Daugavpils: Latvian City Near Russia

There is something mentally massaging about a train ride. It is not hurried. You are not driving. You are simply watching the scenery scrolling by, a leisurely left-to-right change of view, often very interesting. We left busy, crowded Riga for the much more laid-back Daugavpils. It was a nice change of place. This city is the penultimate one we visited, Vilnius, Lithuania being the last.

Walking through the train station we continued straight down this pedestrian way that traverses the center of the town. On this street were two decent-sized malls with good grocery stores, marketplace, restaurants, an old, apparently no longer used church, and restaurants. It was pretty convenient that our apartment we were to stay at was just a block off this walkway.

Another view of the well laid-out pedestrian walkway, with the train station on on end and the shopping district on the other.

Also along the pedestrian way (behind the building) is this disused church.

Not as picturesque as Riga, but the old town still had some architectural beauties.

Daugavpils Fortress: The (Military) Glory Has Departed. The six photos below were all taken at this fortress.

This sprawling, star-shaped fortress (the last of its kind) was built in nervous anticipation of Napoleon’s sweep eastward. Construction began in 1810 but was only fully completed in 1878. But long before this time it was already obsolete; cannons were soon able to fire from much further away and thus arc easily over the walls causing many casualties and much damage, just like Lieutenant (later General Stonewall) Jackson demonstrated in the 1847 siege of the similarly-walled city of Veracruz, Mexico.

I tried to research what this is a picture is of. There were several of these openings. It would have been helpful if there had been information here or a military museum. But there is only, strangely enough, an art museum!

My first impression as we entered the fortress and climbed up the grassy ramparts, was of a ghost town. But there are actually over a thousand residents within these walls. And a hotel and restaurants and stores also. A town within a town. A town ssurrounded by a ghost-fortress greatly in need of careful renovation.

A good part of the fortress walls and some of the buildings within (photo above and below) are dilapidated, giving the impression that the fort had once seen serious battles. But not a single battle happened here. The decay was entirely caused by neglect over the years. Also, the Soviets tore down at least one of the gateways to make room for their tanks.

Eroded ramparts, horse stables, and (I think) an armory.

The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, sings from the ruined ramparts, “A little bit of butter and no cheese!” At least that is how my bird field guide puts their song.

Back in town, these Eurasian Jackdaws, there were two of them, were shamelessly stealing from the dog’s dish.

Above and the two photos Below: Wooden houses make sense where wood is plentiful.

A side street near our apartment.

One of the main attractions of Daugavpils, located on Varsavas Iela (Warsaw Street), is the Shot Tower, the oldest one in all of Europe. The shot (lead balls) is made by melting the metal on the top of the tower, passing it through the sieve (usually made of copper). The balls thus formed are dropped down into a water-filled tub. The result is perfectly round lead balls. Once a year the tower makes these balls by this traditional method.

Above and Below: Two views of the neighborhood (formerly town) of Griva, which is just across the Daugava River from the main town. Walking over the bridge seemed also like walking a few decades back in time to a more relaxed and bucolic Latvian town.

Also in Griva: A colorful Orthodox Church. From what I read, a friendly and “comfortable” place of worship.

Back in the city: Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Boris and Gleb.

A most inhospitable church, the Pomors Church of Latvian Veterans. My wife and I wanted to see this church. Before entering she was sure to have her scarf on and we were both modestly dressed.
But we couldn’t even get close to the door. This old woman with fierce-looking eyes shooed us away like we were dogs! How bizarrre! The congregation is part of that staunch Russian sect called the “Old Believers”. Reading the reviews of this church on different sites I find that our experience was not unique.

Our apartment was quite comfortable. We wished to stay longer but were told that the apartment would not be available in the next days. I wonder sometimes if they maybe were balking at letting us have the booking at our “genius rate” that Booking.com gave us. So we gathered our belongings and walked the three blocks to the bus station.

… and, for a while, puzzled over our options. We knew we wanted to go to Vilnius but didn’t know when or how. But finally, with my Russian and appropriate gestures we were able to conjure up the needed tickets.

But events often do not pan out as planned. The bus was over two hours late. By the way, according to the yellow sign, buses or vans left from here to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Minsk. At least they did at one time.

As the minutes turned to two hours I went back and forth outside and inside, trying to get updates on just what happened to our bus. The interior of the us station was decent enough. Snacks, Soft drinks, tea were available at the far end. As we waited those two hours, I noticed that the usual hubbub in the station was getting louder and louder. A couple of men were being quite boisterous, alternately singing and shouting, obviously drunk.

Eventually the bus came. And, even with the occasional inconveniences here, I mentally added Daugavpils to the list of places that I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

But we probably won’t.

Next: Vilnius.