Still in coffee shop. Jane's still reading.
Riga, Latvia
Riga is smaller than Tallinn, and more real. It has proper shops, and chain restaurants mixed in with the churches, cobbles, and beautiful architecture. Also, while the best bits of Tallinn are outside of the old town, but no one knows, everyone knows in Riga.
Highlights
Old town: churches, towers, weird architecture (three houses, each built in a different century).
Central market, where you can buy anything. Jane bought fish to eat raw...not as good as Chisinau.
Wooden buildings in the suburbs... It used to be law that all buildings outside the old town had to be wooden, so that they could be quickly burnt down in the event of an attack. (Poor logic). So there are interesting examples of inventive wood usage, like this wooden church, complete with wooden columns.
Street burger... Awesome
The orthodox cathedral...such a difference from the wooden reformist church across town.
The art nouveau district... Amazing buildings everywhere, most of which were built after someone ordered the wooden constructs burnt down while under attack.
Rowing down the canal! The canal runs down the edge of the old town, so there's great views.
The sun! Riga seems to have sun until 2pm, when it then pours for an hour, and then returns to sun. It's nicely predictable.
The bridges... Any other city would have made a big deal out of them....
Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment