Riga
The Guinness
I realised as I was drinking my pint of Guinness in Paddy Whelan's in Riga that I had now drunk Guinness in every mainland European country. I haven't completed my project because I sill have Scotland, Malta and Iceland to go - but they are islands.
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| Cheers - A Latvian Guinness is ready to be drunk. |
A bit of internet research before leaving told me there are a few places serving Guinness in Riga which meant that our last minute hiccup of not being able to bring hold baggage and my 'emergency can' didn't concern me too much. Even before visiting Paddy Whelan's we had found Guinness on sale in a shop in Riga so my fears were allayed. What I wanted mainly however was a pint of draught Guinness and therefore it was with great relief when we stumbled across Paddy Whelan's and found they were indeed serving the black stuff.
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| Paddy Whelan's in Riga |
We had a good welcome from Helmut the barman who quickly caught onto what I was doing and gladly picked out my next destination and we had a good chat about life in Latvia and learnt a lot. Thanks Helmut.
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| Helmut kindly picks Scotland out of the hat |
Team make up
It was fantastic to team up with my old buddy Paul on for this trip. Paul last joined me on a Guinness trip back in 2005 in the Faroe Islands so we had a lot of catching up to do. Paul's influence on me was even evident in my packing - I think it's the first time I've taken a tie on a Guinness trip.
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| Canal cruising in Riga |
There was plenty for us to see and do during our four nights in Riga. The fantastic weather helped a lot.
Our taste of Latvian food and drink came in the form of a fine lunch that consisted of food and drink from the four regions of the country.
Our hotel deal included half-board which meant that our breakfast and evening meal were an adequate buffet fare. The Latvian beer needed to be sampled on a nightly basis to ensure it maintained a consistent high standard. I mustn't of course forget that the trip got off to a quality start with a champagne in the executive lunge at Gatwick airport - travelling with Paul certainly has its advantages!
Accommodation
We stayed at the Hotel Valdemars not far out of the city centre. The hotel has an interesting history in itself.
Getting there and around
We met up at Gatwick airport and flew with Air Baltic to Riga. That meant I started my journey travelling by Great Western Railways from Cardiff to Gatwick via Reading. Our flight out to Riga was in a Bombardier aircraft and on return in a Boeing - is that important, probably not. Then there was the luxury of taking a taxi to and from the airport in Riga to our hotel - I must be going soft. Things returned to normal later in the week when we caught the train from Riga out to Jurmala for the day on the beach.
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| The train that returned us to Riga from Jurmala |
Outside Riga
As we were there for four days I fancied a trip out of the capital just to see some of the rest of the country. Well going to Jurmala less than an hour away on the coat by train isn't that adventurous I admit but it was enjoyable. For the short walk from the station down to the beach we were joined by many other day-tippers. The beach itself seemed to go on for miles in each direction and was pretty quiet. Eventually we had to give up on the ladies beach volley ball team turning up and head back to Riga. |
| Paddling in Jurmala |
Quirky moments
We met quite a few people on our trip not from Latvia; there was a provocative Pole, a group of golfers from Sweden and a host of other nationalities but the most thought provoking conversation I had was with a non-citizen, someone who resides in Latvia but cannot vote, and originates from another country, often Russia.
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| Quirky, no, but certainly unusual, me in a tie (note its a Guinness one) |
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| A night at the opera - Rigoletto - enjoyed it so much I may even go on a voluntary basis next time. |
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