Ruth and Cheryl are back on the road! Our first stop is Riga, Latvia, where we landed on Tuesday afternoon, for the pre-trip before our Arctic Circle trip.
Although we were tired, after traveling for over 24 hours, getting settled in the hotel, we went out for a walk to shake off the air travel. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so we enjoyed the interesting architecture along the streets and a couple of lovely parks on the way to visit the Nativity of Christ Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, with its impressive gold dome. It was also very impressive in the inside with a great deal of gold iconography and other elaborate and golden decorative elements. A mass was in progress while we were there, so we also enjoyed the beautiful musical interplay between the choir and the priest.
Afterwards we wandered in the garden a bit, and then walked down to the canal that runs through a park in that part of the city. We hopped on a canal boat and had a tour of the city by water. It was a beautiful day, and we loved seeing all the spires in the Old Town from the perspective of the Daugava River. Riga seems to be a city of towers, they rise up above the roof lines in impressive variety. We met a nice English couple on the canal boat which made the boat ride even more pleasant. It was a perfect activity for two exhausted travelers. Then we walked back to the hotel, had a light supper in the hotel lobby and went to bed!
Today, Wednesday, after a relaxed morning and a few errands, we went to “get lost in Old Town” as our guide recommended. The entirety of Riga’s historic area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of the excellent preservation of architecture. Last week was the 825th anniversary of the founding of the city.
Hall of the Black Heads - Hanseatic.league structure from the 1300s.
We wandered down a number of old and winding streets and ended up at St Peter’s Basilica, a huge red brick building, with a very simple brick and wood interior. The church was being restored, but we were able to go up the tower to take in the spectacular panoramic view of the city.
Nearby we visited the porcelain museum, which presented the evolution of products over the Soviet era and since. We also enjoyed the decorative arts museum which had an interesting exhibition of Italian pottery, as well as a variety of Latvian decorative arts, including vases and plates, weaving, clothing and digital art.
We had a wonderful lunch at a “Traditional Russian restaurant” - we enjoyed radish vodka and black bread with mushroom and pickle as an amuse bouche. Then Cheryl had borscht, and Ruth had a salad, with fruity teas and cherry varanaki (dumplings) with cinnamon cream sauce (yum!) for dessert.
Walking around in the old town area was a delight because of the interesting architecture, lovely little plazas and winding streets, as well as interesting historical markers. We met some of our group for a short orientation walk near the hotel and then joined some of them for dinner.
The weather so far has been a welcome change from home. It has been sunny and clear, and in the high 60s! Perfect for walking (several miles both days) and evidently great for flowers, as they are Everywhere!
