Rural Latvia
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2007
1
12
90
Trip End
Apr 19, 2008
Sigulda,
Latvia
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
First on my hike, I came to Krimulda Castle, beloning to the Archbishop. I don't know much about its history, and all that's really left is just a wall and a bit of fortification, but it broke up the 8 km between my hostel and Turaida Castle rather nicely.
Originally founded in 1214, Turaida Castle was blown up in the 1700s when lightening struck its gunpowder store, but has been greatly restored in the last 20 years. Admission to the castle also comes with an open air museum, which I probably would have enjoyed much more was I not tired from so much walking (the buses run at quite inconvenient times) and had I not been to so many museums in the past few days. Turaida Castle is also connected with Latvia's greatest love story...
In 1601, the baron of Turaida Castle found a baby girl, alone and crying outside his estate. He took the girl in, named her Maija, and she grew into a famous beauty. Suitors came from far and wide to court her, but she only had eyes for Viktors, a gardener at Sigulda Castle across the valley. The two used to meet in secret in a cave halfway between the catles. Unfortunately, as these things go, their secret didn't stay secret very long, and a particularly desperate suitor lured Maija to the cave with a letter forged in Viktors' handwriting. Caught in a trap, Maija offered to give the man her scarf, which she said had magical powers of protection, if he agreed to let her go. To prove the scarf's powers, she suggested he take a swing at her with his sword. Whether she was bluffing or if she really believed in the scarf is unclear, but the suitor took his swing, duly killed her, and fled. Viktors found her body and buried her at Turaida Castle, planting a lime tree to mark her final resting place, before disappearing without a trace. To this day, the tree lives and there is a plaque reading "Turaida Rose: 1601-1620" at her flower-adorned grave.
The castle itself was interesting to tour and its highest tower afforded good views of the valley. Originally, the entrance to this tower had been located 9.5 m off the ground and a simple wooden staircase was used to access it. The stairs could then be easily dismantled in case of attack. Since the explosion, however, there is access from ground level.
On the way back to town, I stopped by Gutamni's Cave, where Viktors and Maija used to meet. The largest cave in the Baltics (though that's not saying much) its soft walls are covered in graffiti, some of it dating back to the 16th century.
My final tourist stop in Sigulda, before heading to Cesis, further up the valley, was Sigulda Castle, both the old and the new. The old castle is now a beautiful set of ruins and gives a good view of Turaida Castle across the valley. The new castle was once the residence of Prince Kropotkin and is now a sanatorium, closed to visitors.
Cesis, given the moniker of "Latvia's most Latvian town" by Lonely Planet is filled with gradens, parks, and a castle dating from 1237, when the town was the capital of the Livonian Order. Trains permitted me three hours in Cesis, which proved plenty of time to see the sites.
I opted out of entrance to the castle, which included two museums (I've had enough of museums for the moment) Instead, I chose to tour the outer walls (basically all that's left anyway) on a series of rather well defined paths. I also visited Cesis's church, but most of the rest of my time was spent in the area's lovely parks. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed feeding swans and ducks in the ponds, and watching them be chased every so often by some resident's unruly dog. Quite a lot of unruly dogs in Cesis, it would seem.
During my wanderings, however, I came to a Maxim store. I have seen people carrying Maxim bags for the last week and a half, and figured I should go check this place out...Yeah...so it turns out Maxim is a grocery chain. Not particularly exciting at all, though I did buy myself an ice cream. At least now I know where to find cheap food when I'm hungry.
Catching the train back to Sigulda, I returned to my hostel, the lovely B&B Tija. If I had Latvian grandparents, this is what their house would be like. The owners only speak German, which gave me a chance to practice that language, and they have a lovely garden. It's currently crab apple season (indeed, the whole town smells of crab apples) and the other afternoon while I was reading my book, the grandmother brought a plate of apples up to me in their sunroom. Quite lovely. The price is cheap and there is also an excellent breakfast.
