So I decided instead to have an authentic Russian meal down at a Uncle Vanya. I ordered three meat dumplings with sour cream, solyanka with sour cream, and beef stroganoff with sour cream (I'm seeing a pattern here I think). To drink, fresh squeezed orange juice and homemade kvass. Kvass is a lightly fermented soft drink made from rye bread that is dried out and tossed into water with sugar and yeast. It ferments to less than 1% alcohol (just enough to malt some of the starches and provide a fizz). As a compliment for the chef, they sent out a beef and goose liver pate in a sealed mason jar. She said it was smoked but I didn't really understand what she meant until I opened the jar up and seen it was filled with smoke. So sorry to be THAT GUY, but I'm going to have to post food pics. The meal was really that good.
Kvass, OJ, and some smoking pate. The only thing without sour cream.
Three meat dumplings.
My new favorite soup, soylanka (wait... what's that white stuff?)
Beef stroganoff with pickles and potato pancakes. Sour cream off to the side.
That was likely the tastiest meal I've had on the trip.The kvass was delicious, though the bottled version I had earlier this week wasn't all that good.
Kvass recycling at Uncle Vanya's.
Next stop was a stroll past the old Swedish gate, the oldest gate in the battlements still around from the war with the Swedes (Craig, this is all your fault - you know this, right?). Then down the lazy and picturesque cobblestone alleys to the Latvian National Museum - which was temporarily closed for repair. Meh.
That's ok. They Riga Museum detailing the city's history was still open. It was a pretty cool museum. Riga was always a trading town on the Baltic and as such, was fought over by the Swedes, Germans, and Russians since the 1300s. The Germans especially left their mark in that they established numerous guilds in Riga. The town used to be mainly concerned with the goods themselves but this changed over time. During which, there was always an internal struggle between the church and the town, the guilds and the town, or the occupying nation and the town. The Latvians have always wanted independence, but had the bad luck of having a city on the Baltic and a major river.
The guilds were always one upping each other in Riga and their most prized possession was generally their guild goblet that signified what they did.
That's ok. They Riga Museum detailing the city's history was still open. It was a pretty cool museum. Riga was always a trading town on the Baltic and as such, was fought over by the Swedes, Germans, and Russians since the 1300s. The Germans especially left their mark in that they established numerous guilds in Riga. The town used to be mainly concerned with the goods themselves but this changed over time. During which, there was always an internal struggle between the church and the town, the guilds and the town, or the occupying nation and the town. The Latvians have always wanted independence, but had the bad luck of having a city on the Baltic and a major river.
The guilds were always one upping each other in Riga and their most prized possession was generally their guild goblet that signified what they did.
Roofing, pottery, and shoemaker goblets.
One of the things that Riga did that was clever was they made a series of mechanical drummers that they could activate to warn the town of approaching danger (which, considering how often Riga changed hands, was constant).
The Ron Jeremy marching band.
Now with MOAR STEAMPUNK!
The museum was interesting and shown a very distinct and proud heritage behind the city of Riga. Many skilled craftsmen converged there with access to materials from both the eats and west.
When I had first headed out in the morning, the sky was clear with the sun shining down and warmth in the air. When I left the museum, the wind had picked up and it was chilly enough that I headed back to the hotel (not that far away - Riga is all of a 20 minute walk to get from one end to the other of Old Town). When I got there, Uncle Vanya's meal caught up to me and rather then head out to the Art Nouveau Museum - decided to take a quick nap. And woke up at 5pm. Oh well, I can do it some other time. If not, no biggie. Its a vacation because you can do what you want, right?
So I ended up reading for a couple hours, then heading over to the mall to get some milk and a bite to take away. I ended up hitting a Mongolian Grill type place where you pile noodles and what have you in a bowl, which they cook up for you. Cheap, but healthy good eats.
So all this is left is to drift away to la la land and awake to head over to Jurmala. But I think I must leave you with this:
So I ended up reading for a couple hours, then heading over to the mall to get some milk and a bite to take away. I ended up hitting a Mongolian Grill type place where you pile noodles and what have you in a bowl, which they cook up for you. Cheap, but healthy good eats.
So all this is left is to drift away to la la land and awake to head over to Jurmala. But I think I must leave you with this:
How can you not love a city that is infatuated with black cats?
ROCKABILLY HOUSE CATS! HELLZ YEAH! And Ron Jeremy's Marching Band. How can you NOT love that city? (Looks gorgeous, btw.) Do sour cows produce all that sour cream? Heh, I guess Uncle Vanya is a restaurant--never mind the Chekhov play!
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