Riga Downtown Scenes: Some Art Nouveau, Some Not

We did a few art nouveau walking tours in Riga, sometimes following a guidebook, sometimes the Art Nouveau Museum's walking tours, sometimes a combination of the two. We are easily distracted, moreover, and sometimes abandon the tour altogether in pursuit of other things...

The tour began at the Latvian National Opera, about as far from 
art nouveau as possible

But within sight, there was a real beauty, OK, maybe not exactly
art nouveau, but admirable nonetheless

Thus; the Italian Embassy; or possibly a gelateria

Sometimes the details were more interesting than the

whole edifice

Checking his messages

Another beauty

One of the few interiors open

A real head-scratcher

Atop the tower, one of Riga's icons...

An art deco here and there

Mixed messages

More deco

Foreshadowing what we'll see on the next tour, on
Elizabeth and Alberta streets

Riga's Art Nouveau Museum

Riga has a great art nouveau museum, situated in one of the architect's houses, on one of its more formidable art nouveau streets. Its chief draw, apart from providing a wealth of information concerning the movement in Riga, is its furnishings, all of which are from the period. They are not specific to the house, however, but gathered from various places. In the Russian occupation, art nouveau would have been considered the height of decadence (definitely!) and certainly not prized. I'll just let the pix speak for themselves. The museum has a great website, too, replete with said information, its own narrative tour of the house, and also includes several different walking tours of the city's art nouveau districts. And the 30 minute or so video on Riga art nouveau, shown in the basement, is a must-see. Pretty much everything in English, too.

The museum is on the lowest two floors of this building, on Alberta
iela (street); it was designed by Konstantins Peksens, one of the
leading architects

The dress-up room

Love these juxtapostions

The building's very impressive central staircase

Riga's Central Market

Reputedly Europe's largest city market--a claim I wouldn't dispute--it can be seen from outer space. (See illustration.) It was in our path as we walked almost daily to the center of the old city, so we got to know it reasonably well. In addition to the myriad outdoor pavilions, covered and uncovered, and numerous shops and stands in smaller ancillary buildings, the central feature of Riga's Central Market is its four WWI Zeppelin hangars, dismantled and moved here. There's one each for meat, seafood, fruits and veggies, and clothing/housewares/etc. The closest comparison that comes to mind, at least in terms of size, is Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.

The four Zeppelin hangars are in the center of the photo

Thus

Fishing store district

Latvians are fairly obsessive about berries; here we saw some of
the best and cheapest ever; and ate our share of the cherries

Software

Inside the meat hangar

What Jack Spratt's wife could eat

Grilled, compressed chicken; de-boned?

Fashion district

Vegematic guy

Upstairs in some of the buildings

Very international

Amber jewelry everywhere

Now in the seafood hangar; much of it smoked...

Or dried; or both

Fascinating place