Riga, Latvia

For Brandon's 30th birthday, I planned a surprise weekend away. The only clues I gave him were that he needed to pack his passport and clothing for 55-degree weather. Brandon really got into the surprise idea, so I managed to hide the destination from him through airport check-in and boarding the plane. The Latvian and Russian-speaking passengers gave away a bit but not much. B knew we weren't headed to Russia because we would need special visas. And obviously he didn't know what Latvian sounded like. The pilot didn't even give it away when he announced, "Welcome to Riga," as Brandon had never heard of the city. It wasn't until we were about to go through the immigration officers that I turned to him quickly and told him we were in the Baltics! Latvia! Less the officer think I kidnapped this clueless man...

Pretty satisfied with my successful surprise trip

We stayed in a pretty swank hotel in the center of town (which cost us like $50!) and had a lovely dinner chatting up the locals at the hotel bar. The next morning we joined a walking tour and started to learn more about the recently-democratic country and capital city (they broke from Soviet communist rule in 1991.) While much of the city has lost its communist tone, some of the architecture gives it away. Brandon noticed a hammer and sickle on a bridge balustrade marked in red spray paint to be chipped off:

See the medallion in the center

But the really beautiful architecture dates to the 18th, 19th and early 20th century, pre-communism. We went to the top of St. Peter's church to get a bird's-eye view. The colorful buildings and carved facades reminded me of Amsterdam.

One of the "older" buildings is the House of the Blackheads, the 14th-century headquarters for the most important merchant guild in Riga. The building was actually demolished by the Soviets but rebuilt to the exact design in the 1990s.

My favorite part of Riga was the art nouveau architecture. The historical city center has the highest concentration of art nouveau buildings in the world, lending to its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At its height, there were 800 art nouveau buildings in the city! Art nouveau was a style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries inspired by the curved forms found in flowers and plants. I did some research before the trip and took Brandon on a walking tour of the most impressive examples in the city center:

Note the two faces at the top

The faces are supposed to ward off evil spirits

From the bottom of a stairwell looking up - painted underneath the stairs!

B's fancy photo skills

It was a bit hard to photograph because the streets were fairly narrow. Our necks were sore from looking up all day! 

We had some delicious food and the smoothest vodka I'd ever tasted (like really cold water. Latvia shares its northern border with Russia.) We also tasted the worst local drink I've experienced thus far in Europe: Riga Black Balsam. The locals claim it has curative properties (Empress Catherine the Great drank some when she became ill while visiting in the 18th century and made a miraculous recovery), but I could barely stomach the flavor of bitter, syrupy herbs. But the bottle was so cool I asked a cafe server if I could take one home!

We had a wonderful weekend exploring our first Baltic city and can't wait to try more. In fact, Riga was so relaxed, intriguing, and full of friendly people, it ended up being one of our favorite trips. Paldies, Riga!

Donostia

Part 2: San Sebastian, Spain

After a few days on the French seaside, we spiced things up a bit and headed to another Basque city - San Sebastian. San Sebastian, or Donostia (Basque name), is only a 40 minute bus ride from Biarritz, but the landscape changes dramatically. Although the city is still on the Bay of Biscay, the architecture is completely different from France. We stayed in San Sebastian's Old Town, which is nearly 500 years old. The city has seen its share of monarch changes and sieges over the centuries, and the buildings have both French and Spanish influence.

Our Airbnb was at the top floor of this building

With this view from our balcony!

Sunset perfection

Most visitors flock to San Sebastian for two things (and we were no different): the food and the beach. The city has become a Michelin-star mecca, home to more starred restaurants than any other city in the world except Kyoto, Japan. We skipped the pricey dining in lieu of eating our weight in pintxos, tapas unique to the region. My favorite one was called "Gilda" named for a Rita Hayworth film. The pintxo consists of pickled guindilla peppers, a salt-cured anchovy and a green olive. The hot peppers were a reference to the sexy screen siren. And to note, anchovies in San Sebastian are NOT the slimy, tinned anchovies you are thinking of - these are fresh and delicious! I've never eaten so many anchovies in my life...I never thought I would say that!

Gilda pintxo

We spent our days walking around the beach, playing in the waves, and eating and drinking the local fare. The food in pintxos bars are often spread out across a very long bar. There isn't much (if any) seating, so most people chat with each other and the restaurant staff. On a food tour to the best "local" places, we learned how to order pintxos (grab them off the table and start eating, counting your items) and which ciders and wines paired best. It's a bit chaotic, but we were pros after a day.

Popular pintxo bars in the Old Town

The beach was one of the best I've visited - silky, soft sand, clear water, and subtle waves. I didn't take photos because I was too busy being in heaven. :) Aside from the beach, the city was surprisingly green compared to the other Spanish town's I've seen (all in the southern part of the country) and made for beautiful photographs. B did a stellar job as vacation photographer, as always!

Feeling a bit heavy after all those pintxos, we hiked a portion of the Camino de Santiago, a medieval pilgrimage trail that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, or St. James, where the saint's remains are said to be buried. There various routes that start across Europe, but the most common one starts in France and takes pilgrims about one month on foot. We saw a few pilgrims hiking with their packs while we just did an easy three hours. Our guide said most people today walk the route for a spiritual/meditative escape from modern life, not necessarily for religious reasons.

Camino de Santiago sign on our trail

View from the trail

While the trail was certainly beautiful, I preferred to escape the bustle of city life at the below hilltop bar. I mean, can this view get any better? At the top of the hill was a statue of Jesus, so I think hiking up there and drinking kalimotxo (red wine and cola) counts as a spiritual pilgrimage?

Swoon

One night we took a funicular up to the top of one of the hills to catch the sunset. While the clouds didn't cooperate too well, it still made for a lovely prom photo.

Funicular station - Art Deco with a Spanish flair

Cheesing

San Sebastian is one of my favorite cities we've visited since moving to Europe. I know I'll be back!