Riga, Latvia



After leaving beautiful Cesis we took the train back to Riga to spend a few days.  We happened to arrive in time for the 150th year celebration of the founding of the Latvian Society.  There were festivals and events happening city-wide.  It was great to be involved in the celebration and we learned a lot of history of Riga.  We strolled through the old city and among other great sights we found a great cafe called Black Magic!  We also explored the Riga Market - which happens to be the largest market area in Europe.  The market is housed in five old zeppelin hangers and has everything from fresh fish and other meats to vegetables, beer and all types of household goods and souvenirs.  One stop shopping!




Military Museum detail

The old castle - the current presidential residence




Bremen Town Musicians


Definitely read about the history of this monument -
google: "1905 monument Riga"

We also spent a day exploring Riga's historic Art Nouveau Architecture area.  Not only did we see all the great buildings, we visited a museum that showcases one of the few remaining apartments from 1930's.  We learned that nearly all of these large, multi-room, single family apartments did not survive the Soviet era.





























On the last day in Riga we traveled north to the neighborhood of Mezaparks - and we wished we had not waited so long!  Mezaparks is a great area that boasts a large nature preserve with a zoo, amphitheater, beach, trail systems and long boulevards where folks bike, walk and inline skate.  A must see on your next trip to Riga :)

A welcome to Mezaparks




Comments

  1. David J. SmithNovember 13, 2018 at 8:46 AM

    We loved Riga when we visited back on my own Fulbright to Estonia. We took a bus from Tartu.

    ReplyDelete

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