Next stop in my trip to the Baltic States was Riga in Latvia. I learned most about the economic situation, because Latvia was one of the countries that was hit hardest during the crisis. Furthermore, (again) the city centre is very beautiful with lots of amazing buildings.
The economic situation: After a visit to the Central Bank and a Latvian charity organization, I learned a lot about Latvia’s position in the crisis. The pro’s of how they handled the situation (the bank was very proud of this) and the con’s that go with it at a social level (this was the side of the charity organization). Latvia’s government decided, in contrast to countries like Greece, to take hard measures and to make strict reforms without devaluating their currency to get out of the crisis. Therefore, Latvia had a few very hard years, but is now getting in a better situation already.
The city centre: During our stay in Riga, we had a city walk around the historic centre. We saw many beautiful and diverse buildings. To get a good impression, here are some photographs:
Soon the last stop: Tallinn, Estonia!
Looks a lot nicer than I was led to believe. If you had to rank the three Baltic capitals, what would be your 1, 2, 3?
I would have to say that my number one is Tallinn. I have to admit that it is more touristic and crowded than the other two, but I just love the historical centre. Second place I am tempted to say Riga, but during my trip to the Baltic States we only stayed in Vilnius for one day and longer in Riga, so that may have affected my opinion. Nonetheless, I do think Vilnius is very beautiful as well. Especially its history had a big impact on me. I think I saw on your blog that you visited Vilnius as well right? Planning on visiting Tallinn and Riga still (if you haven’t done so yet)?
I loved Tallinn, it’s probably my favourite European city after Venice. I went to Vilnius in the snow in March (-4 degrees C) and liked it a lot. I was surprised about Riga – lots of people I know have been there and said it’s a horrible place, but your photos make it look lovely.