Today, in search of the perfect cafe', we walked in the Quiet Center of Riga -- a neighborhood with a nice concentration of spectacular Art Nouveau buildings, including some designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, father of Sergei (of Battleship Potemkin fame.) There are some really beautiful decorations around the doorways, windows, and along the rooflines. This building is on Alberta iela (street) and is by Eisenstein:
This one is across the way on Alberta iela, also by Eisenstein:
And then another one by Eisenstein around the corner on Strelnieku iela, which now houses the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga:
And finally we found a promising cafe', Sienna, right across the way. It's very cozy -- decorated with furniture from the Art Nouveau period -- and looks just like a cafe should look, with sofas, chandeliers, and lots of books and magazines spread all around. Coffee and tea are served in beautiful porcelain cups, and the desserts are from one of the top restaurants in Riga, Vincents. We liked it, and we wished we could order more than just dessert (we are on the hunt for the perfect sandwich in Riga, but haven't found it yet... must keep looking....)
Down the street from the Sienna Cafe, at the corner of Alberta and Strelnieku, is the very cool Riga Art Nouveau Museum, housed in the apartment of the architect Konstantin Peksens, who designed the building. The outside of the building is nice:
But nothing beats the interior stairwell:
Bella questa sezione Art Noveau! (se ricordi, in Italia, per motivi che ora non ricordo, non si usa la definizione Art Noveau ma 'Liberty').
ReplyDeleterecentemente ho visto un lavoro simile fatto da Lello, in giro per Napoli con il suo iPhone. Che strana coincidenza, senza parlarvi...
a presto, baci, Maurizio.