Written by michaelhudson on May 30, 2009
- "If you only have time to visit one provincial town in Latvia then it really ought to be Kuldiga," advises my Rough Guide to the Baltic States. With no train link, bumpy roads...
Written by michaelhudson on April 27, 2009
- At three and a half hours each way, Latvia's third biggest city is just out of reach of a daytrip from the capital. This is a good thing. On the Baltic coast, with...
Written by michaelhudson on April 26, 2009
- The westernmost town in Jurmala, Kemeri is an hour from Riga by electric train. After its interwar heyday as a spa resort and later use as a Soviet sanatorium, the town has been neglected...
Written by michaelhudson on April 25, 2009
- It's half past twelve and the Lielvarde train sits idling on platform six. Hawkers stand by the door speaking quickly in Russian then moving down the carriage, selling nothing. The sun beats through the dirty...
Written by michaelhudson on April 23, 2009
- In 1890, fearful of the threat from German naval power, the Tsarist authorities began construction of a planned military suburb four kilometres north of central Liepaja. Called the Port of Alexander III, it was...
Written by michaelhudson on January 28, 2009
- Although it's less than an hour from Riga by spruced-up electric train (padded seats, flowers daubed on the windows and EU stars above the doors), there aren't many reasons to spend time in Jelgava....
Written by michaelhudson on January 14, 2009
- From the moment you step down from the train, Daugavpils feels very much like the back end of nowhere, one of those dour, end-of-the-world places still endemic in the old Eastern Bloc. The last jumping-off...
Written by Shady Ady on December 9, 2007
- The proud Baltic city of Riga has fought many battles in their struggle for independence. First it was the invading red army of the Soviet Union. Next came the Nazi’s, followed again by the Russians....
Written by Owen Lipsett on December 21, 2004
- While you could easily spend a day just wandering the streets of Vecriga (though I’d advise avoiding the narrower ones, where I saw quite a few unsavory characters) to sample its architectural brilliance, if you’re...
Written by marif on December 20, 2004
- Vecriga is the Latvian name for Riga's Old Town. Crammed with cobbled streets, alleyways, medieval churches and century-old residential buildings, it can rightly be called a sanctuary of history. Add to these the various museums...
Latvia
Tourism and Travel Guide