May 12
Riga
At 800,000 Riga is the biggest city in the Baltic. That should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Baltic history—but come to think of it, that’s not many people. Founded in 1201 as part of the crusades against pagans, Riga has had a long history of being important. At one time, in fact, it was the third largest city in Russia. Like its neighbor to the North (Estonia), and its neighbor to the South, the tribes in Lithuania have been part of the great game of Empire in this part of the world. Started by the German Order of the Sword, the 3 regions that constitute Lithuania spent some time as a power itself, were part of Poland, Sweden (we’re told those were the “good old days” under Charles XII), then conquered by the Russians, divorced themselves in a bloody war (1918-1920) with a lot of foreign help, independent 1920-1939, then forced to accept Russian troops and a Russian-oriented government in 1939-41 (again, part of that Great Patriotic War not celebrated here, and not really mentioned in Russia, either), conquered by the Germans until 1945, then under Soviet rule again, with major integration into the Soviet Union (collectivization of the farms, closing of most churches, deportation of the former intelligentsia), then independence since 1991. It is said that one of the church bells here had a prayer: Dear God, protect us from plague, floods, and Russians.
Sascha and I toured a few museums during our free afternoon and learned a little more about the city, particularly the recent period. Between the Russians and the Germans, about a third of Lithuanians died or were deported. I believe about 700,000 Russians were resettled here (the German plan was only 160, 000), constituting a major ethnic minority in the country (many left after 1991). One of the exhibits in a square in the old town (a square made possible by WWII bombings) was on the recently celebrated independence day (May 4, 1991); there’s another in November commemorating the independence in 1918. What it (and the museum) made clear was how bravely the Soviet bloc members were in 1991 in breaking from Russia. And how much has changed since then—at a minimum, the churches were given back to the Churches (most had been turned into museums, many destroyed under Communism). The Russians 
we met dated the “fall” to Afghanistan, which is eery. Many of the historical monuments we saw that commemorate the history of Lithuania pre-communism were rebuilt (and some Soviet period items were removed—no more Lenin/Stalin), such as the Town Hall and the Blackface Hall (an elaborate, I’d almost say Rococo) building where the single merchants from the Hanseatic League played and worked.
There’re two main tourist areas of Riga, and we saw both. The city has 
several hundred wonderful Art Nouveau buildings. Many of them now house embassies or are ambassadorial residences, which they should be. One of the nicest, a pink building with strong vertical lines, and faces and flowers on the façade, is now the Russian embassy.
The other attractive area is—ho hum—yet another cute old town, with buildings from the 14th century down to the Stalinist period, but with many narrow crooked streets and cobblestones to remind you to pay attention to where you’re stepping as much as to looking up. Several of us took the tram (the eastern bloc has narrow streetcars) from our hotel into the old area last night to wander around (it’s light until after 10). We wound up in the Rosengels Medieval Restaurant and Tavern, drawn partly by a costumed doorman (medieval costume of course) with a broad axe. The inside consisted of vaulted ceilings lit by candles. The menu (for us, anyway) consisted of a local liqueur, “balsam,” which is 45% alcohol, and reputedly evaporates if 
you don’t drink it quickly. Today, we spent the morning with a guided tour of the old town, and were left there. One feature which I enjoyed was a noontime organ concert in St. Peter’ s which has an organ that at one time was the largest in the world. Now I believe it’s the largest in Europe (or at least in Riga!).
We had the afternoon to catch up on laundry, visit museums, or sleep. Two students have birthdays today, and I suspect they will be celebrating in the old city. And tomorrow, it’s on to Vilnius, now the capital of Lithuania (but from a map I saw today, was in the Soviet Union, not Poland, between the two World Wars).