July 29: Loving Latvia!
I’m loving Latvia! Today’s ride took me from the island of Saaremaa in Estonia along the coastline south to Riga, Latvia. Friendly people, accessible beaches, a huge central market, and great food – everything about today was a blast. Everything that is except getting lost in the woods outside a military base trying to find my hotel for the night.
I left my island hotel this morning in great spirits as today’s weather was one of the best so far for this summer trip. Blue skies, warm temperatures, a mild breeze, and no rain! Woohoo! As this was just the fourth day this summer that I did not get drenched by a downpour I was in a celebratory mood.
I enjoyed my ferry ride to the mainland, eating a hearty bowl of meat soup and sharing biking stories with a couple from Sweden. Heading south I tried to soak in the picturesque views of the fields and farmlands, knowing it might be a long time before I could return to Estonia.
Shortly after crossing the Latvian border, I noticed that I could see gorgeous views of the Gulf of Riga to my right. I pulled the bike over and was delighted to find a soft sandy beach surrounded by beautiful dunes and evergreen trees. Children and families were playing in the water, sunbathing, and walking along the shore.
After spending some time enjoying the good weather and the inspiring view, I continued south to Riga, the capital of Latvia and the largest city in the Baltic States. My ride into the town was a little tricky as the road was extremely uneven and paved with cobblestones. However, I was easily able to find the Central Market, and was fortunate enough to get a parking spot from a group of taxi drivers who insisted I share their space.
I don’t typically enjoy visiting large cities on the bike, but I simply couldn’t resist checking out this huge bazaar – Europe’s largest – located in five pavilions constructed out of German Zeppelin hangers and situated on the Daugava River. Each hanger had a different category of food from fruits and vegetables, raw meat, food to eat, and other choices. I got what must have been a five-pound bag of blueberries for about $6.
After leaving the city, I headed a little north to the town of Adazi for an amazing dinner at Vistinas Karbonades Steiki, an eatery that ages their beef for thirty days and charges half of what I would pay in Portland. My steak, served with three different salts (pink Himalayan, black lava, and smoked) and a creamy peppercorn sauce, was perfectly cooked and extremely flavorful. I chewed every bite off the bone and finished all the sauce.
It's good that I had such a hearty dinner because finding the hotel ended up taking a fair amount of energy. Because I have been making reservations at budget motels, I have run into quite a bit of logistical issues finding my lodging and getting the bike parked and unloaded. I have learned to set aside an hour or two out of each day to facilitate the check in process. The lack of signage and poor access have been so bad in many cases that it has been quite humorous.
Tonight’s hotel, however, took the cake. I called the manager ahead of time, as I often do at this point because I have learned it helps to resolve some of the issues in advance. When we spoke, he mentioned that google maps would take me the wrong way, but that Apple Maps should work.
After verifying that I had the correct address in Apple Maps, I headed off for what the app said would be a 17-minute trip to the hotel. I started to get concerned when the road I was on deteriorated significantly and I realized there were no other cars there. I could see barbed wire fences all along the road to my left, thick forest to my right, and warning signs in another language that I couldn’t read. But the word “militars” sure sounded like military to me and I worried I was trespassing on government property.
As I jostled down the road trying to find spots of pavement between the potholes, I kept hoping the problems were temporary and the hotel would somehow appear. However, when the map told me to take a muddy dirt path through the forest, I realized I needed to make a change of plans and stopped the bike.
Fortunately, a kind man named Arthur happened to come along from the other direction and I waved him down. It turns out he could speak both English and Latvian and after talking with the hotel manager for about 15 minutes he was able to figure out where I needed to go. To say I was relieved when he offered to lead me there is an understatement.
When I arrived, they told me that everybody had trouble finding them. Why, I wondered, did they not post signage on the roads leading to their establishment? One thing I do know – when I leave tomorrow, I will be going back to the main road a different way than I came!
