Day 32 - Cottage Cheese Pancakes and a Church Tower with a Lift

After signing off last night, I had a lovely wander around some of the Old Town so thought I would start today’s blog with some of those photos.

I cannot say that I woke up at the crack of dawn ready for a full day of adventuring, but I did have a lovely lie-in! Once I did emerge for the day, it was brunch time and I decided to try cottage-cream pancakes at a nearby cafe. Cottage cream is kind of a big deal here. I can sense your suspicion, but all I will say is don’t knock it until you have tried it.

My first mission for the day was to ascend St Peter’s Church tower. I was ready for the steps, knowing that one has to earn a good view from a church tower. But no! There was a lift to the top! I did feel a little cheated, but equally was not going to complain. The views were as good as any that I have climbed for. The church itself was really interesting too, and I enjoyed taking a pew for a while and taking it all in.

I continued to have a wandering around the Old Town, enjoying lots of the little shops, and also encountering a statue like I had seen in Bremen of the Musicians of Bremen!

I then went to the Riga ‘Dome’ Cathedral, the oldest church in the Baltic states. It is an impressive building, but I was most impressed by the organ, to the point where I am hoping to go to an organ concert there tomorrow night. I briefly heard it being played today, and it was quite the sound!

Via a few geocaches and a break for a drink, I next headed to the Freedom Monument. On my way there, I came across a plaque commemorating the Baltic Way, a political protest in 1989 when 2 million people across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania held hands across about 400 miles.

I spent a bit of time at the Freedom Monument and the park nearby (yes, there were AdLabs to be done - I learnt lots about Latvian ice hockey!) before then heading slowly back to my hotel for a bit of downtime. I am pleased to report that I am finding the hotel less weird now and had an excellent nap and catch up with Dad.

I am now back in the Old Town for some dinner and some planning for the coming days.

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