Riga - A Once in a Lifetime Experience (but still nice)
Written: Jun 25 '03 (Updated Dec 02 '05)
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Pros: Pretty old town with interesting architecture and friendly people. Very cheap on the whole.
Cons: Not a whole lot to it. Oddly expensive lodging.
The Bottom Line: Gives me hope for other former Soviet Republics. Glad I saw it, but almost certainly will not return.
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| lyagushka's Full Review: Riga |
My husband and I recently spent nine days in Latvia, most of them in the capital city of Riga. We certainly don't regret the journey, but still I think it's fair to say we were underwhelmed by the city. Latvia, situated in the Baltic between Estonia and Lithuania forms a geographical and social midpoint between Russia and Scandinavia. Of course if you haven't been to Russia and Scandinavia, this statement won't do much to enlighten you. So I'll outline a few aspects of this interesting, medium-sized capital in detail.
First, a few facts...
You have to look closely at a map to see that Riga does not actually sit on the Gulf of Riga. It may once have done, but today it is situated slightly inland on the Daugava river. Although it's the capital of Latvia, Riga is a firmly bilingual city. Just over half the city's inhabitants are ethnic Russians who speak Russian as their primary language. Nearly all the ethnic Latvians speak Russian too, and this was fine for me as I have a passable proficiency with that language. Though many young people speak a few words of English, most are not anywhere near fluent, so skill with either Russian or Latvian will certainly make your visit easier and more enjoyable.
The Latvian currency is the lat, abbreviated as "Ls." At the time of this writing, the exchange rate for the lat is approximately $1.80 to the lat or €1.50 to the lat. A smaller denomination exists; 100 centimes make up one lat. We found prices for everything but lodging to be extremely attractive in Riga.
Tap water in Riga is not considered safe to drink, although we brushed our teeth with it and had no problems. The locals all drink mineral water and we followed suit. This was not difficult to do since bottled water is so cheap and widely available.
Most visitors to Riga will spend their time in and around the old city, which has many modestly sized and lovely buildings. Few of these buildings have more than four or five stories, with the obvious exceptions of churches and their spires. I wish I knew enough about architecture to say something more intelligent than "the architecture is really nice." There seem to be a range of styles and influences here, even though a few buildings look like they could use a fresh coat of paint. In any case, the old city is very compact and easy to traverse on foot. Drivers must pay an hourly fee to bring their cars into the old city, thus the narrow cobblestone streets here are quite pedestrian-friendly.
The city has a well-developed public transportation system consisting of buses, trams and microbuses. There are so many different lines that the system can be a little overwhelming and difficult to make heads or tails of. But there are schedules for each of the buses and trams at many of the center city stops. And the very reasonable 20 centime fare for each of type of vehicle makes public transit a bargain. Several train lines also connect Riga with hundreds of smaller cities around the country. Again the fares are ridiculously low. The trains run frequently and punctually, although very slowly.
The weather during our visit in late May/early June varied from light rain and slightly chilly temperatures to sunny days with slightly hot temperatures. There was nearly always a steady ocean breeze that refreshed us while we walked in the sun, but became chilly when we sat in the shade. Nighttime temperatures dropped slightly. At this latitude in early June we enjoyed about 17 hours of daylight and a few more hours of dusk. Riga certainly did not have white nights at this time of year, but it never became truly dark either. Light sleepers may wish to bring an eyemask if visiting during the late spring or early summer.
Some attractions in Riga
An unbelievably beautiful stretch of park with a meandering canal separates the old city from the newer but still attractive center city. I can honestly say that the north end of Kronvalda Park with its many benches, large old trees and rolling terrain is one of the most beautiful inner city parks I've seen in all my travels. This small but well-groomed parcel of land contains several bridges over the canal and pathways both shady and sun drenched. One can rent a two-person paddleboat on the canal for 3 lats per hour, a very agreeable way to while away some time on a nice day. Esplanade, Bastejkalns and Vermaned darzs, other nearby parks, hold open-air beer gardens and cafes that serve good but not great Latvian beer, per my husband. The atmosphere makes up for the mediocre fare though.
On the western side of center city the huge City Market crowds itself into four round-roofed warehouses designed to shelter dirigibles many decades ago. Each of the warehouses contains a different mix of vendors and products, but they were all quite crowded during our visit on a weekday evening. The market reminded me of many indoor or outdoor markets I've seen in various parts of Russia, but with better selection and a friendlier atmosphere. There's nothing luxurious or fancy-schmancy about this place - it's just a place where normal people do their everyday marketing. Still, I found it worth a visit and we picked up a few supplies to tide us over between meals. Prices here are ridiculously cheap by western standards, so feel free to indulge.
Riga's fantastic Ethnography Museum lies on the outskirts of town and definitely qualifies as a "must-see." This open-air museum occupies one square kilometer of tranquil green space. During normal times visitors here will find a peaceful atmosphere in this virtually empty, scenic park-museum. Historic buildings from the four regions of Latvia have been brought to this plot of land and meticulously reconstructed. The buildings include rural churches and shrines, farm buildings, homesteads, granaries, smokehouses, mills, oil presses, smithies and other buildings dedicated to specific crafts. Though many of the buildings are sparsely furnished, the items they contain are all antiques or accurate reproductions of what they would have contained in situ. The grounds here are truly lovely, with birds singing and the few employees wearing native costumes, depending on the "region" of the museum they work in. A few craftsmen sell their wares here, providing lots of opportunity for souvenir shopping. I got the impression that many of them are unpaid volunteers who work in the museum for only the money they earn from selling their goods. We spent 3 most enjoyable, unhurried hours at the museum and did not manage to see everything.
As it happened, the annual Latvian Folk Festival took place on our last day in Riga, so we went back to the park in hopes of seeing some dancing and live folk music. We were sorely disappointed as the festival turned out to be mostly a commercial endeavor, with souvenir stalls absolutely jam-packed into the front portion of the museum. There was little dancing and no live music. We left after less than an hour. While I highly recommend the museum, I would most definitely not recommend the festival.
The museum is open daily from 10-5. Admission is 1 ls, but 2 ls on the day of the Folk Festival. At the time we were there, visitors could reach the museum by taking bus #1 or microbus #777 from the center of the city. An English language guide to the museum is available for 20 centimes at the cashier and all signs in the museum are trilingual, including English.
In the old city, the House of Blackheads has been restored to its pre-Soviet condition. This residence for bachelor members of Riga's guildhouses was considered too Germanic by the Soviets, who simply blew up the ornate building soon after occupation. While the exterior provides a nice addition to the little square it sits on, I'd have to say the interior and the art collection are not worth the visit in terms of either money or time. The displays represented an oddly juxtaposed mixture of old objects, new art pieces and reproduction interiors. Furthermore the galleries were not clearly marked or well laid-out so that we wandered around the small museum uncertainly, trying to guess which doors concealed more displays and which led to administrative areas. There were no signs in English and few signs in any language at all.
We went up to the spire of St. Peter's Church in the old town to get a view of the city and the river. The view was worth the modest admission price and the wait for the elevator, but it was very windy up there and I got to listen to a humorous monologue by a Russian matron about how awful the wind was. Uzhas! Koshmar! Kakoi veter, kak uzhasno! The elevator operator said it was almost always that windy, which is unsurprising since it's right near the river. A few interesting photos of the old church and the old rooster-shaped spire cap were worth a few extra minutes' perusal inside. The interior of the church is otherwise unremarkable.
There is an unusual mini-chain of restaurants known as "Lido." These restaurants are not all identical, though many of them are buffet, cafeteria-style places. Other Lido restaurants offer full-service, sit-down dining. This chain represents a fantastic mainstay for those who want to eat Latvian food on a tight budget, for those who don't want to deal with menus in a foreign language, for control freaks and vegetarians. We always found the restaurants clean, well-staffed and full of locals eating in very pleasant atmospheres. Lido has been such a success in Riga that it's now a minor empire with employees in native dress and amazing customer throughput. The food is consistently tasty, satisfying and extremely well priced. Generous meals for my husband and myself never cost more than $3.50 per person. Often we ate for less than $2 apiece. I never had anything in the buffet places that completely knocked my socks off, but everything I had was good, some of it very good. We ate at these places a lot and I recommend them. Note that some Lido restaurants have individual names, but there's usually a "Lido" designation somewhere near the entrance.
So long as you avoid the ultra-fancy restaurants that cater exclusively to tourists, you should be able to eat well in Riga on a very tight budget. I also recommend the few pelmenyi bars around town. Here you can buy huge portions of Russian meat dumplings for about $1.50. On the other hand, Riga is not all that accommodating of vegetarians. You'll want to do your research if you're one. See my mention below of the In Your Pocket Guide. It has excellent recommendations for restaurants, written by impartial residents.
Some other observations
Although Latvia seems to be hurtling toward a European capitalist society with much enthusiasm and success, there are a few signs in Riga that the transition from the Soviet regime has not been kind to everyone. We saw plenty of old women selling a few bouquets of handpicked wild flowers or collecting glass bottles for a few coins. The buskers whose music sweetened the air of the capital were always elderly people who seemed to desperately need the little change they collected. I saw a very few instances of outright begging by elderly women in front of churches, or by mothers with small children in the train station. While this saddened me, I was pleased to find almost no public drunkenness and no overt evidence of drug trafficking or abuse. I felt extremely safe walking around all parts of the old town and center city at all hours.
Latvians also seem to have a strong sense of ethnic identity. As a country they show great concern for preserving their language, their music, their native costumes and crafts and other aspects of their culture. And they seem comfortable mixing their heritage with the modern world, even as they look forward to joining the EU next spring. For tourists, this means that Latvian cultural markers are on display, even in the capital though more so in the smaller towns. Look for some of their wonderful bronze or silver jewelry, woven and knitted textiles or wooden items as souvenirs. There's also an absolute glut of amber jewelry if you're interested.
It felt downright strange for me to be in a place where people speak Russian and they're friendly and perfectly willing to be helpful. - Quite a lot of cultural dissonance there and I'm not sure if the ethnic Russians have merely been transformed by the presence of hope and opportunity or whether the Latvians simply managed to instill a modicum of common courtesy in the Russian immigrants.
While costs for food and admission to attractions were very affordable, lodging prices were strangely more expensive than one would expect. It took a great deal of looking to find good lodging just outside of the old town for a reasonable price. We finally booked a room at Hotel Laine for about $80/night, which we found acceptable and would recommend.
Though this is still "the land of legs" as in St. Petersburg, here the average woman doesn't dress in a manner that screams prostitute! to those with mainstream western sensibilities. Short skirts and high, high heels are very much de rigueur for any woman under the age of 35 and for many beyond that age as well.
Two things surprised us about Riga. One was the amazing number of smoke-free restaurants. I would say that most restaurants in Riga are smoke-free and the remainder at least have real non-smoking sections. This was a delightful discovery for us after a year and a half's residence in western Europe. Secondly, a surprising amount has been done to accommodate the disabled. Many sidewalks and entryways had wheelchair ramps (also very convenient for strollers). This surprised me as I so rarely see any such efforts made in western Europe.
Final Thoughts
Although I can't strongly recommend Riga as a destination and I doubt we'll ever want to return, I certainly don't regret seeing it or feel that it was wasted time. I would say that if you decide to visit this city, you'd need at least three days to explore the city and get a good taste of it.
There is an excellent English language guide called In Your Pocket, which is available for purchase at many hotels and tourist information centers. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this guide, or check out their website (www.inyourpocket.com). It is published several times each year. We found the guide invaluable and well written.
Recommended:
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