|
Posted Dec 12, 2014, 6:32 PM
|
|
International
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Oslo
Posts: 4,052
|
|
\\\\\\ Looking East: Riga and Vilnius //////
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
P1470391 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470412 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470426 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470429 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470441 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470463 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470487 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470499 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470517 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470519 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470527 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470533 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470549 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470559 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470569 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470570 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470578 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470584 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470590 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470596 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470614 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470618 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470636 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470646 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470647 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470650 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470664 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470674 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470684 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
Vilnius, Lithuania
P1470783 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470731 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470741 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470749 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470758 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470789 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470798 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470808 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470820 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470830 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470833 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470841 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470858 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470863 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470869 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470872 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470879 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470881 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470888 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
P1470885 by KingoftheHill., on Flickr
Last edited by Kingofthehill; Dec 13, 2014 at 3:16 PM.
|
|
|