Riga

I went to Riga for a week-end in March to celebrate my birthday. When we left it was snowing and for the first time ever, I experienced being sat on the airplane at the start of the runway getting covered with reddy brown soapy stuff that is classified as de-icing. It was cold, but sunny for at least one of the days.

I liked Riga. Stepping out in the early evening dusk onto cobbled streets with no street lighting and barely any traffic, people or litter was like stepping into a post war film set – very 1940s/50s. I felt that Latvian people also had an air of innocence and charm that reflected a bygone era. Obviously nobody is dressed up in the heels because you would break your neck on the road surfaces. They also cover up because it’s cold and they serve meat up with the fat on it. Unlike skinny Londoners they are covered.

We went to the museum of occupation. It made me think of Sri Lanka. All that suffering in my lifetime, the constant invasions, forced resettlements to Siberia, the attempted destruction of Latvian culture and difference. There is a Latvian look that is pale skinned and wholesome. The men seem to shave their heads a lot and have big beards.

Then there is the awesome architecture – all these beautiful art deco buildings. You have to keep looking up. Lots of empty buildings too in Riga, right in the old Town and the tourist map suggests a lot of failed start-ups as you hunt out places that no longer exist.

Not so Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs which is apparently the only classic Latvian pub in town. Set in a basement that was a grain store it seats hundreds and it was full every time we went. The food was tasty and beautifully presented, the different live music every night was good and the service was exceptional. The service everywhere was exceptional, mainly given by tri-lingual (Latvian, Russian, English) students in their 20s. They were a total credit to their country.

We went on the ‘free’ walking tour given by Toms who was 34. This guy bust a gut to give you a value experience and worked the crowd like a seasoned comedian. Interestingly he said that every day he had people from Germany, England and Australia and sure enough, at the 11th hour, this couple turned up from Australia although the guy worked in the business park round the corner from where I live!

We stayed at the Riga Old Palace Hotel where everyone seems to complain about the small rooms. Fat people would struggle to fit in the shower with the door shut, but the breakfast buffet is comprehensive, the staff could not be more helpful and it is brilliantly located close to the centre of the Old Town.

Finally, the knitting. Everyone must knit. Endless jumpers, mittens and hats – not cheap, I am not sure always terribly flattering, but warm and practical in that climate and comfortable. Being dressed in hand knits also gave people a look of several decades ago.

Go. The Latvian main export is timber. They need the business.