Yesterday was a bit of a laid back day, starting with doing a spot of washing at a Laundromat which Rob had sussed out on the internet before we left Australia. While the washing was going around and around, we went to a Church nearby and sat in on their service. The organ was playing and the choir was singing. The choir was up in the gallery so we couldn’t see them, but most of the choristers sounded like teenagers, and sang very well. The service was fairly low key, with a smallish congregation, but the church was lovely.
We spent the afternoon doing some lovely walking across the wide river which has several bridges across it. It was rather hot in the sun but we ducked into the shade whenever we could. We decided to catch one of their old dual set trams back to near the central produce market in the old Zeppelin hangars, instead of walking back. Before coming to Riga we had found out the ticket prices for tram rides and had our money ready to pay, but there was nobody on board to take our money and we could only see electronic scanners for those who had electronic tickets. Oh well, we did try to pay but managed to have a free ride.
Today we did a trip to Sigulda on the train. The diesel train was very old and had about 5 or 6 carriages. The tickets on the train here are very cheap, with a one way ticket only costing the equivalent of about $3 for a trip of over an hour. Mind you, the quality of the ride left something to be desired. The carriage shook quite a bit when slowing down and the suspension of the train appeared to need restoration, however the seats were very comfortable. We arrived in Sigulda then caught a little old mini bus to Turaida to visit the Turaida Museum Reserve (the most visited museum site in Latvia). The Reserve is a heritage site of 42 hectares of grounds, with archaeological, architectural, historical and art monuments, all of which provide an account of the events from the eleventh century onwards. The main site we went to see was the old Turaida castle, which was originally built in 1214 and burnt down in 1776 but the original medieval structures are preserved in the basement and ground floor levels. The castle tower is still pretty much intact and the ruins of the old castle have been preserved. The Turaida Church was also worth a visit – built in 1750 and it is a timber building with a lovely baroque spire. Turaida is a very beautiful area and so green and lush, with lots of lovely flowers.
We caught another little bus to Krimulda, only 5 minutes away, to see the ancient castle and manor. We went past the old castle ruins, then got off the bus and walked to the old Krimulda manor and estate. Whilst it was interesting, the whole site was looking rather shabby and needs a lot more care and restoration, which the authorities are aware of. We caught a cable car over the Gauja River Valley. We saw scenic views of the surrounding forests, running down to the river. The cable car went down into the valley, then up again to Sigulda. From the cable car stop in Sigulda, we walked back to the train station, through what they call the Walking Stick park, which has lots of highly decorated walking sticks, which creates lots of fun for kids. Walking-stick Park was established in 2007 and is dedicated to a symbol of Sigulda – a walking stick. For more than 200 years, locals have been making sticks for tourists and this tradition is still lives today.
We rattled and shook our way back on the train to Riga. All in all, it was very nice relaxing day.
