After my friend Judith and I had spent two days in Riga – one being ridiculously active and one being lazy and hungover – we decided we needed to get out of the city and see what's going on in the rest of tiny Latvia we had already fallen in love with.

And if there is a chance for us to stick our feet into the sand, the decision where to go is pretty much made.

After a day of strolling around in the beautiful traditional Jurmala, a coast town in Latvia just half an hour from Riga, we finally reached Dzintaru Mezapark with its oberservation tower.

You might have seen pictures of Riga's city centre, which is full of Art Nouveau buildings.

There are beautifully decorated houses all over the city, smiling faces looking down on you, floral decorations on every handrail and colourful facades, one brighter than the other.

But then there is a large number of buildings, that seem to be forgotten.

Nature is claiming back its space and you will find trees growing out of windows and entire buildings simply breaking apart.

For me, these buildings are much more interesting than the polished ones you will find in your lonely planet. So this is another Riga Walk:

Places that are dominated by green nets wrapped around buildings, where flowers have found extravagant places to grow and that might look a little scary at night:

The Riga Haunted House Walk.

Can you believe that Europe's largest market is located in tiny Riga in Latvia?

You know how much I like a good shopping spree for local fruits and veggies, so it didn't take me long to set foot on the market after arriving in Riga.