"LATVIA, RIGA" a Riga Travel Page by Acirfa

Well, as Lyn is now properly married and stepping out into the world with her new husband, we thought we should get in a weekend quickly before she jetsets off again to distant lands. So, working to a budget and set dates, I scoured the internet for deals and finally, after working my way around Europe, came up with Latvia, it wasn't St Petersburg, my first choice but that sadly would take too many days, however, Latvia fitted the bill.
So with reservations made, bags packed off we set for our girlie break....yep to the land of stag parties, well I didn't know that when I booked! Anyway, it proved not to be a problem, we encountered one youngster inebriated but aside from that the city was calm and orderly.

City, now that is an amazing claim, yes large enough to be, however, Saturday proved to be more the pace and population of a market town, not dissimilar to the one I live in. No traffic about hardly, not hassling for space on the pavement, no crowds at all in fact and so small tourist groups were quite obvious, although few and far between at this time of year.

The Old town is lovely, buildings still awaiting renovation from the past, the powder tower was saved by a brave journalist, the old city is 800 years old and a delight, unfortunately much has been destroyed although there have been plenty of works carried out to restore bombed buildings also.

We spent time browsing market stalls, much of which are amber stands, Latvia is famed for it's Amber along the coast and used it to trade at one time.

The people, we found did not engage in unnecessary conversation, they responded mainly without too much warmth, although those dealing more with tourists seemed to have learnt the art of a ready smile and chat.

We enjoyed out break, learning a bit about Northern Europe and it's fight to regain independence, learning a bit about it's inhabitants, it's culture and we even took part in some National dances in the square with the locals. It looked after us well!

Located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, Latvia lies on the East European Plain.
Latvia consists of fertile, low-lying plains, largely covered by forest, mostly pines, the highest point being the Gaiziņkalns.

Common species of wildlife in Latvia include deer, wild boar, fox, beaver and wolves.

The major rivers include the Daugava, the Lielupe, the Gauja, the Venta, and the Salaca.
An inlet of the Baltic Sea, the shallow Gulf of Riga is situated in the northwest of the country.
Latvia's coastline is 531 kilometers.

Latvia's neighbors include Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Belarus to the southeast and Russia to the east.

Christian missionaries arrived in 1180, as the Balts did not convert easily, the German Crusaders arrived to conver the pagan society.

By 1211, conversion was about complete and the building of the Dome Cathedral in Riga had begun.

In the 1500s a huge change took place for the people of Latvia, both the reformation and collapse of the Livonian state (Estonia and Latvia). After the Livonian War, Latvian land came under Polish/Lithuanian rule.

Latvia has been under both German and Russian rule. By 1991 Latvia had once again achieved independence and became members of both NATO and the European Union in 2004.