So we started to explore the city by the freedom tower and after a few pictures, Mom discovered that the SDcard wasn't in the camera (still sitting in the PC) so the pictures she had taken was stored in the cameras internal memory and that was now full. Ok no big deal, we just buy a new card and continue on. Now she can't find the first pictures so she "stole" the following 2 photos from the net. Can't find who the photographer was so she can't give credit.

The Freedom Monument is a memorial located in Riga, Latvia, honoring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence. It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia.

Latvia is a sovereign state in between Estonia and Lithuania and to the east is Russia.

The Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of world war I, however, by the 1930s, the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 which formed the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.

The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the "Stalinist" regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence on May 4, 1990

Latvia is a democratic republic and a very highly developed country. People seem educated and happy We haven't seen so many smiling people in a long time..............maybe it has something to do with their ongoing festival with so many street performers and people in traditional costumes dancing.

This MUST be the cutest kid we ever have seen said Mom, 

The house of the Blackheads is a building situated in the old town. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads a guild for unmarried merchants, shipowners, and foreigners in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornamentations. 

The building was bombed to a ruin by the Germans on June 28, 1941 and the remains were demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999

We truly enjoyed the atmosphere of Riga, it felt very different from other big cities we visited..............

Street vendors selling their goods and it was a little more than the typical tourist souvenir stuff, Lots of knitted homemade good quality stuff.

I'm wondering if this is lady works as a scarecrow on her regular job...........Naah says Mom she looks too happy to have a job, she must be retired......

Soccer game Sweden England is on every big screen in every bar, and it seems like most are cheering for England, and maybe that's why Sweden lost and are now out of the game .............

time to take a break have a beer and people watch for a while...........

No picture can make this monument justice, it was sparkling in the sun and the wind made it all move slowly sending sun cats everywhere. Guess it could be really annoying if it hits you directly in the eye though.

We noticed a lot of ceramic cats was sold in every souvenir stand, so Mom asked what that was all about? and the story goes

Getting into the Great Guild in Latvia in the 14th century, was an incredibly huge honor. Similarly, getting snubbed from the Great Guild was a gigantic insult.

One Riga local was so offended that he attached a black cat on top of his building so it would cast its evil glare upon the Guild for as long as the building would stand.

With an arched back, the Black Cat of Riga seems ready to strike and clearly states the man’s displeasure at not getting admitted to the Guild. Obviously, the members of the guild hated the sculpture, and a fight between the man and the guild raged for months to come. Although an agreement was reached and the statue turned around, the Black Cat still sits on its perch in Old Town Riga.

Of course, now we set out to find the cat, so we were walking around looking up like the real tourists..............

Nope, that's not it, that's a wolf................different story?

we come around a corner and "There it is!" Mom happily declared in a loud voice and pointed at it. People looking at her wondering who she's talking to...................haha I'm used to Moms craziness so I wasn't surprised

across the street was indeed a guild, so maybe it is true story? and not just a legend  

MOm thinks this guy in the robe must be a famous boxer or a king or something..............so glad he was walking so fast Mom never got a chance to ask him about it..........

Pretty sure there's a story behind this statue too.........sure is Mom says. It's a well-known children's story.................

Once upon a time, there was a man who owned a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster............... The"Town Musicians of Bremen"  is a popular fairy tale retrieved and recorded by the Grimms Brothers. It was first published in 1819. It tells the story of four aging domestic animals, who after a lifetime of hard work are neglected and mistreated by their former masters. Eventually, they decide to run away and become town musicians in the city of Bremen. Contrary to the story's title the characters never arrive in Bremen, as they succeed in tricking and scaring off a band of robbers, capturing their spoils, and moving into their house. 

Riga is a wonderful city to stroll around in, much different from the previous cities we have visited. The river Daugava runs through and we saw many people rowing boats, kind of like a romantic thing like the Venice gondolas. Pictures from the park are in the memory of the camera...................darn it. I could have done without the cobblestone streets though.............the wheels on my ride are very small and often get stuck in the cracks so my ride is quite bumpy. There's no room for napping until we stand still. Mom says I'm not supposed to nap, I should take in all the gorgeous sights............I am I am but I just do it so much quicker ....

Here's a future hard rock guitar player ..................cute but he made some miserable noise according to Mom but that's the music for the young crowd I try to tell her..............she'll never change her opinion on that, still noise to her

finally time to go back to Lucy and rest for the night.

It's now 9.30 am on Sunday, and it's time to get Lucy ready for another drive, this time maybe we'll make it to yet another country, and the city of Tallinn. That's almost 109 miles from here, so there's room for a lot of changes if I know Mom .....................which I do real well.

see ya later alligator