Another extremely lazy day for me in Riga, at least at the beginning! I've managed to get onto some ridiculous night schedule, going to sleep at 5am and waking up at 4pm! Housekeeping at the hotel is probably ready to throw me off the balcony at this point. I was actually woken up by a very strange sound which I'd never heard before.. A stunt plane! To my wonder a stunt plane was flying around Riga and doing some very fancy maneuvers. Of course I was getting very nervous watching this display, as it looked quite dangerous.
Off to Old Town I traveled as always, catching my usual tram. Yes the trams were still packed full of people due to the Riga City Festival 2012, not to mention the two days of free transportation! Upon reaching Old Town I couldn't believe my eyes, as there were even MORE people out than yesterday! The entire road next to the river was packed with people, vendors, and a giant stage at the end. I walked through to take a look and the vendors were mostly serving up tasty looking kabobs and potatoes. What an interesting dish to serve up at a public event? I saw that one of the vendors was the popular restaurant, LIDO.
Like yesterday, restaurants and shops were so packed full of people that you could barely walk into them. I had to admit that the hoards of people were starting to annoy me. I simply preferred the peaceful Old Town, and this was a giant festival. Well I never was big on crowds. I searched around for a restaurant that wasn't full of people. This wasn't such an easy task. I finally discovered one pizza place that I had never been to yet: Čili Pica, or Chili Pizza as I believe it translates to.
Čili Pica was probably the most fascinating pizza place yet. I visited the location near the Freedom Monument, on the other side of the road. It had two floors, and LOTS of space for people to sit. Like most restaurants it was packed, but it just had so many damn tables that they weren't all filled. I liked how there was an outdoor terrace on both levels, as well as an indoor restaurant on both levels. I chose the lower level indoors, which was cooler and darker. The service was pretty slow since it was so busy, but I finally ordered chili and a 4-cheeses kind of pizza. The chili was pretty good, and came with garlic bread. The 4-cheeses pizza was also good, but I regretted not getting something with meat on it. For some reason I keep ordering Coke in Latvia, even though I rarely drink it at home. I guess I have to show that I'm American somehow! Finally, I ordered an interesting pitcher of water, with fruit flavoring. They actually put grapefruit into the pitcher, which gives the water some flavor.. Fascinating.
After lunch, it was time to meander around Old Town to see what was going on with the festival on Sunday. The day was pretty hot, so I'm glad I wasn't out earlier when the sun was beating down. The street performers were really active again today. One man rode around on a 10-foot high bicycle. A group of trick bicyclists had a massive crowd watching their daredevil maneuvers near the Freedom Monument. Finally, my favorite street performer, Opera Singing Man, was doing his act near the busy McDonalds. I still feel that he has been the most talented and appropriate street performer around. I wonder what the Latvians think?
It is always hilarious to me, watching the other tourists. It seems that they are entertained by anything a street performer does. They only ignore the old beggars who put minimal effort into acts, such as an old lady simply banging a tambourine, or another old lady singing in a harsh voice. However, if it's a young street performer the tourists just gobble the act right up! On a day like today you could probably run in a circle and have a crowd watching you..
At about 9pm I was getting restless and wanted to head back to my hotel. The night crowd was starting to come out, and I didn't really feel like getting walked into by every rowdy stag party in the Old Town. However, I was compelled to stick around for some reason. Lucky for me, because I got to see the fireworks!
I started noticing that people were all heading towards Town Hall Square and beyond, to the bridge on the river. I suddenly remembered that fireworks would end the Riga City Festival at around 11pm! I followed the crowd and found an excellent vantage point in the middle of the bridge. I wasn't sure what kind of fireworks show to expect in Latvia, but it ended up being excellent. The choreography was very good, the length was pretty long, and the finale very impressive. The entire sky lit up. I really liked how they shot the fireworks off from both sides of the bridge, and even from boats on the bridge! This made for a panoramic fireworks show which extended all the way across the river.
After the fireworks ended the public gave a nice round of applause, and suddenly the entire city turned into a giant pedestrian walkway. It was past 11pm and thousands of people walked towards tram stations or home. I decided to walk all the way to the hotel. The trams and buses were absolutely loaded with people, to the point where their faces were plastered onto the glass! I wasn't eager to experience this, so instead I happily walked 2km back to the hotel. Well at least I'm getting my exercise here!
I'm happy that I was able to experience Riga City Festival 2012 during my trip here. The city put on quite a show, and it seems that the turnout was excellent. Although I prefer Old Town during the quieter times, the festival was still a sight to see.
