Last days in Riga, Latvia.
On one of my last days in Riga I took a free walking tour of the historic center. The guide brought us around to buildings and churches I had walked past, pointing out details I had missed. At one building she pointed out the cats on the roof, perched like weather vanes on the spires. She tells us that originally the cats had been arranged so that their tails pointed towards the building across the way, the location of a hated party by the builder. The builder was taken to court and ordered to turn the cats around.
The guide laments the sad stories related to Riga and tries to lighten the mood with other stories, but every question about a location or a detail seems to bring up yet another sad story. At the end of the tour we arrive at the Bremen musicians statue where she tells us that the higher nose you reach the better the luck. Later in the day, I’ll leap to reach the beak of the rooster on top.
On my second-to-last day in the city I wander over to the National Art Gallery of Latvia. I had been skipping museums as of late and decide that I should fill in some gaps in my itinerary.
Passing the Riga sign in front of the The Freedom Monument I stop to take one last photo of the cat perched on the letter A.
Inside the museum there’s art from the 18th century to the present, housed in a historicist-style structure built finished in 1905. I tour the floors and galleries and find myself in the coffee shop while looking for an entrance to the bookstore. It’s a pretty cafe, and I consider stopping for a bite, but I have plans later in the day and head back out into the street.
There’s one more thing I need to do in Riga before I leave and it’s to admire the buildings that line Alberta iela. Somehow I’ve kept missing this street on my strolls around town and so I make a point of touring it. According to our guide the day before, each buliding looks like a wedding cake. She’s not wrong and I’m glad to be able to visit on such a beautiful day.
Walking back home, I reflect on the weeks I’ve spent in Riga, how unique the neighborhoods are and how familiar it’s become. I wish I had had the opportunity to see more of the country, and my mind turns to future planning. I had originally wanted to start in Krakow and work my way up; maybe next year I’ll fly to Riga and work my way down. The plan starts to germinate in my mind. 🇱🇻
