Rabbits, Ruins and the Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

From Kuldiga, we were heading to Rundale Palace, but first we stopped off in Bauska to take a look at their castle. When we arrived there wasn't a space to be had in the carpark, and there were already cars circling like vultures for any spot that became available.

Rather than just wait, we figured we'd come back later, and in the meantime, we took a short drive over to Rabbit Village.

Rabbit Village, Bauska, Latvia

And when I say Rabbit Village, this isn't just some cutely named normal village, this is actually a little village of rabbits. A man named Ojars Narvils has, for some reason known only to himself, built 35 little wooden houses and used them to house over 65 different breeds of rabbit. There are also a few geese, ducks and other farmyard creatures in case you want a bit of variety.

Rabbit Village, Bauska, Latvia

This all sounded quite good fun, so we drove out to take a look, and sure enough, there was a miniature wooden village, complete with a church, and they contained rabbits. Sadly though, I'm not sure that this is as much fun for the rabbits as it is for the people looking around.

Rabbit Village, Bauska, Latvia

I don't pretend to be an expert of keeping rabbits, but it seemed to me that many of them simply didn't have enough space. A few had a decent sized 'house' to just the one or two of them, which gave them some space to move around, but many of the houses were looking rather overcrowded, and very few had any kind of decent grass run. Some of them didn't help themselves of course, as even where they did have some space, they still just piled on top of each other.

Rabbit Village, Bauska, Latvia

I thought it was quite expensive to get in, for what it was, they were definitely overcharging for the carrots they were selling, and for me, the cramped conditions put me off. Also, much of the straw in the cages seemed quite dirty to me. It isn't somewhere that I would recommend if you think that the animals' welfare is more important than people's amusement.

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Back in Bauska, we now had to navigate around an accident on the entrance of the car park, but we had our pick of the now plentiful spaces.



This is another of those restored castles, although it seemed that the new castle was pretty much a rebuild rather than a restoration. That said, it did look pretty good, and the rooms inside were lovely, with some great floor tiles.

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

There was a very friendly and helpful lady inside, who was very happy to answer any questions, and there were some decent English explanations on the castle's history in some areas, although these disappeared elsewhere.

There was no English information at all in the old castle ruins, so it may be worth getting an audio guide if you want to know more about the place.

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

When we were there, there was a fun exhibit on of tiaras and crowns made from fabrics and beads.

Rundale Palace, Latvia

From Bauska, we drove on to Rundale Palace, where we were staying for the night.

OK, so I say we were staying at Rundale Palace, but I suppose I should be a bit more specific - we were actually staying at the Balta Maja (The White House), which is the old servants quarters, but it is right in the grounds, and if you're a guest, you can park here, rather than the main carpark.

Rundale Palace, Latvia

The guest house was pleasant enough, and for only €29, we had a room with a shared bathroom and small kitchen facilities. We ate there in the evening, which was fine, if rather slow, and they offered a nice breakfast, included good pork and cheese omelette, for €4 each, which was a decent start to day.

Being literally on the grounds, meant that we were able to be in palace before most coach parties had arrived, so could get uninterrupted view of outside, which I suspect was nigh on impossible just ten minutes later. Even then, once the Palace opened up and we were inside, we had to do a bit of strategic moving around to avoid all of the guided tours, and get into the rooms without them having a coach load of other people in them.

Rundale Palace, Latvia

The rooms weren't exactly our preferred choice of decoration, but they were impressive, and there were some interesting items, especially the Latvian pieces. The explanations in English were of a really good standard in every room and for just about every item.

There was also a good restaurant downstairs, where you could get some good, hearty Latvian fare.

Rundale Palace, Latvia

While it was certainly well worth a visit out here for the house, we weren't so impressed with the garden, which was a little disappointing. It had promised much, being large, and having various different themed areas. Sadly though, there was really nothing distinctive about most of it - the Oriental Garden was mostly just a pagoda-shaped loo! It may well improve in time, as the planting matures, but for now, I wouldn't prioritise it if your time is limited.

After the day here, we were heading out of Latvia, and on to our last country, Lithuania.

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Bauska Castle, Bauska, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia

Rundale Palace, Latvia