[You can read Part 1 of my Latvia trip here.]

I was in Riga and although I easily could have spent another day or two there, when I learned that Riga is only half an hour away from the coast, I did a bit of investigation and as soon as I saw photos of Jūrmala, (pronounced Yurmala) my mind was made up- I had to go.

How to get there

Head to Rīga’s Central Station and take the train that heads in the direction of Sloka. I bought my ticket online at https://www.vivi.lv/en/ for about 1 euro 50! The journey lasts around 30 minutes and you get off the train at a station called Majori. From there, you cross the main road and walk under an arch and then you are on Jūrmala’s high street, Jomas Ieri.

I stayed at the Parus Boutique Hotel which is a 3 minute walk from the beach and a 3 minute walk from the high street in the other direction.

It was a peaceful, cosy hotel nestled within an area of skyscraper trees. The lovely lady at the reception informed me I had booked a romantic room which made me laugh as I had travelled alone and it inspired me to write a poem.

After putting my bags in the room, I headed to the beach in search of something to eat. The temperature was around 20 degrees but it felt a lot hotter than the 20 degrees it also was back home in Liverpool. I found a lovely beach bar called Simply Beach House and ordered a Latvian beer called Mežpils, fries and potato pancakes.

After that, I kicked off my sandals and walked along the beach. The sand is powder soft and almost white; the Baltic coastline is not often talked about, at least here in the UK, where we focus more on the Mediterranean or Atlantic. Jūrmala is located on the coast of the Gulf of Riga, in the Baltic Sea, and in late May it was absolutely stunning, quiet, and the perfect weather.

The beach is lined by fir trees which makes it look quite different to any beaches I’ve seen before, well actually, if it reminded me of any beach it was Formby, one of the closest beaches to where I live in Liverpool.

For a while, I lay down on the sand and sunbathed, listening to the chilled music from the beach bar nearby. I had forgotten to pack a beach towel but the sand was so clean and soft I didn’t mind sitting on it but when I needed to use a bathroom, I decided to go to the beach bar (Solt) when I also spotted their sun loungers which I thought I could hire for a few euros to have access to a bathroom and somewhere proper to lay whilst reading.

The bar was quiet due to it being off-season and they let me have a sun lounger for free as they said they couldn’t possibly charge when they hadn’t finished setting it all up for the summer yet (it was only missing a sun umbrella which I didn’t need as it wasn’t too hot). Bargain! So I sat and read The Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick, a great choice of holiday read, especially if you’re a woman travelling solo.

A couple more pictures of Jūrmala beach:

There are lots of restaurants on Jomas iela, the high street, with cuisines including Latvian, Georgian, Albanian and Uzbek. I was highly tempted by the latter because I’ve never seen an Uzbek restaurant before but in the end, I went with what was mentioned a lot online in travel blogs which was The House of Light (not to be confused with a separate restaurant in Jūrmala called The Light House).

I was struck by how cheap thing cost in Latvia. Here in the UK, we become almost desensitised to being ripped-off all the time!

In this sublime restaurant overlooking a beautiful, peaceful high street, a starter dish of canapés intriguingly called ‘Latvian Feeling’ cost 6 euros 50. I was a fussy eater in my youth and although my tasted are far broader now, I am still a bit particular with certain things. I didn’t even like fish up until about 5 years ago. What was served on the canapés may have spooked a younger me but thankfully, my palate is much better-travelled and open to flavours I would have winced at a decade ago. This dish was an absolute treat for the eyes and the tastebuds, like consuming a piece of edible art.

The canapés featured lamprey fish (a bit like a Spanish boquerón), classic Latvian rye bread, quail eggs, mustard sauce, lemon pulp, salmon, citrus mousse, and red caviar. How on earth can this have cost 6 euros 50?

After dinner, I walked back down to the beach to catch the sunset, and I am so glad that I did.

I have seen some stunning sunsets in my life in Mediterranean countries, in Africa, in Nordic countries and at home nearby at Crosby and the aforementioned Formby Beach. But wow, that sunset I saw right there on the Baltic coast in Latvia, in May, was up there in the top few. Wow.

The photos will NOT do it justice at all, taken on an iPhone. No, it has to be seen to be truly seen.

The golden setting sun shimmered on the still Baltic Sea like cut glass as I sat on the talcum powder sand.

It was breathtaking, I couldn’t believe how lucky my eyes were.

After the sun had set, the sky remained marbled with pink and orange for a while and I remained there for a short while.

With the impending night upon us, I headed back to my hotel.

I settled into the ‘romantic room’ I had inadvertently booked and opened the windows to hear the fountain outside in the garden as the sky gradually darkened above the lofty trees. A lovely warm, sweet evening air drifted into the room as I wrote a poem there and then in the setting of the subject called ‘Latvian Love Room’.

The next morning, I checked out then walked round the corner to see a permanent art installation at the Mākslas Galerija called ‘Inner Light’ by the artist Vitaly Yermolayev.

Entry costs 5 euros with the artist’s son greeting visitors. He explained to me that his father’s work was about finding light and how good viewing his work is for the soul.

I have never seen artwork quite like it; paintings change their aspect with the changing lights in the room to show a different time of day of the setting or an alternative perspective. UV lights bring out the white in the paintings (and the white stripes on my blue linen trousers) and considerably change the appearance of the paintings. A zen-like backing track plays in the room, immersing you into the very vibe the artist wished to create.

I stayed there for around half an hour but could have stayed far longer. I had one eye on the clock due to my flight scheduled for that afternoon. I had planned to take the train but in the end, a Bolt taxi only took 15 minutes and cost 15 euros, so I booked one from outside the airport, slightly sad that my magical time in Latvia was already coming to an end (for now).

Each time I saw something beautiful, I could only think how much I would love to return in my life, whether alone again or with my sister and cousin or other friends to share in just how underratedly gorgeous this corner of the world is- Latvia, I will gladly be back!