We woke up Saturday morning before sunrise to get ready to catch our 6:30 AM bus. There was a cool stillness in the Vilnius air as we walked to the bus station with our two backpacks on our backs, and we passed a few women walking dogs and shopkeepers sweeping their front stoops.
When our bus pulled out at 6:30 on the dot, we were among a half-dozen people in the Delux Lounge of our EuroPass bus. We paid a bit more for some extra legroom - for Jessica, such space doesn't make a difference, but the extra room is a huge deal for me! If we're going to take a 4.5-hour bus ride, it might as well be in comfort!
Our bus cabin
Now, this vacation was certainly the least-planned trip that we've ever taken. Aside from advance purchasing our bus tickets and hotel room, we had virtually no plans or expectations. We didn't have a map, we didn't know anything about Riga, and we only spent a few minutes online looking up sight-seeing suggestions. So, when we arrived, we basically followed the "crowd" toward the Old Town; we found a hotel where we asked for directions to our hotel. Luckily, they were able to provide us with a free guidebook (that became our constant companion) and pointed us on our way. We got lunch at the Sweets Cafe, checked into our hotel (which has the only tub-based shower I've seen in Europe), and hit the town!
Riga is a beautiful city. The Old Town is quite small but packed with gorgeous churches, charming buildings, and historic monuments. We spent a couple hours walking aimlessly through the streets and peeking into shops, stopping for a rest at one of Riga's multiple "beer gardens" (outdoor seating area).
A "beer garden" with shops
Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation without a trip to a museum or two. Taking advantage of our unique circumstances, of course we headed to the National History Museum of Latvia. This museum, situated in the castle that has served as the seat of Latvian leadership for almost 700 years (and the current Presidential residence), traces the history of Latvia from prehistory through the eve of WWII.
Unsurprisingly, Jessica and I haven't spent too much time thinking about Latvian history, so virtually everything that we saw was brand new information! We learned about the evolution of farming techniques in the Baltics, about the change and significance of dress, about the relatively late acceptance of Christianity, about religious art, and about social status through the ages. It was really a greatly informative and well-constructed museum that we highly recommend!
One of several exhibit addenda for blind guests
Latvian Settlers of Catan
Playing around in the toy room.
Don't mess with Jexas!
Jessica and I then walked down to the river, which is flanked by parks and gardens. There, we saw several wedding pictures being taken as well as a demonstration by the Latvian Youth Party (about what, we have no idea!). We went on a tour provided by our guidebook (we'd already been to most of the locations) and then met some friends from our program for dinner. A relaxing and enjoyable day!
On Sunday (yesterday), we started with a visit to Riga's only synagogue, the Peitav Shul, an orthodox institution headed by a Chabad Rabbi. We were able to take a look at its beautifully remodeled sanctuary, and as we arrived right after Shacharit services, we were able to converse with one of the congregants who was born in Riga after WWII. He shared with us that there are 7,000 Jews in Latvia, most of them in Riga. However, there's still only one synagogue that attracts about 600 individuals on High Holiday services (obviously much fewer for Shabbat and daily services). The majority of Latvia's Jews, then, are secular. Still, this individual was quite proud of their community, which for the entire duration of Soviet occupation remained alive. He seemed to be less excited about having a Chabad rabbi, but I got the sense that any rabbi was better than no rabbi at all. We were lucky to have such a chatty person (with good English!) to talk with us about today's community; often, we learn about only what was lost.
The Peitav Shul
Next, we walked to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. This museum picks up where the national history museum more or less leaves off. It documents Latvia's declaration of independence in 1921 and the occupation of Russia in 1940. The Soviet occupation was a terror on the Latvian people, and the period of summer 1940 to summer 1941 is known as the Year of Terror due to the brutal oppression and unrestrained violence of the Soviets against native Latvians. It's understandable why the Nazis were welcomed as liberators when they invaded in 1941, though it quickly became clear that Germany had Latvian interests in mind no more than did the Soviets.
The Nazis, of course, brought the Holocaust to Latvia, murdering more 70% of Latvia's more than 90,000 Jews (and importing another 25,000 Jews, 20,000 of which were killed). The Holocaust received a few panels in the museum and documented both "saviors" and "collaborators" -- Latvians who worked against or collaborated with the Nazi attempts to erase Europe's Jews. Jessica and I were impressed by the degree to which the Nazis blamed the former Soviet occupation on the Jews, targeting local Latvians' rage against this minority which historically had not had a lot of problems in Latvia.
Of course, we all rejoice that the Nazis didn't triumph in the 40's, but their defeat was still not a liberation for Latvia, for the USSR immediately gobbled up the Baltic states (Lativa, Estonia, and Lithuania). The museum depicts life under Soviet rule, the improvement of conditions after the death of Stalin, and the eventual wresting free of Soviet control in 1991. I was impressed that Iceland was the first country to recognize Latvia's independence, followed soon after by the Soviet Union; the United States, however, did not recognize Lativa's declaration of independence. However, on display was a letter written in English to the Secretary of State of the United States, epxressing Latvia's gratitude toward the US for never recognizing Latvia's assumption into the USSR. America officially recognized the events of 1991 as Latvia's reassertion of independence after 51 years of foreign occupation.
Jessica and I were both very affected by this museum. We have a tendency to think of the "Former Soviet Union" as states that today look a lot like Russia ... just smaller. But this is far from the truth! There have been strong currents of nationalism in the Baltic states for decades, and today's Lativa, Lithuania, and Estonia are all members of the EU and all sound, taste, and feel very different from what we experienced in Russia. We're grateful to have been able to learn so much about Latvia (and Lithuania, during our time in Vilnius of course!).
After our trip to the Museum of the Occupation, Jessica and I got lunch (during a huge thunderstorm) and then went to the Jewish Museum of Riga. Mostly pictures, this museum shows the presence of Jews in Latvia for centuries preceding WWII and documents their enormous depletion during the Holocaust. Simply located in three rooms of the Jewish Community Center, the museum is modest but stark in the message it shares. Unfortunately, there's no information in the museum about today's community, but our visit to Riga's synagogue and a brief conversation with the staffperson at the museum gave us some insight about Riga's Jewish population. There are frequent activities (there were dance classes going on as we left), though the remaining population is dwindling as individuals leave Eastern Europe for other parts of the world. I had a sense that this community is much like Lithuania's, though sadly we didn't have a chance to get a more in-depth feel for its day-to-day life.
On our way out of town, we grabbed our bags from our hotel, bought food at a huge grocery store in a three-story mall in the center of the Old Town, and went to the bus. While we waited, we chatted with a Latvian-born Israeli (in Hebrew) about his three-month visit to Eastern Europe and his Latvian son (in English) about his studies and plans. They then boarded a bus to Moscow(!), and a couple took their place on the bench beside us - two people who had ridden with us from Vilnius! We learned that these two were in Vilnius for the husband's business and were trying to tour around during free weekends. They came to be our conversation buddies on the bus ride home.
As it would happen, these two were originally from India (currently living in Singapore) and were also newlyweds! Theirs was an arranged marriage; they were introduced only six months before the wedding. Naturally, I was brimming with questions about their families, their Hinduism, their wedding, etc., and we talked for hours. Of course, it helped that they were also game fanatics (enjoying Settlers of Catan, Carcassone, and Agricola -- just like us!), so we had plenty to talk about. Too bad they live in Singapore and not the Upper West Side of Manhattan!
We *almost* had a really smooth ride home, but surprisingly, our bus stopped at border control ... and we had forgotten our passports in Vilnius! We were, of course, pretty concerned about what might happened, though I had several plans racing through my head about how we could prove that we were really returning to Lithuania, not sneaking illegally into the country. Fortunately, we didn't need any of them - Jessica explained our situation to the kind-eyed border patrolman, and even if he didn't understand every word, we think he got the gist of our situation. He let us slide without needing to produce any more documentation, and we proceeded home without any more excitement. Believe me, that was more than enough for the both of us!
All in all, our trip was fantastic, and we'd definitely recommend the city to other travelers in the region! We easily could have spent more time there, and we hope to be able to return some day. Now, we're gearing up for our last week in Vilnius before leaving once again ... this time homebound! Here's to a great final week!
Riga's Freedom Monument, erected in 1935
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