Unlike Tallinn, which was a delightful surprise, Riga, the capital of Latvia, proved a letdown. Apparently, it’s a new cruise stop, and they are woefully prepared for the onslaught of two ships and their passengers all at once. It took an hour to reach the city, and then we decided to do what did in Sweden and Finland—take a HopOn/HopOff bus tour. There are a few rivers flowing through Riga and we crossed over a few bridges. We saw this incredible bike caravan loaded with young, virile males singing loudly at the top of their voices when we walked to the square to catch the tour bus. It was only ten in the morning, but these guys had obviously started partying from dawn.
The sparse crowds milling about all seemed to be tourists. The city itself proved clean, and the architecture was fascinating. Riga is famous for its Art Nouveau District, which was lovely and quite large.
But the ‘old town’ was almost empty. Compared to the bustling energy of Tallinn the day before where every resident was cheerful and smiling, everyone in Riga wore dour expressions. We lunched in one of the few restaurants in the old town on the main courtyard. Here are a few shots:
We found out later that there are two options for this Baltic Cruise. One stops three days in St. Petersburg and omits Riga, while the other (ours) stays only 2 days in St. Petersburgh. If I had to do this all over again, I would do the 3-day Russian itinerary. Riga felt anti-climactic.
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