Latvia deserves a visit in every season, but if you have the chance to go in November you’ll attend the celebration of Latvia Republic Day. It is on the 18th of November. Each year they organize a lot of events and Riga becomes even more beautiful. I can’t say exactly what they do, because year after year there is something new. I can describe what I saw in one of my trips there to make you understand how the atmosphere is great. That day is a national holiday and if it happens during the weekend, the country will have a day off on the following Monday.
The Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia is an important date for the country. It reminds to the same day of 1918, at the end of First World War, with the freedom from German and Russian occupation. That independence remained until 1940, the year of the occupation made by Soviet Union forces. Latvia conquested its independence again in 1990. Anyway, I guess you are more interested to know what happens on the 18th November each year. This is the focus of my post.
Latvia Republic Day: the celebration
All around the city of Riga something special happens to celebrate Latvia Republic Day. Of course, the main institutional activities are settled around the Freedom Monument in the center. The statue was built in memory of the soldiers died during the war, fighting for independence. I spent in Riga some hours to enjoy the celebration, from the late afternoon until the first part of the night. Also, I have listened to the President’s speech, but luckily I was with a Latvian who translated the main parts in English for me.
I started my tour in the center watching the enlighted and colored buildings. They project colored lights and figures on the facades, to remind the Latvian flag and also to amaze people. I guess the underline the beauty of old constructions and the prestigious palaces of the capital. This is only to introduce the atmosphere. You can spend hours just to walk and admire the lights and the projections. I took some pictures, they are not the best because it was raining and it was full of people. I hope you can anyway enjoy them and understand how is the Latvia Republic Day.
In the park, there were some modern art installations with colored lights changing fast. Always in the park, on the hill, there were some stylized sculptures with fire to represent the fight for independence. It was cool for me to be there and to celebrate together with Latvians. Then I moved to the Freedom Monument for the speech, not mine. Lights were again the protagonist of the moment. Latvia Republic Day is also a big party.
Walking in the center of Riga the atmosphere for the Latvia Republic Day is great, but you can find places to drink, dance and meet people. People from all over the country are in the capital and they are ready to party with tourists. After the traditions, the institutional moments, and the shows on buildings facades one of the things to do is go to the river. On Daugava River that crosses the Riga’s center before to jump into Baltic Sea, there are fireworks. A beautiful and long show that you will love as I did.
At the end of the fireworks, it is good to enjoy the party around the city. Life is vibrant on Latvia Republic Day. Then if you are on holiday there is no risk for the day after, no early wake-up. You can drink, dance, chat till the morning. People are friendly and nice and you will have fun. I let my pictures and videos talk for me, but judging, you have to remember that was night, crowded, and raining.
Stay in Riga
My posts about Latvia help you to plan your trip around the country. But I highly suggest you spend a few days in Riga. If you take advantage of the Latvia Republic Day you will enjoy the city even more. There are a lot of solutions form budget to luxury hotels and apartments. A good place is Radisson Blu Daugava Riga. The hotel is located on the river, so it’s perfect to see fireworks. The Old Town, the most attractive for travelers, is just on the other side and guest needs to cross a bridge. The ideal place to start the tour.
Rooms with the view on the lake and the Old Town have huge windows and it is like to have personal postcards of Riga. There is a lot of space and comfort in a modern and well-equipped setting. If you want to search more for a room, I suggest you use the map below. There are a lot of options and good deals ready for you.
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To save more money and time I suggest you check out my posts about free coupons. There are more exclusive deals for you and your holidays. Subscribe to my newsletter to get the updates and visit my Amazon page, there are tips about what to put in your suitcase for the travel.
Now you are ready to enjoy Latvia Republic Day. For any question, contact me, I will be happy to answer.
Latvia represents for me a wonderful destination. That’s why I dedicate this post to Latvian landscape pictures. It is not about the view you can have going around, but the one from the sky. Yes, I have a few images I took from the plane before to land in Riga. I want to share them with you. Not always, but sometimes pilots make it possible. They fly in the way to give an overview of the country or at least of a portion of it. This is the case and I am lucky not only for this reason but also because I can go to this marvelous country quite often.
It is small but lovely. There is a lot of nature and many places appear untouched by the community. Beaches, forests, parks, and castles are the things I like in Latvia. If you surf the section of my blog dedicated to the country, you can read more reviews, descriptions, impressions, and curiosities. Now I want to show some Latvian landscape pictures. Why the ones from the plane? You can see the other images in other posts, but these give the idea of the shape, of what you can expect.
Latvian landscape pictures from the sky
Every time I visit a city I search for a terrace and a high building. Why? Because for me it is like a map. I see the main monuments, the old part and I can plan my tour. From the plane is different but it is possible to admire the setting, something that you will see going around. Latvian landscape pictures show you what I saw and how my expectations came out. Flying over the country is amazing. I go there for business, but there is always the chance to keep some hours free to go around. Nature, in this case, is part of the trip.
My goal is to see beaches, walk-in forests, explore the parks. Then I also enjoy castles, art, architecture. Where and when I can, except for the work meetings, I try to chat with locals. English is well known by young people and around Riga isn’t difficult to find people who speak it. Talk with them makes me aware of life in the country. This is important to know a place. Anyway, I underline the presence of trees, flowers, and nature in general everywhere in Latvia. It is so nice to have a break in this environment.
Here you can finally see my pictures. I took them during one of my flights to the country. I tried to catch each moment, starting with some white clouds. It’s like to discover something because at a certain moment the clouds open and the land appears. Then Latvian landscape pictures reveal the beauties.
A trip to Latvia
I highly recommend you to visit this Baltic country. Each of us has a different taste, but the good atmosphere there is unique. I can affirm that all the places I have visited gave me something. There is not a favorite one because I can’t compare them, all are unique. But maybe my Latvian landscape pictures can help you to understand how I lived my trips there. How I felt going around in this green country. To plan my tours during free time or in the days I added to my journey I used two ways. The first one is asking locals. Some of them took me around and others gave my advice.
The second one is to get inspired by exploring Kiwi. This platform is great to find the best deals for my trips. I can reserve flights, buses, trains, hotels, and tours. They have holiday packages and reading them I can see something to visit. Then I use the platform for what I need. About Kiwi, I want also to share a special discount (10%) I have. You can take advantage of it using the code MYANASA.
Then thanks to EasyRentCars I can find a vehicle to go around. It is easy to use and it has a huge variety of options at a cheap price. According to the period they have always special offers. If you want to know them you should read my post about free coupons. There are buses and trains in Latvia, but a car guarantee more freedom in transfers.
If you liked my Latvian landscape pictures and if you want to visit the country, you can plan your trip. Reserve a hotel, stay in Riga is good because distances are not so big, otherwise, you can try different accommodations in various towns. Checking out my articles about Latvia you can get inspired and have some information, anyway if you want to ask me something more, write to me. I will be happy to answer sharing my personal experience and tips.
Saulkrasti beach, my heaven. Latvia is a small but wonderful country. It is full of green because nature is going to cover a huge portion of the land. The capital and the towns deserve a visit because of architecture, but in this post, I want to talk about Saulkrasti beach. A perfect place where to enjoy Baltic sea during summertime or where to walk in winter. The town count around 7,000 inhabitants but it is popular for tourism, especially because it hosts one of the most beautiful and famous Latvia beaches.
There are many chances to have fun on Latvia seaside thanks to the entertainments organized in summer and the structures well equipped to welcome visitors on Saulkrasti beach. It is located 50 kilometers from Riga, so easy to go there in a short time and enjoy a day on the seaside. I am telling you that because in summer it is crowded but the hotels and accommodations are open. As it happens in all the Latvia beaches.
In autumn and winter time it is good maybe to spend there a few hours to walk, to take pictures but not maybe to stay all the holiday there. In any case, Saulkrasti Latvia beach is a place you will love.
This is one of the longest Latvia beaches thanks to its 17 kilometers. But the reasons to go there are diverse. What I did was to access passing on a wooden path that brings you the main entering point. You can walk in the wood and watch the sand and the sea from there, then go down on the stairs and enter the beach.
This is the first reason: being in nature. I love it. You can lay down under the sun, walk with your feet in the water or go around the wood. Yes, I need to confess that I love so much sea, but not stay all the time under the sun to do nothing. I need to be active. Saulkrasti Latvia beach is a good starting point.
I mentioned the wooden path. It is called Sunset Trail and it connects the center to the beach, the White Dune area. Some small patios are spread along the walk as observations points. It is long about 3 kilometers. Like the name suggests this place deserve a visit during sunset. This is another reason to go to this beautiful pearl among the Latvia beaches.
Going around you can see the diversity of Saulkrasti beach. The White Dune offer in the Lilaste part, meanwhile, in Zvejniekciems there is a stony seashore. It is quite common to find shells and mollusks on the beach because the area is quite exposed to the wind so there are waves that bring gifts from the sea. It is also very nice to see the Pēterupi River passing through the pine trees. Landscapes are the ideal ones for photographers, that is one more reason to enjoy Saulkrasti Latvia beach.
If you are going to spend some time in the lovely town of Saulkrasti you have many chances to enjoy nature, but also history and culture. The Latvia seaside doesn’t offer only sand. Before to admire the sunset on the Withe Dune 18 meters high, you should go around downtown. And don’t forget to visit Catherine’s lindens, the place where Catherine the Great stopped, traveling from Estonia to Riga, to check out the farmers’ conditions and had a swim in 1764.
In the town, you should enter the Bicycle Museum, it is curious and it tells the history of the Latvian bicycles. Before to see the marvelous Saulkrasti beach you should enter the Pēterupe Lutheran Church. It was built in the 17th century and there is a precious painting of Jesus made by the important artist Josep Miller. There is also the Pēterupe Pastorage that deserves to be seen because of the typical architecture and the park around the building.
In a superb position on the River Ķīšupe, there is the Roman Catholic Church of Divine Grace. It is modern and big, it can hosts 300 people and it was built in 1998, anyway, the artworks inside are very nice. The town on Latvia seaside counts some parks where to go to walk and relax. Among them, I saw the Seaside Park that is well equipped for outdoor activities, so if you want to do some sport you can get exactly what you need. The Park Piejūra is right on the way to go to White Dune so very close to the beach.
I have been there for one day but if you have more time you can see the different monuments and go around the area. The local tourism office is reachable via the internet to plan your trip. The website has a list of the attractions and the parks. All that you need to know about Saulkrasti Latvia beach is well explained and you can ask them more.
Latvia seaside
Saulkrasti beach it has been my first experience on Baltic sea so it was a particular visit. The first time on a Baltic Sea beaches, because I already passed around it traveling in other countries of the area. I have to say that I preferred an autumn visit because it was empty. I spend time alone, just with a person who was with me walking on the sand and taking pictures.
In this page, you can see some of them. The colors, the waves, and the sun with some clouds were my mates exploring the seaside and the forest. In the town, there were a few people around but it was everything so calm. Saulkrasti Latvia beach can become an excuse to visit this lovely center.
Latvia seaside is almost all uncontaminated except for some small and lovely town, so it is possible to live the sea and the beaches. As I wrote I don’t like to spend so much time on a beach and I prefer to explore them when they are empty. Saulkrasti beach changes its shape in the summertime because of tourist, while in the coldest seasons you can be alone with the sea in front of you. It is not the proper moment to swim but to completely enjoy the place. Peace is all around in this corner of Latvia seaside.
Saulkrasti Latvia beach can be one of your steps to discover this amazing country.
Latvia beaches
From Riga, you can proceed on the left going to Lithuania or on the right going to Estonia. There are different options you can choose if you want to see the Latvia beaches. I don’t know all of them, but for now, I can say that Saulkrasti beach is my favorite. It is a beautiful pearl that you must include in your tour around Latvia seaside. What about the other Latvia beaches?
Jūrmala is close to the airport of the country capital and it faces the Gulf of Riga stretching for 26 kilometers. There are restaurants and many structures for entertainment. Jūrkalne Bluffs offers an untouched environment, it seems to be out of the world, far from civilization. More dedicated to families is Ventspils, called the city of beaches. For surfers Pavilosta is a paradise, sport is a must over there. Then it is a great experience to taste cod dish in Liepāja. Each one of the Latvia beaches is special and not only for landscapes but also for the features.
The list is just to mention some of the most famous Baltic sea beaches on the Latvian side where I have passed. If you want to plan your visit you can check out more information about the features on the official Latvia Travel website.
Baltic sea beaches
The Baltic sea gave me great impressions since my first time, but I saw it on the Scandinavian side. Then traveling between Copenhagen and Malmö by train I was mainly excited to cross the bridge so I didn’t focus so much on the Baltic sea. Saulkrasti beach and the Latvian ones gave me amazing surprises. There are unique landscapes that seem to come out from novels. Maybe it is the light because it influences a lot the way to see the things. Maybe this is due to the wild nature all around or to the period I have been on Latvia seaside.
Anyway, the Baltic sea beaches surprised me a lot I am going to suggest you visit them. You should start with Latvia. People are kind, even do outside Riga, except young people, it can be hard to communicate in English with them. According to its extension, the country is one of the more “green“, in terms of the environment. Also, it is a small place so you can easily go around without spending hours and days moving. Latvia seaside offers places where to have fun in summer and also some areas to be alone or at least quiet. Any taste can be easily satisfied.
Saulkrasti Latvia beach is just one of the places you should see, but more time you will have and more beaches you will visit. Believe me, a tour around Baltic sea is always a good idea. More than a cruise I suggest to travel inside the countries, maybe by car. You will have the chance to be in the middle of nature, to explore deeply every natural attraction and each village.
Planning the stay
Saulkrasti beach deserves a visit and this is my advice for you, as you have read in the post. Anyway, mostly depends on the period you are going there. Focus on your goal and on the time you can have for your holiday, it is possible to decide where to stay? For instance, if you want to have fun in summertime and you are open to meet people you need a hotel there. Latvia beaches are equipped, then there are different types of accommodation, restaurants, bars, and so on.
If you like to have relaxed there are no problems, parks are there for that reason. Hiking, museums visits, sport are other activities you can do. If you prefer autumn with its colors the place is superb. Trees around, pathways, the beach empty, Latvia seaside to explore without noise. Keep in mind that out of the tourist season most of the accommodations are not opened and the town is going to be quite empty, except for residents. I am saying that if you want to explore Saulkrasti beach or other Latvia beaches you can stay in Riga and go to the town for a day.
Prices, according to western standards are quite cheap, so you can have a good experience without spending all your salary. Surf the map above to search for a hotel or a flat. Livonia, the region of Saulkrasti beach, is marvelous as the rest of the country, so you can easily plan day trips or to move around sleeping in different places. The country is small so the distances are not so huge. Saulkrasti Latvia beach is on the way between Lithuania and Estonia, you can easily cross Latvia borders.
Connections are guarantee by buses and trains. You should prefer buses, anyway rent a car is more convenient because you can easily plan the tour without depending on fixed timetables. It is easy to drive in Latvia. Sometimes in Riga, the traffic is on a high level, but nothing out of order.
Thanks to EasyRentCars is possible to save money. You can have your car ready for you at your arrival on Latvia seaside. For my followers and readers, there are discounts. Click here and then use the code ‘5ADSEP‘ to get unlimited 5% off. For more free coupons and deals check out my post.
To reserve flight, bus, train, hotel room, and a holiday package I use Kiwi. The platform has great offers. So to visit Saulkrasti Latvia beach and the country you can use it. I recommend it also because I can give you a special discount of 10% off. Click here and write the code ‘MYANASA‘ (capital letters) to get it. Visit Saulkrasti Latvia beach and save money.
Check out my other posts about Latvia to plan your trip. Enjoy the journey to Saulkrasti beach and subscribe to my newsletter to get updates about many destinations, including Latvia beaches.
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