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.

Riga, Latvia Part 2: Old Town Wanderings

The focal point of Riga is its Old Town (or Vecrīga) with a great deal of buildings in a variety of styles. Here are some of the highlights I hit over the course of 2 or 3 days of wandering.


Monument in front of the city council square (Rātslaukums)


St. Peter’s Church — every city has one!


The Museum of the Occupation


House of Blackheads, an old merchant guild building


street leading up to St. John’s Church


the Cat’s House (named for the cats perched on its two towers)




The Dome Cathedral, which was under a fair amount of interior renovation/excavation


Random sculpted stone in the cathedral courtyard


Random sculpted chicken in the cathedral courtyard


And some bells in in the cathedral courtyard


The “three brothers,” a trio of quirky residential buildings of medieval Riga


One side of Riga Castle, the home of Latvia’s president


random wall mural


Freedom Monument

Riga, Latvia Part 1: Introduction

November was a whirlwind in which I ended up traveling three out of four weekends, which of course means that I spent the rest of my time playing catch-up. Hence, even though I was in Riga a full month ago, I haven’t gotten around to posting anything about it until now.

When I came to Europe, I didn’t have too many preconceptions about places I would visit, but I certainly didn’t have the baltic states high on my list. However, my college friend Matt has been working in Latvia since graduation and I figured if I could find a way there, it would be worth the trip. Riga isn’t the easiest place to get to, but I was able to find a decent flight through Zurich and so I found myself training and planing north on Saturday November 10th.

Matt met me at the airport and we grabbed some groceries at a supermarket before returning his cousins’ car and having dinner there. It was nice to spend time with Latvian natives and to hear Matt’s perspective from having lived there for a bit over a year. Over the next few days I had a chance to see some sights, try some local bars and beers, enjoy a sauna and get a taste of the culture (including the finale of their ‘Singing With the Stars’ and an overdubbed presentation of Goldeneye). As Latvia was an occupied country up until the early 90s, it was interesting to see the contrast between the remnants of Soviet influence versus the development that has happened since. All in all it was a great visit and a good introduction to winter, because beginning on Sunday, the snow and wind made their presence felt.

I took many photos, especially of the architecture which I’ll share over the course of a few photo drops. Here are some starters.


Latvian flags by night


sunset over the Daugava River


park by night (pre-snow)


an old Soviet monument


Flowers are apparently a really big part of Latvian culture. People prepare bouquets to take as gifts to parties and gatherings as well as lay them all over the major monuments.


Orthodox Cathedral


random street scene




Matt and I enjoy an Alus (Latvian for beer)