March | 2018 | Julia's European Adventures

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We went to Riga on a quick break in mid-March and were greeted with subzero temperatures! Still it was a nice place for a weekend away and we had fun exploring. The city has lots of really cool bars and restaurants and a great craft beer scene.

These are our favourite places:

Central Market

This market is one of the most popular attractions in Riga and it’s definitely worth a visit. There are lots of fruit and vegetable stalls selling all sorts of local produce including mountains of pickles.

Inside the market we found Labietis, a local brewery offering lots of delicious beers. You can have a drink on the spot or fill a litre bottle to take home.

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Old Town

Riga’s Old Town is small but pretty, and you can spend some time looking at the nice architecture or taking a walk by the river. It’s the best area to stay as everything is within walking distance.

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Skyline Bar

A popular place for brunch and cocktails, this bar at the Radisson has great views over the city and it’s a great place to chill for a couple of hours. A bit pricey for Riga standards but definitely worth it (2 drinks and tip for 15€).

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Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs

This huge and popular underground bar has a great selection of local beers and other drinks. It is very cheap – even more at happy hour when you can get a beer for just 1.80€.

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Fat Pumpkin

This veggie restaurant serving delicious food and plenty of vegan cakes is a great find (dinner for two including dessert and tip for 42€).

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Miit Coffee

This is a nice veggie place. Their brunch costs 9.50€ and it includes lots of delicious salads and fruit.

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Indian Raja

The veggie place we were going to was closed, so we ended up at Indian Raja. This restaurant served lots of yummy food, including a delicious naan bread filled with potatoes (dinner for 2 including drinks and tip for 35€).

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Following east from Cape Town, the Garden Route covers a few hundred kilometres through all sorts of beautiful landscape – sandy beaches, deep forests and open fields. You can also spot the odd elephant and baboon.

It’s a great road trip as there are lots of nice restaurants to stop by along the way, and there are plenty of reserves and national parks in the area.

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Tsitsikamma National Park:

This is a beautiful area full of activities. We stayed at Storms River Mouth, where you can rent fully equipped cabins with amazing views, including both sunset and sunrise over the sea.

Deer and dassies lounge about, and dolphins swim in the distance. There are plenty of activities around, so we went zip-lining over waterfalls. You can also explore on foot following the many walking paths.

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Knysna Elephant Park:

This is a great place to see elephants and zebras up close. You can visit during the day or stay in their lodge to take full advantage of spending time with their rescued elephants, day and night.

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You can take part in different activities with the elephants, including feeding and walking with them. The guides are very knowledgeable and know the back story of every elephant. We stayed two nights and had plenty of time to get to know a few of the elephants.

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