We clocked only about 75 km today on the way from Rīga to Sigulda. Sigulda’s actually only about 53 km from Rīga; the rest was local driving in the vicinity of our destination.
The drive was still ample for Eloïse to enjoy three complete run-throughs of her recently acquired Pippeloentje CD. We didn’t get to listen to anything but ithe umpteenth rendition of Eloïse singing along to this version of Annie M.G. Schmidt’s work set to music.
Anyway, we finished off in Rīga with a trip to the top of the spire of St. Peter’s Church for fantastic panoramic views over the city. This was an absolute must-see. We had wanted to do it yesterday, but the church is closed on Mondays.
With that taken care of, we drove out of Rīga through the newer districts to the north and arrived in Sigulda about an hour later.
Sigulda’s a small town with about 10,000 inhabitants, so the pace of life feels nice and slow; just what we’re looking for.
After checking in and eating lunch next door, we visited the castle just up the road in Turaida. To be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment, as I had envisaged a grand, intact castle in the Czech fashion. What we got instead was a bit disjointed, more of an exhibition/museum spread across several disparate, reconstructed towers. The emphasis was on the items that had been excavated in the area, with the castle itself being of only secondary importance.
Oh well. Sigulda’s nice enough, anyway, and dinner was the best meal we’ve had in Latvia thus far.
We’ll be staying here again tomorrow.