Last month, I finally made it to Riga.

After more than a decade researching the Latvian capital remotely, I became surprisingly emotional when I stood in front of the iconic House of the Blackheads where Nellie and Dani are pictured on the cover of Daughters of Riga. My characters are fictional, but after living with them for so long, they have become real people to me. In Riga, I time-travelled back to 1939, and strolled with them along the Pilsetas Canal, seeing the sun glint off the dome of the Orthodox cathedral.

There was a sense of validation too. I timed the walk from Elizabetes Street—the address of the Kutners’ apartment—across the Esplanade and into the Old Town where the Dutch Consulate is located in my novel. Yes, a do-able commute to work. I had explored the route on Google Earth (an invaluable tool for writers of fiction describing unfamiliar locations!) and looked at a tourist guide from the Nineties, but the chasm of the Soviet and Nazi occupations from 1940 to 1991 undermined my confidence that I had gotten Riga right. Soviet Russia had so completely suppressed Latvian language, culture, and history that almost nothing was accessible in the research materials that might give me a feel for every day life in pre-war Riga.

Latvia today

Of course, Latvia today is very different from 1939. The narrow streets of the Old Town notwithstanding, Riga is a modern capital in a forward-looking country. Tourists—mostly Scandinavian and northern European—have discovered what a bargain Riga is compared to Stockholm, Copenhagen, or Amsterdam. We ate wonderful, sophisticated food at Michelin-listed restaurants, and found boutiques stocked with beautiful Latvian-made linens and ceramics.

We also visited museums, including the Museum of the Occupation. This recently opened exhibition tells the tragic history of Latvia through three successive invasions: the first Soviet occupation in 1940, Nazi Germany’s invasion in 1941, and the second Soviet occupation in 1944, lasting until 1991. Using artifacts, photographs, and sound recordings of personal testimonies, the exhibits recreate a vivid timeline, showing how the spirit of Latvian resistance survived through cruelty and oppression. As visitors exit, they pass the Latvian flag and a quotation that sums up the museum’s message: “From the labyrinth of darkness leads the road to light again.”

Latvia today remains conscious of its history and the continuing threat of Russian aggression. Next to every Latvian flag outside the capital’s public buildings hangs a Ukrainian flag. Latvia, part of NATO as well as a member of the European Union, has beefed up its defense spending, conscious of Russian and Belarussian troops massed across its eastern border. The government has urged citizens to be on the lookout for Russian spies posing as backpackers.

When I started writing Daughters of Riga fifteen years ago, I knew about this history only in outline. I was initially inspired by the true story of Jan Zwartendijk, the Dutch Consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, who saved the lives of over two thousand Jews at the beginning of World War 2. I transposed my story to Latvia out of respect for my friend Edith, Jan’s daughter. My consul and his family are fictional creations, and I didn’t want any confusion to mar the memory of real wartime hero. I am so grateful that through my research, and now through personal experience, I have come to understand the resilience and richness of Latvian culture and history.

If you get the chance to visit Riga, please seize it. You will be charmed by this city, welcomed by its citizens, and moved by its history.