Riga

A trip to Riga, Latvia just before they joined the European Union.

A view over the Daugava river and a cable-stayed bridge, with a church spire in the foreground. The ornate red brick facade of the House of the Blackheads on a cobbled square.
Riga's rooftops seen from above, with the cathedral tower and the river beyond.
A rooftop view over the old town towards the radio tower and market halls.
A railway bridge crossing the Daugava, seen from above with the old town in the foreground. A heavy steel door on a brick wall, beside a memorial inscription in Latvian and English. A vintage grey saloon car parked on a cobbled street beside a pink building.
A large domed corner building with tiered balconies, seen from the street under grey sky.
A near-empty sandy beach with a blue bench and a calm sea beyond.
A yellow, orange and blue diesel train waiting at a station platform.
A bronze statue of a bishop holding a staff, set against a red brick church wall.
A bicycle with a wicker basket leaning against a lamp post wrapped in knitted yarn.
Three adjoining gabled townhouses in cream, white and pink on a narrow street.
A man walking away down a wide cobbled street lined with old buildings.
The Freedom Monument, a green copper figure holding three stars above a stone column.
Carved stone figures at the base of a monument against a clear sky.
A large mirrored sculpture of a female figure outside a red brick building.
The tiered stonework and dome of an orthodox cathedral against a deep blue sky.
A bronze statue of a man in a long coat holding a hat, in a snow-covered park.
A granite bust of a head with a swept-back fringe, on a pavement outside a building.
The Academy of Sciences tower rising above surrounding buildings on a grey winter day.
Vans and cars parked along a cobbled street lined with painted buildings.
A red enamel sign in Latvian fixed to a concrete hoarding, with a derelict building behind.