48 hours in Riga, Latvia: Low Cost and High-Quality European Life
Вставка
- Опубліковано 16 вер 2023
- Olivia and Nathan here! Riga, Latvia is bringing the VIBE in the Baltics! So many great cafes, restaurants, parks, and cool places to get lost in this city! No doubt this place is being revitalized and more people are discovering this lesser visited European destination! Here's a taste of what you can expect if you visit! Just watch out for that Riga Black Balsam! 🤣
JOIN OUR PATREON:
/ onworldtravel
____________
👍🏽 Subscribe so you don't miss the adventure!
ua-cam.com/users/onworldtravel...
[ LAST WEEK'S EPISODE ]
Robots have taken over Tallinn, Estonia - • Is TALLINN, ESTONIA th...
[ OUR ENTIRE RV SERIES ] // Episode's in order!
SEASON 1 bit.ly/3lgS8Lp
SEASON 2 bitly.ws/rVCU
Buy us a coffee ☕️🤘🏽 rb.gy/jxrc0k
_____________
[ OUR STORY ]
Curious how we met, started traveling, what our jobs were, etc?
/ onworldtravel
[ FOLLOW US ]
△ Instagram: / onworldtravel
△ Facebook: / onworldtravel1
△ Website & Blog: www.onworldtravel.com
△ Email us: hey.onworldtravel@gmail.com
Disclaimer: We do not take free products purely in exchange for content. We do only paid and commissionable work and will not respond to emails just offering us free stuff. The only exception would be any form of comped travel or use of a "means" of travel (i.e. RV, flights, unique stays...)
[ SHOP OUR GEAR ON AMAZON]
Links to all of the travel gear we love and use regularly!
www.amazon.com/shop/onworldtr...
The BEST No Freeze Water Hose 👉🏽 Use our code: ONWorldTravel for 5% off!
nofreezewaterhose.com/?ref=hd...
[ $65 AIRBNB DISCOUNT ]
For up to $65 off your first AIRBNB rb.gy/5eywpf
[ MUSIC ]
Epidemic Sounds rb.gy/a4b0ba
[ Disclosure ] Some of these are affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission if you click on any of them (at no cost to you) so thank you!
I like how you randomly filmed Latvia's most famous skater Madars Apse 😂
That Nollie Flip😍😍😍
Haha yeah I was thinking The same. Looks that it’s from the time jenkemmag was in Riga
I know lol...didn't realize he was a MEGA PRO! Thanks for letting us know! I almost chatted with him too 🤣
I’ve been catching up on your videos and about on my 10th one today and loving them!!
As a Latvian (who lives near Riga lol) I could see the city from a totally different perspective. For some of us these places are just buildings, but this made me feel VERY proud of my country.
Beautiful buildings built at the time when great architecture was the priority, not like these days. However of course still possible, I think that orthodox church on or near joma Street in jurmala is a newly built one. Looks like something from times long gone but it's recent.
Well for a tourist this is beautiful but as resident of this country, the capital city is quite shit at the moment
We thoroughly enjoyed Riga! An all around beautiful and well-rounded city!
They forgot to mention that Latvia has more than 200,000 indigenous residents who, because of their origins, are denied the same rights and citizenship as "real Latvians" (like Jews in Nazi Germany). An official and surprisingly permitted discrimination. Proof of how underdeveloped this country remains.
Latvia is the place of evolution gaming like crazytime and monopoly?
Spent 7 months in Riga, absolutely beautiful place.
Totally great lifestyle there, would love to go back and stay for several months! 🙌🏽
You guys captured Riga in a very nice and lighthearted way. I've been running an incoming (corporate) travel business here for over 18 years and I have seen many "influencers" trying to capture the city. You guys done it the most justice, I think. Well done and great filming and editing and narrating! Two thumbs up for me!
(Oh, and as a retired skateboarder who hung around California with the big boyz in the mid 90's it was great to see you captured some of the local heros :) ).
One of the skaters was our guy Madars Apse - One of the most famous skaters of the World from the Red Bull team 😊 Guys just filmed him randomly..... 😂
That means a lot, we do our best even when we move quickly from city to city! We truly enjoyed our time there, a holistically wonderful city! We got lucky with the local hero ;)
They forgot to mention that Latvia has more than 200,000 indigenous residents who, because of their origins, are denied the same rights and citizenship as "real Latvians" (like Jews in Nazi Germany). An official and surprisingly permitted discrimination. Proof of how underdeveloped this country remains.
I moved to Riga from the UK 2 years ago. It's a great city. I really enjoy it here. I like that everyone speaks such good English and are happy to use it. Central Riga is beautiful in the summer.
Summer in Riga is definitely a VIBE! We could totally live there and be happy! Coffee is great too and that's like 1/2 of our happiness right there :)
yes because they need to suck up to the english speaking, in order to make some money...
It's a fucking shithole with broken roads
As someone who lived whole my life in Riga, I don't know where you got a couple of facts from but they are totally off, maybe you didn't get a good tour guide. So just to clarify: House of the Blackheads played an important role in city development because if not for it, we wouldn't have a city of that size or at all in the first place. It still plays a role as a beautiful place that hosts events and celebrations for higher-ups (or for those who managed to get access), but when there are no events, anyone can visit it (entrance is not free, tho). We didn't buy zeppelin hangars from Germany, but they are German hangars. During World War 1, the German army established an airport for their airships in Vainode (a small city in Latvia). After Latvia became independent (first time, in 1920) in 1925, those hangars, their top parts, were moved to Riga for them to become a central market. During World War 2, those hangars were taken over by the German army and they became military equipment workshops, after once again becoming a market.
Hey Kristina thanks for the info! This came from our tour guide who is very passionate (and I believe even went to school for tourism in Riga or Lithuania) about the history here. Always nice to hear another locals perspective or story. Thanks for your comment!
I can confirm the story about German hangers not being purchased from Germany. My dad is Latvian and he confirmed it as well 👍
I'm from Finland and I absolutely love Latvia! I visited Riga one time earlier this year and have wanted to go back ever since! The Baltics are truly a hidden gem of Europe, undiscovered by the masses, super friendly and astonishingly beautiful! I loved how international Riga was, similarly to Tallinn, with a large Russian community. I also loved learning about the Jewish history of the Baltics. I spend quite a bit of time in Israel and regularly visit a city called Hadera, which interestingly was founded by a group of Latvian Jews from Riga!
Hey, thank you! It warms my heart reading such comments about my country!
We couldn't agree more, definitely the hidden gem of Europe! Can't wait to go back! Thanks for sharing!
The annexation of Riga and all of Livonia to Russia was secured by the Nishtadsky Peace Treaty between Russia and Sweden, signed on August 30 (September 10), 1721. Russia has pledged to pay compensation of 2 million efimks (1.3 million rubles) for the lands that have departed from Sweden. By law, it is a Russian city.
@@user-xm6zs6ez6i By law Russia is a part of Mongolian empire that Chinghis-khan ones conquered :-)))) But now it is rather getting a part of Chinese empire, ruled by Xi Jinping:-)))) Without Latvia, wich is a part of cilivized world:-))))
@@grom3318 What does the civilized world mean? Do you assume the right to argue that China and Russia are not civilized? And this is when Russia and China send people into space, when they build nuclear power plants and much more. When Muscovite Sergey Brin founded Google, and the Chinese created a flying car....What criteria do you rely on when talking about the civilized world? PS Russia was not part of the Mongol Empire, some princes paid tribute to the Mongols, but Novgorod, for example, kicked your Teutons' ass. Learn history, otherwise you look completely uncivilized.
I visited Riga in 2006. It was great! I loved it! The art deco architecture was beautiful, too!
you should visit again it has changed A LOT since 2006 :)
@@4erbuks I assume (and I hope) it has changed in good ways? Would love to go again.
Such a unique and stunning city! HOpe to go back some day!
I live in Tallinn and Riga is my favourite place to travel, nice city!
So close to you too! That's awesome! 🤘🏽
and i live in Riga and I enjoyed a trip to Tallinn
4:05 The black-headed house had an inscription above the windows of the second floor: "The wish that was once written on the gate of the house has come true - If I ever have to fall, you will raise me again"! In 1999, this bequest was used.
I will use this video to advertise my country to my foreign friends. Thank you, that was gentle and - true. ❤
Thanks so much, that means a lot!
Being my wife is from Belarus and her father is from Latvia it was very nice to see this video. Keep it up you two! Really enjoying the series.
Thanks so much, appreciate the support! All the best
Guys, do you know that's the pro skateboarder Madars Apse himself at 0:50 ? He's a legend here. It's not just a random skateboarder you have caught on camera. He's one of the best skateboarding athletes in the world. He's sponsored by Red Bull.
Wow, we got so lucky!! He was amazing! 🤘🏽
You made me homesick! :D Thank you for the nice video!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
Yeah, me too. Just for moment though. Too bad the government doesn’t care about the people
Kvas can be made of bread at home, but in industrial amounts it's made of malt. So... it's not a whisky, but a malt soft drink. 😆
Good to know, thanks for sharing! Cheers
Guys, as a native Latvian I can say - very good job of reviewing key elements of Riga! One of the best travel blog videos I've ever seen about my Riga ❤👍😁
Thank you 🙌🏽
You should also visit cities like Kuldīga (which has the widest waterfall in Europe and a very pretty historical town) as well as Liepāja which is a stunning city right by the sea side.
Both sound like awesome recommendations, would love to visit them next time!
"Vecriga" is pronounced "Vetsriga", literally means Old Riga.
Yea I figured I butchered the pronunciation, thanks for clarifying! All the best
Summer is when you should visit, because everyone is hyped the Sun is out and we on that vitamin D high.
Also great beer.
So true! In winter when sun sets at 4pm it can feel depressing.
@@GercaAGbig difference between summer and winter, could be more than 6 hour difference between summer and winter sunset times. In tropics like in colombia where I was the sun sets at 6 o clock all year round and it gets dark real soon after that, very short twilight period. However in the baltics in the middle of the summer there are nights when it doesn't really get dark at all from sunset to sunrise
Yea buddyyy, dat vitamin D high!
Thank you for the nice video, although you have seen only a very centre Riga. Come to see more, maybe I could help you to know it better next time :) But I am surprised about the guide you had and as a person who knows something about Riga history, I have to say something. First time I hear the explanation about the name of Riga. That it comes from word "ringa" or "ring". Actually, when I studied guiding to be able to work as a guide in Riga, they teached me (and this is true) that there was a small river which flew through Vecrīga, and the name of the river was Rīdziņa or Rīdzene (like diminutive of word Riga), and this river gave the name to the city. But the name of the river probably came from words "rudzu ceļš" (rye road, rye - rudzi), because ships with grain came in the Rīdziņa harbour (it was a tributary of the Daugava River) to supply the city with food and other stuff. The river flew where now are only streets or squares, and somewhere there was even a small lake (the remains of relatively large vessels have been found during archaeological excavations). Later the harbour was placed on the Daugava shore. Rīdziņa experienced many transformations during centuries and also had a role in protecting the city, and eventually was dammed up in 18th century when fortifications in the protection of cities lost their relevance. In the square Līvu you probably saw the greenery, in a waved shape and also waved benches, this is for the memory of Rīdziņa which flew here for centuries long. But the canal via Bastejkalns which starts by the Central market and ends in Andrejosta is made artificially and is a remnant of city fortifications. It may look like this was the river but it is not. The embankment along the canal was dug up in 18th century (the Powder Tower near it is a remain of the protective wall). Part of it was piled into a canal, making it narrower, but from the remaining soil Bastejkalns was created. Thank you again for the beautiful video :)
You’re so nice and positive couple, thank You ❤ 🇱🇻
Thanks so much!
Hi, im from Rīga and loved your video. Great camerawork and montage. I hope this video gets more views 👍
Thanks for saying that! We doing our best lol
Great tour, beautiful place! Greetings from Canada 🙂
Thanks! 🙌🏽
I love that you guys hit up the lesser known destinations and help us experience and know money saving tips and more. Safe & fun travels 😊 love your channel ❤
Thanks Joanie for always being so supportive! ❤
It's so rare that one of the skaters you filmed is Madars Apse, the best skater in Latvia and a RedBull athlete
I know, we got so lucky!! He was cool 😎
Some similarities with Finland and Baltics in public is being respectful of personal space, not making empty small talk, and yeah, people find it odd if you're walking around smiling 😅- generally it's leaning towards being slightly stoic, I guess. But, you'll get friendliness and warmth with genuine interaction. Nice little tour, greetings from Estonia.
because there is 1mil angry Russian genetic communist's
Wow, cool to see my city through other people's perspective, thanks for the cool video.
Thanks a lot, we loved it!
Zeppelin hangars were NOT brought from Germany but during the World War-I they were based in town of Vaiņode in the south-west of Latvia were german army kept their zepps .
The most beautiful video about Riga ever!!!
You comment about locals don’t really smile that much to strangers. Was told once by a local that when they see a stranger smiley and welcoming, their instinct will be “what do they want”? Out to con you.
People will think you are on drugs if you smile while walking alone
It's interesting to hear different perspectives, it makes sense wehen you think about it. Thanks for sharing!
As a Latvian who lives in Riga, I like a lot your video. We really like a good coffee. About House of Black Heads - it was rebuild (renov.)on historic cellar after the historical photos and architecture which indicates this building to be not replica but rebuild or renov. Also from Wiki: The cellar is the only original part of the building which survived World War II and the Soviet Occupation. Until 1992 it was buried underground and not visible. The historic cellar is one of the few places where it is possible to walk through an authentic underground of Old Riga, where the remains, wall fragments, floor and wooden stairs, are original, and some of that is dated as far back as the 14th century.
yes, renovated or reconstructed. replica i think means another object that looks like an already existing one. plenty of european cities were bombed during war and the old towns were reconstructed after war like in dresden and gdansk. a lot of buildings were badly damaged during the war in the older parts of the cities. unfortunately some cities let their old towns go after war and didnt preserve them like jelgava whereas liepaja did a nice job to reconstruct its badly damaged old town during the war. Daugavpils too however probably cannot say the same about valmiera
It's soo easy to overindulge in Lido, especially the really big one on Krastmala; it has EVERYthing.
LATVIA best place for living 😎. Work drink sleep repeat. 🤣👍👌
all around great lifestyle
THE MOST EPIC TRAVEL COUPLE 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thanks Taylor!!!
I've never heard of this country until yesterday when someone just randomly said 😅
At 8:21 - it's a lithuanian bus, in Vilnius Old town
What a great, joyful video! As a Latvian, it's super funny to me that you thought Latvians were chill and friendly since, stereotypicially we're used to thinking of ourselves as depressive and cold to strangers.
I found people in Riga very friendly.
Its a great place to be!
Thank you for another great video. Much love & peace.❤✌️
Thanks again Bea!
How are you guys not planning on stopping in Romania?! It’s SO beautiful there and the people are so warm and funny and the food is EPIC!!! Hopefully you guys will go there someday!
We might be...🤔 but no guarantees
Always so nice to see Riga from guests perspective. Summer is the best time here, it’s a vibe for sure. But winter… oh my sweet child… it’s opposite- dark side (January, February). December is nice though, Christmas parties everywhere!
The dark side 🤣 I would still go cuz i love Christmas markets haha
As a Latvian i recommend coming at winter to see the Christmas markets! (ziemassvērtku tirgi) it has things like hot tea and compot (compot is like juice from marinated fruits) meets,clothes a lot of lights that fill the vibes i think it be amazing to try out as an tourist!
😍 that sounds incredible. We may or may not be in Europe for Christmas… haha I’m sure Riga’s market is AWESOME
Hehhe....Well this brought a smile to my gloomy daily work life. Thank you! Glad you enjoyed your stay 🙂
Thanks, glad it good add some upbeat vibes! Loved our time there!
yeah 😀@@ONWorldTravel
Awesome vid. The States now are just chain after the same chain and processed food. Thats a place I wouldnt have thought to visit...Very nice though..
Yea we are lacking in the food department in most cities lol
USA is a mass consumption nightmare zone.
Time to visit Riga again.
( I'm from Germany and traveled to Riga 1999 for studies. There I met my later wife, she is from germany too and she was there for the same reason like me. Both we we're raised in the same small town, but never met before WE became a couple in Riga)
Great shots guys!
Thanks!
Welcome back! 🇱🇻🇪🇺✌️👋
thanks!
I just love your channel! From someone who doesn't particularly love to travel, I live vicariously through you two! I am shocked you don't have a ton of followers! I hope in time people discover you two!
Why don't you like to travel much?
Thanks so much, that means a lot!
Daaaamn talk about the road less traveled. You guys have the best content - definitely a fresh look at the Baltics. And I hear tell that Rick Steves watches for new travel ideas.
hahah thanks for the positive vibes and feedback, much love!
You guys got so lucky with the skateboarders, the dude in the white shirt is the only profesional skateboarder from Latvia, he's pretty famous in the skater world
Wow we got lucky, he was legit!
I just wanted to specify that "House of the Blackheads" was supposed to be renovated, but while Latvia was occupied by Russia, it was ordered to demolish the building.
Basically because it was monument from Germany and as we all know - Russia wasn't really friends with Germany at the time
so nice to see my city from other people’s perspective. :)
Awww thanks, we love hearing that ❤
It is not cheap anymore. Inflation has done it' s work
Nowhere is safe, cost of living has gone up in every place unfortunately..
A wild Madars Apse appears.
Epic 🔥
Some great footage ON World Travel.
Thanks!!
you're welcome @@ONWorldTravel
The fact that i walk past these places everyday and tourists love them😅
Thanks for visiting my country ❤ visit us in winter too😊
Will have to come back for your Christmas markets!!
I love Riga because I have a lots remembering from my students's years
Also , you did very good job at showing Riga at its best .
And , Beet soup is not fermented.
it can be made in 5 minutes .
Good to know, thanks!
You know what's delete smiles in our faces? When you call us ex soviet. Imagine go on streets in Berlin and talking like it's ex nazis city.
UK mums jauta Vai edam Poli🤭
We have many nice cities like Liepaja ,...Venspils ...great video...❤
Random turkish Song at 0:47 😅
not so random though: Hey Douglas - Yekte
Yea but that beat though 🤣
My girl is Latvian and I’m from LA. We both live in Bali and we’re planning a trip to Latvia this summer.
Correction Danish people or Denmark never occupied Latvia. Where did you read that? And the "Polish" occupation as you said back then was actually a country called "Rzeczpospolita" - Lithuanian and Polish union.
that was probably meant as viking pillages on the Western coast of Latvia, not exactly Danish, but somewhat accurate
Thanks for good review! You should go and visit small towns. Kuldīga, Cēsis, Valmiera are really gorgeous!
Nice! You filmed 100m from where I live!
NOice!!
0:50 Thats Madars Apse, biggest skateboarder from Latvia.
We got lucky!
Oh my goodness, some of my grandparents came from Riga and my mom made that cold beet soup and the cole slaw without mayo all the time.
I always thought cold Beetroot soup was more lithuanian, over here we call it Saltibarsciai and the bread is kepta duona usually served with melted cheese sauce!!
It is a regional thing - Poland, Lithuania and Latvia all have it as a national dish, Latvian and Lithuanian are very similar, Poland makes it a little differently.
Either way, even within my family we have 5-6 different recipes for it.
And in Latvia rupjmaizes grauzdiņi is either not served with a sauce, or served with garlic sauce
Ar alu jāpasniedz :))) @@worsttaste.3464
Yeah, Lido is great. Really feels like a home cooked meal. The main Lido complex is a great monument to traditional Latvian culture.
Like a Latvian "Casa Bonita" :D
Thank for traveling my country!!
Hello from Latvia
🤘🏽
Kvass is from farmented ray bread and it can be bit alkaholic
Very tasty beverage 😋
For the notice: Melngalvju nams is not a lie :'D
I’m a latvian who grw up abroad and moved to Riga at 21. I still think it’s amongst the most beautiful cities that I have seen in all my travels and locals growing up here don’t see so much the beauty of it since they’ve seen it all their lives. I really recommend trying to live here. In summer you should visit ‘Tallinas kvartals’ - that’s our to go spot. We don’t spend too much time in Old Riga cause there are a lot pf tourists (I hope this doesn’t become a tourist hot spot 😅).
Winters are not THAT brutal 😂
Sometimes it gets pretty cold outside, but the super low minuses usually last only about a week or so. And since we keep our houses and public spaces very warm it gives a great contrast and with the right clothes it’s not a problem 😊 plus if you teach your mind to be able to do ice swimming, you will get used to the cold and enjoy all the winter activities we have here 🫶🤘😁
We'll have to check out your summer spot next time, sounds awesome! Maybe we'll give winter a chance 🤣thanks for all the suggestions!
I love how you said Vecrīga, it wasn't even close of how we actually pronounce it, but I love it :D :)
I tried 🤣
Yo is that Madars Apse in 0:50
Yeah, thats his home country
Nice catch!
one thing that i live about Latvia is how green everything looks un summer, only in Latvia ive seen grass and tress look so green from inly 4 countries ive been to.
The city looks so clean. I want to visit someday.
You should, it’s a beautiful city! 🤘🏽
Amazing review! Doing this great city justice in such a short time is a pro-move! Quick Q tho: What cool black backpack are you sporting?
Who told you the zeppelin hangars were bought from Germany?
Looking forward to Rail Baltica. The existing rail networks are physically connected but they slow anyway. The transport authorities haven't made cross border rail services work at all, which is a shame. Good number of those at power are seemingly playing to the tune of "yaa failed states" tankies.
Looks like you explored in depth, and weather was quite nice this year indeed. During the Song and Dance festival there was tons more to see and much larger swarms of people in the central parks.
Sound effects and infobox overlays - roughly on point :D
Going overboard in Lido - par for the course XD
Can't wait for Rail Baltica too, we will come back when that's completed for sure!
i wanna travel rail baltic, hope they make it in my lifetime
Very easy to learn Latvian too. I did it within two, three years.😂😂
That's impressive, we heard it's quite challenging!
ahaha youtube loves spying on my location doesn't it. thanks for putting a good light on my home city :D
Cheers, we loved it!
Super good video
Kvass means Malt you can get really nice Guinness versions to Malt !
Your Videos are great!!!😃I found your Chanel 2 Weeks ago already watched many of your videos. While i was war ging this great video i saw it only have 3000 Views. I klicken on your Chanel and i saw you have 68k subscribers i was Like wtffffffff i thought you have Like 3mio. Subscribers. Your content ist funny and nice informations, your Video quality ist nice. I cant belive you dont have 5mio subscribers.
Thanks for the kind words, we're working on it! lol
Back packers most interesting to li😂
Well that was actually renovated took quiet a while to be fair few things was changed around there .some good some not so good in my opinion lol ..I still miss kardinal club haha !! Best place to go back in the day …
tanks😀
You should come and visit latvia in winter, its amazing in winter too😌
Would love to!
Hello from Riga.
Wow Super❤
Thank you
Their is train connection between Baltics but from Tallinn to Riga it is on a ridiculous route which would take way more time then needed and to Vilnius connection could be decent, but Rail Baltic’s is more about connection to Kaunas and Poland in that sense. That and much higher speeds than trains now would give us.
I need to correct, no train connection yet (or very bad, from Tallinn to Riga with a few hours in Valga), rails are there though
Take a note that Lido`s cold beetroot soup is far from real one. You can get the taste kinda but its pretty "plain".
FYI Latvia food prices are the same or higher than the UK, inflation is the highest in the EU (17%) and salaries start at around $600/mth.
Everything is more expensive in Latvia than in Germany or England except real estate, wages, and hookers.
17% was last year, now it's below 10%, let's be honest. I'm not saying that everything is OK now, but we don't need fake news, do we?
It was definitely pricey...we cooked meals in most days lol
Lido is place about home made food in Latvia
From 2023 autumn, in Latvia a whole city "Kuldīga" - "Goldingen" is also included in UNESCO heritage. Personaly me, i like Kuldīga better that Riga old city....
Do you have any more footage we could see of Latvia?
2:21
Riga has 860,142 (as of 2023) estimated.
and that HALF of Latvian population