Svetki Riga .....

As luck would have it we arrived in Riga on the weekend of her 805 birthday celebrations. The city streets were buzzing with families and tourists out enjoying the entertainment. A precision driving display where four cars weave dangerously in and out of each other and perform synchronised 360 degree turns didn't fail to disappoint. One of the highlights of the day was a series of choirs who performed free for the crowds in Dome Square at sunset with the crowds chorusing in for the traditional numbers that was followed in the evening by classical concert put on by a full orchestra.
A "Silent Disco" kicked off that night.... this is a novel event where a temporary outdoor dance area is cordoned off and people wear headphones to hear the DJ's music. It certainly spurred a lot of curiosity, there were droves off people (like ourselves) peering through holes in the plastic to see what was going on inside. It's bizarre to see people going crazy and dancing wildly to silence. There was even the go-go dancers on a stage and the compulsory group of girls dancing around their handbags. It was certainly interesting enough for there to be as many people outside stickybeaking in as there were inside the disco. Not sure if it's not just a fad, I guess it keeps the neighbours happy.



We stayed in Friendly Frank's hostel which was voted by hostelworld.com as the "best hostel in the world 2005". With a title like that it's hard to resist checking it out especially since we have started reviewing places on the side. It's run by an Aussie guy and he seems to have cornered the backpacker market in Riga. His tactics are pretty good. The first question you are asked when you arrived is "would you like a cold beer?" ... incidentally the whole hotel is run by a team of attractive girls. At midnight the girls round up people in the hostel and venture out to the clubs on a planned outing. We were in the hostel bar one night when this was going on and realised that 80% of the people were guys. Guess that's the target market ... although a couple of guys seemed very nervous about the lack of females in the hostel.



The thing that surprised me most about Riga was that it had such a big beach culture. A mere 30 minutes train ride outside Riga gets you to Jurmala and 32 km of white sand. The area is really upmarket with huge beachside houses, manicured parks and little cafes. You could be at any top class beach resort in the world. One thing you do expect is that the Baltic sea will be cold ... to our credit we both took the challenge albeit shortlived ..... let me tell you it is absolutely freezing! The beach was very organised with restaurants and bars every hundred meters around the train stops. Modesty was facilitated by free changing booths every 50 meters. Undoubtedly the beach is a big part of Rigan summers - and it was a welcome little days excursion for us.

As for the food... well .... we found good Latvian food in a restaurant called Lido the second night and we didn't venture too far after that. It's not really as bad as it sounds, Riga caters for tourists so there are lots of restaurants of the variety of TGI Fridays, McDonalds etc so finding local food is not as easy as it sounds. Lido is a national chain offering Lativian cuisine at backpacker prices. The added bonus is that it's self service so if in doubt you can point. Basically it was four nights of saurkraut, potatoes and of course pork. We have definitely eaten through a couple of pigs at this stage!




Marcus here now....

Alot has changed around the old town of Riga since my last trip there in 1997. Back then the opening of a McDonalds near the center was the big stand out. Now there are plenty of classy outdoor bars and dining in the little squares and enough upmarket hotels and restaurants to satisfy the significant numbers of affluent locals. The center of the old town is "Pedestrianised" ...well sort of, if you are willing to pay the toll to get in there seems to be no restriction, so it has ended up being "Flash-car-ised". The procession of Bentleys, Porsches, BMW (only 6 and 7 series thank you) and Mercs I could only liken to the Kings rd in Chelsea or the carpark of the Peninsula in Hong Kong, it was incredible. So Money has come to downtown Riga , a big change indeed.
Cheap flights from the UK and Ireland have also left there mark on the town. The availability of cheap booze, attractive girls and accommodating nightclubs has made sure Riga is one of the top destinations for stags nights and group trips. Travellers warned us of the seediness of Riga which had us prepared for a Kings Cross like experience; in fact it turned out to be very different altogether. I'm not sure how we got such a different view, maybe we weren't out as late at night or didn't wander as far out of the old town but we found the old town to be a really picturesque, classy and very enjoyable place to visit.
One of the highlights for me last trip and indeed this trip was definitely the central market. It is vast. Spread through 5 huge old Zeppelin hangers - each one containing specialist goods - fish, meat, dairy, sweet stuff and general food, it is a great place to wander around, picking up some odds and ends for lunch. The quality of the produce is fantastic, great fruit and Veg and spectacular fish - smoked, dried or fresh.

Overall we really enjoyed our time in Riga, finding it the most livable of the 3 Baltic capitals. It will be interesting to see how it changes over the next 10 years as its clear we are not alone in seeing it as a vibrant and attractive city to spend some time.