July 23, 2013
July 23, 2013
Our hotel in Riga, Latvia is a disappointment. The breakfast buffet here doesn't have any chocolate croissants. The first time since our arrival!
This morning we are back in the bus for a short bus tour of Riga followed by a longer walking tour of the Old Town. Our local guide was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about the local history and architecture. The fancy facades on the buildings indicate Riga was once very wealthy. It sometimes is called the Paris of the Baltics. Riga lies on the Daugava River which extends into Russia and connects by portage to the Dnieper River that runs to Kiev and the Black Sea. Riga served as a major port for Russia. No wonder Czar Peter the Great was determined to capture the city.
There are many architecture styles represented in Riga from ancient to modern. I can tell Sweden owned Riga prior to Russia based on the similarity of the church spires to Scandinavian countries. Before Sweden, Riga was an outpost of German crusaders and a member of the Hanseatic League, a medieval trading guild. More recently Riga is famous for its many buildings in the Art Nouveau style.
For lunch we had some kind of local sausage soup called Solanka. To drink I had a glass of the Latvian National Drink called Balzam. It consists of some herbal liqueur watered down with black currant juice. It is an acquired taste.
After lunch, we boarded the bus to continue our journey north. Our drive follows the Baltic Sea coast. It is a heavily forested area. In two hours we hit the border with Estonia. And in another two hours we reach the capitol, Tallinn.
This morning we are back in the bus for a short bus tour of Riga followed by a longer walking tour of the Old Town. Our local guide was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about the local history and architecture. The fancy facades on the buildings indicate Riga was once very wealthy. It sometimes is called the Paris of the Baltics. Riga lies on the Daugava River which extends into Russia and connects by portage to the Dnieper River that runs to Kiev and the Black Sea. Riga served as a major port for Russia. No wonder Czar Peter the Great was determined to capture the city.
There are many architecture styles represented in Riga from ancient to modern. I can tell Sweden owned Riga prior to Russia based on the similarity of the church spires to Scandinavian countries. Before Sweden, Riga was an outpost of German crusaders and a member of the Hanseatic League, a medieval trading guild. More recently Riga is famous for its many buildings in the Art Nouveau style.
For lunch we had some kind of local sausage soup called Solanka. To drink I had a glass of the Latvian National Drink called Balzam. It consists of some herbal liqueur watered down with black currant juice. It is an acquired taste.After lunch, we boarded the bus to continue our journey north. Our drive follows the Baltic Sea coast. It is a heavily forested area. In two hours we hit the border with Estonia. And in another two hours we reach the capitol, Tallinn.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 12:10 PM
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