When It Rains In Riga

After a late night (for us) on Wednesday, we got a later start than usual this morning with the Museum of Occupation of Latvia. This was another splendid, in-depth presentation of the depredations of the Soviets thenthe Nazis and the the Soviets again between 1940 and 1994, and the resistance and resilience of the Latvian people.
We learned that GULAG is an acronym (you can look it up) and aside from the Nazis, the Russkies had two massive deportations -- one in June 1941, and the 2nd in 1944-49. These victims, those who survived, did not return until after Stalin died o/a 1956.
To help children understand the history, they used a teddy bear named "Mika" to undergo some of the same trauma as adults. Although I am not a child, it appeared to be a effective tool.
We gave it 3.5 hours and could not have finished a minute earlier.
We exited the museum to a brief 20 minute shower (which we enjoyed back under cover of the museum's awning) and decided to take the #11 tram up to the Leima Chocolate Factory and back. Always fun riding city trams.
Upon a alighting, we reviewed our to-do list and concluded that it was past 1500 and that a beautiful, sunny afternoon like today deserved a pleasant glass of wine al fresco. And after wandering a bit in the Old Town, we did just that.
We were seated just 25 minutes when began a light rain. We we pleased that we had elected to be under an awning. The sprinkle turned into a 30-min monsoonal downpour replete with booming thunder and lightning. ⛈️ Folks rushed in to take cover including two cyclists (who stayed for lunch) and a Uber eats bike delivery guy. We had no problem ordering more wine to wait out the storm!Read more