Matt on Bernāti BeachMatt Charlton
But enough of Riga, that’s probably the bit you’re familiar with. It’s time to head into the woods. Latvians have a Nordic attitude to nature, with foraging, wild swimming, and preserving all national pastimes, and midsummer is a national holiday. They do have pagan roots, after all. With 52 per cent of the country covered in forest, there’s a lot of nature to choose from, and I head south-west, apparently having programmed ‘the middle of nowhere’, where tarmac becomes dirt road surprisingly and bumpily quickly, into my GPS.
Maria, the owner of Nomadic Homes, left Riga during the pandemic and decided to retool her sprawling family farm into some quirky tourist accommodations, including cottages, some teepees, and a glasshouse. The team also offers electric motorbike tours and a ‘Latvian Safari’, where we trundle through the endless wild countryside in an old Soviet UAZ 4×4, spotting eagles, deer, and storks, which seem to be everywhere here. Later, I settle into a hot tub and watch the 10.30pm low sun play on the mist hanging over long grass, a couple of teepees, and an Alsatian called Flora.
Nomadic Homes
Nomadic Homes
The trees recede – just – as I enter Liepaja. A strategically important ice-free port on the Baltic (so yes, we’ll meet the Soviets again soon), it’s now a charming resort city, the air thick with sea salt and rich with history – such as the fascinating Madame Hoyer’s Guest House – and always within a half-hour walk of white sand beaches. Such beaches are commonplace in Western Latvia, where the grass, boardwalks and dunes give way to the dark, refreshing Baltic. Over the canal is the neighbourhood of Karosta, originally built as a Russian imperial naval base, then going through the now familiar historical transitions. It’s a story told very theatrically at the prison, where you can stay if you wish. I’m told by our guide/ prison officer (who has the aggravated air of a hungover PE teacher) that they are proud to call themselves Latvia’s only zero-star hotel… en-suite bucket optional. If anyone is looking to set a film in the Soviet Union, very little would have to be done to modify this intriguing neighbourhood.