Category Archives: travel

Riga, Latvia

The family residing in the mansion depicted above were rather interesting. Gomez and his wife Morticia had two lovely children — Wednesday and Pugsly. Just kidding, of course, but this structure definitely had an Addams Family feel to it. I could almost mentally picture Gomez sharpening the spikes on the fencing.

Riga, Latvia

I’ve mentioned several times now that Riga is famed for its extensive collection of Art Nouveau architecture. So, what exactly are the hallmarks of Art Nouveau? Well, it’s decorative, for sure. It also incorporates flowing, curvy lines, much like the Catalan Modernism style employed by Antoni Gaudi, but not nearly to the degree he advanced the form. For images of Gaudi’s masterpiece, see my two-part series on Sagrada Familia beginning at this link. Here are some other Art Nouveau examples from Riga:

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Here is an interesting building depicting various coats of arms for Latvia districts:

Districts of Latvia

Riga coat of arms

Images of Riga’s many gardens:

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

I’m saving the best examples of Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture for next Monday, but I’ll be interspersing some examples throughout this Riga series. Take for instance these three images:

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Fortunately, Vision of the Seas arrived here while the gardens were in full bloom:

Riga, Latvia

Street photography is also fun here:

Tour Taking in the Sights

Awaiting the “Train”

More Riga images to end today’s article:

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Ursula and I had been wanting to do a cruise of the Baltic region for quite some time. Problem is, most Baltic cruises are on the short side, and tend to leave out several destinations as a result. Fortunately, waiting it out for the right cruise to appear paid off in dividends when, on Friday, August 11, 2017 out of Copenhagen, we boarded Royal Caribbean‘s ship Vision of the Seas for an eleven-night, twelve-day cruise. That journey included Riga, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; two days in St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Klaipeda, Lithuania; and Gdansk, Poland before returning to Copenhagen on Tuesday, August 22.

Riga, Latvia

But our adventure on this trip neither began nor ended in Copenhagen. As you’ve already noted, we started in Amsterdam on August 3, 2017. Not included in this series was a side trip to Switzerland to visit with friends and relatives in Zurich and Glarus before continuing on to Copenhagen a week later. After this Baltic cruise, we would stay aboard Vision of the Seas for a transatlantic crossing that included three stops in Iceland before continuing on to St. John’s, Newfoundland and terminating in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Riga, Latvia

After a day at sea out of Copenhagen, we arrived at our first port of call on Sunday, August 13, 2017. This port was Riga, the capital city of Latvia. And one of our first sights in town was Riga Castle situated next to the Daugava River:

Riga Castle

We’ll continue our tour of Riga on Wednesday, and extending over the next two weeks. Until then, here’s a sample:

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia