This was a good one. It was our first ‘dual-airport’ trip. If that’s a word? I put them apostrophes around it just to show I have no idea what I’m talking about. We flew from Stanstead to Tallinn, had a couple of days there, got a bus to Riga, couple of days there, and then flew back to Stanstead. Here’s what occurred.
Tallinn
We got off the plane at Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Went to a little shop near the exit and bought a Smartcard, one of the travel cards that are really useful. €2 deposit, and then a few euros for 3 days travel. Simples. Got on a tram, and off we went. We rely on Google Maps for most of our travel. Not only does it give you the routes, it also tells you what number bus to get, and where to change and that. Genuinely a gamechanger for foreign travel.
Got to our AirBnB, a converted barn thing, which was ace, and then walked to the Town Centre. I say town, because it is the old town. Walled, towers, old churches, cobbles, classic old town. Been to a few of these, and this was not a let-down.
Town Hall
First building we went in was the Town Hall. Paid a woman outside a bit of cash. She may or may not have worked there, and walked up a well steep spire. Proper work out, not the safest of trips, but had an ok view at the top. Had a good old walk round, had some lunch, then retired to our barn thing. It wasn’t a barn but could have been.
Cool Buildings
Next day, walked to a different part of town. There are a few hills around the city, and they have these viewing platforms around the place. Went up Kohtuotsa viewing platform, which was quite busy. Weather was lovely, so kept on walking. Came to my favourite building in Tallinn, well, until later. This was Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. One of these orthodox churches, with loads of spires and domes. Russian influence everywhere here, as it was Russian not too long ago. Just opposite it is the Prime Ministers building, I think. Oh, turns out it’s the Estonian Parliament. Knew it was summat to do with her. Quite a few European cities were like this – Parliament just in the middle of a road, with an open car park. Not like our one in London!
Kiek in de Kok
Bit of a walk through a park, and I found my actual favourite building. Not because it was pretty or anything, but because it was called Kiek in de Kok. Amazing. It’s a cannon tower, where I imagined they tortured folk by giving them a kiek in de kok, but it sadly wasn’t true. Turns out it means Peep into the Kitchen, in an old German language. Because they were high towers, built in the city, you could peep into folks’ kitchens. Bah.
Ended up in a Russian café, bought some nice cakes, and some not so nice cakes. Amazing how a bit of lingo and pointing can get you a full meal, whether you wanted it or not. Oh, Stan smashed a glass. We left. Back into the Old Town and had a mooch.
Bye Tallinn
Next day, we went to a massive park, with a massive kid’s park. Spent a bit of time here, had an ice cream. We had all our bags with us, as we were off to catch a coach to go to Riga! The company is called Lux Express, and the coaches were amazing! They were better equipped than our airplane. TV on each head rest, which was touch screen, with films and games. Wi-Fi on board. Free tea and coffee. It was a 4-hour journey, and the kids were well behaved, because of the TV! Would highly recommend. They do connections all over Eastern Europe and would defo get on one again.
Hello Riga
Got to Riga, and it felt different to Tallinn. Obvs, Riga is the capital of Latvia, and a different country. With a different language. This was tricky for me, trying to learn two languages to use in 5 days! I didn’t.
Riga felt bigger and more modern. This was apparent in our choice of AirBnB. 12th floor in a tower block, with floor to ceiling windows and modern everything. Nice, but not great for Char, who hates lifts! Also, the fire escape was non-existent, so that wasn’t much of a worry to someone who suffers from anxiety!
Buildings
Had a snooze, ready for the next day. Which was met with a walk to town! Passed and went in some lovely churches. They really are amazing buildings. I don’t get on board with praising a God, but these places make it easier to do so I reckon! Walked through a busy city, saw some museums. Chatted to an old couple who had come in on a ferry. Saw the Freedom monument, which was quite cool. Independence and that innit.
Laima Clock
One of my favourite pics from the 5 days was taken in front of the Laima Clock. This has been here since the 20s, Laima (a chocolate company) started advertising on it in the 30s. It was used by people as a meeting point before going off on dates and that, which is quite romantic. The Russians knocked it down for a bit, and it was rebuilt in 1999. Well Stan took a pic of Char and I standing in front of this clock tower. He managed to get in a pic of a one-legged woman in a wheelchair too. Amazing.
Three Brothers
Loads of historical buildings in Riga but had a modern feel about it too. There were buildings that were well old, and some that hadn’t even been finished, which made it a tourist place! Found the ‘three brothers’ just about. Three buildings, that were next to each other, all built in different centuries. Meh. Could easily have walked passed and missed them, plus, there isn’t really a good vantage point to take a selfie in front of them. Planners didn’t really think that through, did they?
Phone was dying but forgot the lead for the portable charger. This is another ‘must have’ that we take with us. I have just had a new battery fitted on my iPhone 6S mind, and it lasts much longer! Had to buy a lead from a newsagent, and all was good again. Mainly for using Google Maps and that. I’m not Crushing Candies on my way round or anything.
More Buildings
Walked past the Parliament building. Went through main square and saw some nice buildings. Saw St Peter’s church, which was nice. Saw the House of the Blackheads, which we managed to squeeze into the trip. Ha, get it? This was built in 1334 or something, bombed by the Germans in 1941, and the ruins were demolished by the Russians in 1948. Some dudes rebuilt it in the 1990’s, which was nice of them.
Found the ‘Narrowest Street in Riga’, or the world. Called Rozena Street, it wasn’t even that narrow! I mean, you couldn’t fit a bus down, but defo a small car, a little bit of the way anyway.
Latvian Ethnographic Museum
Next day was our last. We decided to go to one of those open-air museum things. Like a St Fagan’s in Wales if you know it? Has an old village, with buildings of different times. You can go in and see what it was like in the 12th Century or stuff. It was a good place. Spread out a fair amount. Cool thing was the windmill at the end, which you can get inside and climb up to the top. Nice little churches there, which would have been the focal point of these villages back in the day. The only bad bit was, mosquitos! Everywhere. Not sure if it was breeding season, or they had all come for a cultural day out too, but they were annoying.
Got an Uber or Taxify or whatever it was there to the airport. All easy when you have an app and that. Really nice few days all in all. IF I had to choose a favourite, I’d probably say Riga just about edged it. I would defo take a Lux Coach trip again. Big fan of the double country trip too! We still wanted to do a longer road trip, hitting Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Minsk and Kiev, but that would be a lot of work, especially with Belarus being a bit difficult with hire cars and that. We’ll probs go to the other ones one day anyway!