Riga, Latvia
3 to 6 September 2006
We arrived in Riga around 5:30pm and checked into the Domina Inn.  When we entered
"our" room we found it to be in the disheveled condition left by the previous occupant.  We
went down to the desk and were assigned a nicer room.    Shortly after our arrival at the
hotel we walked with our group to dinner at the nearby "La Boheme" restaurant; the food
was mediocre and the acoustics ear-shattering.
The Domina Inn is located at the edge of the "old town" part of Riga.  Riga is the capital and
largest city in Latvia, with a population of about 750,000.  
The following day we went on a guided city tour by bus and on foot.  Much of the "new town"
section of the city we visited sported elaborate building facades created in the late 1800's
and early 1900's when Riga seems to reached its height as an important and wealthy ice-free
port city for the Russian Empire.  The city still looks very attractive with its many wide
tree-lined avenues with  beautiful Victorian-age buildings, many well-maintained parks, and
five bridges spanning the wide Daugava River.  
Four of the facades below are typical of the many ornate restored Victorian buildings we saw
in Riga's "New Town.  The structure at bottom right is of a building before restauration.
We also enjoyed visiting Riga's "old town" consisting almost entirely of restored medieval
buildings similar to the ones we had seen in Vilnius.
Above are two restored medieval buildings facing the main square in Riga's "Old Town".   
On the left is an important Guild Hall, on the right the Town Hall.
Two typical Riga "Old Town" street scenes.
Riga's enormous principal market was interesting.  It is housed in what we were told were
six large former aircraft hangars which had been moved to Riga from their original site.
Above are two street scenes in Riga's "Old Town"
A picture on the wall of
the Flying Frog Restaurant
Above is small part of Riga's gigantic municipal market.
After the group tour Virginia and I had lunch at the "Flying Frog, a small restaurant where
we enjoyed vegetable soup with egg and cheese.
In the afternoon we visited the State Museum of Art, featuring the works of Latvian artists.  
We found a special temporary exhibition of ceramics which we thought excellent.
On the way from
the Museum back
to our hotel we
happened to come
across a group of
Latvians in a park
gathered for a
memorial service
at the statue of a
founding father.
There were
speeches and songs
--- and flowers
placed at the foot
of the statue.