Christmas shopping and SPA Riga, 2007
Advents has for me been a time for preparing for Christmas with baking different types of small Christmas cakes, Christmas decorating my house, writing Christmas letters and figuring out what to by for Christmas presents to family and friends.
The last 5 years I have changed my Christmas preparations, less stress with cakes, presents and decorating.
Advent time now days means light a candle, relaxing with Christmas concerts, participate in Christmas concert and meeting friends.
Instead of making Christmas baking into a hardship, I use it for an excuse for a social gathering, inviting friends to bake with me.
I make space in my calendar for a long weekend travel. 2005 I went to
Christmas celebrations are a serious business in
Jürmala is only a 15 minutes drive from Riga, a seaside SPA resort. We used the hole Sunday in one of Jürmala SPA resort with different massage, manicure and pedicure. And I`ll promise you; all of us loved the treatment.
After checking in at Hotel Laine, we decided to have a walk in the
Our hotel was a 5 minutes walk from the centre of The
People tend to think that
First stop was The Orthodox cathedral of the birth of Christ build in 1876.
We walked along The
We continued our walk at the Rätslaukums (the
Walking around we bumped into the St. Peter`s Church, on of the dominant landmarks of Riga. Do not miss the opportunity to take the lift up to the observation platform and enjoy the beautiful panorama of 
We passed the restored building of the Great Guild now housing a concert hall. Just opposite is the Small Guild. The present building was constructed at the end of the last century in eclectic English Gothic style.
Across from Livu laukums is a building with two towers on which two cat are perched, this is the Cat`s House.
In the heart of the
From the Dome you can walk up to the Pulvera (Gunpowder) Tower. This is the only tower of the old fortification system that is still standing, and now houses the Museum of war.
Nearby you can see the old fortification wall and walk through the Swedish Gate, which were carved through an already existing dwelling house in 1698.
Continue walking along 
After this walking sightseeing you deserve a cold beer and a nice dinner. And if I can advice you, take the short walk to Four Rooms Restaurant. Enjoy your meal.
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The rooms is very clean, beds good and the bathroom very nice. The rooms have attractive interiors with a very special atmosphere. The hotel is build in Art Nouveau and is located in the historical centre of Riga.
The hotel has a nice breakfast room with a very good breakfast.
The hotel do also have a nice dining room, but we did not try it.
It is a short walk, about 5 minutes to the sentre of Riga.
One of my friends got friendly with one of the staff members, nice girl from just outside Riga, he went back visiting her several times. I do not know if there is "Love in the air", as he is secretive and tells us, we`ll wait and see.
A very nice restaurant with superb food.
We had the garlic beef with fried vegetables and baked potatoes. The meal was delicious with Yellow Tail red wine.
The service were good, must say the best service we experienced in a restaurant in Riga. Smiling waiters making our meal a nice finale of our first evening in Riga.
The menu is international, wine carte includes lots of good wine. And if you not want wine try the local beer.
