Stag weekends in Latvia

Advantages: Somewhere different, can be cheap
Disadvantages: The mafia, cold,

...a little bit on the difficult struggle Latvia has faced in the last century. One final thought, cigarettes and alcohol are cheap from the airport and genuine but when we were there the range of cigarettes was very limited....

Naturalsponge 10.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

Riga.

Advantages: Cheap, friendly place to visit, interesting architecture.
Disadvantages: Might not last too long in its current state. Freezing cold in winter.

...Latvia is not somewhere that would immediately spring to mind when deciding on a city break, but when we researched a possible weekend away for between four and six people (all male) within our budget (£200), there was no clear cut winner. Riga, Berlin, Prague and Barcelona were all able to offer a flight/hotel combination for within that. Riga was decided on by vote, purely for the reason that it was only really opening up as a destination and had that 'kudos' factor that all new things seem to have. Most of our group flew out of Dublin with Ryanair, though there are other routes available from England and one of our party flew with Ryanair out of Stansted. Flights will obviously vary in price, depending on who you're flying with, when you're flying and how far in advance you book. Booking tickets with Ryanair at Christmas for an end...

TheDuke 10.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

Somewhere Different to Go For Your Holiday!

Advantages: Lots to do and see, snow in the winter, fairly cheap to eat/drink, cheap flights available from RyanAir.
Disadvantages: Very very very very cold in the winter, Things are Difficult to Find.

...***INTRODUCTION*** Riga is the capital of Latvia which is a small country bordered by Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus. It is not the first place you think of when deciding on a holiday destination, however you will enjoy your visit. I will not discuss everything that you can and cannot do in Riga...I will simply discuss what I did, where I stayed, the climate when I was there and so on. If you require further details then simply search the Internet: there is plently of information on Riga. ***CLIMATE*** I went to Riga in February 2006 for a four day break. If you decide to visit Riga in the winter then you really do have to be prepared for the cold. Before the plane landed in Riga, the pilot informed us that it was minus 17 outside. For the whole of my stay in Riga I was freezing cold even though I went prepared. I...

HannahBoo 17.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

Affordable, Scenic and Friendly

Advantages: Cheap and beautiful
Disadvantages: None

...I spent some weeks in Latvia in the summer of 2003, as part of a driving tour of the Baltic Countries (don?t call them The Baltic States or you?ll offend the locals- they are countries in their own right!). Latvia has absolutely heaps to offer the more independent, exploratory type of holiday-maker, although those who prefer their holidays ready-made would also find a great time to be had on a city break of Riga, the capital. Getting there:- well, as we went by car we entered from Lithuania and exited into Estonia. The border crossing procedure in a British car was not a model of efficiency- although we had a European Green card, they?re not valid in the Baltics, so we needed to buy separate insurance at each border. They do fairly lengthy checks (chassy number, all you documents in order, open your boot sir, are you smuggling any...

Tricksty 03.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

The Scruffy Shoe Diaries EAGER FOR RIGA

Advantages: Architecture, history, market
Disadvantages: Technical University, too many bridges

.... Persuaded. Cajoled, if you will. And therein lies nought but despair. >> Riga is essentially a city of two parts, the old town and the new. The old town contains architecture representing centuries of history, all frantically being renovated as the city moved towards its 800 year anniversary (this was celebrated in August 2001). Buildings such as St. Peters Church, the Swedish Gate and the thirteenth century Rigas Dom Cathedral are well worth a visit and with much renovation being carried out as we were watching, the history of the region seemed almost palpable. All around the compact centre of the Old Town are outstanding examples of 17th century Germanic and older gothic buildings like the often photographed (except not by me) Three Brothers, one of which is the oldest house in Latvia, dating from the 15th century. Another...

Paiceyjohn 19.03.2001 (08.05.2002) · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

A must-see in Riga

Advantages: lots of information
Disadvantages: trouble accessing information

...The full title of this museum is The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 1940 - 1941. The Baltic countries are understandably very sensitive about the time under the Soviets and Nazi Germans, so are keen to explain what they suffered. The building housing the museum is a strange and very ugly black concrete block, for some reason lifted off the ground, but with nothing going on underneath. The building was built as the Latvian Red Riflemen's Museum - the riflemen being part of the Czarist Russian army. The building was originally opened in 1970 and was at that time covered impressively in copper - but somehow or other all that is gone and the present museum opened in 1993. The museum has various temporary displays but the permanent exhibition covers various topics: Events leading to Latvia's occupation: Events of the first...

kittenkong 01.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Riga

Don't get here too early...

Advantages: Modern and convenient
Disadvantages: Boring

...centre. We had a lot of luggage and so got a taxi. We must have got some sort of pricey one as it cost GBP11. If we'd have got the bus it would have been 20p each! The main airline here is AirBaltic, Latvia's national airline. But we flew direct from here to Stansted - about a 2 and a half hour flight. It was cheap but you don't get any food or drink - not even water, so you have to go prepared. You can buy stuff onboard tho, if you pay a large price. Well, maybe it's not fair of me to criticise. I've been used to big airports where there are things to do, big bookshops to look at., etc. Latvia is a small country - it cannot manage such things. After all, everyone was efficient, nothing went wrong, and my departing flight was on time. Maybe I need to search within myself for cures for boredom, not expect stimulus from outside. Or am I...

kittenkong 01.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Riga Airport (RIX), Latvia

Riga, the next best weekend retreat?

Advantages: The old town central to accomodation and airport.
Disadvantages: Bars a little too expensive and can be a little too laid back.

......

dinkydyke 07.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Riga (Latvia)

Big review by tester

Advantages: Design,features,software
Disadvantages: Battery,touch buttons,some inconveniences with software

...I`ve recently bought this phone. As a professional cell-phone tester in Riga, Latvia, I`d say,this phone is really great! Let`s beginn with PROS: 1.Design - it`s really beautyful 2.Features - this phone is full of all needed modern features 3.Built-in FM radio 4.Perfect, true to life colour screen 5.Menues are made really comfortable 6.menues are easy to adopt to personal needs 7.At last, as in Samsung SGH-E570 vibro+sound call and smart dialling. 8.Really good music player, similar to SE Walkman series phones 9.New feture,known as Living World (in all countries there will be another wallpaper,shoiwing,f.e Big Ban in London.First used in D900 and E570) 10.Really good e-mail manager,organiser and Samsung PixelViewer(for reading MSoffice and PDF docs) 11.The price is really nice! 12.Fantastic 3,2 MpX camera with AF, flash...

AnatolyDav 26.04.2007 (02.05.2007) · Read review
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Review of Samsung SGH U600 Ultra Edition 10.9

A Baltic Mystery

Advantages: Intriguing central character; interesting locations; good tempo
Disadvantages: Terrible type-setting; some incredible elements

...was the first of the Wallander series I have read so the change in genre did not much matter to me though it may to those who consider themselves fans of the police procedural novel. The book is set in 1991, a time when Latvia was in great upheaval, a time when the country's immediate future was uncertain and the pro-Soviet authorities were striving to keep a grip on the country and to eliminate any pro-independence opposition. It's a period that really interests me and this, combined with a trip to nearby Estonia, was the reason I chose to read the book. Some reviewers have suggested that the book is somewhat dated. In fact, it was some years after its publication in Sweden that this novel was finally translated into English and so, by then, the situation in Latvia was quite different. This means that while Sweden may not have changed...

fizzytom 01.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Dogs of Riga - Henning Mankell