Riga, Latvia
This morning Priit Vesilind and Rodney Minott teamed up for an informative presentation on “Life in the Baltic During the Cold War.” Priits’ slides showed a very different world here in the Baltic from what we have been experiencing during our voyage. Great strides have been accomplished in a relatively short time.
During lunch, the Endeavour docked in a rainy, blustery Riga. We scurried onto the busses for an overview of the city.
“Look up,” commands our guide. Yes, look up and see history in the lines of the roof tops, the different building facades, the changes in style and architecture – twentieth century art deco here, medieval stone work over there, nineteenth century German art nouveau down the street. Our guide continues with obvious pride, “Riga is the most beautiful city in the world.”
Riga was originally settled in 1201 on the Riga River, which over time was drained and replaced with buildings. For more than 800 years, Riga has been an important center of trade, commerce, and military strategy. Today, Riga has a population of over a million people and straddles the Daugava River making it the largest of the Baltic cities.
Not too long ago, Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, and life was much different then. We were shown the old, weathered KGB building and told it was, “the highest building in Riga.” “Yes, you could see Siberia from there.”
Today, the people of Riga are looking at a much brighter future as part of the European Union. No longer do they worry about a one-way trip to a very cold, desolate gulag. Instead, the old part of the city is a Unesco World Heritage site and tourism is booming.
This morning Priit Vesilind and Rodney Minott teamed up for an informative presentation on “Life in the Baltic During the Cold War.” Priits’ slides showed a very different world here in the Baltic from what we have been experiencing during our voyage. Great strides have been accomplished in a relatively short time.
During lunch, the Endeavour docked in a rainy, blustery Riga. We scurried onto the busses for an overview of the city.
“Look up,” commands our guide. Yes, look up and see history in the lines of the roof tops, the different building facades, the changes in style and architecture – twentieth century art deco here, medieval stone work over there, nineteenth century German art nouveau down the street. Our guide continues with obvious pride, “Riga is the most beautiful city in the world.”
Riga was originally settled in 1201 on the Riga River, which over time was drained and replaced with buildings. For more than 800 years, Riga has been an important center of trade, commerce, and military strategy. Today, Riga has a population of over a million people and straddles the Daugava River making it the largest of the Baltic cities.
Not too long ago, Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, and life was much different then. We were shown the old, weathered KGB building and told it was, “the highest building in Riga.” “Yes, you could see Siberia from there.”
Today, the people of Riga are looking at a much brighter future as part of the European Union. No longer do they worry about a one-way trip to a very cold, desolate gulag. Instead, the old part of the city is a Unesco World Heritage site and tourism is booming.
