Largest city of the Baltic states

Considering that Latvia was formerly one of the republics of the USSR, Riga is surprisingly un-communist looking. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of soviet architecture and the typical grey, blocklike housing estates normally found in old eastern block countries. That's not to say it doesn't exist at all, it is still there but just doesn't dominate the city on the Daugava river.

Even though most of our time was spent gazing upwards at the beauties of the countless art nouveau buildings, Riga has much more to offer.

The historic centre of the city is filled with charming cobblestoned little streets, imposing churches, groovy bars and modern shopping malls, and is jam packed with pastry/cake shops :-) Seems the favourite past time of the locals is drinking coffee and eating delicious pastries.

Latvia was formerly annexed by Russia and became part of the USSR in 1940. Just a year later it was conquered by Nazi Germany (with the Latvians initially embracing the Nazis as rescuing them from the grip of communism), before being retaken by Russia in 1944-1945. It was not until 1991 that the independent Republic of Latvia was reborn. A visit to the Musuem of Occupation clearly showed the horrors the Latvians were forced to endure at the hands of both the communists and Nazis.

Tens of thousands of "kulaks" (farmers) and Latvian patriots were deported to gulags in Siberia; rural areas were collectivised, with farmers forced to give up all of their produce to the state; Russian was introduced as the main language; and the proportion of ethnic Latvians within the general population dropped dramatically. Even today there are still laws in place to ensure favourable treatment and employment opportunities for Latvians, with many ethnic Russians not even having the right to vote and their children, even though born in Latvia, having no right to a Latvian passport.

The Riga of today is a city with an atmosphere of youth. There seem to be lots of students in the city, and they are catered to by a myriad of funky bars, restaurants and coffeehouses. And with darkness descending at about 4.15pm what better way to end our day of sightseeing than a hot apple cider with rum in one of the grooviest bars ("I Love You"), or a cocktail with a view at the Skyline Bar (on the 26th floor of the Radisson Blue Hotel Latvija) :-)

Another highlight was a visit to the central market, the biggest of its kind in the Baltic. The market can be found in 5 strange looking half cylindrical buildings that actually began life as German zeppelin hangars in the 1920s! Each of the hangars specialises in a different product - meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products, or general groceries, and was bustling with locals looking for a bargain. A bit like the goold old Vic Market but way bigger!

Our hotel was also a bit of an experience. Seems the owners have just bought a couple of old apartment buldings and divided them up into hotel rooms! The rate was inclusive of breakfast, but in reality that was a voucher that you could use at the bakery across the road. There seemed to be some sort of maximum price that was available with the voucher because the woman at the bakery was adding everything up on a calculator and was pretty clear about what you could and couldn't have!

Another successful and fun city trip added to our list. Coming up : Oslo in December.

Alli xxx