Riga, Latvia July 2024
Day One
I had checked in online with Air Baltic the day before so there was no check-in process at the airport required.
On arrival at Gatwick South Terminal, we proceeded to the special assistance area at the airport and a person escorted us through security.
Security was very aware, and they helped me through the airport screening security. In the terminal, at special assistance, I was given a pager to let me know when they would be ready to take me to the gate. I had breakfast at Wetherspoon’s in the terminal.
When the pager went off I went back to the special assistant area and waited to be escorted. Staff escorted me down via a lift and I then sat on the airport buggy car to be driven to gate 18.
When boarding was announced the same staff member escorted me onto the plane. The staff member wheeled my suitcase and placed in into the over-head storage compartment.
The flight had a minor delay of forty five minutes; however, we landed at Riga airport after a two hours and fifteen minute flight.
On arrival at Riga International Airport, we were escorted off the plane by Latvian special assistance staff, which took our cases and escorted me onto a small bus proceeding to the terminal and then onto passport control. Special assistance staff escorted us through the whole process and to the taxi rank outside of the airport. They spoke to the taxi driver and told me the price of the taxi to our hotel. The drive was around twenty minutes from the airport to Hotel Justus.
On arrival at Hotel Justus, which was located in the centre of Riga old town, (therefore the roads were traditional cobbles) we checked in and were given key cards for the rooms.
My room was located on the fourth floor which could be accessed via two available lifts located just behind reception. The room was very spacious with good lighting and had a safe, mini-bar, air-conditioning, a small flat screen TV, a desk and a double bed! The bathroom was a reasonable size with good lighting and the shower had sliding double doors. There was a step over to get into the shower and a very good bonus was that it had a grab rail inside the shower; this is a rare occurrence.
There was also a bar area behind the reception desk. Albeit the bar was small, however, it offered an array of alcoholic drinks.
After unpacking we decided to explore the local area. We stopped off at what looked like a traditional café. It was a hot afternoon, so we sat in the sun and had a beverage. To my surprise, the inside of the café was a small 5D cinema room which I decided to take full advantage of. The café had two large concrete steps into the building due to its historic nature. The owner of the café assisted me into the cinema; he was a very nice chap. Once inside the 5D cinema, he also found a small folding step for me to use to help me get into the cinema seat which was quite high up.
I was given 3D glasses to wear, sat back and enjoyed the incredible show about Riga and its history. It felt really magical to me, as if in a Disney movie itself. The screening was about fifteen minutes long and it was very generous of them to give me a discount on the ticket price.
After the cinema, we walked around a bit to explore the area, and stopped at a bar for a few drinks and dinner. Then back to the hotel to have drinks at the bar. I had some famous Riga Dark Balsam Liqueur, before crashing out.
Day Two
The hotel had a pleasant breakfast buffet which was included in our booking. This consisted of a cooked breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, and frankfurters) as well as cereals and fruit. Coffee, water and fruit juices were also on offer. There was a step down into the dining area and I felt it was a bit dimly lit, despite having plenty of natural light.
First on the itinerary today was a visit to Riga Cathedral (Rigas Doms).This is a magnificent piece of architecture dating back to 1211 in the Romanesque style. This attraction was located two minutes’ walk from our hotel.
We were both allowed into the Cathedral free of charge due to them recognising my disability and communicator guide. General admission is five Euros per adult.
It was flat to enter from outside, but once inside the cathedral, there were eleven steps down. However, for a wheelchair user to enter, they may have to wait up to fifteen minutes for assistance depending on how busy it is. There were ramps in some areas too, which would assist people with mobility issues.
After exploring the cathedral and its grounds, we were fortunate to have been able to access a beautiful Concerto Piccolo Concert in the cathedral. The music was played on the cathedral organ and filled its domes which magical sounds. It was very beautiful and we were not charged for this event either. The fee for this concert is normally fifteen euro per person which includes entry to the cathedral.
After around an hour of checking out this magnificent piece of architecture, I decided to go for a coffee in one of the nearby cafes and then have some lunch.
Next was to visit the House of the Black Heads, which was located seven minutes’ walk from the cathedral. The walk was mostly over cobblestones; however, to enter the museum it was completely flat. My communicator guide and I were provided with free admission to explore the museum. There was a small bar that offered the Dark Balsam Liqueur which I enjoyed before exploring the museum.
The Blackheads was formed in the middle of the seventeenth century by a group of German merchants who used it as their headquarters.
This museum is all fully accessible with lifts to the basement and up to the higher floor levels. However, some ramps that were in place were found to be a bit steep. The text description could be a bit difficult to read, but my comm guide interpreted the information. The lighting at this attraction was very good, even in the underground/ basement areas. We were at this attraction for around ninety minutes.
In the evening, we went out for dinner and I enjoyed a few Latvian beers, before heading back to the hotel bar, and then bed.
Day Three
After a nice hearty breakfast in the hotel, we were ready for a day of sightseeing. The Central Market was on the itinerary today. This was around a fifteen minute walk from the hotel. The market sold traditional items; fresh food, beer, clothes, footwear and more. This tourist attraction was all fully accessible with ramps and lifts. There were also toilets onsite, but did charge a small fee, however, I did not notice a disabled toilet.
After spending around two hours there, we decided to go for some lunch at a nice hotel restaurant which was about ten minutes’ walk from the market. The food here was of Latvian style.
I had for today also booked a Riga canal and Daugava Boat ride through nineteen bridges at 4pm, which was further down the river than we had anticipated. After a long walk and difficulty in finding the actual location, we had apparently missed our boat trip by fifteen minutes. However, the owner at the docks said we could get the six o’clock boat instead at no extra cost. I decided to go for it. Fortunately, there was a restaurant nearby where we were able to sit and relax with refreshments and have a rest after the long walk to locate where the boat left from.
Soon, it was time for us to depart and catch the boat. The walkway down to the docks was not accessible. It involved walking down a few steps with a handrail, then down a slightly steep ramp to get on to the dock. To get onto the boat/barge from the dock, there were three steps down with no handrail; this is where I required assistance from a member of staff. The boat ride lasted for fifty minutes which was of beautiful scenery along the river and under nineteen bridges of varying designs. When arriving back at the dock, the same staff member offered me a hand off the boat and up the steep slope.
I decided to go back to the restaurant where we went before the boat ride for dinner. After a delightful pizza, we asked the staff to book a taxi back to the hotel. We headed straight to our rooms after spending a whole day out in Riga.
Day Four
The next morning after a good night’s sleep and some brekkie, we were ready for another day of exploring. We went to St Peter’s Church which had an observation deck 236 feet high with panoramic views of the city.
The church was a short six minutes’ walk from the hotel and surrounded by cobblestones, with a step up to enter the building. This attraction doesn’t offer concessions so I paid full admission for two adults. Prior to paying, we enquired whether it is easy to access the observation deck and were advised that there was a lift on the third floor via steps.
Upon entering the church, we proceeded to go up the steps to access the lift. There are exactly fifty-eight steps to climb with a good handrail, and the staircase was not a spiral.
After conquering the steps, we had to wait a short while for the lift to arrive. However, there were plenty of seated areas to sit down on. There was a member of staff who operated the lift and it was big enough for approximately eight adults.
At the top of the tower, it is open to the elements, so it was a bit chilly as it was raining! Despite the weather, the views were still quite good. We stayed up on the observation deck for around twenty minutes.
We then proceeded down to the main church, to admire the beautiful interior of the church and its architectural designs. There happened to be a small exhibition of the timeline in history when Latvia became independent and explained about the history behind the NATO summit of 2002 which actually took place within the church. There were lots of pictures and text in English, which my comm guide interpreted for me.
Being a big beer enthusiast, I then decided to head off to the beer museum. I had researched the directions and the walk was long but worth it as it ventured through the town and monuments and past the beautiful park which housed even more sculptures.
However, the Beer Museum turned out to be a bar which sold many, many varieties of different beers. It wasn’t a museum or didn’t inform of any brewing techniques. I did enjoy several different flavoured beers in the sunshine though! Win, win!
After a few too many beers, I was rather tipsy so I headed back to the hotel for a nap.
Later that evening, we headed out for dinner at Salve for some fine Latvian dining. As it was a warm evening, we sat outside and enjoyed an exquisite three course meal.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel bar for some more Riga Dark Balsam Liqueur before hitting the sack.
Day Five
The final morning, after enjoying our last breakfast, and having time to pack as check out wasn’t until midday. Our flight was scheduled for departure at 20.00, so we had half a day for a bit of shopping and a River Cruise.
The hotel had a room where we were able to store our luggage after checking out. We also asked reception to book a taxi for us, to take us to the airport for an arrival of 17.30.
Several souvenir shops were fairly accessible whilst others had a step or two to enter and the lighting in these establishments were reasonable.
Soon it was time to board our river cruise so we headed to the promenade where the boat was docked. We didn’t have to book this activity; you are able to turn up and pay directly on board. The longboats depart every two hours for an hour’s cruise along the Daugava River.
There were around six steps down to access the gangway to the boat, but with no handrail. However, a member of staff came to my assistance. Once at the gangway, there was an additional ramp to board onto the boat.
The interior of the boat was quite spacious and there were plenty of seats available. Another bonus was that there was a bar offering a wide selection of refreshments and light foods. The cruise also had a fairly large toilet on-board, but it wasn’t a disabled toilet.
Once the cruise had finished and the boat had docked, we were ready to disembark. The same staff member assisted me up the steps. Just twenty seconds later, we were embroiled in a massive and unexpected isolated shower; we were completely soaked! There was nowhere to hide from this torrential downpour. Luckily, my comm guide noticed a tunnel and we dashed to shelter ourselves. As the rain was so heavy the road was beginning to flood causing us to get sprayed from oncoming traffic. After around fifteen minutes trying to shelter in the tunnel, the rain had passed and the sun came out; we were saved!
We then headed back to the hotel to get out of our soggy clothes. On the ground floor of the hotel, there was a large unisex toilet; which we took in turns to change our clothes. This toilet had a chair inside, probably for emergencies like this one! However, despite the size, it wasn’t a disabled toilet.
After we were dry - well almost! We headed out for a late lunch at one of the nearby cafes before heading back to the hotel for our arranged taxi to the airport.
On arrival at Riga International Airport, we proceeded to check-in and requested special assistance. After a short wait, special assistance escorted us and a blind lady with her guide dog, through security and onto an airport buggy. The airport buggy drove us straight to the awaited gate. This was where passport control was too.
The airport is quite small with a few shops and cafes. Near the gate, there was a duty free area. We were unable to find a lift down, so used the flight of stairs to access duty free and shop! The only problem was we had to ask someone to look after our cases whilst we shopped. There was a member of staff with the lady and her guide dog who was happy to do this for us but only for five minutes. Also, near the gate where we were situated to await boarding there were allocated disabled toilets.
There was a minor delay to our British Airways flight of around fifty minutes. Once we were boarded and seated in our allocated seats, the flight home was fairly smooth.
On landing at London Heathrow, we were asked to wait until all the other passengers had disembarked the aircraft. This was because special assistance was collecting us, with the Blind lady and her guide dog too.
However, a bonus was that while we were waiting the Captain of the plane came out of the cockpit to introduce himself and chat with us. He said that he had never had a guide dog on his aircraft before. He was very interested in me using sign language too.
Once we had disembarked the aircraft, a special assistance buggy and driver was waiting for us. The driver wouldn’t allow the guide dog onto his buggy, stating that no dogs were allowed. He lacked disability awareness training. This was probably due to the fact that he was from an independent company and not employed by Heathrow airport.
This caused a delay unfortunately as he was checking paperwork and waiting for another member of staff to explain the situation to him. Even though the blind lady kept telling him that her dog was an Assistance Dog and not a pet!
After a short while, we were all on the buggy, and off to Borders and then Baggage Claim before Arrivals, where we met our taxi to take us home.