Spring at Mangaļsala and Vecmīlgrāvis

We decided to spend today outdoors in nature. The sun was pleasantly warm, the thermometer climbed to +10°C at midday, and not a trace of snow. Although at Pier A at Mangaļsala we did find a few relics - melting chunks of ice.

The wind by the sea is still quite cold and unpleasantly biting - a walk without a hat or hood would be no pleasure at all. In a sheltered spot among the bushes, though, out of the wind - yes, that's very nice.

Since the vegetation had not yet grown dense enough to obstruct us, and we could see where we put our feet, we explored the coastal defence artillery casemates (1912–1914) and viewed the artillery shell vaults (1874–1884). The grass- and moss-covered circles of coastal defence cannon positions look more like outdoor art installations now than historical monuments.

At the pier we found a memorial stone in honour of the visit of the Russian Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich (later Nicholas I) in 1860, which has now been spruced up and the letters engraved in the stone painted over with gold paint.

On the way back we stopped at Vecmīlgrāvis on Meldru Street, where a children's playground has been set up at the waterfront and there is a small promenade for walks. Directly opposite stands the newly built fertilizer terminal for transloading and storing mineral fertilizers on Kundziņsala - dangerously close to the residential area. But it seems no one present had any concerns about this. People were hanging out here, along with ducks, swans, seagulls, and sparrows. From Krievu Island came the rumble of a pile driver. Cargo ships passed through the channel from time to time, occasionally disturbing the idyll.

What we saw, in a few photos taken with a Nikon D200 and a Samsung Galaxy 4 (spot the difference):