RO: Pai cand se hotaraste omu’ sa zboare in sfarsit cu L39 Albatros se aliniaza planetele in asa fel incat intreaga vacanta in Baltice sa fie numai si numai despre aviatie 🙂 Si daca tot am stat cazati pe-aproape de Academia Stiintelor (printre atata art-nouveau pe strazile letone, la fix vine si-un pic de arhitectura stalinista :D), de altfel copie fidela a Palatului Culturii si Stiintei din Varsovia sau a Casei Presei Libere din Bucuresti, parca ne-a apucat nostalgia ex-sovietica. Si pentru ca stim cu totii ca a treia oara-i cu noroc, abia acum (dupa alte doua vizite anterioare), am descoperit si noi marea cu sarea si am observat ca fix langa aeroportul din Riga exista un muzeu al aviatiei in aer liber. Ponosit, pe alocuri neingrijit, insa are in ograda tot ce vrei si ce nu vrei in materie de avioane de vanatoare din fosta flota aeriena sovietica. MiG-uri care mai de care (un sir intreg de MiG-uri aliniate unul langa altul, mai exact), Antonov-uri, Sukhoi-uri, tot ce iti pofteste inima. Insa oricat de impresionante ar fi si avioanele, si proiectilele, lansatoarele de rachete sau chiar si bombele (da, sunt toate expuse in aer liber :D), tot mastodontul de MI-6 e senzatia muzeului. Pai Pumele noastre par de jucarie pe langa magaoaia de MI-6 🙂 Mai dai si de vreo doua camioane sovietice, de vreun planor de cand lumea si pamantul ori de vreun asa-zis Fiat 500 vintage, care-i de fapt un ZAZ uncrainean de toata frumusetea – pe care numai inspectorul Gadget il poate aprecia la adevarata lui valoare 😀

EN: Oh well, when one is finally deciding to finally fly with the L39 Albatros airplane, all the planets align so that the entire trip to the Baltics to be only and only about aviation 🙂 And if our hotel was closed to the Academy of Science (through all that art-nouveau on the Latvian streets, it is just perfect to have some Stalinist architecture :D) – as a matter of fact a true copy of the Palace of Culture and Science from Warsaw or The House of The Free Press in Bucharest, we tend to become a bit nostalgic for the ex-Soviet era. And because we all know that third time’s a charm, we have just rediscovered the wheel and noticed (after two other prior visits) that right next to Riga airport there is an open air aviation museum. A bit shabby, here and there not so well maintained, but it has in its garden everything one can wish for in terms of fighter jets from the old Soviet air force. Old kinds of MiGs (an entire alley of them to be more precise), Antonov, Sukhoi, everything that one can imagine. But no matter how impressive the airplanes are, or the missiles, the rocket launchers or even the bombs (oh well, yes, they are all exposed in open air :D), nothing beats the MI-6 mastodon which seems to be the highlight of the museum. Well to be honest, our Pumas seem to be toys next to this giant 🙂 A couple of  Soviet trucks, an everlasting glider or a so called vintage Fiat 500 which is actually a beautiful Ukrainian ZAZ – which only inspector Gadget can take it for what it is worth 😀