When the alarm roused us from sleep this morning at 5.15am, we were momentarily confused that we were not in our own bed. Then it only took seconds to realise we were in the Russ Hill Hotel near Gatwick Airport, having travelled down from Durham last night.
The reason we were here was because we were due to fly out to Riga, Latvia, this mornng, for a three-night city break, the highlight of which was the wonderful Latvian Christmas markets. We should have been doing this trip four years ago, but Covid-19 was still lurking so we had ended up in Scarborough instead!
We had booked for a taxi to pick us up at 6.05am, and just after six o’clock we saw the approaching headlights of our car. Loading our single suitcase into the boot, we set off through the darkened streets for the 20-minute journey to South Terminal, Gatwick Airport.
Living in the north-east, we actually find Gatwick one of the worst airports to get to. There is no direct train, or flight, or coach; you have to change in London. At least with Heathrow there is a direct flight from Newcastle Airport so it’s relatively easy, but for an early flight from Gatwick we have found the only solution is to drive down the night before and stay over.
Our flight was not until 09:25 hours, but it was recommended that we arrive three hours in advance, hence our early start. The airport was not too busy, so we only queued for a short while at the airBaltic desk before checking in. However, we were apparently supposed to have done this online, so it took some time for us to do it while we stood there, and cost us £65.00 for our single suitcase, as airBaltic does not include checked baggage.
Eventually we were done, and we decided to go and find somewhere to have some breakfast, as we hadn’t had the time at the hotel.
It didn’t take long to go through security, and now our time was our own. We found an eaterie serving breakfast and we went in and took a seat. Trevor ordered tea and a breakfast burger consisting of egg, sausage and bacon in a bap, and I enjoyed a hot Americano and a bowl of delicious granola with yoghurt and berry compote.
Afterwards, we spotted a Wetherspoon’s called “The Flying Horse”, so we each went in and enjoyed an early morning cold beer. Really, the only time it is ever acceptable to drink alcohol this early is at an airport, and indeed the place was packed. 🙂
Soon the departures board advised us to proceed to gate C16, and we made our way along the endless corridors and travellators; we felt as if we were walking to Riga! 🙂
Looking outside, we could see aircraft landing and taxiing out of the large, rain-blurred windows. We certainly hoped the weather would be better in Latvia; we weren’t expecting snow as we had been checking the Riga temperature daily and it was 3°C to 4°C, similar to that in Durham.
It was just a few minutes after 09:25 that the A220 aircraft was pushed back from the terminal; our captain advised us that the flight time today would be two hours and 40 minutes; not too bad at all.
Once we were airborne, we settled back in our seats and waited for the refreshments trolley to arrive. In the meantime, we glanced at the inflight magazine, looked out of the window, read, chatted or dozed to pass the time. The weather outside seemed to be improving, and the cumulus clouds below us looked like big fluffy layers of cotton wool.
Every time we looked up to see where the trolley was, it hardly seemed to have moved, and Trevor said we would be coming in to land before it ever reached us! 🙂
He wasn’t far wrong; we had only just been served with our drinks (a vodka and Coke for Trevor and a prosecco for me) when the captain announced we would be starting our final approach into Riga International Airport. We’d barely finished our drinks when the stewardess came around for our empty bottles and cans.
When the aircraft landed and taxied to the terminal, we were pleased to see that it was dry. We had to advance our watches two hours to local time, so it was now 2.30pm in the afternoon.
After going through passport control, collecting our suitcase from the carousel and meeting the Newmarket Holidays rep, who introduced himself as Mike, we waited for a short while until all of our party was here, there were 26 of us in total. Then we had a 40 minute ride on the coach to our city-centre hotel, the Avalon Hotel and Conference Suite.
Check-in was quick and efficient, and we were allocated room #509. Mike said that, if we wanted, he would give us a brief ‘orientation’ tour on foot around the city to help us get our bearings. He asked us to reconvene in the hotel foyer at quarter to five. The hotel was quite unusual in that all the rooms were on landings around a large central atrium, with big hanging chandelier-type lights hanging from the high ceiling. It made for some interesting photos.
We took the glass lift up to our room on the fifth floor, and decided it would be a good time to have a 45-minute power nap to make up for our early start this morning.
Once we awoke, we changed into stout footwear (on the advice of Mike, who said that most of the streets of Riga are cobbled) and made our way to the hotel foyer, where we joined Mike and the others for our hour-long walk.
We set off through the streets, watching our footing on the cobbles and/or uneven ground. The weather wasn’t too bad at all, certainly warmer than we’d expected and at least it was dry! As we walked along, Mike pointed out anything of interest, or advised us on the menus/pricing in any local restaurants we passed. He also showed us where the famous “hangars” are; the vast Riga Central Market that is held in a series of former aircraft hangars that were built during WW2 to house German zeppelins.
Presently we came to the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of the Christmas Market, held in Doma Square, adjacent to Riga cathedral. Mike said we could either stay with him and return to the hotel, or do our own thing and go back to the hotel later. We decided on the latter; we couldn’t wait to explore. 🙂
We headed under the distinctive holly arch into the market, which was crowded with pre-Christmas revellers but was not uncomfotably so. We walked along among the stalls which were selling everything from foodstuffs, drinks, knitted goods, handicrafts and – of course – mulled wine. We decided to get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy some, so we stopped and a nearby stall and ordered a glass each. You had to pay two euros for the plastic beaker as a deposit, which you claimed back from a central depository. In the meantime, you could keep the beaker for use at another stall; there were plenty of them around!
The mulled wine was hot, fruity and spicy, with hints of cinnamon and cloves. We strolled around, sipping our hot drink while we browsed the stalls. In the centre was a place selling hot food, some of it cooked over an open fire. A quick look at the menu showed that they had barbecued pork and chicken, hot dogs and bowls of the famous Latvian dish of grey peas and bacon (which we intended to try later on in our visit).
It was magical walking around the Christmas market and seeing the huge tree. Up until now, I had not been able to get into the Christmas spirit, but now I was full of peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
Once we’d finished our mulled wine, we looked around for the depository to return our beakers and get our four euros back. We searched all over but didn’t find it straight away, but what we did find was another stall selling the famous Riga Black Balsam. As its name suggests, this herbal and strong elixir was invented as a cough medicine in 1752 by the Latvian apothecary Abraham Kunze. Then, in more modern times, someone had the bright idea of adding alcohol to it, and now it is classed as Latvia’s national drink and comes in several flavours, including original, cherry, blackcurrant and tropical. We had to try this stuff! We therefore used our beakers to order a glass each of mulled wine that included the blackcurrant balsam, and it was very nice indeed! 🙂
We then spotted the depository for the beakers close by, and traded them in for our four euro deposit.
Leaving the Christmas market for now, we walked around until we came to a large square in the Old Town surrounded by historic buildings with fantastic architecture. We would learn all about these buildings tomorrow on our walking tour of the city, but in the meantime we took some photos and posed next to a large “RIGA” sign; a helpful passerby agreed to take our photo, and we used her camera to take one of her as well.
By now, we were quite hungry because all we had had since breakfast was some Pringles on the aircraft. We decided to find a pub or restaurant that caught our eye and go in for something to eat, and perhaps a pint each of the local beer. 🙂
Just after 6.30pm we came to an English-style pub called Queens. Looking through the window, it looked lively and cosy, so we went inside and were immediately shown to a table by a smiling bartender, who gave us each a menu. We each ordered a pint of Mežpils, the local beer, which came as we perused the menu. Trevor ordered a burger with chips and salad, while I decided on a Caesar salad; I do enjoy a good Caesar salad.
Our food came which was delicious, and we looked around and enjoyed the ambience of the pub, which had a large screen showing a football match. We each ordered a second drink; I had an Aperol Spritz while Trevor stuck to beer. The barman came over to chat, and introduced himself as Reno. He asked if we would be kind enough to leave a review on Google or Tripadvisor, and I was happy to do this; the food and service had been very good indeed.
Reno then came over with a complimentary shot of the blackcurrant Black Balsam for us; it was strong and warming and tasted like alcoholic Ribena. 🙂
As it was not yet 8.00pm when we left, we decided to find another bar. There were certainly lots to choose from, as well as cafés and restaurants. This was useful to know, and we were staying on a bed-and-breakfast basis only, so it was good to know where to go for lunch and dinner.
We came across an interesting, modern looking bar called Alchimist [sic], and we saw several young men and (to a lesser extent) women coming and going; those entering the bar headed upstairs.
We sat at a table near the window so we could people-watch and see what was going on in the brightly-lit streets outside. We ordered a drink and enjoyed listening to the music; they had an interesting playlist of British and local music artistes.
We enjoyed a couple of drinks in here; I really liked the ambience of the place. At one point I needed the loo, and the signs pointed up the stairs. When I went up, I was surprised to see a large, dimly-lit room full of computer screens; each one had in front of it a person wearing a headset and in a comfortable, high-backed chair. I could hear the persistent sound of clicking mice and keyboard noises; it was obviously a room for gamers! This explained all the young, geeky-looking people we had seen coming and going at intervals during our visit. 🙂
It was around 9.45pm when we arrived back at the Avalon Hotel, which meant it was only 7.45pm at home. We therefore weren’t tired yet, so we decided to enjoy a drink or two in the hotel bar, which was full of people from our trip, including Mike, the Newmarket rep, who came over to join us.
We sat chatting and enjoyed our drinks, including a shot each of the original Black Balsam, which was stronger, at 45% proof, than the flavoured varieties. It was around 11.30pm when we left the bar and headed up to room 509, and settled down for our first night in Riga. As our coach wasn’t leaving until nine o’clock tomorrow morning, we didn’t have to be up too early; 7.30am would do it.
We slept extremely well in our large, comfortable bed.