Dates: 08-16 September 2023.

Cymru drawing Latvia in Euro 2024 qualifying gave me the opportunity to “complete” the Baltics, so I planned to visit Riga for a few days, taking in the match versus Latvia, and then travelling on to Vilnius and Kaunas.

I got off to an inauspicious start thanks to a 90-minute delay at Newport train station due to signalling issues at Severn Tunnel Junction. I debated with our Mike about the merits of getting a taxi from Reading station to Gatwick Airport but the gamble wasn’t worth it compared to the train.

I’d planned to arrive at the airport a good two-and-a-quarter hours before take-off, and amazingly I managed to get off the train at 16.30 and arrive at the gate in under 20 minutes! Of course the flight was delayed by 20 minutes so there was time for a small beer…

We arrived in Riga quite late, but in plenty of time to visit Kiwis Bar for the last half of the opening game of the rugby World Cup. A great mix of French, New Zealanders and Cymry set the mood for the rest of the stay in Riga – great fun!

Iechyd da!

Some early sight-seeing as we moved to the group apartment, involving the Bastejkalna Park and the Freedom Monument:

The House of the Black Heads and the Memorial to the Victims of the Soviet Occupation:

The surface of the Memorial to the Victims of the Soviet Occupation has an unusual tactile surface:

A view of the Daugava River and the Stone Bridge from the top of St. Peter’s Church:

The TV tower and railway bridge:

One of our favourite bars (which did salmon skin fries) in Riga, Two More Beers:

The following day was beautiful:

And perfect for a boat trip on the Daugava. One of the boat crew also doubled-up as a barman, and what a barmen he was! With a ever-growing queue of people he slowly and purposefully managed to make some seriously strong G&Ts. It didn’t take long for the bar to run dry and a group of American guys opted to share a bottle of port…!

Cymru were playing their opening Rugby World Cup game against Fiji in the evening, so we commandeered a big table at Two More Beers and settled in for the duration. Eating, drinking and watching an impressive win.

The next day was matchday for the Cymru football team, and the bars were heaving with #WalesAway seemingly from breakfast onwards. The game kicked-off at 21.45 so we joined the free walking tour after brunch.

The Cat House, built in 1909, and originally owned by a serious cat lover:

Crests of Latvian towns:

Dome Square:

Les Musiciens de Brême, a sculpture based on a fairy-tail by the Grimm brothers:

The old town area of Riga was teeming with Cymru fans and the atmosphere was one of jovial optimism. This was supplemented by Latvian basketball fans celebrating their country making the last four of the world championships.

Pre-match beverages:

Skonto Stadion:

Of the 6000 crowd, it felt that roughly half were #WalesAway. It transpired that many locals had decided to sell their tickets to Cymru fans. It was pretty cosy in the away end!

Pre-match selfie:

The game was a bit nervy. We dominated from the off but passed-up a few presentable opportunities. Thankfully, a Latvian defender had a moment of madness in the box and Aaron Ramsey put away the penalty. The second half wasn’t great but be survived a few half-scares and then celebrated in style when David Brooks grabbed a late second. Cue endless minutes of: “Brooooks! Brooks will tear you apart. Again.”

“Wales Away, ah-ah, ah-ah, I Like It!”

The post-match atmosphere was just as good as pre-match as most of us congregated around one particular corner pub to drink and sing the night away, with just the two police officers looking on indifferently.

The following day Mike headed home whilst I caught the very brief flight to Vilnius. Jason and Simon had elected to take the train. What was an interesting proposition quickly looked ill-advised when I furnished them with the fact that the train isn’t direct, but goes via Latvia’s fourth city, Daugavpils. Not a huge issue until they reached said city to find they’d missed the connection to Vilnius… And with no buses seemingly going that way they forked out for a three-figure taxi ride!

For context, I’d arrived around 15.00, roughly an hour after departure, they arrived gone 20.00 after a good six hour jaunt…

Welcome to Vilnius:

Town Hall Square:

Vilnius Cathedral’s detached bell tower on Cathedral Square:

The climb up the nearby Gediminas Hill (I should have taken the funicular):

The view from the top, with Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the foreground:

The view south:

Gediminas Castle Tower, the remains of a 15th century castle:

The view north to the new town:

Just the sort of dogs I like in Bernardinų park:

The guide book recommended eating on Pilies gatvė, so I opted for local chain Etno Dvaras and the pork knuckle:

Town Hall Square by night:

The Gates of Dawn – a 15th century gate housing a chapel with an icon of the Virgin Mary – and some local art:

I met up with Jason and Simon the day after at the Town Hall for a free walking tour. One of the most fascinating places on the agenda was the self-styled “Republic of Užupis”, an unrecognised area of one square kilometre.

Welcome to Užupis Res Repulika:

Like Christiania in Copenhagen and Metelkova in Ljubljana, Užupis is a flourishing social and art centre. It even has its own currency, constitution and navy, while its president is a cat…

Around Užupis:

Back in Vilnius, the guide showed us where the Baltic Way was claimed to have started, near the bell tower on Cathedral Square:

The Baltic Way was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred in August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 690 kilometres through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were all occupied and annexed by the USSR at the time.

After a spot of lunch the three of us climbed the hill to the 17th century Three Crosses Monument:

The view back to the Gediminas Castle Tower:

We stumbled upon some sort of pagan ritual circle on the way back down the hill:

At this point our collective thirst got the better of us so we sampled some local mead in a tiny bar off Cathedral Square. In the next bar we tried some local craft ales with a side order of pigs ears.

I’d happily recommend all three:

Jason had spotted a pub called Alaus Biblioteka (the Beer Library). How could we not visit…? The barman was a beer disciple who expertly explained each of the fine beers in our respective flights. We were so impressed we forgot to take pictures!

Nice decor though:

Bit tipsy, perhaps:

Our brief stay in Vilnius came to an end the following day as we caught an uneventful train to Kaunas. The first thing you learn about Kaunas is that its new town possesses the longest pedestrianised street in Eastern Europe in the form of the 1621-metre Laisvės alėja (Liberty Avenue):

Church of St. Michael the Archangel, and Žmogus at the eastern end of Liberty Avenue:

At the western end of Liberty Avenue is the small and rather unremarkable old town, which was made to look even more drab thanks to the dank weather.

Church of St. Francis Xavier on the sparse old town square:

That’s a bit more old town-ish:

The view over the Nemunas:

Kaunas Castle:

The beautiful Church of St. Gertrude near my accomodation:

That evening I had a look around the Kiemo galerija (Yard Gallery), a small neighbourhood bedecked in unusual art:

For Jason and Simon’s last day we looked into hiring a car to visit the Hill of Crosses, two hours north of Kaunas, but had no luck with traditional hire car companies. Instead, we opted for the now-customary free walking tour.

The guide immediately impressed upon us that unlike many major central or eastern European cities, Kaunas was all about the new town, not the old town. In fact, the walking tour steered clear of the old town and the castle to prove a point. We were glad of it!

The first port of call was the modern Christ’s Resurrection Church which we rode the Žaliakalnis Funicular to reach. It had a roof terrace which afforded a great near-360 view of the city:

The “secret” garden located behind the Devils’ Museum was a peaceful little place:

Several interesting statues and art installations around the Vienybės Riedlenčių park:

In the evening, the one on the right has a light that shines on it that gives the illusion that the man is sprinkling the stars. To be fair to our guide, she gave us a new perspective on Kaunas.

The Nemunas from the Simonas Daukantas Bridge:

In the afternoon, Jason an I went street art spotting with the help of my guidebook. Some were more impressive than others to say the least…

The 1.7km by night:

At the end of the previous day’s walking tour, in the absence of a traditional car hire option, our guide suggesting I hire a car via Bolt to visit the Hill of Crosses, two hours north of Kaunas, near Šiauliai.

Following an unsuccessful uprising by Poles and Lithuanians against Russian authorities in the 19th century, families of those who lost their lives – in the absence of bodies to bury – started putting up symbolic crosses at the site of a former hill fort. In recent years, crosses have been placed for victims of other conflicts, wars and acts of terrorism.

Despite the number of visitors there was a peacefulness about the place. If the weather wasn’t so beautiful, and if it had been late evening, I would imagine the place would have been incredibly eerie. Either way, the place contained a staggering amount of crosses of all sizes and levels of ornateness.

A short clip to demonstrate the enormity of the place.

On the drive back to Kaunas I stopped by the 9th Fort of the Kaunas Fortress, originally a defensive fortification to protect local people. Sadly, it was turned into a place of incarceration and mass murder of Lithuanian and other European Jews during the second world war.

An art installation symbolising incarceration:

An installation made of bullet casings represent those murdered at the fort:

The peaceful grounds are only interrupted by the gentle tinkling of these metal “flowers”:

Here is short clip to demonstrate the gentle tinkling.

The memorial to the victims of Nazism:

I spent my final night on the 1.7km strip:

Home time as the sun rises over Kaunas:

I couldn’t fail to be charmed by all three of Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas. Each offered great food – naturally – and fascinating history and architecture. Riga is a perfectly-formed small capital city that has embraced great beer; Vilnius is like Riga’s big brother and something of a hidden gem; while Kaunas offers something different by deigning to be about its present and not its history. A brilliant trip!