Niña in wild Nature	Ventasfalls

We are old fans of the Baltic provinces that´s why we spent an Out-Door-Week in Westlatvia (Kurzeme) after visiting the tango days in Riga in autumn 2007. We won´t deprive this amazing travel experience besides the tango from you. So the following stages are recommended to copy:

1. Canoe tour on the Abava (look at the picture)

The Abava is a contemplative rivulet around two hours westward from Riga, where it flows through a glacial valley. There are half a dozen outdoor providers in Latvia where you can hire canoes for paddle trips in those inshore waters. The Abava is suited to carless tourists because there are a lot of possibilities to get in or off at the bus line Riga-Kandava-Sabile-Kuldiga. We went to “Campo” in Riga, www.campo-laivas.lv, which you can find on the left side behind the shopping centre “Domina” in Riga, where women – by the way – can find a range of clothes of famous labels, e. g. Gerry Weber or Ecco cheaper than in Germany. The communication in German and English is no problem, other providers are for example Juraslaivas, Celotajs and Laivi, all to find at www.baltikuminfo.de.

After a two-hour bus ride starting in Riga we boarded in Kandava and travelled two days to Vegi-Bridge by boat. Everything went well thanks to precise water maps and a very reliable local counterpart (Ugis, mobil 00371-292 83 421, from Bavaria to Peking washed with all waters), who waited at the concerted bridge with his boat on time and at the end we were boarded by him on time as well. As convinced mollycoddles we chose this way as you have the chance to stop by a range of leisure residences Plosti half the way www.plosti.lv. But by today´s point of view we would recommend to start the tour in Plosti or Sabile driving to the Venta estuary because the landscape is much more beautiful. That would make camping at the riverbank necessary, but you can rent equipment by the providers and there are a lot of idyllic places themed “One meadow, one table, one outhouse”.

2. City Kuldiga and Ventasfalls (look at the picture)

Kuldiga is near the Venta, a little westward of the valley of the Abava (about 1,5 bus hours away from Liepaja or 3 hours from Riga) and has two big sights (as well as miscellaneous smaller ones). The absolute highlight are the 250 m expanded Ventafalls (Ventas rumbas), which are established as the most expanded waterfalls of Europe. This could be some kind of irritating as they are not very high, but the rush is monumental because of the bride river and you can spend an idyllic time by walking up and down the riverbank (in wellington boots – the with EU-Funds constructed hiking trail is just made of – as the cycle track – markers) as well as exploring the near sculpture park.

Furthermore has the city a very old well-preserved core of framehouses, which has already been announced to World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. In the historic Basnicas Iela next to the historic town-hall has opened a posh brand-new hotel called Metropole, in which you can eat lordly but affordable, www.hotel-metropole.lv. In the surrounding you can also find old country estates, horse tourism, limestone caves, caprine cheese dairies and a lot of other relaxing things, www.kuldiga.lv. In the local tourism information you also get explained that some baron called Anton Kuldiga helped a few Courlands up to Tobago to become glory and prosperity centuries ago, where the German name Goldingen comes from.

You really can´t see it in the town of only 13.000 inhabitants that you better have provisional reserved an accommodation. Constantly used by international conventions and film teams it could easily be possible that there is no hotel available. So it happened to us, but luckily there was a youth hostel on an island at the other riverbank, directly below the falls, which rent idyllic double bedrooms to eagle owls (Kemping Rumbas, private sauna and chilling in the river included).

3. Culture and seaside resort in Liepaja

Liepaja at the western coast of the Baltic see is on the one hand a city with 100.000 inhabitants, but on the other hand it is directly located waterfront, so that everybody could tramp 100 km on a sandy beach towards the South, till getting to Lithuania. Sea and City are separated by belt of parks, forest and dunes so that you are not disturbed on the beach by the city. There are no mass tourism facilities as in Jurmala, because Liepaja was not accessible for tourism while the Soviet time. Those who are good on foot may find some amber in the dunes or on the beach, a cemetery of animals with gravestones and fresh feed for the dears in the sky, the highest dune of Lithuania or very old fisher colonies. Who´s feet then start to hurt can hitchhike back and make a lot of interesting acquaintances.

The city is coming closer to a slowly touristy take-off in small dimensions (there is already a non-stop flight to HH). At a lot of places arise fancy – predominantly smaller – hotels and storehouses at the south side of the old harbour are going to be changed for cultural and culinary purposes. In doing so a lot of designers let out steam and a visitation of some hotels would be worthwhile alone of its spectacular architecture or décor. We were living in one of the few accommodations, which lie directly at the beach park near the Old Town. The park hotel Roze, www.parhotel-roze.lv, is a very lovely decorated Art Nouveau villa with a big garden and several light-flooded reading rooms for the guests. Who prefers modern design will like the sharp “Kolumbs” (a couple of baths with Jacuzzi), unfortunately it lies at a little noisy crossroad. Who wants to pay more and does not like beach very much shouldn´t miss the suites in the new esplanade hotel at the old harbour, www.promenadenhotel.lv. The connection between modern luxury mixed with the architecture of the storehouses is spectacular. The hotel includes a classy restaurant and a gallery. Of course a sleazy hotel like this is even in Latvia not “cheap”, but for people with a German income still affordable. The ventures which has taken place in honour of the Danish rock musician Fontaine are very funny, too. There are two very crazy hotels and a comfortable rock disco, everything close to the harbour, www.fontaine.lv.

Have you bathed, sunned and adored designs enough, you can visit with a smart plan a rock or organ concert. The baroque Trinity Church (Sv. Tisvienibas Baznica) houses the biggest mechanical over 100 years ago in Stettin built organ of the world (over 130 stops and 7000 skirls). We were the lucky ones who heard a vanguard improvisation of an organ and a percussion to Musorgskis “Pictures of an exhibition” as well as a blues concert with an organ and a saxophone (access each 3 €). Very funny is also – across of all high crops and social anthropological standpoints – the four storied “Rock-Café” with billiard and affordable food.

Who won´t directly return to Hamburg from Liepaja by plane can take a comfortable express bus and will be in Riga within 3.5 hours (Warning: Latvian buses leave very on time).

I hope the one or other feels like doing his/her own Latvia adventure now.

Best regards

Niña Boschmann and Jens Petersen