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Latvia

Latvia

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Latvia is one of the three Baltic states (with Estonia and Lithuania). It borders Russia (east), and Belarus (southeast) and shares a maritime border with Sweden (west).

Once again this is a nation that we both had little knowledge of before entering. Like many of the nations in and around eastern Europe, they have been at the mercy of the big nation states around them (notably Russia and Germany). It finally got its independence at the end of WWI but was forcibly subsumed into the Soviet Union at the beginning of WWII. It was invaded by Germany in 1941 and retaken by Russia in 1944.

The Singing Revolution

At the end of the Cold War the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania sought and ultimately peacefully won their independence. It manifested in a series of events between 1987 and 1991 where widespread dissatisfaction with the Soviet system provoked mass demonstrations (peacefully singing). The Latvian official independence occurred on 21 August 1991.

The area that is now Latvia has a history dating back to 3000 years BC. One of the last corners of Europe to join Christendom, Latvians are still very much pagans at heart. They worship nature by jumping over bonfires at Midsummer Eve, and many surnames are about birds, animals or trees. Today with a population of just under 2 million,

Riga

Our time throughout the Baltics was short, but the long summer days (20 hours of daylight) gave us more than enough time to look around and get our tourist on. As with most of the European older towns and cities, most of the old touristy stuff is in the central area, or Old Town area of the city. The rest of the place is just like any other modern city and the surrounding suburbs. Interesting enough, but not really blog worthy or anything different.

Our first port of call, having got off the train was to hit the Riga Central Markets. The markets are set up in a series of five WWI Zeppelin aircraft hangars. It covers a vast floor space and is Europe’s largest market. There are more than 3,000 vendors that sell an impressive range of fresh local produce. The stalls are divided neatly into each hangar with meat, fish, dairy, and vegetables all found separately.

We had limited time on day one so did a quick scoot through vowing to come back tomorrow for our lunch. This vow was based upon seeing some of the most amazing deli meats and cheeses that can be found. Add to this some really delicious looking other random items and how could you not want to go back and gorge yourself.

As it turned out this was a mistake as the next day was Monday and the food court bit was closed. There was still much of the fresh fruit and produce, and being berry season the quantity, quality and price of the berries put our measly offerings back home to shame.

So our first evenings walk was aiming for the Freedom Monument.

It is a 42 meter tall monument honouring the soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920).

It is considered a symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia.

But to get there we found ourselves walking through the abundance of green space that is throughout Riga. For an old city it really is fantastically well laid out with a ton of green areas for the people to enjoy. Throw in the usual mix of old buildings and you immediately get a great feel about the place.

The next morning it was up and into it. So we headed down to the markets, only to be disappointed. We checked out where we would be leaving the next day (bus station) and made out way into old town once again to do the tourist thing.

The House of the Blackheads was originally built in 1334 as a warehouse, meeting and celebration place for merchants.

During the 15th century it was used by the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried merchants, shipowners and foreigners in Riga.

Over the years, many citizens of Riga became interested in the property, and carried out different works to expand and reform it, following a purely Gothic style. However, the old House of the Blackheads was completely destroyed during World War II.

The National Opera and Ballet was a nice enough building in the midst of the gardens and green spaces.

St. Peter’s Church is the highest church in Riga and a significant Gothic-style 13th-century architectural monument.

The tower is more than 130 meters tall and was completed at the end of the 15th century.

Since then it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1666 it collapsed, in 1721, lightning struck the tower and it burned down and during WWII the church and tower burned down.

The National Library of Latvia sits on the other side of the river (the Daugava) from Old Town. The architecture is seriously cool.

The Old Town has an interesting architecture mix and most of the buildings have the status of cultural monuments. Almost everywhere you look in the old town area are some seriously nice buildings. It is really clean and well maintained and the people are happy, friendly and accommodating.

The streets and squares of Old Riga open up to countless restaurants, cafes and bars. Having come from Prague and Poland and heading north we are noticing a considerable increase in the pricing as we get closer to Scandinavia.

With almost 500 km of coast, Latvia has tons of beaches added to this over half its territory is covered by forest. As an interesting side note, it was Latvian-born tailor Jacob Davis who in 1871 in Reno, Nevada, invented denim as a tough material for trousers. He then went into partnership with Levi Strauss and made a fortune.

Latvian Beer

I am very pleased to report that the Latvian beers were very nice indeed. The price is increasing, but still not quite up to Australian pricing, but the quality of brew is much better. And much like the European standard, each ale earns its own glass,

Both Latvia and Lithuania have been lovely. Our next port of call will be to ride the bus up to Estonia where, if you believe the tourist blurb, the old town is even better again. But so far, if you are looking for a great European summer holiday, you cant really go past spending the month of August travelling in and about the three Baltic nations.

Argentina

Buenos Aires

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Buenos Aires is the capital and main city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast. “Buenos Aires” is Spanish for “fair winds” or “good airs”.

According to the blurb it was the Spanish coloniser Pedro de Mendoza (in 1580) that established the first settlement there, which he named Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire (“Our Lady St. Mary of the Good Air”). Buenos Aires locals are referred to as porteños (“people of the port”) because so many of the city’s inhabitants historically arrived by boat from Europe.

Our arrival into Buenos Aires was similar to those, and we came in through the port. We were just one of several ships in that day, and to say that the port was bedlam, would be an understatement. We had teamed up with our dinner buddies (Kurtis and Mark) who had a thing for gardening, so we got out of the port and Ubered our way to the botanical gardens (for about $4).

I am much more a statue guy than a garden guy, and the photos clearly reflect that. That said, the gardens were nice, with the exception of the mosquitos that absolutely loved by high quality Aussie blood. There were trees aplenty and even a butterfly garden buried among all of the foliage.

To say that Buenos Aires is a dog friendly city would be an understatement. The sheer number of dogs in public parks and on leashes wandering the city was astounding. And these pooches are seriously pampered.

Sadly the wealth and influence of the city far overshadows the rest of the country. But as with all cities Buenos Aires also reflects Argentina’s economic and social problems. Homelessness and drug use were evident, although at no point did we feel unsafe or uneasy.

After the gardens we found a few little holes in the wall that fed and watered us for a ridiculously cheap price. Jill and I had 3 empanadas each washed down by a pint of the local brew (and a sampling of some others – including an on tap gin and tonic) for the princely sum of $8.40. After that we found a local deli and then a bakery, damn I think I might be falling in love with Argentina.

One of the major attractions of the city is the Recoleta Cemetery. In 1822, the former garden was turned into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Known as the “city of the dead” or “city of angels”, Recoleta cemetery has a layout similar to a city with one main street, diagonals, narrow corridors and internal passageways.

 It is set in an area of 5.5 ha (14 acres) and you will find around 4800 vaults and mausoleums. The cemetery is more of an open air museum than anything else. As soon as you walk through the doorway you are met with amazing architecture, works of art and sculptures.

More than 20 presidents, 25 city mayors, 40 governors, Nobel prizes, writers, politicians, engineers and even a caretaker are buried at Recoleta cemetery. But the most famous is that Recoleta Cemetery is the resting place for María Eva Duarte de Perón (known as “Evita”).

Outside the cemetery is a park known as Intendente Torcuato de Alvear. This area turned into a huge market on day two of our exploring.

Plazoleta Chabuca Granda (the oldest tree in town) also sits in the square outside the cemetery. It even has a statue of a dude holding up one of the super heavy branches.

Just next door to the cemetery you can find the Nuestra Señora de Pilar church. Built in 1732 it is one of the oldest in the city.

In reality I got a bit turned around when exploring here. On day one we were at the cemetery and on day two we were at the Nuestra Señora de Pilar church (to follow). In reality these are side by side but I entered and exited the cemetery from the same way and did not even realise this. The next day we came at it from the opposite side and took a photo of the church that I had almost sat on the steps of the day before.

Buenos Aires is an amazing city with wide avenues and a true cosmopolitan flair that feels more European than Latin American. There are some huge colonial landmark buildings but the real feel of the city is the differences between the individual neighbourhoods. Each one has its own distinct feel and have their own meeting places, generally coffeehouses or bars.

At night Buenos Aires’s nightclubs (boites) come alive as people flock together to dance the tango.

This famous dance originated in the lower-class areas of the city and is said to ‘reflect the soul of the Argentina’.

While we didn’t go to a tango club, the ship did bring some of the best dancers on board that evening to put on a show.

If you want to do the full tourist thing there are any number of these boites that will offer you dinner and a tango show.

But in reality, if you wander about a bit at night, you almost cant help but run across random tango breakouts.

As we were in town for two full days and day one was taken up with gardens and the cemetery, day two saw us hitting the major sights and the neighbourhoods. Lets say up front, two days was not enough. But it was what we had, so we hopped a cab ($5) to Plaza de Mayo which is the oldest public square in Buenos Aires.

The square is named after the Argentine revolution, which began on 25 May 1810. It has been the scene of many of the most important events in the city’s history, from the second founding of the city in 1580, through the revolution of independence, to more recent political demonstrations.

Around the square are several important buildings: the Cabildo (old town hall now national museum), the Metropolitan Cathedral (where Pope Francis conducted mass for 20 years), the Casa Rosada (Pink House or Presidential Palace and site where Evita gave some of the more famous speeches), the national revenue office, the national bank and the intelligence secretariat.

As a random bit of knowledge, apparently, they used to do a version of running of the bulls in the square, prior to the revolution.

The Pirámide de Mayo is at the hub of the Plaza de Mayo and is the oldest national monument in the city.

It’s construction was ordered in 1811 to celebrate the first anniversary of the May Revolution.

It was renovated in 1856 and in 1912 was moved 63 metres with the idea that a much larger monument would eventually be constructed around it.

Having done the plaza we walked past the bank and along one of the many parks to explore the city more fully. We wandered along wide avenues and took in the interesting mix between the old and new parts of the city.

La Boca is a colourful neighborhood of Buenos Aires that is characterised by the street artists, narrow streets and brightly painted buildings. In the middle of La Boca is Caminito, a narrow alley flanked by zinc shacks that reflect the district’s early immigrant days. Caminito is more of a street museum than a traditional alley and the area gathered significance as the inspiration for the music for the tango “Caminito (1926)”.

Asado is the term used for South American barbecue. This type of meal is common in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay and usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla (blood sausage). These are cooked on an open fire or grill (called a parrilla) and usually eaten with side dishes and red wine.

Buenos Aires is the city with the highest number of football stadiums in the world. The city has at least 18 professional teams, and the passion for the sport is visible on almost every street corner.

The passion of Argentine football fans is legendary creating an electric atmosphere at each game. The fans choreograph chants, design tifos (giant displays), and ignite the stadium with their undying passion. When doing some research I found the following “Argentine football stadiums are not just structures made of bricks and cement. They are temples of passion, history, and culture. Each corner echoes with tales of legendary matches, iconic goals, and unforgettable moments. Every seat has witnessed emotions ranging from the ecstasy of victory to the heartbreak of defeat.”

How can you really argue with that.

Our last part of the day involved a run down the hill from the cemetery past the Recoletta, through the park (and the market), past the statue in honour of Carlos María de Alvear a military revolutionary (and the towns first mayor).

Across the bridge, through the park, past the bizarre statues of kangaroos and to the massive law school building. I tried to get the story behind why there were kangaroo statues in Buenos Aires but had absolutely no luck.

We didn’t get here but in the Parque Tres de Febrero you can find the 1960s-built planetarium. Looking like a UFO it has projection room with a 20 meter dome and reclining seats for viewing projections of the stars.

And our final port of call before heading out of town was to the Floralis Genérica. This is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas (United Nations Plaza) that was donated to the city by the Argentine artist.

Buenos Aires was amazing. It was neat, clean, friendly and extremely cheap. Meals, taxis and ubers were all incredibly cheap and we have already decided that we will be coming back here many more times.

Croatia

Zagreb

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Zagreb is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative centre of the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb (with a population of just over 800,000), contains almost a quarter of the entire Croatian population. Over the centuries, the city has been inhabited by people from all over Europe.

It is flat and is relatively small compared to other European capitals so walking around is not too taxing.

There are lots of parks and even forests within the city limits.

For us simple tourists it is beautifully laid out in a U shape meaning if you go up one major park, across a bit and back down the other park you have pretty much ticked all the big tourist boxes.

The strict town planning scheme outlined that all streets must be straight and of the same width, and all buildings of the same type and height. The town itself is lovely, but it is a terrible state of disrepair. The main tourist walks are ok but stray just a little off the path and the neglect and graffiti become painfully evident. And they have seriously taken their toll on the city. While it is clear that attempts are being made to pull this back (scaffolding and renovations abound) for now the city looks quite derelict.

For us the obvious place to start our tour of the town was at the top end of the U which was the central railway station. An impressive building (but a rubbish train station) , directly opposite is a huge statue of Kralj Tomislav (former prince and believed ruler dating around the 9th century) on a horse and a park leading towards the Art Pavilion.

Crossing the road from the the Art Pavillion you enter the Park Josipa Jurja Strossmayera (a Croatian bishop, theologian, politician, and founder of central Croatian scientific and cultural institutions). The park is another lovely green space making up the straight part of the U but in reality is a park full of old guy statues.

Next on the U is Park Zrinjevac another green space with fountains and a meteorological column at the end that was erected in 1884.

Popping out of here you find yourself in Ban Jelacic Square. This is the main square of Zagreb and is the starting point for exploring the downtown area. The square is huge, with lovely buildings surrounding it on all four sides. The majority of buildings date back to the 19th century and feature different architectural styles: from post-modernism, Art Nouveau, and Biedermeier.

In the square is yet another very impressive statue of a dude on a horse (Count Josip Jelacic – an important Croatian politician of the 19th century). There is a very impressive copper diorama showing the old town area, also a local (Dolac) market and the usual array of retail shops and transport.

Just around the corner is the main church in town (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed virgin Mary) which has been under permanent renovations for decades. In fact there is not one photo of it in its original form (without scaffolding) for many years. I found one on google images but cannot tell how long ago it looked this way. Our photos are what most people get to see.

Across the U and you find yourself at the bottom of the Lotrščak Tower and the the Grič cannon which fires every day exactly at noon, and has done for over 100 years. The tower was part of the southern gate and town defences against the Turks, built in 1266. The Zagreb Funicular is the shortest funicular in the world but also the oldest and first means of public transportation in Zagreb.

Once up the top you find yourself among a bunch of impressive buildings, museums and galleries along with the impressively roofed St. Marc Church.

Finishing off the bottom of the U you come across the Stone gate (Kamenita Vrata), a very cool horse and dragon statue and into the usual retail and tourist offerings that cannot be avoided.

With all of that done all that is left is to walk the straight part of the other side of the U. The first thing you hit is the Hrvatsko narodno kazalište (Croatian National Theatre), a tribute to Marko Marulić ( the 14th century father of Croatian literature). And of course, lots of green space along the way and finally finishing at the botanical garden.

According to the blurb, the key bits of upper town are the tucked away courtyards within the buildings. Twice a year celebrations (Secrets of Grič, and Dvorišta) open the courtyards to reveal their secrets.

Oh and as is our way, we might have taken the opportunity to sample some of the local beers. They do tend to be very tasty and along the Czech lines however, they are much more gassy which left us feeling similarly.

Horse Statues

On doing the research for this and other cities I came across the following blurb about people who are represented in statues on horses. The position of the horse indicates how the figure died in real life. If the horse has one leg raised it is meant to mean that the person died of wounds from the battlefield. If the horse had its both legs raised, the person died in combat. Lastly, if the horse had all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.