The border crossing from Lithuania to Latvia was quite unspectacular. A small house, no barriers and no officials. Just drive over and you are in beautiful Latvia.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Nica - The tallest dune in Latvia
We drove to our overnight place for about 1 hour. It was near Nica in a nature reserve. It was a completely normal forest parking lot that is used by residents for walking. We still had time because it was still quite early and so we went for a run first. There are those here highest dune in Latvia and we ran up that too, in the middle of the forest.
It wasn't that windy that day either and the sea, which wasn't that far away, couldn't be heard rustling. But from up here you have a beautiful view over the forest to the sea. Of course we also walked to the sea. Down the dune, a little more through the forest and then - we were amazed. A huge property with a large house directly behind the dunes, then only the beach and the sea. Crazy and once again well cared for, not a blade of grass too long.
The beach was only a few meters away. Sebastian took a few more photos and I was shocked to see that I had forgotten the leash up on the dune. So don't walk back the convenient driveway, but back up the dune to the bank. The line was still there, nobody had taken it. After we have had a good night, we continue to the Northern Forts. The night was very cool, by the way, it cooled to 14 ° outside and it was only 16 ° on the bus. During the day it is nice and also quite warm, at night it cools down really well.
Northern Forts - An interesting lost place by the sea
Again in Latvia nature, nature, nature. One field after the other, forests over forests and only a few small houses in between. Some of them look like they didn't need long to collapse. But it is properly cared for everywhere. They seem to have mowing the lawn as a hobby.
When we turned onto the road towards Northern Forts, it was a gravel road. So far we have been able to avoid them skillfully, but that is probably over now. The fort stretches all the way up to the parking lot on the beach. The system on the beach pulls down very far to the left and you can see that nature is taking everything back. Every possible house or defensive structure is broken and falls into the sea.
The fort became a separate, Russian military district of Liepaja At the beginning of the 20th century at the behest of Tsar Alexander III. built. A few years later, in 1914, the fort was abandoned and everything has been carried away by the waves ever since.
Ventspils - an open-air museum with charm
On the way to Ventspils open air museum we have a good gravel road behind us, about 8km. Correct washboard gravel road, where you could mostly only drive a maximum of 15 kmh, because otherwise you would have slipped away. Pretty exhausting.
When we arrived at the open-air museum, we were surprised that it was a very small one. It was created in the middle of the 20th century and is dedicated to fishing. Here you can see the development of the fishing industry. There are many houses from the 19th century, various boats and anchors on display. The houses and the mill all come from Ventspils or the surrounding area. Most of them came to the museum in the sixties and seventies and were rebuilt.
One highlight is that Steam locomotive, which runs a small part of the open-air museum around the Ventspils district. The locomotive was still running between the fishing villages in the 1960s.
Cape Kolka - beach, pine forest and wonderful sunsets
The consideration of where to stay overnight and where to stand for at least 2 days was quickly taken care of. The sea “calls” and so we have planned a decent drive to Cape Kolka. The route up to then was very lonely, no car in front of or behind us for several kilometers. Arrived late, we first ate something and then went to the beach for sunset. The place itself is also a public parking lot, but many campers use it to stay overnight.
After watching a spectacular sunset by the sea in the evening, we had a very good night and slept for a long time. Incidentally, we were able to watch a photo shoot of the bare facts in and around the water in the evening. After coffee we walk to Cape Kolka and take a look at it and walk back to the square on the beach. Here on the beach you can find a lot of shells and hardly any stones. The wind is offshore and some sandbanks come out of the water. Here you can see again how shallow the water is and how far you can walk in.
On the other side of the cape, some trees have fallen onto the beach. You can sometimes see the broken edges on the sides correctly. Since it is a national park, of course everything stays that way. At the cape, the Baltic Sea meets the Riga bosom. The Cape Kolka lighthouse is in the middle of the sea and in a straight line to the cape on an artificially created sandbank. It has also been automated since the mid-1970s.
Back at the bus, we first worked. Back to the beach in the evening and watched the sunset. It just looks unique. At 10:00 p.m. local time, people actually went swimming in the water. The beach is also well filled and everyone is watching the sunset. The sunset was again really beautiful and great, this time there were no clouds in the sky. The next noon we walked 2 km to the left on the beach because from our point of view it looked as if there was a shipwreck lying on the beach. But when they got there it turned out that there were three small fishing boats that were so close together that from a distance it looked like a ship.
We walked through the water parallel to the beach and saw how far Finja got into the water. It took her a little while to get into the water, but she was almost up to her neck in the water. The only thing she didn't like that much was the small waves. Finja had a lot of respect for the waves and when one arrived, she quickly jumped out. But with a little effort and trust, she got into the water and walked a bit in the water.
Dabas Nnational park
After standing at Cape Kolka for two full days and three nights, we have now moved on to Dabas National Park. We enjoyed the two days with sunsets and walks on the beach, but also worked on our website and cleaned the bus again. Now we walk through the national park right after our lunch break and will then continue to Riga later.
Once again it's nice and varied to walk through a forest. In the national park we first walked towards the lookout point and shortly before there is one Wild orchid trail. However, there are only a few wild orchids to be seen. It's a narrow, little forest path that is laid out with planks that you have to walk over. The wild orchids are very poorly sown. You hardly ever see which ones and taking on the mosquito plague for this long journey may not have been a good idea.
After we got the feeling that we were moving further and further away from the viewpoint where we actually wanted to go, we just turned around. The same way back and Basti is totally stabbed again. Here at the lookout point you can find free-range horses and free-range cows. I stayed a little further ahead with Finja because of the horses and cows running free. We don't know to what extent the animals are used to a dog coming and how they react. Basti then walked to the lookout point and took some photos.
Riga - a capital between world cultural heritage and modernity
We went on to Riga. At the City Camp in Riga, a dear friend we met on the way and met several times kept a place free for us. Since it was already later in the evening, we didn't do anything more. The next day we got up a little earlier and the three of us had one in town at 10:00 Free walking tour participated. It was very interesting and the young student also had a lot to talk about; historically about Riga or about buildings. The tour lasted a good hour and a half.
Riga was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997 because it still has many Art Nouveau buildings in the new town and many wooden structures from the 19th century in the old town. At the central market square of the old town you will find the town hall and the house of the Blackheads, which in the Middle Ages served as a meeting place for merchants. The following 4 city coats of arms can be found on the House of the Blackheads: Riga, Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck; all Hanseatic cities that had common trade routes. The Bremen Town Musicians can also be found in the city.
Not far away you will find a large square with the Milda, a freedom monument from the 30s. It symbolizes the freedom and independence of Latvia. Riga also has a large fruit and vegetable market and 5 large market halls. These are open 7 days all year round and are very well attended. The market halls date from the time of Zeppelin, who built and used them for the construction of airships. Then there are the three brothers. These are three houses next to each other that come from different times in the Middle Ages, which you can see from the way they are built.
After the tour the three of us went to eat something. The food was delicious too, it was like a canteen and also very cheap. Then we continued to walk to the market halls. But since it was very warm that day, we couldn't take it that long and drove back to the square. Back early I had the time to wash two machines laundry and dry it in the sun.
After a somewhat musically restless night, we made our way to Estonia. First we wanted to have a look at the open-air museum in Riga, but it was already 26 ° at 12:15 p.m. local time and then decided against it. That was a bit too warm for us because there was no breeze. However, we still looked at the white dune on the way to Estonia. The way there was very nicely laid out with wooden stairs and paths.
You can find more pictures in the Latvia photo gallery.
Our conclusion on Latvia:
Latvia can score with us with its wonderful huge pine forests, the endless hiking trails and the wide beaches of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is mostly flat in the shore area. So ideal for treading water, SUP or other water sports. We can recommend in Riga the Free Walking Tour which reveals many interesting details about the history and the German background.
General travel tips:
- Top places in Latvia: Capital Riga, place Ventspils, place Liepaja, national park Slitere
- Currency: Euro
- Capital: Riga
- Language: Latvian. As a rule, you can get on well with English here.
- Internet: Excellent network. Usually 4G is available everywhere at a good speed.
Tips for traveling with a motorhome or car:
- Drive: There is a 24-hour light requirement in Latvia. Don't forget, otherwise it will be expensive! The blood alcohol limit is 0.5%. There are some modern fixed speed cameras.
- Refueling: Diesel or gasoline is generally a little cheaper than in Germany. On the ADAC homepage you can find out an approximate value per liter, country and currency.
- Pitches / campsites: You will with Park4Night for parking spaces and Camping.Info Find what you need for campsites quickly. There are many free parking spaces on the coast or where you can stand overnight for free. The parking spaces are very well maintained and clean. Most of the squares have a large dumpster and toilet. Please leave the places as you found them.
- Traveling with a dog: An EU pet passport with a valid rabies vaccination and a chip are required. If you want to continue to Estonia from Latvia, the aforementioned conditions apply.
- Shop: The big supermarkets are open Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Smaller shops in the country are also generally open every day, but the opening times can vary greatly.
