Riga, Part II (b)

We found a great bar on Saturday night. It was called "Gauja" (we looked it up later, and it turns out to be both a national park and the name of a 1961 Latvian-made transistor radio). The place was the size of someone's living room, and was done up just like a Soviet-era, um, living room. The interior design was quite excellent, and the place was very lively -- patrons jumped in and out to the street for smokes, a dog and his walker stopped in for some scratches, the bar-counter doubled as a pillow/face-rest for a weary drinker, there was raucous group singing. Here are some short videos of the place (pardon the sound -- this is the first time loading up vids -- not sure why the voices are out of sync).



"What is the man at the bar doing?"
"Napping."



Gauja looked to be shutting down, so we ambled down the street to "Saksofons," which promised live music. It delivered on the live part, the music (Beatles) was a touch sour (frighteningly out of tune). This might have been a fan who'd asked to sing along with the band for a couple of late-night numbers. I have seen no bartendress as surly and scowly. Things were silly, as they tend to be when things are shutting down for the night. A 5-star Latvian evening.