July 2: Tallinn to Riga
Dear Friends and Relatives,
Sylvia beaming in after our transit today from Estonia to Lativa and its capital city of Riga. We started this morning with breakfast in Tallinn and then a quick dash to get everything stowed under the bus before proceeding to RIga. We were on the road until about 7:00 p.m., and that included three stops along the way.
Our first stop was at Parnu, home of an international music festival held every year, situated at the Gulf of Riga. Magnificent but unpredictable clouds scudded by, and the wind whipped our hair as we strolled a bit of the beach, then returned to the bus. From there we continued through the countryside of that area, had a magnificent lunch at a restaurant by a lake, then proceeded to Turaida Castle, our next venue, before a deluge hit us. My stupid umbrella had broken in transit, so I was wet, but we were going to stroll the Turaida complex, and nothing was going to keep me from it! Turaida is close to the town of Sigulda, a key venue for vacationers, both during the summer and the winter. We walked through the Turaida Museum Reserve, which comprises a partially reconstructed castle and extensive grounds scattered with outbuildings. Built on the site of a medieval stockade fort, Turaida was one of the bishop of Riga’s key strongholds from the year 1214 on, surviving numerous wars and finally reduced to rubble when lightning hit its gunpowder magazine in the early 18th c.
The complex has undergone a lot of rebuilding, and is very atmospheric in nature. The Toraida Church is nearby and is a shingle-roofed building with a Baroque tower. It is also a great place to get married, as there is associated with the place the legend of Turaida Rose, a girl who fell in love with.a humble gardener, Viktor. At the same time she was being subjected to the unwanted attentions of a Polish Army deserter. When he trapped her in a nearby cave, she wound a scarf given to her by Viktor around her neck and thought it would shield her from harm. It did not, and when the deserter realized he had killed her, he committed suicide himself. Couples who marry at the Turaida Church often walk the short distance to Maia’s grave for her blessing and photographs of their wedding. A lovely story!
From Turaida we continued south to Riga. On the way we completed our last stop to a Secret Soviet Bunker, where we were toured by an incredible young man who conducted us down five stories into this disconcerting reminder of past Soviet aggression. As we went through the facility, the following sites could be seen: an electrical station with diesel generators and fuel reservoirs; conditioning equipment for air purification; special telecommunication units that secured direct communication with Moscow; Kremlin and autonomous communication with the key services in the entire country; water supply and sewerage equipment which operates in accordance with submarine principles; unique maps with historic names of collective arms and arms of cities; canteen with a typical Soviet menu; plans and projections in regard to what would happen if because of a war dams of all hydropower stations were destroyed, which territories would be underwater and how that would affect the largest towns. There were books by Marx, Lenin, Brezhnev and other Soviet polititians; ideological literature; Soviet memorabilia, household and daily items. I wasn’t keen to go this time, as I had been to one in Moscow, but the leader of our tour was too good to pass up and made the potentially lethal subject excitingn and worthy of attention.
After an hour there, we spent the next two hours driving to Riga, on the Gulf of Riga.
We have gotten to our room, which is in the Hotel Avalon and is located on the 7th floor. We have two narrow cuts to the right as we enter the room, and one set of windows looking out on 4 church steeples, the other on the inner courtyard of the hotel.
So sorry, but I need to hit the hay, as I slept marginally last night, at best. Dinner, however, was great tonight, including a turkey broth soup, duck confit with vegetables, and a white chocolate - cranberry fondant. Tomorrow we start exploring historic Riga. With all the Art Nouveau or Jugendstil architecture and decorative items the city boasts, this is going to possibly rate high with me. But now I must sleep, so good night! As ever, Sylvia
Sylvia beaming in after our transit today from Estonia to Lativa and its capital city of Riga. We started this morning with breakfast in Tallinn and then a quick dash to get everything stowed under the bus before proceeding to RIga. We were on the road until about 7:00 p.m., and that included three stops along the way.
Our first stop was at Parnu, home of an international music festival held every year, situated at the Gulf of Riga. Magnificent but unpredictable clouds scudded by, and the wind whipped our hair as we strolled a bit of the beach, then returned to the bus. From there we continued through the countryside of that area, had a magnificent lunch at a restaurant by a lake, then proceeded to Turaida Castle, our next venue, before a deluge hit us. My stupid umbrella had broken in transit, so I was wet, but we were going to stroll the Turaida complex, and nothing was going to keep me from it! Turaida is close to the town of Sigulda, a key venue for vacationers, both during the summer and the winter. We walked through the Turaida Museum Reserve, which comprises a partially reconstructed castle and extensive grounds scattered with outbuildings. Built on the site of a medieval stockade fort, Turaida was one of the bishop of Riga’s key strongholds from the year 1214 on, surviving numerous wars and finally reduced to rubble when lightning hit its gunpowder magazine in the early 18th c.
The complex has undergone a lot of rebuilding, and is very atmospheric in nature. The Toraida Church is nearby and is a shingle-roofed building with a Baroque tower. It is also a great place to get married, as there is associated with the place the legend of Turaida Rose, a girl who fell in love with.a humble gardener, Viktor. At the same time she was being subjected to the unwanted attentions of a Polish Army deserter. When he trapped her in a nearby cave, she wound a scarf given to her by Viktor around her neck and thought it would shield her from harm. It did not, and when the deserter realized he had killed her, he committed suicide himself. Couples who marry at the Turaida Church often walk the short distance to Maia’s grave for her blessing and photographs of their wedding. A lovely story!
From Turaida we continued south to Riga. On the way we completed our last stop to a Secret Soviet Bunker, where we were toured by an incredible young man who conducted us down five stories into this disconcerting reminder of past Soviet aggression. As we went through the facility, the following sites could be seen: an electrical station with diesel generators and fuel reservoirs; conditioning equipment for air purification; special telecommunication units that secured direct communication with Moscow; Kremlin and autonomous communication with the key services in the entire country; water supply and sewerage equipment which operates in accordance with submarine principles; unique maps with historic names of collective arms and arms of cities; canteen with a typical Soviet menu; plans and projections in regard to what would happen if because of a war dams of all hydropower stations were destroyed, which territories would be underwater and how that would affect the largest towns. There were books by Marx, Lenin, Brezhnev and other Soviet polititians; ideological literature; Soviet memorabilia, household and daily items. I wasn’t keen to go this time, as I had been to one in Moscow, but the leader of our tour was too good to pass up and made the potentially lethal subject excitingn and worthy of attention.
After an hour there, we spent the next two hours driving to Riga, on the Gulf of Riga.
We have gotten to our room, which is in the Hotel Avalon and is located on the 7th floor. We have two narrow cuts to the right as we enter the room, and one set of windows looking out on 4 church steeples, the other on the inner courtyard of the hotel.
So sorry, but I need to hit the hay, as I slept marginally last night, at best. Dinner, however, was great tonight, including a turkey broth soup, duck confit with vegetables, and a white chocolate - cranberry fondant. Tomorrow we start exploring historic Riga. With all the Art Nouveau or Jugendstil architecture and decorative items the city boasts, this is going to possibly rate high with me. But now I must sleep, so good night! As ever, Sylvia
So glad you found these Road Scholar tours! They seem to have good itineraries at a fair pace
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