Friday, May 9th, Riga, Latvia

 

Greetings!

After a morning talk from a local professor on the recent history of Latvia titled "Latvia Now-Separating from Soviet Inheritance", we were guided through the neighborhood to the Old Town.  With over 300 buildings designed in the period from 1890 to 1918 in the Arte Nouveau style, we found plenty to examine on the way to the three largest squares in the area.

We passed by the Freedom Monument just at the time of its changing of the guard, and spotted the remaining flowers left there by yesterday's celebration of the victory over Nazism in Europe during World War II.  We were going to visit a Nazi prison today, but decided it made better sense to wait until tomorrow to avoid the crowds who might be using it as a protest against the war in Ukraine.  

The several town squares in Riga have plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, tourist shopping outlets, and bars.  in the shadows of four story apartment buildings with beautiful facades, bustling people navigate cobblestone streets.

We skipped lunch today, and headed back to the hotel after our Old Town tour.  It's colder than usual in the Baltics at this time of the year, and our wollen hats and layered clothing just wasn't doing enough to keep down the chill.  Back in the room, pat read on her IPad, and I worked on this journal post.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Friday, May 9th, Riga, Latvia.