Riga, Latvia Part 3: Street Art + Art Nouveau

By now, it’s certainly quite obviously that I am interested in art and design in most of its forms. Lucky for me, then, that Riga has an amazing collection of Art Nouveau architecture, mostly designed by M Eisenstein (father of Sergei, the director who made Battleship Potemkin). Of course, there was also plenty of other random graffiti and street art around as well which I also enjoyed.


Rabbit near Matt’s apartment


Another creature in the same area I assume is by the same artist


Chuck Norris: no longer just an ironic cultural icon in America…


The first of the Art Nouveau photos, in case it isn’t blatantly obvious




I don’t know what this building is, but it was my favorite. The color scheme is understated beauty.


A detail from the same.











And finally, this has nothing to do with Art Nouveau, but it is a part of Latvian culture: Balsim is cough-medicine like liquor along the lines of Germany’s Jägermeister or Budapest’s Unicum. The locals drink it daily, literally "for their health.” While I was in Riga I tried it straight, in a hot drink with Black Currant juice, and in this Martini Cocktail. On my last evening in town I went to dinner with Matt and his girlfriend and we finished the night at “Balsim Bar.” It was a fun time and thanks to Matt, I even brought some back to Geneva and forced it on some friends during Poker…


The Balsim is the unsettling dark layer at the top of the drinks

All in all, a great trip, though after a few days of bitter wind and snow I don’t know if I could survive an entire winter in the Baltics.