Fred's Logbook

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Date / Time: 2011-09-03 19:54:01Voyage from: to ETA:
Fred's foster-parent:
Name:MS National Geographic Explorer Crew
Profession:Seamen
Nationality:various
Fred's vessel:
Vesselname:MS National Geographic Explorer
Callsign:C6WR2
Flag: Bahamas
IMO No.:8019356
Vesseltype:Expedition Passenger Ship
Length:112 m
Beam:16,5 m
Fred-Report:

Riga, Latvias capital, is not only the largest city of Latvia, but of all the Baltic States.
The Livs, an ancient Finnic tribe, found a sheltered natural harbor only 9,3 nm up the Daugava River. They settled at the site of today’s Riga in the second century. During the early middle age Riga developed to a center of the Viking trade. By the 12th Riga had long been a trading center.
Riga’s historical center is particularly notable for its extensive Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture. UNESCO considers it unique in the whole world and declared Rigas historic center a World Heritage Site.
Captain Oliver Krüß and Esther took me for a walk around Riga today. I was impressed by the beautiful houses lining up along the cobblestone roads.











We found a nice open-air restaurant on one of the market places, where we enjoyed a light lunch and a beer before exploring the side streets a bit more.








Esther was surprised to find something reminding her of home: we stumbled across a modern version of the Bremen Town Musicians.



Back on board our agent told us that Bremen is a twin town of Riga.


Photos

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