The beach? In winter? Are you mad?!
Probably, a little bit…But I was curious. I had never experienced frozen sand or blankets of snow hiding in sand dunes, so I hopped on the train to Majori, forty minutes outside of Riga to the beach resort of Jurmala.
A ten minute walk beyond the town descends down to a wide, sandy beach In summer it’s packed with holidaymakers from Russia, Germany and Scandinavia.
On an overcast Sunday in early February, though, just a few hardy locals and the odd tourist negotiated the icy patches of sand and howling winds to witness the stark winter beauty.
At the beach, I turned right and walked along for as far as I could bear the biting winds, then looped back around to Majori along a wide road, flanked by pine trees and colourful wooden hotels.
In need of a warm-up, I popped into the nearest cafe for coffee and traditional Latvian cottage cheesecake, Biezpienmaize.
Refreshed and rived, I made my way back to the station and chased the winter storms back to Riga.
Make it happen
Trains to Majori, a 10-minute walk from Jurmala beach leave Riga Central Station every hour.
Tickets cost €1.40 each way
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