No longer.  Riga has undergone a face lift in the last decade.  Today’s Riga stands in stark contrast to those early days as it shows off the range of its reconstructed and eclectic architectural stock. During our last visit in 2008, we were struck not only by the polished and colorful buildings in Riga’s downtown, but more importantly by the city’s architectural diversity.

As you make your way around the panorama below (taken in Riga’s Town Hall Square, or Rātslaukums), you’ll notice hints of the city’s Northern European architectural smorgasbord:  a little bit Modern, a little bit Gothic, a bit of Copenhagen here, a bit of Stockholm there.

The dominant, colorful building in the panorama — The House of the Blackheads – was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in the mid-1990s. Perhaps appropriately, the blocky cement building — a throwback to the Soviet era — is now the Museum of Occupation.

So many layers, so much history.

Panorama: Riga’s Town Hall Square

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 4 comments

Now, a virtual show of hands: who knows where the Baltics are?

A Place of Dreams
Not so long ago, the Baltic republics were the stuff of dreams for citizens of the former Soviet Union. A quote from Zhanar, a woman who grew up in the former Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, tells it best:

Today, the Baltics are open to everyone.

Our Recent Return
Our visit to the region this autumn offered us another fresh look while unleashing memories from the deep store of ten years hence. In those salad days, Audrey lived and worked in Estonia on a 27-month stint in the Peace Corps. Dan planted his first European footstep on the airport tarmac in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, and quickly acquainted himself with tales of the Singing Revolution while traveling along the Via Baltica aboard wheezing Soviet relics.

With all this in mind, we offer our visual slice – a little bit then, a little more now – of the Baltics. Enjoy our photo collections from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The winding, cobblestone streets of Tallinn hearken back to the medieval days of the Teutonic Knights and the Hanseatic League. Tallinn’s well-preserved city wall and towers hint at the city’s persistent need to protect itself from invaders over the centuries.

Women dressed in period costumes outside old town restaurants like Olde Hansa take this medieval charm to the edge, but draw one step back. Like any city that makes good on peddling its history, the trick is to get lost and create your own story from the cobblestones and ramparts. Along the way, you’ll discover a café or gallery worth a taste; perhaps you’ll sense that Tallinn is Scandinavian in its trajectory and uniquely Baltic in its charm.

Outside the old town, you’ll find tiny wooden churches and turn-of-the century buildings competing for space with shiny glass skyscrapers. This is modern Tallinn, the birthplace of Skype and home to free wifi internet.

Explore the Estonian Countryside
Estonia is small, making it easy to sample bits of its culture across the country, even during a short visit.

Take in the laid-back, yet spirited, university town of Tartu or experience island life on Saaremaa. Luxuriate in spa treatments and mud baths in Haapsalu or take a dip in the Baltic Sea at Pärnu. For something more green, consider a hike in Lahemaa (and a dip in the Gulf of Finland) or take a taste of typical Estonian small-town life in a village like Märjamaa (where Audrey lived for two years).

More photos from Estonia.

The dark, depressing streets we recall from our early visits to Riga have been replaced by renovated lanes lined with refurbished churches, restored medieval buildings and hip restaurants and cafes. Although some of the restorations appear a bit heavy-handed, Riga seems to have come a long way in the last decade.

Riga’s architecture serves up hints of its former glory as an important commercial center and influential Baltic seaport. If you look closely enough, you’ll find a sea of architectural styles from medieval Gothic to Art Nouveau and note architectural cues from neighbors like Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam.

And while it’s easy to get stuck in Riga’s old town center, venture out to discover the architectural melange in the surrounding neighborhoods.

More photos from Riga, Latvia.

During his first visit in January 1999, Dan fell in love with Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. Even in the dead of winter, the charming dilapidation of its old town evinced a certain warmth – at the time, a perfect match for black and white photography. These days, Vilnius’ perfectly painted churches and colorful streets are suited just as well for color photography.

Regardless of what you shoot, be sure to peek into the city’s numerous courtyards, for you may just discover Vilnius’ real character in the form of an unrenovated medieval horse stable or a bust of Tony Soprano.

Explore Lithuania
Make your own postcard at the picture-perfect castle in the village of Trakai near Vilnius. Grab a bike and pedal down the Curonian Spit, checking out the sand dunes and friendly wild boars. On the shore, soak up summer beach and jazz festivals in Klaipeda, before heading back inland to get to know the mafia and the Holocaust history of Ninth Fort in Kaunas.

See more photos from Vilnius and the rest of Lithuania.

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 9 comments