Riga, Latvia
A comfy and relaxing Lux Express bus ride brought us to Riga, Latvia's capital. With movies and hot drinks available, and beautiful scenery to watch out the window, the 4-hour journey seemed to pass by quickly.
Nils shared his knowledge of Latvia’s history and culture with us.. We discovered that as a ten-year-old boy in 1989, Nils had been a participant in the Baltic Way human chain, an event we had just recently learned about in Vilnius.
Intricate floral designs, weaving garlands, ornate sculptural figures, and elaborate geometric forms still decorate the facades of buildings all over Riga.
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Nils took us to various points of interest around Riga, highlighting the city's Art Nouveau architecture. The distinctive look of Riga’s central district took shape in the early 20th century.
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Riga has the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the world. Nearly one third of all buildings in the city's center are built in this style.
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Our walk took us by (clockwise from left) the Art Academy of Latvia, the French Embassy, where the flag was at half-mast due to a terrorist attack in Nice, the Nativity of Christ Orthodox Church, and the Latvian National Museum of Art.
The following day, Agnese of EAT Riga (Experience Alternative Tours of Riga) gave us a fascinating tour of the Old Town, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. The ivy-covered 14th century Powder Tower (center below) is the only survivor of the 18 original towers in the old city wall.
(Below, left to right): Our Lady of Sorrows Church, built in 1785; St. Peter's Church spire has been rebuilt three times in the same baroque form. The church was built in 1209, but only some walls and pillars remain from that time; The Freedom Monument, constructed as a memorial to those who fell in Latvia’s struggle for independence; The middle building of the stone houses known as the Three Brothers was built in 1646. Above the entrance is the inscription "Soli deo gloria!" (“Glory to God alone!”).
The foundation stone of Riga Cathedral was laid in 1215 and the building combines features of Romanesque, Early Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. Religious services were prohibited during the Soviet occupation from 1959 to 1989, and the cathedral was used as a concert hall.
The huge 6768-pipe organ is one of Europe’s largest. We attended a wonderful afternoon concert performed by Larisa Bulava, the organist of Riga Cathedral since 1992, who played selections from composers Bach, Mozart and Boëllmann.
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(Left) Entrance to the House of Blackheads, a Gothic building with a Dutch Renaissance facade, built in 1334 for upper class merchants; (right) The "Bremen Town Musicians" sculpture, a gift from Riga's sister city Bremen, was created with a political meaning...the bronze figures are not staring through a window at the robbers' feast at a table full of drinks and food as in the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, but are peering through the Iron Curtain.
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A cappuccino at Kuuka Kafe followed some great sandwiches for lunch; Kuuka Kafe's red berry cottage cheese cake.
The Old City Boutique Hotel has a unique history of its own, dating to the 17th century when it was a warehouse, and despite the awkwardly-placed pole, we loved our charming room with its original brickwork.
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Latvians love their rye bread and one of the dessert offerings at Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs, where we had one of the best dinners of our trip, was their signature bread pudding made with rye bread, so we just had to try it!
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The next morning we headed to Estonia to explore the capital and to meet up with our tour group.