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Looking at the political of physical map of Europe, you would probably not really notice Latvia, because of it's small size and northern location. But one should know that this small piece of land is quite a rich one and full of sightseeing opportunities. Due to sea bordering location it has wonderful seaside places, straightly differing from those I've ever seen. In spite of quite a northern location, neighborhood to the Baltic Sea location and frightening weather forecasts, I've seen one only rainfall during my week of stay. All the rest time there was quite a hot weather, and that gave me a perfect opportunity to be at the seaside almost every day. The most popular seaside location of Latvia is Jurmala, known also for it's cultural events during the summer season.
Being a frequent visitor of the Black Sea I was surprised by the differences. The first one – it was cold! The temperature of water was surely not higher than 15 centigrade. After several efforts I was already able to get myself completely in the water and stay there a couple of minutes. Another difference was sand. It is white, almost without yellowish hue and the grains are very small, so that if you step on it under the water, it is quite hard, your foot does not get deep inside and even more – you get a good feet massage. This massage is by the way quite a long one because the shore is very gently-sloping, so gently that you have to walk about 100 meters till you are under the water up to your neck.
The beach is wide in Jurmala and is being quite good looked after by the local services. And it ends with pine trees sometimes growing at sand dunes. When you take a short-distance train from Riga to Jurmala you will see beautiful forests with occasional sand dunes. The coastline is a very long one and in it's central part there is a street named Jomas. There are lots of interesting establishments to visit and also simply to have a walk.
Riga, the capital of Latvia is a very beautiful city, astonishing by it's architecture and variety. The architectural inheritance of Germany can be clearly seen in the central part of the city, called “Old City”. There are lots of drinking establishments and restaurants and one of them to be mentioned is Lido. This is a network of restaurants in Riga and each of them has a specific interior and perfect cuisine. Although each one has it's own taste and also, I did not have the opportunity to visit many of those in only a week. Another bar to visit is so called “Skyline” located on the 26th floor of a local skyscraper. You will probably mention it yourselves or simply ask any of the locals. The best time for the visit is early evening, an hour of two before the sunset. You will have a beautiful sight of almost the whole Riga. Be sure to choose the left wing of the cafe, the view there is simply amazing and after the sunset you will see the lights of night Riga.
The most spoken languages are Latvian and Russian. There is also no problem with English and German, because these are most often learned foreign languages a school. I am a native Russian speaker, so I didn't have any difficulties because Latvia is one of the former Soviet Union members. But I've seen a lot of visitors talking English with the natives on the streets. There are lots of excursions and guided tours around Riga and other cities. Most of them are hold in English, but I've seen also German-speaking guides. These are mostly beautiful young ladies, sometimes dressed in national outfits and accompanied by several actors, performing some scenes from the medieval times of this land.
Latvia has taken a honorable place in my reminiscences among with the other places I've ever visited and I would with pleasure visit this country once again in the nearest time.
Andrei Costenco writes about various travel experiences. His partner-site is http://www.cheap-airline-tickets.net.
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