Riga Arts

Yesterday (Wednesday) was arts day. We visited the Museum of Applied Decorative Arts, in the oldest stone building in Riga. Most of the items displayed were from the 1930s and 1940s and then from the 1970s and later, which may reflect what was going on politically. Sue gravitated toward the weavings; Mike especially liked the glass and furniture.

In the evening, we went to a concert in the Smaller Guild Hall, part of a Mozart festival. We heard two trios and a sonata. The pianist-leader looked at the small audience, said that it appeared we were all foreigners so he would make his remarks in English. It's true that we were probably all foreigners, but most of us were German-speaking. But, as we've discovered, English is the language of tourism.

We've seen very few Americans on this trip, a lot of Brits and many Germans.