Tag Archives: Statues

Jul6

Exploring Latvia, in the city of Riga

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Monday, 10-June-2024, through Saturday, 15-June-2024


I liked Riga.



It felt a bit smaller than Tallinn, and didn’t have the strongly-defined (and walled off) old town, but the old town was definitely there, and was absolutely lovely to wander around. Whereas Tallinn was built around the walls of the old town, Riga seemed to be built around the river – beautiful parks running along both banks, with amazing sculptures throughout.

Lots of beautiful buildings, and I definitely spent quite a bit of time just wandering and appreciating the architecture that surrounded me. It definitely felt like it was newer than Tallinn’s old town, with buildings that seemed a bit more… sculptural? Maybe? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was definitely a subtly different feel to the city. Neither good nor bad, but definitely interesting.




In all candor, I was also starting to burn out while I was in Riga. This marked my halfway point for the trip – it was my sixth week traveling, and I was starting to feel it. Museums became a bit more monotonous, and I didn’t quite have the endurance to see multiple galleries in a single day. I was still walking a ton (between 5 and 10 miles a day), but I was taking it a bit more slowly… and needing a bit more down time in the hotel in the mornings and evenings.

There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s part of anything – six weeks of vacation and museums and walking can wear on a soul similarly to six weeks of work… it’s a better type of wear, and I’d choose it every day over going back to the chaos of work, but it’s still there.

I took some days lighter than I normally would have. I rested a bit more, watched a bit more cartoons, and finished the book I was reading. I did laundry at a laundromat downtown, and relaxed at a cafe while the machine tumbled. I didn’t take a hard-rest, but I definitely slowed down a bit… I can’t tell you if it would have been better to fully stop, but I can say that slowing down definitely helped quite a bit.



Ohh! One extra fun part!

I found an archery range! By “range” I mean “a few cloths draped between trees, with some targets set up and a very overworked guy trying to keep the kids from shooting each other”. Like… seriously, how was this legal? I had fun plonking a few arrows into a target… but dear god it was concerning being around there.



Now, the part that everyone loves – Food! Where did I eat while adventuring around Latvia?

  • LIDO – A sort of cafeteria-style place, grab your tray and pick your food. Interesting, and I believe it was fairly authentic Latvian fare?
  • Rozengrals Vinarium Civitatis Rigensis – Very fancy spot, in an old wine cellar, with a strong medieval theme. Fun, but… I don’t know. I went on a Tuesday, and I think it’s more of a “go on the weekend” kind of place.
  • Big Bad Bagels – Awesome and simple. The bagels were great.
  • Portofino – Delicious italian spot… though their website was out of date, which meant that the meatballs that I was craving weren’t on the menu. But still, good food!
  • Caffeine – Awesome and simple coffee shop, beautifully welcoming for me to spend some time blogging.
  • This Place Doesn’t Need a Name – Ehh. This was okay. Wouldn’t really recommend, though the decor was really cool.
  • Cherry Fix – I spent an evening purging my system of this dinner, and then three more days recovering. Do not recommend. This’ll get its own blog post soon enough.
Jun20

A brief introduction to the Djurgården

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A brief introduction to the Djurgården

Monday, 27-May-2024


One of the big spots on my list of places to visit in Stockholm was the legendarily-huge park, the Djurgården. I’d heard stories of it before, from family and friends, and was looking forward to taking a good long walk in the woods. I’d been rocking the city life since Reykjavik, and some clean air and animal sounds were sounding pretty great to me.

After leaving the Vasa Museum, I knew it was a bit too late to kick off a true exploration of the gardens… but I am a pretty big fan of recon missions… and the Vasa Museum is right next to one of the entrances…

I checked my map, grabbed a quick snack, and headed in.



Stepping into Djurgården proper, or at least the nature section since technically the Vasa Museum is within the bounds, wasn’t much different from stepping into any city park – There were beautifully flowering plants, people picnicking, and some folks playing various lawn games. It was pretty, but nothing especially unique… at first.

As I continued walking, the garden became more and more wild. Where most city parks will maintain that base level of “tamed nature”, the Djurgården became less tame. I passed one last restaurant, and found myself in a forest of oak trees and wild underbrush. I could almost, just barely, hear some city noises… but I was essentially insulated, hearing mainly the wind in the trees and the birds chattering to each other.


I’ll admit that I didn’t wander for too long – I hadn’t had too much to eat previously, and the day was quite warm. I got some good exposure and exploration in, came up with a good plan on where to go when I came back, and started to slowly forge my way back to civilization.




Ohh! One quick extra – Something that I’ve noticed in both Oslo and Stockholm. Vegetarian Roombas! AKA automated lawnmower robots! They’re cute, but also just a little bit scary.