Riga

Riga just celebrated its 810 birthday witch concerts, fairs, knight tournament, retro cars debts, salsa marathon, regatta, pilot demonstrations and many other interesting for visitors happenings. It seems, that the celebration culmination wasn’t fireworks, as it was for many years, but key of Riga city teeming, for 52 763 other keys.

Saturday was very warm, so we thought that we could go to look on Old Riga not getting through tourist crowds, but from canal of Riga and waters of Daugava. Before it, we looked through canal wooden boat place kmk.lv with map and getting in in Bastejkalns.

I have always been interested in, unless time travelling, then at least imagining how concrete place looked before century or two and how could it look in the future. I just took my camera and went to center, so I could take some photos with Riga streets, buildings and squares and little bit later to compare with in Letonika data base found history photos.

I don’t know how it’s in France, in the place of origin Museum night, but in Latvia this activity happens to be in bird-cherry and chestnut tree bloom time. Breath of Spring is in the air and people are moving along the Rigas streets, especially along the Old-Riga, they’re looking after new impressions, new connection, new information.

Very soon – in 14.may 2011 in Riga and other cities museums will be opened in the night – to fulfill Museum night events. Museum night in Riga is held for the seventh time and very happy for this tradition. The theme in this year – Neighbors. As you can feel, theme will be exposed as in narrow meaning about the neighbors nearby, as well as in global meaning. If you are in Riga and looking for where to go tonight, here are some guides.

A traditional walk with camera in hand through the Old Town and the streets of the city centre in the evening of December 31. This year I caught the feeling of New Year from white mulled wine and a caramelized apple in Dome Square.

Although yesterday we couldn`t enjoy all of the events of the festival because of the bleak drizzle, we did attend some of them and it was interesting.

This year the winter has been great. I must say that winter is not my favourite season; the coldness does not inspire me to do any physical activities. Looking at it all through a prism of optimism, Latvia is fortunate that here you can enjoy the whole four seasons in all their glory. Below, a photo gallery, which was created in a couple of walks here in Riga with a Nikon D200 in my hand.

Yesterday, e.g., last year we wandered around the city centre a few hours till New Year to enjoy the media renoned 480 thousand lats worth of decorative lighting. Beautiful!