After breakfast we checked out but left our cases to pick up mid afternoon. First stop was to cross the river to the library as I'd read entry was free and if you got a visitor pass at reception you could go up to the 12th floor for a view across the city.
The rather spectacular looking library.
The statue is the "Two Rainis" sculpture by Aigars Bikše. It features two bronze figures of the Latvian poet Rainis, one smaller (1m) and one larger (3m), separated by 10m of seating. It symbolizes the transformation that education brings to individual growth and the upward journey of personal development and luckily for us there was no one else around to spoil the pictures.
It really is a very futuristic design.
A quick diversion away from the library to show you a house/building number - they are all the same uniform blue plaques whether it's a residential or commercial property.
Having got our visitor passes from reception and stored my bag in the locker room we took the lift to the 12th floor but unfortunately the reflections and window lining rather spoil the view. Looking back towards the city centre our hotel is just out of shot on the right.
Looking downstream to the Gulf of Riga which leads into the Baltic Sea.
Directly behind the library is the Latvian Railway History Museum housed in the old railway buildings including a locomotive repair shop and a 1880s locomotive depot.
The Ferris wheel only opened in April this year and at €17 for a 15 min ride it's one of the most expensive in Europe.
This inside of the library was just as quirky as the outside and the central atrium was several floors high.
There didn't appear to be any way to access these books.
We then waited for the next tram, bus or trolley bus to take us back across the river.
Situated outside Latvia's Supreme Court this monument commemorates Gunars Astra, a Latvian freedom fighter convicted in 1961 to 15 years of prison by the USSR government. Born in 1931 he early became involved in politics and human rights activism which led to his imprisonment. Released in 1976, he was arrested again in 1983 - this time for possessing the novel 1984. He was released 2 years ahead of time, but died a few weeks later in 1988.
And back to the Cathedral of the Nativity where unfortunately no photos where allowed inside.
This has to be the thinnest building ever.
We walked back down Alberta Street and I tried again to get better photos of the Art Nouveau buildings.
These buildings are home to quite a few embassies - this one houses the Italian Embassy.
One little basement shop selling hand-made jewellery had a sign outside saying "interesting and free exhibition" so we walked in for a nosy and it certainly was very interesting. It was a collection of vintage irons, all beautifully displayed and the curator gave us amazing detail about each one and what it was used for. I didn't realise that specific shape irons were made for specific garments, ie. collars and cuffs.
This case I think was c1920s America and had a built in iron in the handle.
Changing transport at the Central Market we stayed on a bus for its entire journey into the suburbs which wasn't particularly interesting but at least we were sitting down.
A final walk past the Three Brothers.
We stopped for a drink in one of the little squares off the Old Town Square and then intended to eat there but the service was so ridiculously slow we gave up and went back to the supermarket for another savoury pastry in the hope the sparrows would perform for me again. They did and one was so brave it actually stood on my hand for a moment and then hovered in the air for what seemed like ages. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera filming though.
A couple more Beer Bikes were doing the rounds.
And that was more or less the end of our trip to Riga. We were back to collect the cases and then caught the next bus to the airport. We were glad we were a little early as the traffic was very heavy and it took almost an hour to get there. En route we passed more of the wooden houses for which Riga was famous.
We had our boarding passes on our phones and were hand luggage only so made our way to the lounge and waited for our flight. Glad we've been here but probably not the most interesting of places, although we didn't actually go in anywhere!