Baltics - 18 June 2012 (5)

Evening in Rēzekne

Then we all piled back on the bus and headed to Rēzekne.  It wasn’t far and we were soon checking into the Hotel Kolonna.  Our room was nice, if a little cramped, and was very Scandinavian in style.  The pillows were half-sized but the bed was very comfortable and there was a nice rag rug on the floor.  The walls were very thin, so we could hear Janet talking on one side and Ian and Charlie on the other.

River Rēzekne

May and I went to the hotel restaurant – Restaurant Rozalija – where we were joined by Ken.  As hotel restaurants go, it was very pleasant and we sat next to the window beside the river.  I had a pizza and May and Ken had chicken.  With fresh orange juice and a very nice chocolate ice cream and peach juice concoction my meal cost LVL5.70.

Rēzekne Castle

Then May and I went out to explore the town.  Rēzekne was definitely a work in progress.  There were road works and building works everywhere.  Just up from the hotel, the main street was completely dug up.  We both thought that it would be a really happening town once the work was finished.  The pavements were being paved beautifully and it looked like a new grass-roofed centre was being built next to the castle mound.  Work was also going on beside the river and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, which had some big cracks, was being repaired.

Rēzekne Castle

We were looking for the castle, when we met Craig.  We pretended he was a local and asked if he spoke English and if he knew where the castle was.  He pointed through an arch and we were able to see it.  We climbed a steep flight of steps to the top of the castle mound to find there wasn’t that much of the castle left.

Garden in Rēzekne

We carefully picked our way through the broken glass which littered the grass.  A young couple were sitting on the rubble.  They said something, so we said “hello”.  I think they were surprised to see some foreign visitors – and British to boot – but said “hello” too.  Then we walked right round the mound and went back down.

We crossed the river and walked past a garden which seemed completely given over to growing vegetables so that it resembled an allotment.  I guess many people do this as it would have been very useful during the soviet days of food shortages and long queues.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral

Monument to Red Army Soldiers

We walked up the main road to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral, which we had seen from the castle mound.  It was made of brick, which glowed in the setting sun.  Ever the architect, May was fascinated by the cracks.  The two towers were braced to prevent their collapse.

We turned round and headed back down the main road.  We had to walk round the road closure at the bottom and it was difficult crossing the road to the hotel as the pavements on both sides had been dug up.  Luckily there wasn’t much traffic.