Seeing the sights

Saturday 16 June

At last it was time to visit Riga for its culture and history. Once again the bikes conveyed the crew across the river, where they enjoyed attractive architecture, from mediaeval through Art Nouveau to starkly modern. They treated themselves to a traditional lunch of salmon with potato cakes, and pork with baked potatoes, washed down with the local beer, and were delighted to come across Festival Baltica 2018 – Estonians dressed in traditional costume, entertaining crowds with folk songs and music on a variety of instruments.

As in so many other cities, they marvelled at the interiors of churches of a number of religions and denominations, from the ornately gilded Russian Orthodox Cathedral to the simple wooden pews and white walls of the West Chapel of St James’s Cathedral.