Some Cool Architecture…Sushi & a White Party

August 16,2024 Riga, Latvia

We opened the curtains and found ourselves in the middle of Riga. Well not exactly the middle of the city… but it sure felt like it. The sound of traffic was real when we slid the door open. We expected to see a harbor, a port, maybe a breakwater…we got a Circle K gas station 😀

After coffee and muffins in our suite…I headed for the treadmill. Turns out the starboard side of the ship featured a pretty water view. You may have noted that we are no longer indulging in “second breakfasts”

Lunch in Marketplace…salad and some sort of protein for me…

After lunch I set off for the city of Riga… I had no expectations but had done a little research before I left the ship. Riga was founded in 1201 and is one of the most populous cities in the Baltic states. Riga’s historical center is a UNESCO heritage site and is known for its Art Nouveau architecture.

The walk from the ship into the city center took about 10 minutes.

On the way into the city lots of streets were blocked off as work men were setting up for some sort of event. Here’s the stage going up.

The weather was threatening to rain…temperatures were in the low 70s and I walked and walked enjoying this very cool place and marveling at the lack of folks in a city of over 800,000.

It really was eerie …walking at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and barely spotting another person.

Finally…proof of life in Riga

I’m totally in love with these buildings

This is one city that I really wish I’d hired a guide to take a walking tour with. Oh well, next time.

This is probably my favorite building.

Can you stand how adorable these tables are?

After walking for about two hours, I nearly missed this square…I came into it as I exited the back door of a cool little shop.

Latvian Riflemen Square…a vestige of Russian occupation.

Heading back I took a different route and attempted to walk along the waterfront…

…however I was stymied on multiple occasions because of the preparations for the upcoming event…I tried to find out what the event might be…no luck.

Sailaway found us on the balcony…

We sailed down the Daugava river into the Baltic Sea…

As we sailed into the Baltic, the skies changed in the most spectacular way…

…one minute we are in the river…

…the next we are in the Baltic…in a fever dream…

We were loving the Sailaway so much that we just hung out on the balcony and then left for dinner

Dinner in Umi Uma…here we have Timmy and Johnathan discussing a most important topic…Sake’ vs Beer

So Timmy snapped this photo because we were reminded about the very first time I used chopsticks…we were on Crystal in 2015…he was teaching me how to hold them and I was struggling…so very uncoordinated…and there was a woman sitting across from us and she just kept starring at me and whispering to her husband…I was mortified, we left early and I never wanted to return. When I relayed the story to our new Crystal friend Marty, he insisted we return with him later in the cruise and he requested silverware and we had a wonderful dinner. I hope we run into that woman again someday…I’m going to to show her this photo.

Timmy looks out the window and says: “See that ship? It’s a warship” Really? From this distance? Yup…he looked it up on Vessel Finder…and sure enough…it’s a warship.