Enroute from Tallinn to Riga

The route from Tallinn to Riga was varied and interesting. We went along the Baltic coastline and stopped in Parnu, the summer capital of Estonia, with summer cottages that the tour guide referred to as dachas.

Following lunch in a log cabin, we toured Turaida Castle, begun in 1214 for the German Bishop of Riga, and completed in the 1600s. It’s currently an intensively investigated archeological site.

Probably most meaningful for us was a visit to the Soviet underground bunker that was built to house 250 senior members of the Latvian communist party and their families in the event of nuclear war. It was declassified in 2003 and left untouched. Soviet communications equipment, maps, ventilation equipment, and even the kitchen and dining room are just as they were when the Soviets left. They had convinced the Latvians that the West, and particularly the US, were to be greatly feared.Read more