Riga and Gaujas Nacionales Park (T)

'Crossing the T' (Again)

After a couple of lovely days relaxing in Estonia’s Lahemaa National Park, the van was finally heading south towards Tartu. Our objective was to reach the outskirts of Estonia’s second city, fire up the GPS tracker, then point the van west and head straight for the Latvian border. This change of direction would signify the start of the letter ‘T’ (I planned to spell Brexit backwards).

The route from Lahemaa National Park to Lithuania

Instead of driving straight to Riga, we decided to stop in and explore the Gauja National Park before hitting the capital. The area is renowned for a plethora of historical structures nestled in the beautiful Gauja Valley. We drove through a number of tiny rural villages before finding a spot to camp next to a picturesque lake.

Exploring Gauja National Park

Spot for the night in the Gauja National Park

Riga

With a lovely nights sleep and hearty breakfast under the belt, we were ready to take on our second Eastern European Capital. In just under an hour, we were on the outskirts of Riga and navigating our way in. I have to say, driving in Riga was probably the biggest ‘driving challenge’ of the trip so far. The roads were narrow, difficult to navigate and packed with trams and ‘electrified buses’. Eventually (after going round the same one-way circuit twice), we arrived at our central car park.

Katy happy to be out of the van

Excited and relieved to be off the road, we unpacked a few key items and found a central hostel for the night. Once checked in, we embraced our first hot shower for days, cracked open a beer then hit the streets. Following a similar strategy to the one employed in Tallinn, we decided to concentrate our efforts exploring Riga’s Old Town. Research suggested a good place to start would be St Peter’s Church Tower. This elevated spot gave us a 360 degree view of the city…

St Peter’s Church – Riga

Views over The Daugava River

The red roofs of the Old Town

St Peter’s Church ticked off, we spent the rest of the evening wandering around the city drinking in the sights (and local beer). I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

The so-called Buddy Bears, set up on the city’s central Cathedral Square

Beautiful colours

Cobbled Streets

Cheers Riga

The Journey Continues

After an epic night filled with beer, food and live music, the next morning arrived all too quickly. We wearily rejoined the van and decided to continue drawing the top section of the T.

To Žemaitija National Park and back

In order to complete the horizontal section of the letter, we would have to drive 200 km west into Lithuania before spinning 180 degrees and heading right back to Riga. To help alleviate the pain of having to go back on ourselves (and our hangover), we chose a lovely lunch spot in Zemaitija National Park.

Lunch spot in Žemaitija National Park

Buoyed by the weather and our antics around the National Park, we hopped into the van and began the journey back to Riga (carefully following the same route so the GPS tracker recorded a single red line). To our relief, the drive flew by. Arriving in the Latvian capital for the second time in two days, we knew the top section of the T was complete! Katy and I celebrated with a quick high five and a stretch of the legs before pointing the van due south. Our next stop would be Vilnius…

'Crossing the T' (Again)

Riga

The Journey Continues

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