Looking back at Old Town from the stone bridge, Riga - the peach colored building on the bottom right is where I stayed. The tall tower is St. Peter's cathedral.
St. Peter's cathedral, Riga.
Looking back at Old Town from the stone bridge, Riga - the tall tower on the right is Dome Church. To the left of the Dome Church tower and further into the background is the tower of St. Jacob's cathedral.
Dome Church, Riga.
St. Jacob's cathedral, Riga.
A slightly different view of St. Jacob's, Riga.
The Latvian Parliament building which housed the Nazi and Soviet occupation governments as well, Riga.
Government buildings, near St. Jacob's and Parliament, Riga.
The renovated facade of Riga Castle.
The not-so-renovated side of Riga Castle.
Old Town as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
Old Town as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
Old Town as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga - Livu laukums, one of the main squares in Old Town, is on the middle right and the city walls and Jacob's barracks are across the top of the photo.
The cat house on Livu laukums, Riga.
On the near left side, under construction, is the large guildhouse on Livu laukums, Riga.
The small guildhouse on Livu laukums, Riga.
The small guildhouse was also the site of an anachronistic performance, Riga.
The small guildhouse performance, Riga.
The small guildhouse performance, Riga.
The Old Town city walls, Riga.
The Swedish gate, the only remaining relic of the Scandanavian occupation of Latvia and built in 1698, Riga.
The buildings at the end of this street are the Three Brothers, the oldest stone residential buildings in Riga.
Old Town as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga - the church dominating the right side of the photo is St. John's.
A pair of musicians performing by St. John's, Riga - they were fantastic!
The statue of St. Roland, Riga's patron saint, at Ratslaukums (Town Hall Square) and St. Peter's, Riga.
Town Hall Square as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
Melngalvju nams (The House of Blackheads) on Town Hall Square, Riga - this building was destroyed in 1941 and its ruins were destroyed by the Soviets, it was rebuilt only recently.
The Town Hall, Riga.
The Occupation Museum, which also borders Town Hall Square, Riga.
An eclectic parade in Old Town, Riga.
Brivibas piemineklis (The Freedom Monument), a symbol of national pride, Riga.
The Freedom Monument, Riga - the three stars the lady is holding represent the three regions of Latvia.
Bastejkalns (Bastion Hill) park which makes up the Eastern border of Old Town, Riga.
A statue in Bastejkalns, Riga.
Bastejkalns, Riga.
Bastejkalns, Riga.
A bridge over Pilsetas kanals in Bastejkalns, Riga.
Safety locks on the bridge, symbols of the unbreakable love of the newly married, Riga.
The National Theatre, which stands at one end of Bastejkalns and is just outside Old Town, Riga.
The National Opera, which is at the opposite end of Bastejkalns and is just outside of Old Town, Riga.
The National Museum, near Bastejkalns, Riga.
Another view of the National Museum, Riga.
Kristus Piedzimsanas pareiztic katedrale, an Eastern Orthodox church, Riga.
Statue of Karlis Ulmanis, President of Latvia during its brief stint of independence before WWII, Bastejkalns, Riga.
Easter Island? (Vermanes darzs, Riga)
A fountain in Vermanes darzs, Riga.
Sculpture of the Bremen Town Musicians, Old Town, Riga.
The Latvian Riflemen Monument, Old Town, Riga - a controversial statue honoring the Latvian Red Riflemen, some of whom became Lenin's bodyguards and some of whom died in WWI.
Looking across the Daugava river towards Victory Park from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
The controversial Victory Park, Riga.
Victory Park, Riga - honoring the communist 'liberation' of Riga.
Victory Park, Riga - some extremists tried to "'liberate' the city of this symbol of opression (with sticks of dynamite!)."
Victory Park, Riga.
Victory Park, Riga.
Victory Park, Riga.
The Soviet era TV tower as seen from Old Town, Riga.
The TV tower as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
The TV tower as seen from the stone bridge, Riga.
Zinatnu Akademija (Academy of Sciences) as seen from the stone bridge, Riga - aka 'Stalin's birthday cake' or 'the Kremlin'. Compare this to the one in Warsaw.
Academy of Sciences as seen from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
A look across the Daugava river from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
A look up the Daugava river from the stone bridge, Riga.
M-I-S-S-I-S-S... Hey! Wait a minute! (On the Daugava river, Riga.)
A look across the Daugava river from the tower of St. Peter's, Riga.
One small portion of the Riga skyline as seen from the tower of St. Peter's.
Another small portion of the Riga skyline as seen from the tower of St. Peter's.
Across the stone bridge from Old Town, heading towards Victory Park on Uzvaras bulv., Riga - proof that there actually are people in the city.
A lamppost on Akmens tilts (the stone bridge), Riga - I just like this photo, otherwise it probably wouldn't warrant posting.
A war-damaged residential building, still unrenovated, Riga.
And to close out my tour of Riga - the Art Nouveau architecture collection.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
An Art Nouveau building designed by architect Mikhail Eisenstein, Riga.
The town where we stopped, somewhere between Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia.
It looked a little American, in my opinion - somewhere between Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia.
Then again, there could be reasons for that - somewhere between Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia.