Rīga is Always a Good Idea. Day 2

Riga is charming no matter the season. As me and my friends dedicated the third day of our stay in the capital of Latvia to the exploration of art nouveau architecture and interiors, all the grey skies and chilly winds were no match for four our enthusiasm.

Being a sucker for Latvian jugendstil architecture, I was more than happy to lead my friends through the Elizabetes, Alberta and Tērbatas streets which have the most dense concentration of the buildings in this particular architecture style. As our eyes wondered among all those intricate mouldings and ornaments, we slowly made our way to The museum Riga Art Nouveau Centre. 

The building contains two museums: the private appartments of the famous Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns and The Janis Rozentāls and Rūdolfs Blaumanis Museum ont he top floor. We visited both and it was such an amazing experience, especially in the painting room of J. Rozentāls, where lots of his personal belongings are still present.

After selecting a good handful of vintage postcard reprints in the museum shop, we hurried to a Art Nouveau Riga shop just on the other side of the street, in front of the museum. There I have found the most lovely rose gold plated ring with quarz, as well as other lovely items, so make sure to give them a visit as well!

In the evening, the time for the main event of our journey has arrived - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida! What can I say, it was an event without a doubt! I love opera, however, it is quite a challenge to get tickets here in Lithuania to any of the performances, so being able to go to Latvia and watch their interpretation of this immaculate work was such a rewarding experience.

So this sums up my most recent visit to Latvia. I already know that I'll be back in Riga next year, so you can only imagine how impatiently I am waiting for my return!

Photos © Aesthastic