Yet again, I woke up at the crack of dawn, thanks to the paper thin blinds and the creaking of old trams (and old bones) outside my window. After trying to convince myself that I was asleep for another couple of hours, I gave up at around 8.30 and went downstairs for breakfast.
There was no sign of Unhh, but the cook came running out of the kitchen to switch on the TV and the lights. We both panicked a bit when we realised that we couldn’t understand a word the other was saying, but I managed to get across black tea with milk by pointing at her (black) jumper and making (insane-looking) pouring motions with my hands.
A couple of minutes later, I had a plate of pancakes smothered in strawberry jam and cream – and my tea. Excellent. Pointing and mime save the day again.
I had it in mind to go to the Mark Rothko museum that day, but as luck would have it, I got on the tram going in the wrong direction, so I ended up taking a little spin through the forest instead, seeing graveyard, graveyard, graveyard, hospital, graveyard, graveyard… To be honest, it didn’t inspire much confidence in the hospital. When we got to the end of the line, the conductor looked at me like I was a bit mad, but I just paid again and stayed on until the end of the line in the other direction. At 43 cents a pop, why not?
For those of you who don’t know, Mark Rothko was born in Daugavpils, or Dvinsk as it was back then. His art came home last year when the Mark Rothko Art Centre opened. Unfortunately, they still haven’t completed the infrastructure to get people safely from the tram stop to the museum, so you have to trek along a sandy bank, and then across a busy roundabout. Hair-raising stuff.
As you can probably tell, I made it. Located inside a 19th century fortress, The Rothko Centre is home to the Rothko collection, other exhibitions, artists’ residences, a video hall, a library – and a café. The museum itself is actually the old arsenal building, and is quite stunning.
I paid in (€4.98 to the Rothko sector), left in my coat, and proceeded through security. The interior is very modern, with lots of touch-screens displaying information about Rothko’s life, projections of his art, and BBC shows about his life and work.
However, although impressive, it felt like too much style over too little substance. Of his 836 paintings, there are just 6 originals, donated by his family. At one point, I started following one of his famous quotes around a wall – “(We) are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow. We must all hope we find them.” Thinking it led somewhere interesting, I was a bit disappointed to see the same quote in Latvian, then in Russian and arrive back where I started. All in all, I spent around an hour there, but that was pushing it.
I walked outside and over to the café in search of cake. Again, more style, but badly planned. Of the three rooms, one was taken over by a private party, one was reserved for later, and the third was full – of huge tables, but not many people. The terrace was also full. So I wandered over to the visitor information centre, just as a man was locking the door. The sign said that they were closed at 13.05, 14.05, 15.05, 16.05… so I was unable to figure out when they were actually open. After a stroll around the fortress, I headed back to the tram stop.
Once back in the metropolis, I headed for Randinš again. This time there were other customers, even though I was the youngest by around 40 years. Not a bad feeling. After a stodgy feed of chicken and potatoes, I tried to work some of it off by walking up to Church Hill, where four different churches of four different religions stand – Lutheran, Catholic, Russian Orthodox and the Community of Old Believers. The Lutheran one was easily the least impressive (in my opinion) but the other three were beautiful, if in very different ways.
After that, it was back to the hotel. Remembering that I was running low on loo roll (nobody had cleaned or restocked my room since I’d been there), I hunted down Unhh.
Me: Would it be possible to get another roll of toilet paper, please?
Unhh: Unhh. OK.
Bless her.
After a nap, I put my glad rags on and headed out. After the debacles of the previous two nights, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Tonight, I would be dining at the Plaza Restaurant on the 10th floor of the Latgola Hotel – which turned out to be closed for a VIP party. Bastards. I installed myself in the lobby bar instead. And waited, and waited, and waited. The waitress seemed to think it was more important to pick up empties and faff around behind the till than serve new customers. It was as I fumed at the menu sitting on the table that I noticed the ants running around.

3 stars my arse
Picking up my coat, I hightailed it out of there. I went back to Lidadis… which was closed.
Feeling more than a little homicidal at this point, I gave up on food and headed for Artilērijas Pagrabi, one of the most happening spots in town.
Despite the dodgy exterior, the interior was both funky and cosy, with friendly bar staff and cheap pints. I calmed down. After paying €1 for the concert that was taking place that night, I settled in to enjoy ‘polk’ (punk/folk) music by Laimas Muzykanti. And they were… fantastic. There had only been around six people there when I arrived, but the place soon filled up. Even Sleepy from the café showed up – and stayed awake. The atmosphere was great – people laughing, singing, clapping and even dancing.
They saved the night for me – and probably the lives of a bunch of people.
The next morning, I got the bus back to Riga. On arriving at the bus station, I ran upstairs to the loo where a homeless woman had taken off her trousers and pants and was washing them in the sink. Ah, the smell of stale urine – welcome back to Riga.
As for Daugavpils? It’s clear that a lot of money has gone into the city, and is still going into the city. I just wonder if there will be anyone left to appreciate it in a few years time…
A little something to remind you of your hols! It’s European election time (bet you didn’t know that??!!) so German TV did an “Europatour”, including…tah-dah…Daugavpils!!
http://www.daserste.de/information/politik-weltgeschehen/morgenmagazin/reportagen/Europatour-Lettland-Russen-waehlen-Europaparlament-100.html
It basically says, they have a lovely city centre – thank you Europe – but the train man at the beginning needs Russian contracts, so please Europe, leave Russia in peace. They also follow the “language police” around… Yerwan has to check that everybody can speak Latvian, however, politician man at the end failed the test and says “we mustn’t forget our roots”. Hmmmm. Enjoy! 😉
Language police – my god…
I doubt anyone has ever said ‘tah dah!’ before Daugavpils before 🙂 Well done!
What a town of contradictions … and if you ever visit there again, at least you’ll know to only expect a hearty breakfast for sustenance 😉
I won’t be visiting again!
ha ha ha ha ha!
🙂
Hahahaha okay, I love your take on the city and your travel, with all it’s ups and downs. This sounds pretty much exactly like my sorts of experiences overseas– and I love that they have a fancy building but no practical way to get there. Talk about “putting the cart before the horse.”
Also, what is the “Community of Old Believers?”
A breakaway part of the Orthodox religion. They stick with the old faith and didn’t adopt new reforms that were brought in. (I’d never heard of them either before) 😉
I am surprised about Latvia housing the Old Believers church. As far as I know, the reforms you mention tool place in the 17th century, way before Latvian territory was in Russia’s fold. Some OB communities were allowed to peacefully co-exist with the establishment church (in a sense of, in the same geographic area), but many moved to Russian north and Siberia & Far East and settled there. Very, very interesting stuff…when were the four churches constructed?
(Thank you Google) 😉
Martin Luther Cathedral designed by V. Neimanis was built in 1893. Roman Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1905, and later in 1909 it acquired an organ created by A. Homan from Poland. SS Boris and Gleb Russian Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1905 as a garrison church. Church of the Community of Old Believers was built in 1908–1928.
So seems pretty close together time-wise. Neat project!
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry… 🙂
Laugh? I don’t want to make anyone cry 😉
Linda, too bad the Rothko pocket of silence didn’t work out for you – when I followed the qoutes I actually ended up in a small separate room, were you could take a seat and meditate looking at a very melancholic painting 😉
I think I was melancholic enough at that stage 😉
I thought you got melancholic, because there was no pocket of silence 😀
More because there was no food 😉
I’m still stuck on the pancakes with strawberries and cream. And black tea. Unfortunately it sounds like that was the highlight, though the churches were nice too 😉
Yeah, churches and pancakes – welcome to LV 😉
So glad to read your homicidal thoughts were able to be squashed by Laimas Muzykanti and your visit to Artilērijas Pagrabi. I’d hate to read of your arrest. And the blogosphere would miss you.
And such a welcome back to Riga ….
Yeah, I wouldn’t like Latvian prison much I think 😉
Seriously, sometimes I think Riga does this sort of stuff deliberately, just for me – I’m pretty sure 99% of the people who visit the bus station never see anything like that!
I thought the same thing, actually:) Karma. Or – tu uzprasies:) Maybe you are asking for it
I don’t know what I’ve ever done that would make me deserve that 😉
Well, you are looking for things to write about in your blog, aren’t you? And write in your style, that meanwhile has become your trademark. And it’s so much easier to write that way about things, that are not so nice. So life brings them to you. Or – you choose to see your surroundings that way. It’s like, when you have a problem getting pregnant, all you can see on the streets are women with large bellies.
Ha, I guess 🙂 I do see the positive too – I just prefer writing about the weird stuff. It’s usually far more entertaining!
Good read as always. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
They have some genuinely pretty buildings and good live music. Seems like it should be the next hipster city?
I don’t know if anyone will live there at all in a few years time.
That’s how the hipsters like it. Apparently.
I guess time will tell! 🙂
Let us know!
Oh my gawd. In the sink!! Ohhhh my gawwwwwwwwwwwwd.
I’d have run straight back out again lol
UGH!
Faced with a 30-minute walk, after an almost 4-hour bus journey, I had no choice 😉 I swear I could still smell it in my hair and clothes hours afterwards though… 😦
That’s just so gross lol
And to be honest, after that I’d have happily gone behind a tree 😀
This is probably the one spot in Latvia where there aren’t that many trees!!
Thanks for your blog on trip to Daugavpils. Haven’t been there for a while (except short business trips), but it looks like nothing much has changed since then. But still, Latvia has better places to visit (Liepāja, Ventspils, Sigulda, Cēsis and other small towns of Kurzeme and Vidzeme). You should definitely look forward to your trip to Ventspils, but don’t expect to much – in terms of service in hotels and restaurants it will be pretty the same all over LV. 🙂
Ha, yeah, I’ve come to realise that! Although I did find the people friendlier in Daugavpils overall – fewer death stares 😉 I’ve been to Liepaja, Sigulda, Kuldiga, Cesis, etc – and some towns along the way! Saving Ventspils for late June/early July when I hope the weather will be better!
Regarding Ventspils you should check their calendar: in the second part of the summer they have a number of celebrations – flower festival, city festival, sea festival etc.: http://www.visitventspils.com/en/event-calendar/?from=2014-07-01&to=&category=&x=130&y=20
It is much more fun there when there is some activity in the streets. 🙂 Regarding the hotels, I would recommend “Raibie logi” or “Jūras Brīze” (the kithen is exceptional there by terms of Ventspils).
Great, thank you! I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have later in the summer – but maybe a long weekend would be enough anyway 😉
The more I read and see pics about your life in latvia, the more I feel like SNL’s “Two wild and crazy guys” (Steve Martin and fan ackroyd are running the country. Or at the very least, they are the commossars of culture!
Ha ha! Well, there’ll only be a couple more trips at this stage. Ventspils during the summer, which everyone describes as ‘clean’… I can hardly wait 😉
Well at least the pub on the last night was a bit of craic! Looks like the €1 cover charge there was better value than the museum. At least you made it out alive! As for Jo’burg – scariest place on earth. One night was enough for a lifetime.
When I told people I rode the mini-buses there, they nearly had a heart attack 😉
RE: Lutheran church. Don’t know if there’s a decent info on the web about it, but basically Lutherans are probably the next coolest people after Buddhists.
The whole point behind it was rebellion against greedy, dictating, abusing, etc., Catholic Church. People paid taxes to them, and while the church was covered in gold, people were poverty stricken, suppressed etc.
Martin Luther (the German guy, not “I have a dream” one) created more people friendly church. It even enabled children from poor families to learn (obviously there was no free schooling back then) how to read as the Bible was made available to all (in essence, their only book, library style). Due to it’s rebellious nature, Lutheran church was also very simplistic – hence nobody and nothing is draped in gold- the polar opposite to the Catholic Church.
In conclusion – that’s why Lutheran churches aren’t “Wow”, however their substance is why I think they’re pretty cool. Emo of it’s time.
PS I’m super tired, pardon the incoherent spiel
Ha ha, not to worry! Yes, it’s a nice concept – just not so visually stunning. The inside of the Orthodox church almost made my eyes bleed it was so ornate!
I think I need better glasses. As I read about your trip to the cafe at the museum, I read “pirate” instead of “private”, and my mind conjured up interesting visions! :-). The arsenal building and the churches are fantastic – but the Lutheran is less so, as befits the faith). Also laughed at the way the 2nd last paragraph was displayed – I had that mental pause after “washing” as my eyes went to the next line. Again, my mind boggled! 🙂
Oh god, you’ve managed to make a pretty grim post take an even grimmer turn! Kudos to you 🙂
And I definitely would have crashed a pirate party!
I need anti-depressants after reading this.
Ha ha! This was the happy ending!?
Oh joy.
Oh come on – my LV vs your LV – what a competition! 😉
Listen, I’ll be the first to admit my LV has some seedy and unsavoury areas…but…come on… the places you go are frightening. 🙂
Ah, it was a bit rough around the edges, but nothing frightening about it. I travelled around South Africa by myself – Johannesburg was frightening, Daugavpils, not so much 🙂
By frightening I meant boring and lacking food. My LV scores big points in both entertainment value and food. 🙂
A colleague of mine took a role in Jo-burg for 6 months. She had a security detail the entire time. Scary stuff.
Yeah, I didn’t really realise how scary it was until I got there 🙂 But I think that probably saved me – walking around like you own a place, rather than looking like a scared little mouse can make the difference sometimes. Though probably not in Jo’burg. That was just dumb luck!
I saw The Hoff in your LV – I heart The Hoff 🙂
What’s not to heart? The Hoff is a legend.
Even in heels and a silver sparkly dress – I saw him in The Producers. He was fantastic!
Sweet baby jesus.
Have I lost my mind? You can tell me… 😉
If you ever make it back to my LV, I will take you to the best.show.ever. Absinthe. It is fantastic! Raunchy, dirty, totally politically inappropriate! I’ve seen it twice and would see it again in a heart beat!
OK, it’s a date – if I ever make it. But when I land in Berlin (maybe), I’ll find something down and dirty for you to do too 🙂 Should you ever visit – and I’m pretty sure there are lots of down and dirty things in Berlin!
And it’s on my list of places I’ve not travelled to yet, that I’d like to. 🙂
Excellent (rubs hands together in evil glee) 😉
:->
sorry but I saw nothing out of the ordinary in your post. absolutely normal and nice city with seemingly nice and polite people, maybe not so wealthy and organised. I had much more weird experiences when travelling in rural Germany and Austria. you should have had a blog when you were in south africa!
That was only for 2 weeks. I should have kept one when I was in Poland – but it would have made everyone suicidal.
I wouldn’t even consider Daugavpils a city. It’s basically a town, and yes, with nicer people than in Riga. But I need somewhere with a bit more life!
WOW, That was the most exciting vacation ever! Drinking, clubbing, touring about. I am not sure what my favorite part was… I truly hope you get some rest after all that action. On a serious note, I am pleased the folks were so friendly! 🙂 And I hope you have some really exciting travel plans for summer!
Not really! Working in LV for the summer but will take a few more local trips before I leave – my eyes are firmly on the German prize at this stage so saving my money – and energy – for that from now on!
And I actually do need another vacation after that – I’m still sleep deprived 🙂
I am going home alone for the summer to work. I will be sure to post pics of NYC and lots of beach pics just for you. I will send you a virtual vacation! 😉
I’ll be on the beach – just in Latvia 😉 We do have some very nice beaches here though!
Must try to make it home at some point also, now that you mention it!
Oh, I will be excited to see that. Once you make it to Germany, I will be thrilled to see the architecture and read about the beers! 🙂
I will be thrilled too 🙂
Woah! Part 3 was worth waiting for. I had no idea that Mark Rothko was from Latvia! That’s awesome I’ve only seen his work in Ikea!
But yet again cinnamon would’ve been handy for those ants. Apparently the Latvian word for it is kanēlis. In Dutch it’s kaneel! Maybe you could write a blog about a Latvian survival kit: buying cinnamon!
Glad you made it back safely. Obscure Latvia is on my 100 places before you die now.
Ha, it’s funny – some people are crossing it off, some people are adding it! Different strokes for different folks! The countryside all around there is lovely and you could probably spend a day in Daugavpils – any longer than that I’m not sure 🙂
I would have asked the waitress for kanēlis if she had ever bloody approached me 🙂
It’s tremendous to be so foreign somewhere. That’s quite hard in Europe these days.
I still consider Latvia and Europe to be an oxymoron 😉
Tee hee hee!
🙂
Thank you for the great Daugavpils trilogy. It didn’t sound even half as bad as I supossed 😀 maybe I should go there too, when I will be in Latvia…
Maybe bring your own food 🙂
Aw, that museum experience sounded just farcical… and you’ve certainly not had much luck hunting down good grub in that town, have you? I’m crossing that one off my bucket list…
Was it ever on there?? Ugh, the restaurant ‘scene’ there is dismal. A few places were probably closed as it was a long weekend, but still. I was really looking forward to that last night! I did have half a Twix when I got back to the hotel but it’s not exactly what I had in mind!
Boo-hoo! Bad food experience = bad experience all round for me. As if you needed telling 😉
Yeah, I don’t think you’d ever have this problem in Spain! Or Ireland for that matter 🙂