Poland & Baltics 2024 ✈ Part 5: Latvia • Riga

We had originally planned to visit Poland back in 2022 as part of our Finland trip, but had to change our plans due to covid restrictions. With the geopolitical situation in that part of the world, we decided to go ahead and visit Poland and the Baltic countries this year when they are still relatively safe and stable, and also to check off few more countries in Europe on our bucket list. 





29 May 2024 (Wed): Vilnius - Riga

After 24 hours in Vilnius, it was time to continue our backpacking journey to our next destination. Another early morning workout with a 20 minutes uphill walk to the bus station. P.S. The support for Ukraine is evident everywhere in Baltics.

Arrived Vilnius bus station at 8.30am for our 9am bus from Vilnius to Riga. Another day, another Lux Express bus. :) Today it's a 4hr 15min ride from Vilnius to Riga.

 We booked our Lux Express bus tickets from Vilnius to Riga online on Feb 28 (about 3 months before), and was able to get it at a good price of EUR 9.90 ($10.50) per person.

Lux Express bus is very comfortable and clean. There is a power outlet for each seat, a personal entertainment screen, toilet onboard, free WIFI, and free coffee/tea. These bus rides were actually good for my vlog productivity as I managed to finish editing a few videos on the bus rides.

The Baltic countries are all part of Schengen so I wasn't expecting to have to 'cross a border'. We didn't go through any checks when we were crossing the border from Poland to Lithuania, but  as we were crossing the border into Latvia, two border patrol came onboard to check everyone's documents They took quite awhile to look through my passport and asked where I entered the Schengen from. I actually forgot that my first entry point was Helsinki and said Gdansk instead. Luckily, they found the entry stamp on my passport eventually...lol!

Random buildings as we entered Riga.

Hello Latvia...country #49! We arrived Riga bus station on time at 1.15pm and it was time for another workout with a 20 minutes walk from the bus station to our hotel. We definitely put our backpacks to good use on this trip.

Stayed at Hotel Justus for 1-night in Riga. We chose this hotel because of it's location in Old Town.
Booked this hotel for $107 using our Capital One $300 travel credit. It could have been $30 cheaper but I was too lazy to change the booking.

According to Google, this is a 4-star boutique hotel but what do you think? The brickwall, wallpaper, and carpets definitely look very 'historic'...lol! We knew all these when we booked but still chose it because of the location, provides free breakfast, and the reviews are good.

Btw, we were not impressed by this hotel at all. Not only was the bed not comfortable, the internet and air-con weren't working when we were there. =.= 

Explanation on the quirky design of the hotel... The immaculate renovation of the historical building was completed by April 2009, and so today the authentic facade conceals 45 cosy rooms uniquely designed to embrace the charm of genuine brickwork combined with fascinating art objects, antique as well as contemporary.

It was already 2.30pm by the time we dropped our luggage and changed. Time to explore the quaint little cobblestone streets of Riga Old Town.

All the main landmarks in Riga were within a short 5 minutes walk from our hotel

Our first stop was the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. Hubby got an audio guide and was reading everything in the museum. We spent 2 hours in this museum and my favorite thing in the museum was any chair I could find...lol!

I may have gotten A1 in SPM Sejarah (History) but I really don't remember what I learnt. I don't think we learnt much about the history of this part of the world in school.

The Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) only restored their independence in 1990, which wasn't that long ago. This explains their strong support for Ukraine.

It started raining when we left the museum. What happened to the blue skies earlier? Thankfully our hotel was close by so we went back to grab our rain jackets and umbrella. We attempted to continue our sightseeing in Riga but it started pouring. 

We decided to have early dinner at a nearby restaurnat first while we wait for the rain to stop. We had originally picked out another restaurant (Lido) but had to make do with this restaurant, Liberia. Our meal costs EUR 41.90 ($46) but the food was just ok.

Thankfully the rain stopped after we finished dinner and we were able to resume sightseeing at 6.30pm.

The message is loud and clear in front of the Russian Embassy in Latvia. The Latvians put that big red poster there so the Russian Ambassador will see it every time he comes in/out of the embassy.

Albert Street (Art Nouveau Street) - Before World War I, Riga was an important city thanks to its strategic position and enjoyed raipd economic growth. It was at this time that most of the Art Nouveau style buildings were built in this city. And it is still today the city that has the most important concentration of this style of construction in the world.

The sun sets quite late here and it was still pretty bright at 7.15pm. It started drizzling again so we decided to wrap up our sightseeing at the Riga Dome Square and head back to the hotel.

Glad we got back just in time before it started pouring again. As much as I like sunny days for photos, I was actually glad we had the rain to cool down the room because we'd be 'cooking' all night with the non-functioning air-con in our hotel room.


30 May 2024 (Thurs): Riga - Tallinn

Free breakfast at Hotel Justus

Checked out of our hotel at 8.30am and it was time for our morning workout with a 15 minute walk to the bus station. P.S. This trip was also a fitness training...lol!!