Estonia 🇪🇪 and Latvia 🇱🇻 - from Nõva to Riga

Sven Walther

August 1, 2026

Nõva

After Helsinki and Tallinn we first head back out into the green. Our first stop is on the north coast of Estonia near Nõva. We find a lovely spot in the middle of nature, and a German emigrant has quietly created a little paradise here.

The drive there is partly quite interesting: the roads are generally good, but a few kilometres still lead through large roadworks. Somehow that seems to be part of the road trip too.

Mammothon parked on a meadow between birches and spruces, camping chairs in front — Pitch in the green near Nõva

We take a walk through a small cemetery in the forest, then it is off to the beach. Lou lies down in the sand, blinks at the cloudy sky and is fast asleep after a short while.

Old cemetery with a stone wall and wooden crosses between tall trees — The cemetery in the forest

Lou lying in the pale sand on the beach in front of the grey sea — Lou on the beach

Lou sleeping with her head in the sand, the Baltic Sea in the background — Too much beach for one day

With a stock of fresh honey in the cupboard we continue south to the coast. There a special Baltic experience awaits: the water is so shallow that you can walk several hundred metres out to sea before the water even reaches your chest. After the fjords and lakes of the past weeks we are still amazed at everything this Baltic Sea can do.

Shallow water of the Baltic Sea in low sunlight, meadow and reeds in the foreground — A Baltic Sea to walk into

Riga

Hardly are a few days of nature behind us when we stumble into the next capital in the next country: hello Latvia, hello Riga! The city centre was warmly recommended to us, and we are not disappointed. Countless small alleys, lots of old, beautiful houses in between and new corners all the time. By the way, Riga celebrates its 825th birthday this year, and you can tell.

If there is anything to complain about at all, it is the city’s success: Riga is quite popular, and the centre is correspondingly crowded and touristy. And of course parking Mammothon is a small adventure again. Practically the entire city centre is closed to lorries. But one car park lies exactly on the edge of that area - officially a car park, but just outside the restricted zone. So that is where we stand, within walking distance of everything. You have to find the gaps, especially when travelling at 16 tonnes.

On Town Hall Square stands the magnificent House of the Blackheads, and a few streets further the Three Brothers stand side by side, the oldest residential houses in the city.

Town Hall Square in Riga with the ornate House of the Blackheads and white letters Riga — Town Hall Square with the House of the Blackheads

Three historic houses built side by side in green, yellow and white with gables — The Three Brothers

Cobbled lane with colourful houses and a café in the old town of Riga — Alleys without end

St. Peter’s Church towers over the old town, and right next to it stands an old acquaintance: the Town Musicians of Bremen. Bremen is a sister city of Riga, and the bronze figures were a gift. A little further on, the red brick facade of Old St. Gertrude’s Church appears between the houses.

Large brick church with a tall tower, a few tourists in front — St. Peter’s Church

Bronze sculpture of donkey, dog, cat and rooster stacked on top of each other in front of a brick wall — The Town Musicians of Bremen in Riga

Narrow lane with a view of a red brick church with a pointed spire — Old St. Gertrude’s Church

Calm city canal with an excursion boat between green trees, fountains in the background — The city canal

Anyone who looks closely will also spot cats: the most famous one sits with an arched back on the roof of the Cat House, and according to the legend its rear end points straight at the merchants’ guild that once refused to admit the owner. Very much to our taste. A few streets further a pair of cats stands on a balcony, and whether it is a wedding we cannot say.

Cat sculpture with an arched back on a green tower roof against a blue sky — The most famous cat in Riga

Two grey cat figures holding paws on a balcony — Cat wedding on the balcony

Finally, a detour to the Art Nouveau district is a must. Riga has so many buildings from that era that you have to look up if you do not want to miss anything. We are at least as thrilled by the sphinxes, masks and stucco facades as by the cats.

Richly decorated Art Nouveau facade with bay windows and figures on a tall building — Art Nouveau up to the roof

Stone sphinx in front of a house wall with a memorial plaque — A sphinx guards the entrance