older looking gravesites. My curiosity led me in and it was beautiful!…I even found a tombstone that looked like a cat!

When I reached the station, I waited a few minutes for the next train and then headed for Jurmala, a beach town about 30 minutes away. Here I put my feet in the Black Sea, got a bite for lunch, and explored the quaint little town. It did not disappoint either!

The last couple of days, I wanted to see a bit more of Riga, so I booked a short boat ride that took me down the Daugava River that runs through town, and out to the Gulf of Riga.

Once back to the boat launch, I took a walk across the river to explore the neighborhood of Kipsala, located on a small island between the Daugava River and the Zunda Channel. Here there are many old wooden houses, quiet cobblestone streets, and forested areas. It felt like a bit of escape from the more modern part of Riga across the river.

Later, I made my way off the island and to the Castle of Light that houses the National Library of Latvia, which opened in 2014, and was designed to resemble a mountain topped with a flame. In the library, there is an impressive “People’s Library” in a glass display that spans five floors with books donated by Riga residents. On the grounds, there are several cool statues and sculptures where I enjoyed literally getting inside of someone’s head and seeing the building from a different perspective.

And all too quickly, my time in Latvia came to an end. I flew back to Lisbon for 4 nights to visit with Luci, my sweet friend who I met and stayed with (in her AirBnB) for a month in Almoçageme, during my first visit to Portugal. We had a fun night at the Melvins concert before I flew back to Colorado to visit my friends, family, and sweet old cat Max, who is now 18-1/2 years old.

I will be in Denver until Sept. 10, if anyone would like to get together and catch up. While in town, I will be working on my future plans for better life retreats, yoga classes, and sound baths, etc.! More to come soon on all of this, but I’m so excited to be moving forward into the next chapter of my life!

Thank you for all of your love and support as you followed my 8 month journey towards fulfilling my dreams! It truly means the world to me and you are always in my heart!

Hugs, Michelle