As it has been mentioned before, one third of Riga's old town is built in the Art Nouveau style, many of the buildings having been designed by the father of the famous Russian film maker Eisenstein.
Let's pass by the so-called Three Brothers Houses, at numbers 17, 19, and 21 of the same street. They are the oldest stone houses still standing in Riga, and an excellent example of medieval architecture.
I know some of you like sweets. Let's try and find some nice place. I know a tea-room off the corner, at a building on which façade there is a haut-relief.
Let's go in and you can indulge your sweet tooth with one of those specialities pictured below...
Now that you have your energy recovered, we will walk to the Town Hall Square, the heart of the city, dominated by the restored (originally 14th century) Hanseatic building known as the House of Blackheads. It belonged to the Guild of Unmarried Merchants. At the time it was the richest and most prestigious venue in the whole city. It was severely damaged and pillaged during WWII, but was rebuilt again in 1999 as an exact copy of the original with a magnificent Dutch Renaissance façade. Nowadays the House of Blackheads serves sometimes as a concert hall. Pity we are not allowed to go inside.
I guess you are feeling a bit tired so, let's hop on a tour mini-bus and go to the Central Market, while on the way we will pass by interesting buildings.
With views like the above ones and all the rest that we've seen so far, it's not surprising why this place is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites!
You see now the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Local nickname for this building is Stalin's birthday cake.
The building is a 'cousin' to similar Stalin-era skyscrapers. The architecture of the skyscraper resembles many others built in the Soviet Union at the time, most notably...
I took the above photo when I visited Moscow in 1972 (October). There had been a heavy snowfall and the snow-trimmed red flower beds made the view of the building not so heavy and gloomy as I believe it was in the reality.
We have arrived at the Central Market, one of the largest and oldest markets in Europe, with its five food pavilions, located inside vast converted Zeppelin hangars. You will be amazed as you step into the fish pavilion, where they sell both fresh and dried/smoked fish. The fresh fish is incredibly fresh - some still moving - but please don't forget 'taking photos of alive fish' is not allowed.
You will notice that people in Riga are kind when it comes to asking some information, but still cold.
I believe that the Soviet rule – which lasted until 1991, the year of Latvian independence – scarred not only the surrounding landscape of this capital, full of chimneys, ugly factories and anonymous dormitory buildings destined to the labourers, but also the people’s souls. Smiles are rare; everybody on the street looks completely lost in their thoughts about everyday-life concerns.
There’s a quote by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. It’s meant to describe people but it now reminds me of Latvia.
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
Let's wave farewell to the beautiful city that Riga is, by enjoying the slideshow and breath a bit more of the atmosphere of the city whose inhabitants are still emerging from the long night of the Soviet occupation which followed the even darker Nazi occupation.
Let's wave farewell to the beautiful city that Riga is, by enjoying the slideshow and breath a bit more of the atmosphere of the city whose inhabitants are still emerging from the long night of the Soviet occupation which followed the even darker Nazi occupation.
~~ Having you together with me was a true pleasure ~~
~~ I'll come back to you soon... meanwhile, have a wonderful weekend ~~
RELATED POST #9 - RIGA - (PART 1)
RELATED POST #9 - RIGA - (PART 1)
A wonderful weekend for you my dear.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed each and every one of those scrummy treats we had, of course I did have to try one of each. lol Our walk around and the wee bus ride was very enjoyable though must admit my feet got a bit sore and my now 71 yr old body a tad tired. Loved all of the buildings and would love to have seen inside some of them, that big red truck was a beauty too. Was there anything else in the market worth seeing that we missed I wonder. Love open markets with all of their goodies and nicknacks. Looking forward to our next adventure my dear.
Huggles.
Thanks, Shayna, for having joined me... I have been preparing the very last blog post on the journey. Hope you will join me, too...
DeleteAnother very enjoyable tour. It's easy to see why it has World Heritage status, it's a really beautiful place with lots of amazing architecture. I love the 'Three brothers' and the 'House Of Blackheads'. Food markets always fascinate me, so your shots of the fish market were most interesting (and in certain cases, mouthwatering!!). I can see what you mean about the people's faces, barely a hint of a smile to be seen anywhere.
ReplyDeleteHi Mitch! Thank you for the visit and comments. I really appreciated both...
DeleteI certainly enjoyed this tour! It seems to be a very clean city, and I love the old and new buildings! there were so many different styles! .. and the goodies too.... yum! my brother visited Riga many years ago and was equally impressed... he went to the last known address we had of some my father's family. What he found in his travels there [and he speaks Russian and Latvian well] was that there were very few true Latvians left, most of the people were Russian or of Russian parents. Sad that so many people were not smiling, and your quote was very well used. I loved the diversity of the market, and I could spend days there, and even at the flea market [I don't want to buy stuff, but I love to look!] Thank you again....
ReplyDeleteHi Monica! I was told that a high percentage of the population is Russia born or of Russian origin, perhaps contributing to make the city look such as it does. If I had had enough time I would have spent long hours at that huge market, a very colourful patchwork...
DeleteThanks, Monica, for having joined me...
Belita, you were right. Riga is really a beautiful city!
ReplyDelete...though there is something missing somehow or maybe it's the absence of smiles that you mentioned :)
Riga would be a city where, I think, I wouldn't mind living in, if its inhabitants had more often a smile on their faces. Anyway, if in the future you have a chance to visit it, I would suggest you not to miss it... In my very personal opinion, Riga is more beautiful than Tallin...
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