Riga Art Nouveau architecture

 Since I would take 3 pm bus to Kaunas, Lithuania, I pre-arranged a free backpack storage at Old Town Hostel, so I could check out my hotel, take the RIGA ART NOUVEAU FREE TOUR (fitting my time gap perfectly), and then pick up my backpack to jump up the bus at the center bus station directly. I had time to tour around my hotel before the walking tour. 

The tour guide was 10-min late due to heavy rain, but I waited it out anyway, since I had nothing else better to do. Riga is home to one of Europe's largest collections of Art Nouveau architecture. The guide selected ~ 12 buildings to focus on the period of the early 1900s, leading up to the end of the Russian Empire, to see art styles and trends of the early 20th Century over Alberta iela and Elizabetes iela, as well as streets and areas less visited and frequently missed by visitors. “The Art Nouveau architecture of Riga can be further divided into four different stages: Eclectic, Perpendicular, National Romantic; and Neo-Classical.  Some of the decorative details for these buildings, such as sculptures, stained glass and majolica stoves, were made locally by companies in Riga. Local decorative arts companies produced items for both their regional market and the Russian Empire, reaching destinations such as Tallinn and Saint Petersburg.” A guide in another tour mentioned that Riga was used to shoot movies of west European backgrounds for its architecture (such as Sherlock Holmes series), since most east Europeans never visited west European countries and didn’t know the differences. 

My 4-hr bus into Kaunas was smoothly with good Wi-Fi so I slept a little and watched some YouTube. After checking in the hostel, I got materials from a supermarket to cook dinner.