SkyscraperPage Forum - View Single Post - \\\\\\ Looking East: Riga and Vilnius //////

Kingofthehill · #1 Posted **Dec 12, 2014, 6:32 PM**

I had the pleasure of an 5-day visit to the Baltics back in late October. A French friend and ex.colleague visited me here in Oslo, and not wanting to spend an outlandish sum of money not doing anything (Scandinavia for you!), we decided to explore to possibility of visiting one of the nearby, cheaper Baltic countries. After a few days of searching, we came across $50.00 Ryanair tickets to Riga. With little hesistation, we decided to book the said tickets. Shortly after, we decided we would be better off combining our trip to Riga with a short detour to Vilnius, of which is only four hours away by bus. As international relations majors, the former USSR has always been of keen interest and focus to my friend and I.

Both are charming, magical cities that are very easy on the wallet, and offer lots of interest to fans of architecture and history, such as ourselves. As cliché as it is, the whole mantra of cheap drinks, hot girls, cute historic town centers, easy to navigate on foot, etc., is very true. The Baltics are a gem, and being not only the most European part of the former USSR, but also emerging relatively unscathed from WW2, the two cities are fairly intact - the same of which cannot be said for, say, Minsk, or Kiev.

Riga was a stunner, and is notable for its large Russian-speaking population and impeccable collection of Art-Nouveau architecture. I wrote more about my impressions of Riga here. I also wrote a few notes and reflections about my time in my admittedly brief time Vilnius. Even in spite of my all-too-short visit to Vilnius, I definitely preferred it to Riga, of which I found had a very materialistic and pretentious air in many parts. Vilnius is not only slightly cheaper and rougher, I also felt it was more organic (young kids opening breweries, art collectives, coffee shops, etc.), and almost Latin American with its rootsy youth culture and imposing Catholic churches. That said, I enjoyed both immensely, and look forward to future exploration in this still somewhat off-the-beaten-path part of Europe. In the coming year, I am hoping to visit Bosnia for my yearly "exotic" Europe fix, and I will soon post my pictures from Tbilisi, Georgia. Cheers, all!

Here are a few photos from both.

Riga, Latvia

P1470291 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470255 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470270 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470306 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470323 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470330 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470333 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470356 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470363 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470370 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470375 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr

P1470380 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr