Riga

We arrived in Riga and checked in to our hotel, right on the edge of the old town and across the train tracks from the Central Market. It's always a pleasant surprise to receive a complementary room upgrade, especially an upgrade to a suite. Good start to our time in Riga.

It was unclear whether our booking included free spa access- it didn't, then it did, then it didn't, then we were given a voucher for a one-time access and a bottle of bubbly to apologize for the confusion. That worked for us!

Our hotel room view with the market in the middle ground; the hotel supplied ear plugs!

We walked around central Riga, exploring the market (lovely produce and lots of the usual Baltic souveniers: Real Amber! Hand Knit Socks and Mittens!) and the old town a bit as we searched for a restaurant.

 We passed the Freedom Monument, which has an interesting history. First erected in the early 1930s to honour Latvian soldiers slain in the Latvian War of Independence, it features the figure of Liberty holding three stars which represent the three regions of Latvia.  During the Soviet annexation in the 1940s, it was slated to be removed but there is a story that the Soviets didn't want to spend the money to tear down the statue and erect one to match their ideology, so they simply attempted to revise the symbolism. It was again to be demolished in 1963 but again it was not. It was a rallying point for the independence movement and once again represents the freedom of the Latvian peoples.

Riga is a happening place on a Saturday night. There was lots of live music (some of it very bad), partiers including those we could only guess were bachelor/bachelorette groups (why else was this guy wearing a pig costume and a sign advertising kisses for sale?), and a particularly enthusiastic parade of Hare Krishnas.

 

contrast in Old Town

We found a quiet restaurant and enjoyed a simple but satisfying meal on a lovely patio. The adjoining patio restaurant featured a lively folk band- we thought they might simply be playing the same polka song over and over, but the patrons there received the musical offerings enthusiastically.

The next morning we took in some of the sights of Riga. We had opted to forego the usual walking tour to explore the city on our own. (Thanks for the good advice, Vicki.) Our first stop was St. Peter's church. The current tower is the  fourth contructed on this site, as earlier versions had been destroyed in various ways: the 15th century tower collapsed, the 1690 tower (then the tallest wooden building in the world) was struck by lightning and burned, the tower and church were destroyed again by fire in WWII . We took the elevator to the observation deck with its 360 degree view of the Old Town, Riga Bay, the Daugava River, and more.

Roosters are a big thing here- although they top many church spires, the origins may be from pagan times when it was believed a rooster's crowing would scare away the devil

Once back on the ground we saw the outside of the Dom Cathedral (closed on Sunday!) which has one of the largest pipe organs in Europe. 

There is so much contemporary public art here, mixed in with traditional statues of heroic figures and old architecture.

The Ghost

Around the corner from the ghost statue is Jacob's Barracks, the longest building in Riga. If you look closely at the windows, you can see that the trim is a painted effect rather than actual trim- something we noticed to be not uncommon in Riga.

This is the oldest remaining portion of the Old Town fortifications, built between the 13th and 16th centuries and restored by the Soviets. 

 

 

We crossed the river to see the famous Art Nouveau district with its buildings decorated with elaborate floral motifs, gargoyles, and naked maidens, 

 then made our way back through Bastion Park, a very pleasant place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

We enjoyed the use of the spa pools, saunas, and steam rooms then had a wonderful meal in a pretty and quiet restaurant in Old Town before heading back to our suite.