Around the World in 8000 days: Kuldiga, Latvia

Welcome to our travel blog. We are Tabitha and Nic. In 2011 we 'retired' in our early 40s and set off to travel the world. We spent our first year in South America and have been lucky enough to make two trips to Antarctica.

Our blog is a record of our travels, thoughts and experiences. It is not a guide book, but we do include some tips and information, so we hope that you may find it useful if you are planning to visit somewhere we have been. Or you may just find it interesting as a bit of armchair travel.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Kuldiga, Latvia

Kuldiga

From Cesis we drove back past Riga - actually we accidentally ended up driving back through Riga - and on to Kuldiga.

Driving through Riga instead of around it wasn't the only wrong turn we took, there were half a dozen en route, which added an hour or so to the journey, so we didn't stop off at one of the places we had been considering.

Where we stayed in Kuldiga

We did stop for lunch at Rumene Manor though, which was definitely a good decision. You can't look around unless you are a guest there, but the restaurant is cosy and stylish, with great food - especially the delicious rosemary and olive oil ice cream with sea salt on top. We may have to try making some of that ourselves one day when we have our own kitchen again.

Where we stayed in Kuldiga

Once in Kuldiga, I navigated my way slightly nervously through the narrow gap that led to the back of the house where we could park the car, hoped that the builders working there wouldn't drop anything on it, and took a look around our 17th century home for the next few days. It was a nice little place, but unfortunately, there was a low hanging pendant lamp in the living room, and inevitably, Nic walked into it almost immediately. It wouldn't be the last time, either!

Kuldiga

We took a brief look around the closest part of town, but really didn't feel like checking out all of the food options, so settled for the nearby Hotel Metropole. It was nice to sit out on the terrace to eat, and the food was decent, if unremarkable. We were more interested in trying a recommended cafe afterwards, but that was shut.

The next day, we got on with the sightseeing, which took us all of about 5 hours, even including a break for lunch! It is a small place, and there isn't a great deal here, but it is still a good place to visit, simply for the nice old buildings. The town can be traced back at least as far as 1242, and there are many building that, like the one we were staying in, date from around the 17th century.

Kuldiga

Some of them have been nicely restored, but there were also a number that seemed like there wasn't much holding them up still, with parts bowing in a precarious looking way. There was certainly work going on in some of the more central buildings, including our own and the one next door.

Kuldiga

The other thing that there was a lot of going on here was weddings. It was a Saturday, but everywhere you looked there was a car pulling up with a bridal party; people were having to be careful not to end up at the wrong wedding!

Whilst the town was worth a visit in itself, I can't honestly say that the main tourist sights added that much. The old brick road bridge across the River Venta isn't really that old, as it was built in 1874.

Tallest waterfall in Latvia, Kuldiga

At 164m, and wide enough to take two carriages passing each other, it is supposed to be one of, or possibly the, longest bridge of its kind in Europe. If you are a particular fan of bridges, then this one may well merit a visit, but otherwise, it really wasn't anything special to look at.

Kuldiga also has the tallest waterfall in Latvia, and the widest waterfall in Europe. That sounds far more impressive than it looks. The tallest, which is on the Aleksupite river, is still only 4.5 metres high, and even that was man made in order to power the mill next door.

Widest waterfall in Europe, Kuldiga

The widest is at least natural and genuinely wide, at 240 metres, but it is only a very low drop, so that loses some of the impact, and it isn't pretty, like for example, the small but attractive Kuang Si in Luang Prabang.

People were paddling their way along the top of it, so we watched for a while, perhaps secretly hoping that someone would fall in, but no one did.

Kuldiga

There were some nice looking gardens, and in town there was an interesting sculpture called Teleports, which is a collaboration by sculptor Gļebs Panteļējevs and architect Andris Veidemanis. It shows someone walking through a portal from the past to the future, using rusty cast iron on the back to show the 17th century and polished aluminium on the front for the 21st century.

Orthodox Church, Kuldiga

Even though there certainly are tourists around, Kuldiga doesn't feel too overrun, perhaps because many are coach party day trippers, who stick to the main sights and are gone by later afternoon. We were quite surprised at the lack of souvenirs and postcards on sale.

Back on the food front, we had some excellent pancakes in Cafe Makkabi, and dinner at Goldingen Room, was both good quality and good value, which was a pleasant surprise given its location right in the town hall square.