The organ concert was literally around the corner from the back entrance of the Christmas market so I decided to skip another long walk to buy Latvian caviar (?) with my tour and headed over to the market early.
The Riga market was maybe 50% bigger than Vilnius but it was a good mix of hot food and adult drink stalls I was hoping for plus a few surprises. Evidentally Santa’s elves are on kitchen duty and man open air bbq pits.
A peek inside is not for the faint of heart as each caldron includes a whole pig’s head as well as blood sausage and other delights. You can see the snout poking out of the closer cauldron, next to the potatoes.
After almost three hours of walking tour, I needed to sit down, so I chose the slightly more expensive smoke hut vs eating outside.
It was surprisingly cute and cozy on the inside.
I decided to pay homage to my Dad and have blood sausage and sauerkraut, which is what he would have picked. Unfortunately since this isn’t Germany, no mustard was on offer. The little cookies were very close to Alfajores but had nuts in the dough and the dulce de leche wasn’t quite as carmelly.
Now that I’d warmed up and my belly was full, I could enjoy the little huts scattered around the fair. Some I expected, like this gingerbread hut that also served Glugwein.
Many international liquors, such as Baileys and Fireball, had their own huts, including this one for Jaeger right next to the Christmas tree.
Some were grossly overpriced, like this ice cup hut that served cherry wine with a side of dry ice for effect for EIGHTEEN Euro! If you time it right, he will let you drill your own ice cup.
Some huts may have gotten a little lost in translation for the English-speaking tourists.
There were some beautiful wooden votive candle holders that would have been impossible to lug home, as well as a great selection of hand knit colorwork mittens and colorwork-ish (obviously mass produced and acrylic) sleep socks.
The snowglobes kind of sparkled but not to the level I’m used to.
But at least the market wasn’t crowded and the prices seemed reasonable for the quality of items on offer.
I left through the entrance and was back in my hotel a couple of hours later.
