Riga, Latvia
Winds blew across the sea but at least it was fairly calm. We had had much worse the night before. Riga welcomed us this mid-day with open arms and a good strong breeze. The beautiful Baltic city of Riga has been occupied by many different nations over the centuries: Germany, Poland, Sweden and finally Russia. Latvia finally gained independence from Russia in 1991 and has been on the road to recreating itself as an independent nation since. It became a member of the European Union in May of 2004.
Riga was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. This largest city in the Baltic is well known for numerous buildings in the Art Nouveau style of architecture. Stylized faces stared down from the façade of every building on some streets. Swirling flowers and other interesting architectural details kept our eyes busy on the start of our tour of Riga.
Our walking tour continues on to a guild hall, here a children’s dance troupe gave a demonstration of local folkdances. Their brightly colored costumes and the flower wreaths on their heads left a delightful impression. The guild hall itself was full of detailed works of art. A remnant of the days of the Hanseatic League, it was richly decorated with stained glass windows and landscapes of Hanseatic cities.
The walking tour ended on a high note, or more like many notes, with a short organ concert at the Dome Cathedral. The cathedral was built in the 12th century with additions and changes being made in both the 15th and 18th centuries. It makes this large cathedral architecturally very interesting. The chords of several songs reverberated through the stone pillars and into our very bones. Most just sat back and let the tones wash over them, everyone doing their best to take in the atmosphere of the 800-year-old church. High arched ceilings, stained glass windows, elaborate wood carvings on the 400-year-old pulpit all united to make this a highlight of the day.
The rains we are getting familiar with started again, but we were on our way back to the warm comfort of the ship. One more tour went out just before dinner. This one a walking tour just to view the Art Nouveau of Riga. They enjoyed a more in-depth description of the beautiful architecture that is so specific to Riga.
