It was no problem to take a bus from Estonia to Latvia.
Latvia is famous for ice hockey, a liquor called black balsam and blue cows- about 100 of them and the world's rarest breed.
It ha been independent from USSR with its first democratic elections in 1993 and joined the EU in 2004.
It has 2.3 million people made up of 59% Latvians,, 29% Russians, 4% Belarusians, 2.6% Poles, and the 2.5% Ukrainians.
We stayed in a hostel in the old town and it rained most of the time but we managed to start a walking city tour and then continued it the next day when there was less rain.
There are many sights to see including gothic cathedrals, medieval castles, stone houses, 16-17th century warehouses, Art Nouveau places, baroque merchant houses, a 14th century Powder Tower as well as lovely parks, gardens and museums.
We enjoyed the Art Nouveau district with its typical features of the 19th century German Art Nouveau school known as Jugendstil. It was lucky to have survived the war and today is a UNESCO site.
Riga is popular for hen and stag parties as many of the budget airlines fly here so weekends are the time to party for these visitors. Some hostels specialize in these groups while others ban them!
We came across a ceremony at the Freedom Monument with people placing flowers on the steps. During the Soviet years it was off-limits, and placing flowers at its base was a crime for which people were deported to Siberia.
