Category: Leisure

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Travelling to meet poetry. Rainis.

Rainis is a famous Latvian poet, translator, dramatist, and a public person. Rainis is a pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns. He was born in 1865 and died in 1929. He was married to Latvian poet Aspazija. There are several spots in Riga, which are associated with Rainis. First of all, it is a monument to Rainis, which is located in Esplanāde park, near Latvian Academy of Arts. It was oficially opened in 1965. The monument was created in honour of 100 year anniversary of Rainis birthday based on the sketches of the sculptor Karlis Zemdegi by his student Aivars Gulbis. The […]

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Marcus Ryan. An interview with a comedian.

ER: As far as I know this is your first visit to Riga. How did you know about it? MR: It’s as far east in Europe as I’ve ever travelled so I’m excited to be here for the first time. I’ve only ever met a few Latvians in my time. I had to Google where it was! Which is sad, because I’ve been to many parts of the world. HahaI was offered shows in Estonia and Finland, so I figured I’d be silly not to make a stop in Latvia. ER: Great! What is your show about? Is it based […]

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Going to invite someone to a date? Here is a list of friendly places!

The first date, probably the next husband “Parunāsim” positions itself as the most romantic place in the town. The name of the spot can be translated as “We will talk”. It is decorated in a way, which invites to discuss an interior endlessly. Even if you are complete strangers, you would definitely find something to talk about here. You can start from anywhere – it could be an old vintage film camera hanging inside the café or a tasty homemade pastry, a piano put in the middle of the space on the 1st floor or a cosy sign outside in […]

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Cinema season

Autumn in Riga is always full of interesting events. Festivals, festivals, and festivals – music, cinema, theater. One of them is already running, but there is still an opportunity to get some tickets. Expats in Riga suggests paying an attention to the screenings of the Baltic Pearl movie festival, which takes place from September 19th till September 25th at Splendid Palace cinema. Some movies are shown in English with a synchronized translation into the headphones. Check the schedule! There are a lot of movies worth visiting.

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Some spots that your children would be happy to visit

1. Centra sporta kvartāls (Central sports quarter) on Kr. Barona street 116a (between Kr. Barona, A.Čaka, Tallinas, and Ērgļu streets). 7 000 square meters of openair attractions for kids of different ages, including a playground for kids, bike path, basketball field, ping pong tables etc. Opening hours: November 1st — March 31st: 16:00-20:00 (on weekends, public holidays, and school holidays); April 1st — October 31st: 16:00-22:00 (on working days), 7:00-22:00 (on weekends, public holidays, and school holidays). 2. Playground for kids in Esplanāde park near Art Academy of Latvia. In case you feel like going out is a good idea. […]

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A short trip to the Riga gulf coast

Jūrmala – is the nearest and the most beautiful Riga gulf coast located in a half an hour journey by train, taxi bus, a bike (a bit longer) or a car from Riga. A wonderful white sand, a lot of sandspits, a broad coastal line with puddled sand strip, which makes bicycle driving along the sea pleasant and smooth, as well as a convenient planning of railway stations parallelly to the gulf coast, which makes walking unforgettable allowing to catch a train on the way home at any station afterwards. All these features characterise Jūrmala. Jūrmala is good in all seasons, […]

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Dance!

Riga as many other European cities has a tradition of events organisation with participation of DJs. In each particular bar such days are chosen individually, however, the most popular days are Friday and Saturday. Sometimes parties also take place on Thursday, Sunday or even Wednesday. Everything depends on the season and organiser’s policy. A musical style differs from place to place too. It is also influenced by a DJ’ s taste who plays music. It is possible to get to techno, reggae, or house parties in Riga. Those who like other music styles will most probably be able to listen […]

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The craft of beer. Some spots in Riga

Making a business out of crafts can be regarded as a trend in the 2010s, which has conquered an attention of many via such channels as Instagram and Facebook. Silk-printed t-shirts, cotton bags with handmade embroidery, porcelain kitchenware, painted pottery made in a small studio, and many other things, like jewellery, bed linen, or an apparel have become a part of everyone’s life, stepping hand in hand with other trends like upcycling or a fair trade – parts of a sustainable living concept. which has become a bold concept, covering many aspects of everyday life. But who could have imagined […]

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Autumn is the best time for visiting one of the most beautiful places in Latvia

The calendar shows the middle of September, the first month of an autumn. This season is very beautiful in Latvia, especially when the greenery becomes yellow, but the leaves still stay on the trees. There is a tradition in Latvia to go to the nature in this period of the year and to enjoy the beauty of colours in the forests, in the fields, and even in the swamps. The latter deserve a special attention since there is a magnificent place, Kemeri National Park, located in Zemgale and Vidzeme, with lots of beautiful swamps and forests there. It is also […]

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A contemporary circus and street art festival “RE RIGA”

Each year, in August, in Riga takes place an international contemporary circus and street art festival “Re Riga!”. As part of the festival, during five years of its existence, more than 80 artists from 20 countries gathering more than 50 000 visitors have been brought to Latvia. The exclamation ‘Re!’ comes from the Latvian language meaning ‘Hey, look at that!’ or ‘Look, look!’. The events of the festival take place in various locations around Riga. In the year 2014 RE RIGA! was included in the official program of Riga – the European Capital of Culture. This year “Re Riga!” will […]