Travel

[World Traveler]

[World Traveler]

Well, it is one way of getting around the town. It was a conducted tour on Seqways that around 10 people were doing.

This is what the Latvian language looks like.

[World Traveler]

[World Traveler]

This roof had several iron cats on it.

Can you tell that I REALLY like the architecture in this town?

[World Traveler]

This is the lady who shared her memories of the time the Soviet Union had taken away her mother. She was standing here at the very building where her mother was taken and where executions were done, reliving the time when she saw them come to get her mother.

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This is what my room attendant just brought me. How cute! And I just got an invitation to sit at the captain's table tomorrow night. How nice!

[World Traveler]

Saturday - July 22 - Riga, Latvia

This morning we were still in Riga. Many options for the groups to take. One was a discussion group on the Baltic states' fight for independence and the Singing Revolution. Another was a tour of Rundale Palace. A masterpiece of Baroque and Rococo style, 18th-century Rundale was built on the orders of Ernst Johann Byron, the Duke of Courtland, and the Russian Empress he loved, Anna Ioannovna. The palace boasts opulent chambers, as well as extensive French gardens.

Others chose to visit the Nordic wooden dwelling of Kipsala Island, the recently opened Riga Art Nouveau Museum, located in the former apartment of Latvian architect Konstantinos Peksens, or just poke around town. I talked with a couple of ladies during lunch who took advantage of the free time to have a massage on the ship. Some chose to go with a guide to the Latvian Riviera, 16 miles west of Riga.

I chose to stay on board to read and relax up on the top deck (there are only five decks on this ship that is classified as a yacht) by the jacuzzi. It was a wonderful 68 degrees with a slight breeze, and was good to just hang out for a day.

While reading, I learned that the Riga Cathedral had its cornerstone laid in 1211 by Bishop Albert, the man who brought Christianity to Latvia. During the Soviet occupation from 1959-1989, religious services were banned, so the church was used as a concert hall.

I also found that the Kaiserwald concentration camp was constructed by the Nazis in a suburb of the city in 1943. The camp was a work camp, not an extermination camp, but a few Jews were killed here.

And I read where Latvians won their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 after a series of confrontations known as the Barricades. In these battles, the residents of Riga built barricades around the city and formed human shields to prevent Soviet forces from seizing key buildings.

This evening we had a port talk on Visby, a city on Gotland Island off Sweden, where we are heading for overnight and will spend the day on Sunday.

For dinner tonight I was at the Captain's table. Only six of us shared the table with he and his first mate. We were attended by five waiters who were at our beck and call. The meal was lobster tail with dessert of homemade soft centered chocolate soufflé served with champagne sabayon and ice cream. And at the end the chef came out to hear what we had to say about the meal.

Dinner was followed by a presentation on Baltic Fairy Tales, a humorous show put on by the staff.

Must say, it was nice to take the day off from the go, go, go of things to see that I have been partaking of, and really nice to finish it with fantastic meal. I am sure I have gained a pound or two, or possibly three or............

[World Traveler]

Two lobster tails

Chocolate soufflé (looks like a donut, but was awesome with hot chocolate inside!).

[World Traveler]

My cabin attendant is getting creative with the banana I left in my room!

[World Traveler]

Riga, Latvia from the ship, right before we left port this afternoon.