Latvia aka: Latvija

If you like pancakes and are on a budget, try Sefpavars Vilhelms!

Was Christmas 2006. Every one of the locals(ok, I admit I saw ONE guy who looked Turkish or something) is white and, funny enough, that’s a bit disconcerting for me. I’m from Boston and I’m used to diversity. None o’ that here.

The opera house and the theater in Riga were amazing! The shows were quite well done and entertaining. The architecture and the building were just heads-and-tails above anything we have in the US.

Oh, and a tip for all you American tourists… DRESS UP for the theater. It makes the experience all that much more genuine. I brought a blazer and slacks and I felt really under dressed. Next time will be a suit. =)

I also visited Jurmala, a quaint little seacoast city. I walked up and down the beach on the Baltic seacoast and through the city center. It’s a city that really hasn’t awakened yet… but it seems to have the potential to spark into an exciting place.

Next time I go (Christmas 2007) I plan on trying to get to some of the other places in the country. =)

-josh

I spent time in Riga and Jurmula. The people are wonderful, the city of Riga is great. Loved it. I went in January and it was incredibly cold. I would love to go back in the summer and spend time in Jurmula near the baltic sea.

We went to Liga and the reason for it was to get drunk cheap….

It had really nice bars (The Skyline Bar was excellent!)

It also has alot of places for sightseeing although outside riga seemed abit deserted…

The view seemed nice for just a while….

Spent a few days in Riga. There were parts of Riga I liked and some I didn’t care for, but it’s an up and coming city, and the people are fantastic. I remember watching “Biosphere” in my hotel room. It was dubbed in Russian with Latvian subtitles, but the English still came through in the background. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed that Pauly Shore was being exported into Eastern Europe. Haven’t these people been through enough, what with communism and all?

I spent nearly 2 weeks in Rezekne, near the Russian border. I remember taking a 4 hour train ride from Riga to Rezekne with no head on the train cars. When I got to Rezekne, I went into the restroom located on he platform, but was so disgusted by the putrid, stagnant urine sitting in the trough-style urinal that I threw up and ended up relieving myself behind a bush outside.

It was extremely rainy in July, but I still had a great time making new friends in Rezekne. Went to a nightclub that was a blast, but almost got beat up by this huge Russian mafia thug. He wanted to play snooker with me, but since I didn’t know how to play, I refused. Things got ugly, but a new Latvian friend I had made, Sasha, was able to diffuse the situation by talking to the guy. And all I had to do is pay for this guy’s drinks all night!