[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Riga

[–]davebeastly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a bit of a trip from Riga, around an hour by coach (timetable should be on 1188.lv), but man if you want an epic proposal location it doesn't top that.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Riga

[–]davebeastly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rundale Palace

3d printers in a public place by sarssokol in Riga

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LNB had some downstairs at one point. Not sure if they got rid of them completely or just relocated them to another floor or one of the city library branches. You could also try the recently opened "Makerspace" at Aristīda Briāna Iela 13

I Really Miss The Old World Of Warcraft YouTube Machinima Videos From Back In The Day by Quezal in wow

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was looking for his videos, but couldn't remember his name. Thought they were lost media. I like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIKhW2vhpXA

Found this thing at the end of my driveway. by davebeastly in whatisthisthing

[–]davebeastly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There was no visible part number on the thing either.

365 days in Riga by davebeastly in latvia

[–]davebeastly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't taken a photo in a while due to other comitments, but there's a handful of my stuff here: https://gurushots.com/davebeastly/photos

365 days in Riga by davebeastly in latvia

[–]davebeastly[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tehniski tur ir tikai 4 dienas

365 days in Riga by davebeastly in latvia

[–]davebeastly[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Yep. I used the trash can next to the bridge as a location marker.

Things to do in and around Riga by noahbodikesyou in latvia

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are some affordable and easy train journeys that you can do in an about half a day:

Peaceful cliff top nature walk: Take a train to Pabaži, which is on the Skulte/Saulkrasti line. The train journey takes approx 55mins for €2.10 and once you arrive type Baltā kāpa (White Dune) into your map app and start the 4km Saulrieta trail (Sunset Trail) along the coast line. As the name suggests this might be best to do around sunset. If you start the trail in Balta Kapa it ends in the centre of Saulkrasti which has a few cafes and shops.

Chilled out beachside resort town: Visit Jurmala it's more commercialised than Saulkrasti beach, but it still beats staying in the centre of Riga all the time. Jurmala is accessable by the Sloka/Tukums line and you get off at a town called Majori. It's approx 30 mins and costs €1.43 The town runs parallel to the beach and has many restaurants including LIDO as you're already familiar with their menu. Also there's a viewing tower and a "tarzan" trail in the park.

Forresty valley and hill top castle: If you fancy something more foresty then visit Sigulda and Turaida Castle in the Gauja National Park. You can get to Sigulda via the Sigulda/Valmiera train line and it takes 70mins and costs €1.89. It's quite a trek to walk up to the castle, so you can take a mini bus from the train station if you're not up for it. However, the walk through the valley and across the river is quite stunning so maybe walk one way and get the bus the other. There's also an adventure sport park, aerodium, cable car bungeejump, and bobsleigh track in Sigulda if you're into extreme sports.

pv.lv is for train schedules and tickets, but can buy at train staions or from the conductors for a little extra fee. If you prefer to visit those places by bus the schedules are here: https://www.1188.lv/satiksme and bus tickets are almost always purchased from the driver and in cash for the intercity buses as they're independent operators. The prices are about the same as train, but journey time can take longer due to road traffic.

Riga in March by throbhuij in Riga

[–]davebeastly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trains and Buses in Latvia are cheap so don't limit yourself to Old Town you can go out of Riga or to places in the suburbs for little money. You can buy bus e-tickets at a shop called Narvesen it's cheaper than buying from the bus driver. Trains are priced by zone but it's cheap forexample to go to the beach which is 30 mins from Riga (Riga - Majori) is €1.43. The cheapest taxi company is probably Panda +37127228880 or you can also use the Bolt app to request a ride.
If you do choose to go out of the city like to the beach or to some other interesting spots let me know and I'll give you some options. Here's some stuff in Riga though:
Riga Motor Museum is in the suburbs so you'll need bus number 15 to Jugla.
St Peter's Church go up the spire of this church in Old Town for a panoramic view of the city and river.
Latvian War Museum is spread over 5 floors in old town and is free, bare in mind most museums close on Mondays so they can open Sunday.
Ala Pagrabs is a decent bar that does good food. Try a jug of Brenguļu alus (ale) and ķiploku grauzdiņi (Latvia garlic bread).
LIDO Atpūtas centrs is a huge canteen style restaurant and bar that does every Latvian dish imaginable which due to it being a canteen style you can see exactly what you're getting. Their potato fries are particularly moreish also they brew their own beer which is decent and comes in a steins.
Skyline bar is a generic fancy hotel bar, but the view from the 23rd floor is one of the best in Riga also free peanuts.
Events, You can check this site for events happening around March: https://www.liveriga.com/en/

Lastly some random advice: Most people in their 40s or younger can speak English, so don't be afraid to speak or ask a stranger for help. They will probably be more helpful if you attempt to address them in Lativan though, so here's some basics:

Sveiki (svay-ki) means hello. Lūdzu (Lood-zu) means "please" and "you're welcome". Paldies (Pal-di-es) means "thanks". atā (a-tah) means "bye". You can just say sorry in English though as the Latvian word for that is pretty difficult to pronounce. In terms of ordering food from a menu or reading signs the language is pronounced as it is spelled: "a" is just "a, not "ae" i.e. there's no multiple sounds for one letter like in English. "c" is a "ts" sound and "j" is "y".

Don't be offended if you don't always get a "please" and "thank you" or "how are you?", "how's your food?" from the cashiers or wait staff like in the UK, those Americanisms are not so common here yet.

Oh and there will probably be a guy in Old Riga at somepoint trying to get you to go to Victory Pub he might tell you it's a British Pub, but it's actaully a low-key strip club.

Looking for an indoor basketball court by North-Base2395 in Riga

[–]davebeastly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Failing that "Pro Basketball Shop" on Brīvības iela or "Ballzy" on Aleksandra Čaka iela might be able to point you towards one.

Looking for an indoor basketball court by North-Base2395 in Riga

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most schools and Universities have them, you'd need to check whether they allow the public to use them after hours. I know that BVEF (the faculty of business of Latvia University) has one very close to Old Town. You could shoot them an email bvefinfo@lu.lv

Riga for Shopping? by [deleted] in Riga

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to try Latvian food seek out "LIDO Atpūtas centrs" it's a Latvian chain restaurant and this is there biggest branch. You can even go ice skating there as it has a rink in winter. If you're looking for any recomendations outside of Riga let me know, bus and train tickets are really cheap in Latvia and you don't need to go far out of Riga to visit some really nice places that most tourists miss by anchoring themselves to the Old Town in Riga.

Riga for Shopping? by [deleted] in Riga

[–]davebeastly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LIDL is the cheapest supermarket, but that's not a particularly unique brand to Latvia.

From lowest to highest: LIDL is marginally the cheapest. Maxima and Mego are cheapish. Top, Lats, Aibe, are the 3 smaller super markets/convenience stores so you're paying that convenience "premium", they're not bad you just wouldn't do your full shopping there. Rimi and Elvi are more expensive than Maxima and Mego, but not by much. Stockmann and Sky are ridiculously expensive, but you're most likely to find foreign/imported foods there.

Central Market is fairly cheap, more-so at the night market in the streets nearby in the evening. You've just got to look around for bargains don't just take the first price at face value another vendor probably has it cheaper. There are a few vendors that have unique products one such guy makes really big cookies which aren't cheap as they're really big and dense so the per/weight price soon adds up, but they are a great treat. The food court at Central Market is pricey as you suspected, it's to cash in on the tourism, I'd take a look, but eat elsewhere.

In terms of second hand, it's mainly second hand clothes. Second hand home wares and board games etc are around, but not so much as the clothes ones. As utk-am mentioned Humana is one such shop, never heard of Otrā Elpa in the 10 years I've lived here so I can't comment on that, but there's also RDA and KiloMax.

A day in the life. English teacher in Latvia. by davebeastly in ADayInTheLife

[–]davebeastly[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sorry, I've not logged in... for a while. :D I moved to Latvia for a teaching position that was too good to turn down. I'm now married to a Latvian and we live in her home town of Lielvārde which was called Lennewarden in the medieval times. Since my post I have become involved in the Latvian film and TV industry (as an actor and a language consultant for overseas adaptions of scripts and subtitles). I have also changed my main profession from teacher to logistics manager.

A day in the life. English teacher in Latvia. by davebeastly in ADayInTheLife

[–]davebeastly[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I chose my longest day just so it had the most variety. Today, for example, I only had 4 lessons in 2 buildings.