Martins Veidemanis (1981)

Ask yourself – what to do when your tummy is totally empty in the middle of the night after a great party but still you are not sleepy enough to end the ball? Or another one – you are just eager for a delicious and generously decorated pizza?

Here is a tip that always works for me – take yourself to the LuLu, pizza LuLu. It is chain of pizzerias located all over the Riga. Most of them are working 24/7 so you don’t have to cross all city to visit this one particularly, although this is my favorite. They have a few varieties of pizza ready to eat for those who can’t wait a minute for a special order.

LuLu offers three different kinds of pastry as a base for those richly decorated pizzas so you can choose multigrain crust, thin crust or classic crust and you can order your own built pizza via their website. Glad to take a bite indeed, my friends.

Otra Elpa or Second Breath if we want to do a bit of a translation is a charity shop located in the greatest block in Riga – Bergs Bazaar (check the article here).

There are not many places that draw me away from reality in some way. You can try to guess and you will be correct – this is the one of the few ones.

All kinds of people (artists, craftsman, everyone who feels responsible for a better life) donate different books, interior items, clothes, shoes, toys and other things to this shop. So you and me could purchase them if an item has a value in our eyes. I usually go there to purchase some books as the prices are very reasonable or lets be honest – low. There is even a bookshelf with books just for free or a little donation.

From time to time I just can’t pass by Otra elpa without going in to soak up the nice atmosphere to inspire the rest of the day or save it for a smile as those can easy run out in this dark time of a year.

A tip – donate back those books that you have read so that others can share the reading joy as well.

Miit is all about bicycles, a combination of a shop, cafe, workroom and a parking space. It’s a cozy place with wooden ceiling, fixed gear bicycles here and there (on the walls, in the corners) and a public who prefer bikes to other kinds of transport.

It’s a place to have lunch (12:00 – 16:00), to hang around, to glance through a copy of Kuš! that might have been left on your table. To experience those fantastic pancake Saturday mornings from 12:00 till 16:00.

I love to reward myself from time to time with a fine day here at Miit just for relaxing and chatting with some old friends of mine. It should be considered to take part in any of those cool events here with DJs playing and people celebrating life or anything else they have.

Daugavgrīvas fortress is a historical complex of buildings in Riga. Its story begins back in year 1608. Swedes started the construction then, till the fortress was overtaken by the Russians. Who finally destroyed it in 1917. while the Red army was forced to leave our lands. That’s a bit of interpretation from history books.

At the moment place is with no actual military life in it. Only the shadows and ghosts from its glorious past now can be seen there but still the spot gives me a shivers every time.

Best if visited in spring or summer but the fortress can offer some excitement in other parts of a year too. It is possible to walk all over the ruins although with extra caution as some dangerous places has no delimitation.

Only a few kilometers away totally free and easy reachable lays the Baltic sea. I like to give her a visit too. Afterwards.

Daugavgrīvas fortress is completely different spot on the well known Riga’s face. Located in a remote corner of the city it has managed to keep the innocent and some kind of a wilderness. A nice place to visit if you are tired of crowded streets and touristic attractions.

Late Saturday morning and it’s raining, but not a lot. The streets are quiet and people are hiding somewhere or have left city for a weekend in countryside.

My rain jacket is reliable, and so are my wife’s and son’s jackets. Despite the fact there is no sun and the weather is a bit chilly for this time of a year we are enjoying our family walk through Agenskalns. It’s a fantastic place to wander and wonder around.

There is a cute wooden house with welcoming wooden doors. Open it and what a surprise! Fazenda – a cozy cafe that feels more like a lovely Grandma’s house from my childhood memories. With freshly baked cakes and cookies as well as meals cooked from locally grown products, it made my day.

Fazenda was almost full and the folks seemed joyful and happy there. I was pleased to share that feeling and the lemon tart at the end of our lunch almost made me sing in the rain heading back home.