August 1, 2021
This morning I’m heading from Vilnius to Riga, Latvia, which for some reason I feel like I am going to enjoy the most out of the Baltic capitals. I have a flight out of here in a few days, so if I enjoy it I might just stay a while.
Cinnamon Sally Backpacker’s Hostel is a small little trek from the bus stop and tricky to find, as you have to enter through a McDonald’s and take an elevator upstairs, but eventually I figured it out.
The hostel is so cute, and has a common space that feels like it’s your own living room. Again, there’s a no shoes rule, which I didn’t expect to be a custom here, but again I don’t mind it. I get a top bunk in a big dorm, but there’s a charger so I’ll survive. There’s free breakfast, and the receptionist is super attentive and welcoming. He even offered me to switch to an all girls dorm after he initially gave me the top bunk because a space opened up, but I had already settled in (which only would have been about 5 minutes of work to be fair), so I declined. I’ve become accustomed to dorm life so one dorm over another really does not make a difference to me. I was also busy watching the Olympics so I didn’t want to get up.
For lunch I sit outside at Sal & Pepe, which has a nice garden. This was a pretty good meal at an alright price for Riga.
Then I do some quick exploring around the old town at St. Peter’s, Freedom Monument, the Cathedral, Alberta Street, Town Hall Square, House of Blackheads, the Swedish Gate, the Opera, Nativity of Christ Cathedral, the Three Brothers, and end at Vermanes Garden. I sit in the garden on a bench for a while until I get hungry for dinner.
I walk a bit to Reigys Ausmena Kebabs, but the architecture is great so I don’t mind. It’s not only beautiful but unique. This restaurant isn’t a typical kebab restaurant, as it’s more of a fast-casual modern take. The kebab was messy, and they didn’t give me any napkins, but otherwise it was tasty.
August 2, 2021
I have a tour scheduled so I stop at Caffeine Café for a quick bite on the way, where I finally get a proper almond croissant for breakfast. I also got some hot tea since it’s cold here.
Now it’s time for the Museum of Occupation guided tour of KGB headquarters (aka the Corner House). This is supposed to be better than Vilnius or Estonia so if you must pick one, pick this one (although I don’t have reviews for the others so maybe I am wrong). If you are in town, you absolutely must go here especially if you get the student discount, which they didn’t even check my ID for. I learned so many cool things and the property is well kept so you can really understand what it was like to be a prisoner there.
Now I’m stopping at Riga Central Market because it looks like one of the cooler markets I’ve been to. It’s a huge market that once you are inside is pretty standard, but it’s housed in what I believe are airplane hangars so it looks cooler from the outside.
I have to go to class now so I stop at MiiT Coffee for lunch. They have a different lunch menu everyday with vegan food. They kicked me out for some reason and I was really confused, so I just left without asking questions because it was a strange interaction. I’m not sure if they thought I wasn’t buying anything because I was sitting at a table setting my stuff up while I waited for the line to shorten, or this had to do with COVID regulations. Anyhow, I didn’t actually get to try the food because I had to get to class.
Instead, I go around the corner to Big Bad Bagels, which doesn’t have indoor seating. Luckily the WiFi reaches outside because I have a quiz to take. The bagels were really tasty and cheap so I definitely recommend going here for a quick lunch.
For dinner I end up at Duvel’s Gastropub after several other failed attempts at finding a place to eat. I order a burger, which was pretty good and sit in the covered outdoor seating.
Everything was closed or shut down for some reason at 8 pm on a Monday, which was strange to me even for Europe, especially in the summer when the sun is still up here for like two more hours! I’m a bit frustrated with Riga because of the COVID regulations, and the fact that while my hostel is very cute and cozy, it’s not set up in a great way to get work done. I’ve decided to leave since I’ve heard Tallinn is great for digital nomads, so hopefully they will have some better options to work.
Check Out My Guide to Riga ⧉
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