When I first looked into going to Riga, it wasn't supposed to be Riga I was going to travel too, I was originally going to travel to Gdansk but at the time decided with what's going on with Russia that for my families peace of mind it might be better to travel somewhere else, so I chose this beautiful city. Little did I know I was actually closer to a Russian boarder than I would of been in Gdansk, but thats my little secret haha.
The flight time from NCL to RIX is approx 2.5 hours, so as I mentioned beforehand in my Gdansk blog, its really not a long flight at all, and it was super cheap again. It's definitely a flight worth taking, but then again I'm a little bias as I recommend every flight to take you too new places to be worth taking for sure.
Again, this is a city known for its history, the entire city had to practically be rebuilt after the wars because it was so badly destroyed, but in the process of rebuilding they kept the beautiful old style buildings. It's full of museums, memorials, opera houses, and I love its cobble roads. I recommend the war history museum, its floors & floors of amazing history, I recommend not wearing a coat in there though as it gets very hot, especially if you go into the attic room.
I was unsure how to get from the airport to the hostel I was staying in so I rebooked airport transfers via booking.com, which is also where I booked my hostel - Naughty Squirrel backpackers hostel. This made the whole transfer process so easy, however now I know they have a version of Uber, I would defo recommend getting one instead of a private transfer as it would be cheaper. On arrival to the hostel, I went to check in which was simple enough, the staff spoke English, in fact one of the staff was actually English, but loved Riga so much himself that he decided to stay there and has now been there approx 4 years. The staff gave me a welcome shot on arrival called Riga Black, its deadly! If I had hairs on my chest it would of removed them, I couldn't believe the strength of the drink, definitely woke me up. haha.
Excursions, I went on 1 excursion which I had always wanted to do - I went shooting, where I got to shoot 3 weapons, they had different levels where you could shoot more than the 3 weapons if you wanted too but I mainly wanted to shoot the glock, the rifle and the shotgun. I booked this via my hostel, and went with one of the staff members and a group of lads from the hostel itself who were also staying there. It was an experience to remember and I have the burn scar in my cleavage as proof haha - thats a story for another day. You could book many excursions via the hostel, itself which is always a bonus for those who are staying there. It was also secure to get into, as It required a swipe fob without this you weren't getting entry to the hostel itself nor your room. Or if your interested the hostel also runs bar crawls, which takes you to some incredible bars which are traveler friendly, its also a really good way to make friends if your travelling solo, you don't need to drink alcohol, but just going for the experience is a good laugh.
Riga was such a easy place to make friends, its very popular with British currently, above are some of the incredible people I met on my trip and had the most random of nights with, it started with walking into a bar on my own, to then be asked a question from a couple and we just got talking about our Riga experience so far, then the night led on - 5 brits and 50 shots, it wasn't going to end well haha. Its safe to say I made memories of a life time over the few days I was there and met an incredible bunch of people who I still stay in contact with now, travelling really can find you friends with similar passions, in the most random of places.
Getting around Riga is pretty simple, they have a good tram and bus system, you can also rent those little electric scooters depending on the distance your wanting to go, or maybe even cycle it - I choose to stay on foot the majority of the time, other than the odd few occasions in the evening when I decided to try one of the scooters to get me along the river bank, I also used the tram when I went with the hostel to the shooting range, which I forgot to mention was in a school, which I found quite amusing. To use the tram you need to buy a ticket from one of the local corner shops, as they do randomised checks on the trams, and issue fines to those travelling without one.
Below is a map of Riga, just like the Gdansk one you can scan the QR code to download the app directly to your mobile, along the Side are some of the places to see when your visiting the city. I recommend walking alongside the river in the park where the freedom monument is at night, its always so beautifully lit up. & for those who are travelling as a couple - there is even its very own love lock bridge, so why don't you leave your mark in the city & put a lock on the bridge.
Weather in Riga is very similar to that of Poland, it has its warm summers and cold winters, when I was here end of September the weather was warmish in the day time but nippy at night, you could tell it was dropping temperatures ready for the winter to hit. On occasions I managed to wear just a long armed top and jeans, but there was also other days I required a jacket, either way though with the amount of walking I did I soon warmed up if I got chilly.
Whilst I was here, suddenly what seemed as a peaceful city came to life, it seemed like there was Americans all over the place, and well there was! haha, Gosh was it an experience to have an American Military ship dock up and them have a run to shore for a few days, they sure knew how to have a good time and weren't afraid to drag you in on it, if you were at the same bar. This was such a crazy trip, I made memories here I never thought I would ever make, and with some incredible people, which I hope to meet up with again sometime & explore even more. I'd happily travel back here, in summer or the winter I don't mind, just to make more memories.
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