Riga, Latvia

So, after a day at sea, we were anxious to finally set out feet on terra firma. Because we took our sweet time rolling over the waves from Visby, we were only a few hours early to the port in Riga, which is a scant 500 metres from the centre of the old town.
Upon tying up, we were once again treated to live entertainment, this time an ethnic Latvian group, playing and dancing in the Latvian style.

By the time we met out guide, shortly after lunch, the rain had begun to fall. So much for the weather Gods! It looked like the rain might ease off, but it was not to be. We got off the bus in rain, started the tour in rain and pretty much walked through the whole town in rain.

Our first stop was the House of Blackheads, a church designated for single men. Rain was not our issue at this point. It was a guide who spoke halting English and took forever to tell us what we needed to know – which meant we were getting wetter by the minute.
It wasn’t long before there was a serious mutiny, which meant about half of our tour group went AWOL. This actually made conditions better for the rest of us.

We managed all of the highlights of old Riga, including the houses of the Three Brothers, above.
We also stopped at the building with cat statues atop the roof spires.
By the time our tour wound down, the rain stopped and the sun beat its way to the surface. The end of the tour took us to the Dome Square, with its World Heritage buildings.

Our tour ended back at the statue for unknown soldiers, be they Russian or otherwise.
Back at the ship, we quickly pulled up anchor and set off for Estonia. Due to our fabulous docking location, we had a nice view of the spires of Riga, including the church of St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Dome Cathedral.

We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise back up the river from our dock in Riga to the Baltic, while indulging in happy hour at Horizons, the bar at the top of the front of the ship. We glided past working port after working port, featuring lumber works, coal yards, container ports and petroleum outlets.
Dinner tonight was once again in the Grand Dining Room, where we enjoyed everything from gravalax, to fennel salad, to duck breast to lamb curry to sole.
As I write this entry at 10:20 p.m., the ship is rock ‘n rollin’ at 18 knots and there is not a hint of darkness.
I mentioned in the last entry that internet has been spotty at best. Their problem in the Baltic is that many military installations share the same satellites, which relegates the cruise ships to the bottom of the list. I will eventually fill in the photos I intended for this segment, but it may not be until we’re off the cruise ship. Sorry!