Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revision | ||
latvia [2011/10/21 22:26] – tjones | latvia [2019/09/06 21:50] (current) – deleted casey | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
- | ====Latvia==== | ||
- | Serviced by national (cheap) airline airbaltic. | ||
- | |||
- | ==Culture/ | ||
- | |||
- | Latvian is a member of the Baltic language family, which is only related to Lithuanian (not close to Russian). | ||
- | |||
- | There is a very significant Russian minority in Latvia (~30%, or higher in Riga), and there is a lot of tension between the two groups. | ||
- | |||
- | |||
- | ==Geography== | ||
- | The country is very flat and forested. | ||
- | |||
- | ===Riga=== | ||
- | "The Paris of the North" | ||
- | |||
- | Riga is also the bachelor party capital of Europe-- Brits tend to go there to do things like AK-47 shooting and bobsledding. | ||
- | |||
- | Make sure to get a guidebook at the info station at the airport! | ||
- | |||
- | ==Getting around== | ||
- | |||
- | The 22 bus will take you from the airport into town; get off at Stockmann center (train/bus depot) for the center of town. There are also shuttles for 3 lats/5 Euros. | ||
- | |||
- | The city itself is pretty walkable, but taxis are cheap and useful for late nights. | ||
- | |||
- | ==Food== | ||
- | Double coffee=Starbucks there, but also a restaurant. | ||
- | |||
- | General food is much like Russian food-- Borscht, sauerkraut, sausages, and stranger items like chicken with cheese and pineapple (quite good). | ||
- | |||
- | ==Bars== | ||
- | * Leningrad is pretty chill, reminiscent of Soviet Days | ||
- | * Skyline bar in the Radisson has one of the highest views in the city. Expensive by Latvian standards (comparable to U.S.), but very nice and chill. | ||
- | |||
- | Be careful to avoid places listed as suspicious by the U.S. embassy (I'm pretty sure they were all strip clubs). | ||
- | |||
- | ==To Do== | ||
- | |||
- | * The Ethnographic museum is really really cool, and probably the top thing you should do. Take the 1 bus there or a taxi (10 lats/20 USD). It has houses/ | ||
- | * Take a free walking tour. Meets at noon outside of St. Peter' | ||
- | * Check out the Occupation Museum | ||
- | * Walk around the market | ||
- | * Go bobsledding | ||
- | * Shoot AK-47s if you are so inclined |