Latvia: Riga

It's about a four hour bus ride from Vilnius to Riga, buses being the most convenient mode of transportation in the Baltics. My passport was checked at the border  (and by checked I means the guard looked at it for about 2 seconds), the first time anyone has asked for it.  Even landing in Germany (entering the EU), no one asked me questions. I found the best time to travel on these "short" bus rides was early in the morning, leaving around 7 am.  That way there's lots of time to explore when you get to the next city, and you're arriving when it's light out.  Riga is home to 700,000 people, but it's still the biggest city in the Baltics. 

For hundreds of years, the city was contained within its fortified walls, and today that's where most of the tourist sights are.  The tourism potential of the Baltic States is definitely underrated, but it has started to pick up in recent years due to the availability of cheap flights from western Europe and Scandinavia, especially as a stag / stagette destination.  Most things are significantly cheaper here compared to western Europe, which helps as well.  Latvia still uses its own currency, the Lat.  I found it kind of unusual that 1 Lat = 0.35 CAD.  Usually with currencies other than the euro and the pound the dollar is worth several of whatever unit they use.  I wish I knew more about economics and how / why countries chose certain values for their currency and how big an effect inflation has on it all.  

 The architecture felt a bit "darker" than in Vilnius, and I noticed that on many of the older buildings, the details (such as window sills or bricks) had been painted on rather than carved.  The city certainly had a unique feel to it, an interesting mix of east and west. 

Street in the Konventa Seta (Convent Courtyard).

Riga Castle, which now houses the Latvian Parliament.

Doma Laukums, the square in front of the Dome Cathedral.  The painting of an old fashioned building on the right is the side of a building.  There was a music festival going on here - I enjoyed it from my hostel window in the yellow building on the left!  Kind of strange but for most of the night they were playing Irish "Trad" music.... in Latvia...?

Doma Laukums square.

"The Three Brothers", each built in a different century. The detail on the yellow house is all painted on, those aren't white bricks!

I thought these houses were really cute!

The history of Latvia is considered to have started in 1201 (really late!), with the conversion of Latvia to Christianity by the Teutonic Knights.  It's strange to think that there were Crusades in Europe.  Many of the churches in the old city are currently being restored, after 70 years of neglect during the Soviet occupation. 

The tower of the St. Peter's Church at the back, destroyed and rebuilt several times since it's original construction in the 13th century.  On the right is a sign for an amber shop - they're everywhere in the Baltics and in Poland!

The nave of the Dome Cathedral. This church had a beautiful courtyard out back.  Latvia is mainly Catholic, due a period when it was ruled by Poland.

Town Hall Square, built in 1334 has been wonderfully restored, and represents an eclectic mix of architectural styles.  One of the highlights is the magnificent House of Blackheads, the guildhall of unmarried foreign merchants, the Blackheads, who were known for their riotous parties.  No, they didn't all have acne issues - their name comes from their patron, St. Maurice, who was born in Egypt. 

Statue of Roland, one of Charlemagne's knights and legendary medieval figure.  In the background is the House of Blackheads, bombed in 1941, demolished by the Soviets, then rebuilt in 1999.

Town hall square. The white building with the orange roof is actually quite old, not some modern architectural creation.

Really cool architectural detail - this one's actually in 3D, not painted on.

This guy's pretty cool too...

Bridge over the Daugava River, near Town Hall Square.  

 Lunch!  Latvia was part of the Swedish empire for about 100 years - one good consequence of this is that they sell chocolate torte here.  Lots of Scandinavian tourists in Riga, although most people will speak to you in English because most tourists will be able to understand it.  The plate the torte is on is the same pattern - Blue Willow - as my grandmother's plates at our family cottage.  

The most interesting site I visited in Riga was the Museum of Latvian Occupation, in Town Hall Square.  It's incredible to think that in 800 years or so of nationhood, Latvia has only been an independent state for 40!  Latvia was the main battleground between the Russian and German armies in WW2, when it was part of the Russian empire.  After a brief taste of independence between the First and Second World Wars, Latvia was coerced into join the Soviet Union, which was followed by forced Russification and colonization by ethnic Russians.  Thousands of Latvians were "resettled" to Siberia or executed.  Even though the treaties that followed WW2 emphasized the right of nations to self-determination, Stalin didn't think that applied to the USSR...  During WW2, Lativa was occupied by the Soviet for a year, who deported or executed people who were against socialism, then the Nazis invaded and killed people who supported the Soviets, then the Soviets came  back and executed people who supported the Nazis.... not surprisingly, 1/3 of the population of Latvia died during WW2.

Freedom Monument.

Beautiful park near the Freedom monument.  When most of the city walls were torn down in the 18th century, they turned the land into parks surrounding the old town.