Cold, but Nice Days

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007--Riga

Tallinn is a far nicer city than Riga, I think. Riga is definitely bigger--about twice the size. And Riga has many nice buildings. But the Old Town of Tallinn is older and more consistantly from the same period. The Old Town in Riga is a mixture of buildings from different periods. Also, Tallinn is far better restored, both in the Old Town and the outer areas, than Riga is. To me, the best part of Riga is the outer ring of streets about 6 blocks wide that exists just beyond the Old Town and where its outer walls were. Most of the buildings there were built at the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s in the jugendstil (art nouveau) style of architecture. That tends to make Riga special. But its Old Town is much like old towns anywhere with its mixture of different buildings from different periods (although there are fewer modern buildings). The reason the Old Town is considered special is the same for any old city with a special center: It was poor for so long that people could not afford to tear down the old to build new. That's why Tallinn, Riga, Prague, and other cities are so special today. If a city wants to be special like that, it has to stay poor for several decades or centuries. The Miami Beach area was able to do it by being poor just for about 40-50 years. But usually it takes longer.

The place I am staying is the least nice of all the places I have stayed on this trip to the Baltics. It's an old soviet-style apartment--creaky wooden parquet floors, wallpaper that is strange in design and old and faded, carpets hanging on the walls, lacy see-through curtains covering all the windows, a toilet and bathroom with old fixtures and old tile walls and floors, etc. Also, the apartment is rather cluttered with lots of old, not especially nice furniture. Although the landlady seems to be a cleanness freak, the bath could use a very good cleaning, I think.

It is cold and windy here. It is much like winter weather in Texas. It's probably normal for here for this time of year. I am wearing layers to keep warm, and my hands still stay cold much of the time when I am out walking to explore the city.

I went to the huge Central Market this morning. It is housed in 5 huge old zepelin hangars that were brought in from another place after being abandoned. Of course, the market, like most markets, has spread far beyond these hangars onto the streets and into other buildings. But it is one of the biggest markets I have ever visited. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they also have small restaurants within the market where one can eat a meal. I bought a vegetarian pizza and ate it. Then I had two pastry balls covered in coconut for dessert.

A light rain started as I walked through the Old Town, so I stopped to visit the Occupation Museum. It covers the years when the Soviet Union, then Germany, then the Soviet Union again occupied Latvia from the early 1940s through the early 1990s. It was an interesting museum with very detailed descriptions of what happened during the years.

The rain had stopped by the time I left the museum, so I followed a self-guided tour route for the Old Town. Much of it I had already seen by wandering, but following the route made sure that I knew what each building was and that I saw some that I had passed without really noticing them. Also, it took me through some areas I had not yet visited.

On my way back to my area of town, I went by the Freedom Monument. It is their main monument in Latvia. It is a woman with her arms up in the air and the tips of her hands supporting three golden stars. I think it is rather nice.

I found another big market near my neighborhood and wandered through it. I noticed lots of mushrooms for sale. It's mushroom season here. I saw a woman in her yard one morning in Sigulda who had already filled a bucket with mushrooms and many more were still growing under her trees. Then the day I took the train to Riga from there, many people got off at a stop in the woods and entered them with baskets, buckets, etc., on their way to search for mushrooms they could pick up and either eat at home or sale. It reminded me of pecan season in November in Texas when people go out to pick up pecans that are falling from the trees.

I ate dinner at a local place where I had eaten last night, too. Last night, I had a macaroni dish with pieces of pork and leeks cooked in butter and mixed with the macaroni. Tonight, I had a meatball with boiled potatoes and a cabbage dish. Their food is very tasy, and the woman is nice about the fact I cannot speak her language.

Friday, Sept. 21, 2007--Riga

I finished reading The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1 1/2 to 2 stars out of 4) and Dubliners by James Joyce (3 1/2 stars out of 4). Therefore, I stopped at a book store and bought another book to begin reading. I am reading more here because I spend a lot of time in my room at night with no TV.

My landlady likes the money from guests, but I can tell she doesn't really like having guests. She isn't very friendly (except in a forced way), she seems bothered by things being used or brought into the apartment, she seems to worry about hot water being used, etc. I tend to avoid her, and she tends to avoid me, however. I am happy with that, and I am sure she is happier that way.

I went to a few streets in one area of the jugendstil buildings here in town. It is where all the tours go to see the best, most extravagant examples of that style of architecture. They really are fantastic buildings. One architect seems to be responsible for the best of the best. On one long block, he had designed all but one of the buildings. That is the not-to-be-missed street--Alberta iela. The facades are so ornate and fun to see. I took pictures of the buildings. They were the first pictures I have taken since my luggage was stolen. I wanted to save my battery strength for here. It's too bad I had to skip taking pictures in other places like Tartu, Cesis, and Sigulda, though.

I returned to the Central Market for lunch. I had a plate with meat patties, potatoes, and slaw. Then I went walking behind the market. There is a tall building that is in the same style as the skyscraper in Moscow that is the home of the University of Moscow. I wanted to see that up close. What was more interesting, however, was the entire neighborhood. Not because it was nice, but because it is so neglected. It is a VERY poor section of town. I don't think that the change to a free-market economy and joining the European Union has helped much there, since it still looks like a part of the Soviet Union. At least 98% of the buildings still are gray with metal roofs that are rusting. Restoration has not touched the area much.

I bought food to eat in the room for the night, since it was starting to sprinkle. I just didn't want to go to the room and go back out for two reasons: 1) I didn't want to go out in the rain. 2) I didn't want to face the landlady more than necessary. I was lucky to get inside without her seeing me. I know she would have been curious about my bag of food and would have been displeased about my bringing it into the apartment. Anyway, that's life!

Note: I am using a free computer at the tourist office, and there is no way to open a second screen to search and make links to terms I have used. Those of you who are interested, I would recommond that you go to Google and search using the following terms (not forgetting to search both under the web and under images):

Riga Old Town
Riga Central Market
Riga jugendstil
Alberta iela Riga
Occupation Museum Riga