Remarkable Riga

Loving Latvia

Since we were in Estonia, we figured that we were so close to Latvia, why not give Riga a try. I had not really done much research on Riga, but I really liked Tallinn and so we got on the bus and traveled through the beautiful countries of Estonia and Latvia. We traveled by bus which was the perfect choice as we were able to see the beautiful landscape between the cities.  I was particularly taken with the greenery everywhere and the farm houses surrounded by fields which looked like they were pastoral paintings,

This is a picture of St Peter’s Church which was easy to spot with its pointed baroque tower. We had planned to climb up the tower on our last day in Riga, but there were lots of tourists waiting to use the elevator and they did not let you use the stairs. We did appreciate looking up.

Riga was an easy town to get around by walking even though it was like a maze through most of the downtown. We got a little travel guide and found some very interesting places. This tower is the Powder Tower and is called that because gunpowder was stored. It was built in 1330 and is the only preserved tower left from the fortification wall. The building next to it looked like it was made of wood, but when we looked closer, we discovered that it was made from red bricks. The brick work is very impressive.

Pictures do not do justice to this Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ. It had five domes and the tallest is gilded. During the Soviet era, the cathedral was turned into a planetarium and a cafe.

Freedom monument – Symbol of Latvia’s independence, freedom, and national unity. It was unveiled on November 18, 1933. The monument was built with donations from the people of Latvia.

House of the Blackheads. The Black Heads was an association of young, unmarried merchants, goldsmiths, and ship captains.

Livu Square was a lovely meeting point of eight streets. It had fun, detailed signs. The square is covered in flower beds and pavement that is laid in wavy patterns to symbolize the Ridzene river which used to flow here.

We stumbled upon this fun sculpture based on the Grimm Fairy Tale of the Brennan Town Musicians. The story is about animals that had worked hard but became too old and were mistreated by their former masters. They take off and working together and they tricked and scared away some robbers and took over their home and spoils.

Another site we stumbled upon was this tree covered with birdhouses. I thought it was a good way to make an old tree useful and decorative. On closer examining, I saw that it was actually wired with lights in the birdhouses which probably also looked pretty cool at night, but we did not make it back here in the evening. Again, the sun does not go down until very late, and we are old folks who have trouble staying up late. :)

The canal in Riga goes from the Riga City Canal and Daugava River and when we were approached by a young man encouraging a canal trip at less than his competitors (and it was less expensive) we stepped aboard.  It was a good choice.

Jack is enjoying the canal trip with the Riga Castle in the background.

There were several fountains in the Peace Park that changed colors.

In Bastejkalns Park were the Peace Dancers. I liked the way the statue had a feeling of movement, freedom, and joy. I read later that if you look closely you can see bullet holes caused by the Soviet machine guns when the Ministry of the Interior as attacked.

Our hotel was in the old town surrounded by restaurants and bars so there was a lively crowd enjoying life throughout the day and long into the night. We really enjoyed eating outdoors and watching people.

I will leave this post with this cow guy. This cow man was selling ice cream.  Cows and ice cream – good idea don’t you think, Clara?