Hostel review: Posh Backpackers. Riga, Latvia

Posh Backpackers is located in the Moscow district of Riga.

I arrived after dark to a block of confusing deserted streets. All the surrounding brick buildings looked like abandoned warehouses and minor alarm arose until I found the small Hostel sign.

Posh Backpackers entrance

Waking in the morning to noise outside, I looked out the window to find a busy flower market. During the day, with the market at the doorstep, the area is bustling and invigorates you to get out and explore Riga.

Close to Central Market, Posh Backpackers is very walkable to old town Riga and a comfortable place to stay.

Central Market, Riga

The common room was small with sofas, a computer and TV. There was no kitchen to speak of, only a small refrigerator, a bench with a kettle but there is no need to cook for yourself to save travel money. Riga is so cheap to eat out.

I had a large dorm to myself which consisted of a double bed, two singles and a fold-out sofa. The heating was sufficient to avoid the chill outside with old-style double windows.

My dorm at Posh Backpackers

Wi-Fi access was available and the staff friendly as East Europeans can get. There was a lack of English with some but it is always fun to communicate in sign language, with smiles and basic English keywords.  The older female staff tried so hard to help and made me feel so much at home, like Grandma was making sure I was comfortable and happy.

Nearby, there were a couple of local bars if you want to go out at night and mingle with locals without being ripped off.

Plus:- Easy walk to main bus and train station. Next to the Central Market. Friendly staff and well heated.

Minus:- No lockers. Can get noisy with street cleaning trucks in the middle of the night around dawn when market stalls are set up. Showers ran out of warm water fast.

Breakfast:- A decent feast of eggs and bacon with cheese toast for guests staying in private rooms. Otherwise a cheap 2 lats per person.

Address:- Pupolu iela 5 (Central Markets); LV-1050, Riga, Latvia

http://poshbackpackers.com

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Riga, Latvia. A Baltic city full of surprises

The Latvians have had a hard life and not just because of the weather.

Flying in over the docklands I saw burnt out buildings and the ground was black.  At first I thought it was coal, but later realised Riga has been built on black sand.

Deeper investigation reveals that Riga can erase the gloomy stigma surrounding the Baltic cities. There is more to Riga then the black trees, the black water of the Daugava River along with the black skies. Even the local favourite drink is black – “Kvass” a fermented rye which is definitely an acquired taste.

Riga is definitely worth a visit, especially for the architecture. Below are some choice itinerary suggestions:

Occupation Museum

Walk around this free museum with the provided black folder which explains the Latvians struggle against the Russians and then temporarily welcomed the Nazis as liberators. Only to be given back to the Russians after World War 2.

A large part of the exhibition displays personal items of camp prisoners such as handmade needles, embroided handkerchiefs, spoons made from melted aluminium bowls. The rope shoes and pitiful clothing worn while working in -40C after being transported to work camps in Siberia.

Horrific stories are told about people hidden when they died so others could still get their rations.

Stalin’s’ red-penned signature can be seen on a map of new borders from the Germany-USSR treaty agreed on in Moscow in 1939.

The red granite Monument to the Riflemen is a typically bloated Soviet-era statue outside the Occupation Museum. Once celebrating Latvian riflemen who protected Lenin after the 1917 revolution, it now honours all riflemen from wars gone by.

Town Hall Square

In the past the square was a weekend marketplace. Also where criminals were humiliated and witches were burnt at the stake. The first Christmas tree in Europe was decorated here and a bronze disk marks the spot. The surrounding buildings were destroyed during World War II and replaced by Soviet concrete abominations.

House of the Blackheads was rebuilt in 1999 and is the most photographed sight in Riga due to design and shiny pieces on the roof as decoration. It is two houses connected by an interior courtyard with a museum inside.

House Of The Blackheads in Town Hall Square

St Peters Cathedral

For 3Lt you can go up to the 360 degree observation platform via the manned elevator. There you can see is how flat Riga is with no mountains or hills to be seen. The tower is the tallest in Riga and has been toppled three times due to fires and war.

View of Riga to the South

Art Nouveau

One third of the buildings in central Riga are built this style therefore 700 – 800 buildings. The best examples are 10b Elizabetes Iela and 41 Strenieku Iela, now the School of Economics. Built prior to World War I, they have been restored to their original design.

10b Elizabetes Iela

Orthodox Cathedral

This five gold cupola masterpiece was returned to the people in 1990 and restoration finished in 2006. During the Soviet era it was a planetarium, cinema and restaurant.

Museum of Natural History

Opened in 1845, I think the stuffed animals on display are as old as the museum. There are five floors covering zoology and taxidermy, geology, botany, palaeontology and human evolution including skulls and foetuses in jars.

Freedom Monument

On the edge of the old town is the tall National symbol of Latvia erected in 1935 before the Soviet occupation. The fresco beneath the statue depicts Latvian’s singing, working and fighting for their country. On top stands a woman holding three stars above her head representing the three cultural regions of Latvia. The Soviets surprisingly did not tear down the monument and instead erected the now removed statue of Lenin which stood behind facing the east towards Moscow. Between 9am and 6pm two guards stand to attention below and change each hour.

Freedom Monument

Basteljkalns Park

Bastion Hill was once a part of the city defence network and the second highest hill in Riga rising 16 meters above sea level consisting of black sand. There are the memorial stones for five victims from 1991 when Black Beret forces loyal to Moscow attempted to take over government buildings nearby. Bordering the old and new Riga, small boats can be hired to cruise along the canal. Nearby the Bridge of Love fences are full of padlocks attached by married couples.

Basteljkalns Park

Moscow District

With many Russian immigrants moving to Riga for hundreds of years, this part of Riga has interesting sights to see.  The wooden buildings rotting away are protected by the state.

Dominating the skyline is the Latvian Academy of Sciences built in1956/57 as a gift to Riga from workers and peasants from the Soviet republics. The design is based on the ‘Seven Sisters’ in skyscrapers in Moscow and Warsaw. The hammer and sickles can be seen on the façade.

Academy of Science

Riga Central Market is Europe’s largest market consisting of five pavilions built as intended zeppelin hangers in the 1920’s. Each pavilion sells different products such as live air-gasping fish and caviar, meat, fruit and vegetables, clothing and household goods.

The outdoor stalls sell cheap tobacco, odds and sods with a flower market held each weekend. Old ladies sit knitting while serving customers.

Riga Central Market

On the corner of Gogola and Dzirnavu Iela you will find the flea market Latgalite full of Soviet-era items such as medals, pins and uniforms. It seems you can find anything at this market with piles of rusty tools and second-hand man toys.

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Latvian football – Skonto FC vs Liepajas Metalurgs

The infographic sign above the ticket office at Skonto Stadium shows bombs and guns are banned inside, along with syringes. Tickets to the game are only 1 Lt (1,50 Euro) and come with a 6 page guide, written in Latvian, showing the players and current Virsliga table.  Skonto FC sits in second place and Liepajas are fifth after four games of the season.

Skonto Stadium ticket office

Skonto has won the national title 15 times, including 14 years in a row since their inception in 1991. Virsliga was suspended from 1944 due to the Soviet inconvience.  Winning 14 titles in a row is a European record. Skontos’ other boasting right is holding Chelsea FC to a scoreless draw when hosting a UEFA Champions League qualifier in 1999.

The Skonto Stadium in Riga is also the home ground for the Latvian national team and seats approximately 8,000 but this evening there is lucky to be 200 people here.

Skonto Stadium. You can see the game without paying through the temporary fences.

The only entrance open is via the club rooms where a dusty trophy cabinet greets you at the door. The merchandise shop consists of a few garments hanging off a clothing rack and there was little interest in it.

There is a bar lounge inside where the local beer, called Zelta, is served in a plastic cup. The bar girl serving was chatty as her job is very boring with just a handful of customers. She tells me how she would love to see the game outside. I ask her why she doesn’t turn on the TVs nearby but she replies that they are not allowed to be on as “there are money problems”.

Both teams walk out to an instrumental fanfare and gather for team photos before kick-off.  Players are mostly Latvians with one Japanese, one from Panama and a smattering of ex-Soviet Bloc nationalities.

Throughout the game the home team fan-zone sing familiar football chants in their own language. There are only thirteen hard core Skonto fans standing tonight in front of various homemade banners, including Bart Simpson with his pants down.

Below them is an old guy who looks drunk and sings his own songs loudly. By half time he was hoarse and was later responsible for the smoke bomb that goes off.

Skonto FC fan zone

In the second half, the scoreboard, which looks more like a basketball scoreboard, decides to work finally. Surprisingly no one claps for any good play, like when the goalie makes a good save.

Skonto is in red

Liepajas score the one and only goal of the game at the 48 minute mark. The skill standard is comparable to an amateur senior’s competition, although the majority of the players for Skonto are under 23 years of age. I doubt they are professional players yet they have a good chance of making the Latvian national team.

Smoke bomb and scoreboard

The defence for Liepajas are the size of giants and prove hard to get past for the Skonto level the score line.  It stays at 0-1 and Skonto lose a rare home game.

The official crowd attendance was 250 on a Wednesday night. The bargirl had told me it was quiet due to the weather being too cold. I didn’t think it was cold at all but then again, the game was one of the most boring games I’ve been too.  I think basketball is a more popular sport in the Baltic region. Or weightlifting.

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Riga, Latvia – The Great Cemetery (Russian Orthodox section)

The Great Cemetery was set up in 1773.  At the time, Catherine the Great decided that all burials in the Russian empire were to be moved from churchyards to new cemeteries set up on town boundaries. This was to overcome the overcrowding due to the outbreak of the Black Plague.

Orthodox church in background.

Walking north-east from the centre of Riga, I came across the Russian section of the Great Cemetery. I have never seen Russian Orthodox crosses before. It has three horizontal beams and the bottom one is a tilted footrest.

Russian Orthodox cross

It was a quiet place and I saw no other visitors. The graves have no flowers, except for the occasional weather-beaten plastic arrangement. The trees, in mid springtime, were still bare sticks and gave the place a bleak, dark atmosphere.

Plastic flowers and grass on a grave

Wooden crosses on graves

The Orthodox Church in the middle of the graveyard was closed and seemed to only in use for funerals. A few burials have taken place since WWII but not many.

The majority of the graves have concrete boxes on top, although small and not practical to hold an adult. I gather they are traditional or symbolic to place above a grave. Many were nameless.

There was a small section of graves of World War II Russian soldiers at the back of the cemetery.

Russian soldier memorial from WWII

Russian soldier graves from WWII

One of the Russian soldier graves.

The Great Cemetery continues across a main road from this Russian section. The area is used as parkland, more then a cemetery nowadays. A lot of the headstones have deteriorated over the years or been destroyed when Latvia was occupied by the Russians and Nazi’s.

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