Why did we choose the Baltics? To this day, I can’t really answer that. It was perhaps one of the most spontaneous trips we have taken. One day while scrolling through my endless email of spam promotions, a deal from Scott’s Cheap Flights caught my eye for tickets to the Baltics for $500. After a few back and forth texts with Jason, we had tickets to Riga for that upcoming March. And that’s really as much to that story as there is, a little glimpse into the decision making process of the Hills family.
We quickly learned that booking on a whim has its regrets. We chose a horrible time of the year to go, right at the end of winter but still too cold to be spring. And we quickly realized, we know nothing about these little countries nestled up so close to Russia. What would we see? Would it be worth the nightmare of three flights to get there? Could my second trimester pregnant body handle it? Was this a horrible mistake? Knowing it was too late and our tickets were locked in, we packed our bags for cold weather and headed up north regardless. We were quickly reminded that no trip in this wondrous world is a waste of our time.
We landed in Riga on the day a snowstorm came in, just in time for Little E to see the countryside dusted with fresh beautiful snow. This was his first time to really experience snow, which is such a foreign phenomenon to our little Texan. Seeing his face as he stuck out his tongue to catch the tiny snowflakes was worth the trip alone.
We spent our first day driving around the Latvian countryside in awe of the snow kissed landscape. We stopped in Sigulda, Latvia’s adventure capital. We drove over the bridge famous for naked bungee jumping. Jason felt lucky it was out of season as he knew that he would have been coerced by me to join in on the fun. We found the Gutmanis Cave covered in carvings as old as the 17th century. We were the only people walking about the national park that day. But that didn’t stop one vendor from finding us and selling us some amazing delicious treats.
Eventually our drive took us to our first castle in Cesis, an 800 year old Medieval beauty. As we walked up the endless steep twirling steps, I started to realize this would be our last trip as a family of three. The next endless twirling steps we took, I’d have a new baby strapped to my chest. I felt my heart fill with joy.
We spent the night in a tiny cottage tucked away in the woods. We were the only guests. The owners were so happy to see us that they cooked us locally caught trout as their son played with Ethan in the dining area. The children couldn’t speak each other’s language but that didn’t stop them from becoming friends quickly. Time seemed to stand still in this little beautiful town. I could have stayed there much longer soaking in the cold air and enjoying the days with my beautiful family. Yet, in typical Hills fashion, we drove on to pack in much as possible.
I quickly noticed that my architecture loving heart was in for a treat as we drove with more clear weather the next day. Of course my eye caught the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church domes found throughout our trip. And we begin to read more about the sad history of Russian influence over these countries. We knew there would be a lot to learn about this history as we continued our journey.
We stumbled upon a beautiful Baroque 18th century palace seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Rundale Palace must be a tourist hot spot when the weather is nice. But on this cold winter day, we had the palace to ourselves roaming room to room in awe of the ornate interior design.
Once again, I found myself hit with a wave of love for this wandering family Jason and I have created. The little baby inside me kicked my belly as a reminder he was now part of that family. I whelped up with joy. For these experiences would mean nothing if I didn’t have these beautiful people to share them with.
Until next time,
