Riga Stencils, Part 1

Hendrix in Riga

Tried to get out today to take more pictures of Riga in summertime, but it was a cloudy day and so this is what I came up with instead--photos of stencils in front of what was the Soviet era playhouse for experimental and modern plays.

I have been to Riga twice before, but both times were in winter. Late summer--as it is nearly the beginning of Fall here--provides a bit less cloud coverage and more sun, but its hit or miss. Soon a dark, grey mass of clouds will be descending upon this beleagured nation (weatherwise) and the round disk of the sun will be disappearing for not days, not weeks, but months, destined to make but only very occassional appearances now and again during the long--very long--winter. And I am writing this as someone from Minnesota and who absolutely loves the winter! My first trip to Riga was in January of 2002, and for the three weeks that I was here at that time, I never laid eyes on the round disk of the sun, burried behind grey clouds as it was. You could only make out the shape of the sun behind the clouds. Things get to be like that in Minnesota, but we also will get clear-skied days with bright, bright sunshine--even if such days are usually the bitterly cold ones.

But there still is charm here, even in winter: like a glass of hot, black currant juice with a hearty shot of Latvia's most mysterious liqueur, the Black Balsams (Latvijas Melnais Balsams). . .