Yellow fields of canola, my amber necklace sings in unison
memories of Vilnius pink beetroot soup with yellow spuds sinking like lead into thick liquid
roasted white carp decorating a nest of mashed pommes de terre
we're cruising over the border to Riga flat and neat like Nederlands
wetter than verdant Kiev
Latvia livid with Jew-hate and cold fear
I have no expectations
Jewish cemetery desecrated by Nazis and Soviets
160 Jews remained in 1945
There are 6,000 Jews today
Before WW2 there were 40,000 Jews in Riga; 95,000 in Latvia
77,000 Latvian Jews killed by the Nazis
Am sitting in an outdoor cafe sheltered by the pouring rain under a pergola, a brown velour blanket around my shoulders. I'm in Riga at 10 pm about to have dinner. My order of grilled salmon with fresh vegetables is going to cost me 7.9 lates, $20AUD. People are sitting outside in the rain. It's fabulous! Just my sort of weather.
Am surrounded by the most gorgeous art nouveau buildings with intricate sinuous decorations: flowers, leaves, women's faces. How the Bauhaus got it wrong with its eradication, 'cleansing' of ornamentation, images of nature and curvacious femininity in favour of hard clean lines and sterility. See below this is the home of Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) of Battleship Potemkin (1925) fame.
Bikernieki memorial site of massacre
Simon Dubnov, writer of The History of the Jews in Poland and Russia, lived in the most beautiful suburb of Riga where the Consulates and wealthy families are. We pass by his house. He was murdered by the Nazis.
A typical home in Dubnov's suburb
Restored Riga Synagogue in Egyptian style
Fred chats to our humorous guide 200 families belong to the congregation.
We lunch at the Synagogue which houses the only kosher restaurant in the Baltics.
Old town Riga
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