Wooden Architecture Of Riga
Feb 16, 2010 Places
About four thousand wooden houses. Doesn’t sound like a typical 21st century European capital, but who says Riga is typical? No other European city has so much wooden architecture left from previous centuries.
You can enjoy these nice old buildings already coming from Riga International Airport to the city center on Kalnciema Street where wooden houses stand between stone houses. And this is how it is almost anywhere in Riga. Stone buildings, brick buildings, art nouveau, modern buildings and between them original wooden architecture even from 18th century.
If you head out of the city center you can even find whole quarters of wooden architecture. Ķīpsala is definitely a must visit! But try other places too - Āgenskalns, Maskačka. Or just walk around just outside the UNESCO heritage city center - you may find some unexpected true treasures!
The Sun Museum
Dec 8, 2009 Places
Right in the heart of Riga there is a museum similar to which you will not be able to find in Europe. It is the Sun Museum holding a collection of more than 300 suns from various countries. This collection started with a tiny sun in year 1999 and has grown to the largest collection of suns in Europe.
The Sun as the giver of light has been worshiped from the ancient times and still is today. In the Sun Museum in Riga you will be able to see the Sun as a clock, a wind chime, a bird feeder, a fountain. The Sun almost always has a face and the grimaces are very impressive.
In the basement of the museum there is a creative studio where individuals and groups are invited to paint the plaster suns themselves and have them as a gift from the museum. This sun you will be able to take home with you to always have good memories about this warm place!
Tags: collection of suns, Europe, Latvia, Riga, Sun, Sun museum
Hotel Bergs
Jul 29, 2009 Places
Hotel Bergs was nominated as one of the Top 10 boutique hotels worldwide by the UK’s issue Tatler’s Travel Guide 2005 and most recently it received the award Best Small Business Hotel in Eastern Europe by Business Destinations in its “Travel Awards 2008”.
Hotel Bergs, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is a five star hotel located in the business centre of Riga in a charming pedestrian oasis called Bergs Bazaar. What was once a cabbage patch on the outskirts of the city hundreds of years ago is now a beautiful 38-room boutique hotel with a 19th century brick facade and romantic balconies. The historical features of the building are complimented by contemporary architecture and modern technologies to create a coherent and harmonious universe. The soul of the hotel lies deeper, in its intimate and warm atmosphere among the old masters’ original works of the Bergs family portraits, wonderful old fireplaces, exotic dark wood carvings from Africa, distinctively designed spacious (40-80m2) apartments, handmade linen bedspreads and natural oak floors.
Hotel Bergs restaurant Bergs under the leadership of chef Kaspars Jansons is one of Riga’s leading gourmet restaurants well known for its fine cuisine, featuring a contemporary accomplishment of traditional Latvian cuisine fused with international accents and outstanding service.
