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)

The Scruffy Shoe Diaries EAGER FOR RIGA

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

...Our hostess for the trip from Tallinn to Riga was Svetlana, a well-nourished Russian girl with an innate inability to smile. After subjecting us to a number of icy gazes of differing intensities; from refrigerator (which in hindsight seemed almost friendly) right up to Siberian-death-winter, she was courteous enough to read out the half dozen pages of rules and regulations for the five hour coach trip over the tannoy in English, expressly for our benefit. Bless her. Other people's beaurocracy makes me smile. >> If you’re keeping up with this Baltic Binge, you’ll know that this was a journey I was undertaking with my long suffering travel amigo, "Mexican" Adey. He's not really Mexican, he is in fact half Irish, however this is apocryphal to our tale. This missive is the third instalment of a trip which took place in...

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

The Dogs of Riga- Wallander is back

Advantages: Good storyline and interesting facts about Latvia demonstrated
Disadvantages: Not much suspence or tension created compared to other works by Mankell

...The Dogs of Riga (Hundarna i Riga) is the second book out of nine in the Kurt Wallander detective series by Henning Mankell. This crime novel series follows investigations led by Inspector Kurt Wallander of the Ystad police department, which is a small town near Malmo in the southern area of Sweden, Skåne. *About the Author* Henning Mankell is a Swedish author, who was born in Stockholm in 1948. His works include another 8 books in the Kurt Wallander series, which are translated from the original language of Swedish into a total of 19 other languages including English. His previous jobs include acting and theatre directing. *About the Book* In this action packed sequel to the gripping "Faceless Killers", Kurt Wallander is back with yet another mystery to solve. The Ystad police department receive a phone call revealing...

emzipops86 02.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Dogs of Riga - Henning Mankell

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.

...Return flights from Gatwick to Riga = £135, but can be cheaper when bought at last minute. We decided to stay in Riga's old town for a few days before moving on to Russia. The Currency; very easy to deal with, Lats, which one Lat is about equal to the sum of one Pound, makes it easy to keep track of your money and there are also plenty of places to exchange currency. Prices; our accomodation was £7 per night, we stayed in the Dome Hostel, a reasonable, clean place to reside, with a selection of mixed, or single sex dorms, however no en suites. Free water is provided, free internet and free television. The accomodation is right next to the old square and on the main street for nightlife, which can be a little noisy but is bearable. Nightlife, bars, resturants; reasonable but by far not the cheapest, aim to pay about £3 per...

dinkydyke 07.07.2006 · Read review
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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)

To market, to market

Advantages: Hustle, bustle, colour, bargains
Disadvantages: Variable quality, not so good for souvenirs

...What, would you say, is that curious-looking building depicted in the photo at the top of this page? Of course, quick as a flash, you are likely to reply ?Riga Central Market?, having cunningly read the caption beside it. And you?d be part right. No more than part right because it is only one of five almost identical buildings that house just the indoor section of the market, with ? in the summer at least ? another area of similar size for stalls outside. And only part right because they weren?t built as market halls at all, but as hangars for First World War zeppelins. This is among the original features that enhance the character of what would in any case be one of Europe?s largest and liveliest public markets. * In praise of markets * Let me confess at the outset that I?m an absolute sucker for markets. Not...

torr 08.08.2007 (13.08.2007) · Read review
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Review of Riga Central Market

Stag weekends in Latvia

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

...After looking long and hard for some place to organise a reunion we stumbled across Riga. The Ryanair flights out of Stansted only cost £70 return even including Gordon Browns new tax. So Riga it was, we pre-organised accomodation at Argonaut Hostel in town and took the bus from the airport to the city centre (only 0.30Lt). The currency conversion to £'s is relatively simple as it is almost a 1:1 conversion. Although due to the strength of the pound in the rest of the world you find many Lts floating out of your pocket without even noticing. One of the first things you do notice however is how cold it really is there. The two rivers flowing through the centre of town were both completely frozen over when we arrived. The temperature had been as low as minus20degC on the nights. The friendly staff at the hostel (American...

Naturalsponge 10.02.2007 · Read review
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A Baltic Mystery

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

...When the two men washed up on the Swedish coast in a life raft turn out to be Latvians, Inspector Kurt Wallander hopes it will be a simple matter of passing the investigation over to Major Liepa, his Latvian counterpart asked to come to help with the case. However, when Major Liepa is found murdered shortly after his return to the Latvian capital, Riga, Wallander finds himself packing a bag and crossing the Baltic to assist with the investigations because the Latvian police believe that Liepa's death may be linked to the case he had been working on in Sweden. "The Dogs of Riga" takes a profound turn from ordinary police procedural to international thriller that may disappoint some readers. The book is the second of Henning Mankell's series of novels featuring the lugubrious - some might say thoroughly miserable - Kurt Wallander. It...

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

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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Split Personality

Advantages: A police-procedural novel and an international thriller.
Disadvantages: A police-procedural novel and an international thriller.

...I share a taste for detective fiction with the local librarian. "Have you tried Henning Mankell?" she asked. "His Kurt Wallander makes Inspector Morse look positively optimistic!" I couldn't wait. An unmarked life raft is washed up on Wallander's local beach in Sweden. On it are the bodies of two men. They've been tortured, shot and then the jackets of their expensive suits have been put back onto the bodies. When it's discovered that the victims have come from across the Baltic Sea it should be an open-and-shut case but Inspector Wallander finds himself travelling to Latvia to help the local police in Riga. Once there he can't let go until he gets the answers he needs. The book begins as a pure police-procedural novel. This is where we follow the police as they accumulate evidence through observation, elimination...

SueMagee 07.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Dogs of Riga - Henning Mankell