Flashback to Riga, Part 2

Okay, one dinner, a load of laundry, and a mess of server problems later, where was I? Oh yes, we'd taken our walking tour of the old town.

After seeing the Riga Castle, we left the old town itself and took a walk on the shore of the Daugava river. The clouds from the snow were still lingering, and the sun was starting to set... it made for a really glorious sunset.

Here is the castle from the other side, as we approach the river...



Here is the view across the river...



Here is the Saules Akmens, or "Sun Stone" building...



and this is the Vansu bridge.



Here is another bridge...



and the sun finally going down.



Earlier in the day we'd been by the Dome Cathedral, the oldest church in town, started in 1211. We heard there was a free organ concert that night, so after a hearty dinner, off we went.

The cathedral outside...



and in.



The next day we took a slower pace and went over a few things we'd missed the first day. First stop was the classic meeting place, the Laima clock. It was donated by the Laima company, which is Latvia's premier chocolate company.

Here's the clock, and some local musicans braving the cold.



Near the Laima clock is the Freedom Tower, which was constructed in 1935 and miraculously made it through both WWII and the Soviet occupation, when "freedom" was sort of a dirty word.



Speaking of freedom and the Soviets, our next stop was the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. The history of the takeover by first Soviets, then Nazis, then Soviets again was quite sobering; and after over 50 years of occupation, the progress Latvia has made in the last 15 years is incredible.



After that we went to a market near the square, where little old women were selling the usual Baltic fare- linen and amber- and the odd matroishka here and there. Obviously the Russian influence isn't entirely gone yet...





But at least Latvia is now free to mock their former oppressors. :)



We finished out our day by heading to the modern part of Riga, which has plenty to occupy locals when they get tired of seeing tourists gawk at their cobblestone streets. We specifically sought out movie theaters- in Russia everything is dubbed, so we take every chance we get to see a movie in English.

Our final day the snow returned, but again it was gentle and beautiful, so no complaints.

Here's me in the park, with my parka (haha):



The park again, with the Freedom Tower in the background...



A statue near the Occupation Museum.



We tried to go back to the Occupation Museum, but it was inexplicably closed. I wondered if it was from the snow, but I get the feeling that Latvians are heartier people than that.



After one last quick jaunt through the old town, we had to catch our train. Overnight wasn't as bad as before, since we crossed the border before our bedtime, and we already had the wet towel trick down. Still, going from the clean pure Baltics back to Russia is always a shock...



and while it's always good to be home...



we hope we'll get another visit back to Riga soon. It's still a bit of a hidden gem... here's hoping it stays that way.