The kids and I were “All Aboard” the MS Romantika, for a decidedly unromantic trip to Riga, Latvia, for, despite it’s name, the Romantika was no Love Boat. Captain Stubing had long left the building and in his place were a whole lot of dodgy characters.
The journey floundered even before it had begun, when I read about our destination online – after I had booked the tickets. Why I didn’t do this beforehand I don’t know. I had been tossing up between Tallin and Riga having realised I couldn’t get to St.Petersburg without a bus making up part of the journey, and since I had been to Helsinki on the ferry last time I was in Sweden, they were really my only two options. Perhaps I asked the wrong people. Travelling with kids to see the sights is a little different from travelling with friends to go bar-hopping (which I hear Riga is excellent for). All the information I read spoke of crime, strip-clubs, and rip-offs. “Never mind”, I thought, with sinking heart, “it will still be an adventure”.
The shadow that loomed in the back of my mind wasn’t aided by the calibre of passengers on board the boat. A lot of trucks make the crossing, so there were a lot of truck drivers, and a lot of groups of people only catching the boat for the opportunity to buy grog and cigarettes duty-free (at what I saw to be heavily inflated prices!), which they then drink in their cabins before staggering through the corridors to get more. The boat bore the scars of it’s many passengers boozy nights – all the cabin doors were dented at shoulder height, and the toilet seats all had cigarette burn marks on them. But the kids didn’t see it. They thought it was the best thing since sliced bread! A 4 berth cabin, with a window looking over the water, and it’s own bathroom – to them it was a luxury cruiser.
Leaving Stockholm
Brrrrr.
The Stockholm archipelago is littered with beautiful properties, mostly used summer houses. This four building pile is one of the smaller ones.
Back inside, away from the relentless plume of cigarette smoke, we bumped into the ‘crazy’ circus perfomers
Who gathered more
and insisted on a photo
We woke the next morning as the boat was docking, for a big ‘Welcome to Riga’.
I’m a fan of walking in a new place. You see so much more that way. The old part of town was only about 20mins walk from the boat, so we set off on foot. Bloody hell, that would have to be one of the toughest walks of my life! Even though we were by the water, the pollution along that road was near unbearable. You could taste it in your mouth. I had to spit more than once to get the taste out – and I don’t spit!
Not a great start.
The air was a little better once we got away from the traffic, and the old town had a couple of interesting things to see.
The ubiquitous sight of washing hanging in the streets can be seen in many parts in Europe, but this was the only one we saw in Riga. Note the colours. It was outside an Italian restaurant. Cute advertising!
Always on the lookout for you Shot’s…
He’s a good find – he stamps coins! Lats, to be precise. Latvia’s currency is the Lat, Lithuania’s is the Lit – simple, isn’t it. Until you are me, who is a dud with currencies anyway, converting Lats to Swedish Kronors, then to Euros, so I can then work out the AUD price. Derrrrrr, what?
In Riga, Russian is spoken more than Latvian, and the Soviet influence can be seen everywhere – a hangover from Latvia’s years of occupation.
The girls bought crocheted hats as their souvenir.
Nice facade.
Wedding photos while we ate lunch…
I’m glad I stumbled on this park at the last minute before heading back to the boat, not only to soak up a little oxygen with which to battle the carbon emissions on the way back, but because I had read about this lovely bridge…
…and it’s padlocks.
The story goes that newlyweds come here with their padlock, names written on it, lock it to the bridge, and throw the key in the water to seal their love forever. Aaaaaawwww.
The bridge does get full and the locks are removed periodically, but there’s always more newlyweds who come and seal their love.
We raced back to the boat, getting there as it was ready to depart.
Love, conquering all pollution.
Struggling for fresh air on deck (amongst the smokers), it’s no surprise that the Baltic Sea is the most polluted in the world. Look at what lines the river that links the Baltic to Riga…
Wall to wall industry, but this one was the best. What is that black stuff pouring into the river???…
Back inside, I treated us to the gourmet, a la carte restaurant. Not cheap.
The blinis and caviar was worth the price…
Sadly, the chicken kiev was dry, and the cabbage rolls, while tasty, were vegetables, not meat. The kids were impressed, though, and it was a nice break from the marauding alcoholics.
The sun set, and the kids and I karaoked. The girls did a great job with Abba and Blondie, and I caused Evan a fair deal of embarrassment while he did a duet of Rebel Rebel with me (I’m a good dancer, Evan!).
So Riga and the Romantika won’t make my highly recommended, though, it’s always an experience. I will say this, if you plan to book the trip, make sure you book through the Swedish Tallink website. When I was having translation difficulties, I checked out a British site. Same tickets for the same cruise were 200 British pounds more expensive! Rort!
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