Frankfurt Museums

There's an awesome 2-day Museum Ticket in Frankfurt for 18 euro or 28 euro for a family. It's much better value than the widely advertised Frankfurt Card. I saw info on the Museum Ticket online but didn't see brochures or advertising for it like the Frankfurt Card. Frankfurt Card provides free transit and only half off at the museums, but that really adds up if you enjoy museums like we do.

This post is about all of the museums we visited except for one, which will be a post by itself. Some of the good museums are in a row along the river and across the street from this wonderful walk under interesting trees. We walked to the furthest museum to work our way back to the pedestrian Iron Bridge (Eiserner Steg).

Frankfurt Germany

A 4 day weekend while assigned in Europe usually means visiting another country. For example, Frankfurt Germany is just a 2 hour direct flight away. There was also a Marillion concert there, which is one of my favorite bands. We arrived around sunset so the pictures start with some night shots. We stayed near Hauptwache S-bahn station for easy transit from the airport and to be near everything we wanted to see.

The Christmas markets started on Monday after we left, so we saw the setup throughout this area. It looks like it'd be a cool experience but it's also probably really crowded, so I have mixed feelings about missing it. There's Christmas markets in Riga so we can get our fill of them at home.

We discovered an awesome 2-day Museum Ticket for 18 euro or 28 euro for a family, which is much better value than the widely advertised Frankfurt Card. I saw info on the Museum Ticket online but didn't see brochures or advertising for it like the Frankfurt Card. Frankfurt Card provides free transit and half off at the museums but paying half really adds up if you enjoy museums. The museums will probably be another blog post so I'll start with the Frankfurt pics here and see how it goes.

Latvia 100 Celebration Fireworks

Latvia celebrated their centenary or 100 years since the Republic of Latvia was established. The day was filled with concerts and parades. It ended with a massive fireworks and light show on the river. It looked like all of Riga was on the riverfront.

Staro Rīga

More than 40 objects are on display at the Light Festival Staro Rīga 2018 this weekend. It's spread out over all of the city so here's just some we were able to get to and enjoy last night. The festival is is a part of Latvia’s Centenary celebration of 100 years since the founding of the Republic of Latvia.

Lāčplēsis Day

November 11 is Veterans Day in the U.S. honoring all military veterans. It's sometimes confused with Memorial Day which is to remember people who died while serving in the armed forces. Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day commemorating the armistice ending WWI and is still observed in many allied countries. November 11 is also Remembrance Day or Poppy Day in British Commonwealth nations to remember armed forces members who died in the line of duty similar to the the U.S. Memorial Day.

November 11 is Lāčplēsis Day in Latvia as a memorial day for soldiers who fought for the independence of Latvia. This day marks the victory over the West Russian Volunteer Army at the Battle of Riga in 1919 during the Latvian War of Independence. A popular Lāčplēsis Day tradition is placing candles on and by the wall of Riga Castle. These are pictures of that event and the gathering at the Freedom Monument.

Riga Apartment

Here's a look at our furnished apartment in Riga. There's 2 bedrooms, an office, and 2 bathrooms. It compares very well with what was provided in Caracas and Stockholm.

It feels a bit roomier than Caracas with the really high ceilings and huge master bedroom suite even though it might be roughly the same size. The dining room is bigger and living room is smaller, so I think the rooms are distributed better in this layout. There's a better overall feel of space and it felt comfortable to me rather quickly.

I hear Stockholm is a furnished post now, so the handful of posts that don't provide furniture is that much rarer. We have to keep all of this furniture other than being allowed to swap out the master queen bed for our own. I already hate this mattress so it'll be good to eventually get our stuff.

Unfortunately the bulk of our household effects (HHE) is still in Miami and won't be available here until the middle of next month.  It'll feel more homey once we get our own decorations on the walls and shelves. Otherwise, we're home now (for the next 3 years)!

Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is one of the oldest outdoor museums in Europe and first opened in 1924. It's a bit like Skansen in Stockholm. It's full of building recreations from the 17th to 20th century. They have live demonstrations by folk artisans during the summer but it's definitely not summer now.

It was quiet and mostly closed this time of year, but the price was really cheap to go and check it out. It's just 4 euros for a family ticket during the off season. I see that's about half price, so it isn't expensive any time of the year. It's still fun to time travel in a place like this and I'm sure it's even more interesting when everything's open.

It's accessible from old town Riga on bus 1. That shouldn't be confused with the tram of the same "name" since tram 1 tracks end one stop short of the museum on the other side of the lake. Who gives the same line number to related types of public transit lines? Well, apparently Riga does.

The place is huge since we only saw a quarter of it. I can see a big part of the charm is the natural environment and walking through the trees by the lake. Nature never closes. It just needs us to pay attention to it as we move about. There's always some beauty to be found any time of the year and any weather.