The bus to Riga was one of the fanciest buses I have ever ridden in in my entire life. I spent most of the ride staring out the window, the seat selected by Martin was perfect for it, and figuring out what I was going to do in Riga. The capital city of Latvia is mostly advertised as a destination for stag parties so I wondered what else there could be. I started to save locations on my Google Map that I wanted to visit the next day, and since I would be arriving in the early evening I figured that I would just spend the first night wandering around a bit.
My hostel, appeared on the map, to be very close to the bus station but when I exited the building I found myself standing on the wrong side of a six lane road, my hostel sitting just on the other side. I wasn't sure what to do. In front of me was a flight of stairs leading underground. A few thoughts ran through my mind as I tried to figure out how to get across. Stairs underground usually lead to a subway in my experience but I didn't see any above ground methods of getting to the opposite side of the street either. Finally I descended and found a bunch of small shops lining the walkway, similar to some subway stations back home. I continued to follow the stream of people and when I ascended again from the deep I found myself exactly where I wanted to be. A quick walk to the hostel and I was, again, in a reception slash bar.
After the usual spiel about rules and where to find things the receptionist pulled out two heavy black bottles. She asked me if I was ready for my welcome shot and I said of course. I didn't even realize that was a thing in this hostel but I've never been one to turn down a good thing. She explained to me what the drink was, Black Balzams, the national drink of Riga. They say that you have not visited Riga unless you've had Black Balzams. It was invented by a blacksmith and contains all these herbs and such. People even use it to help with a sore throat or cough by mixing it with warm milk and honey. She offered me either the traditional version or what she called the "21st century upgrade." I opted for traditional and I can tell you that it certainly tasted old - like a very herby, bitter, jaeger. Now that I was properly welcomed I went upstairs to drop off my things and rest for a bit while I figured out what to do next.
By 8pm I was back out wandering the cobblestone streets of Riga Old Town. I walked a few streets east, a couple north, turning around each time the cobblestone ended. The stores and bars were all playing 90s American pop music out in the street. I guess it is to entice you to go in. Eventually, after walking in plenty of circles, I settled on a place called Easy Beer for dinner. I walked in and saw a whole hallway of beer taps with a sign that said "tap your card and pour." I receive a card and it felt like an adult Dave and Buster's. Grab a glass, tap your card with preloaded money, get pouring. All the beers were from Latvia, one from Estonia, and the few I had were amazing. I also had a pan fried perch dish that was to die for.
Happy with my dinner choice I decided to swing by the hostel I had originally booked and check out the bar there. They had the bar in an old VW minivan which was the coolest thing I'd seen and were playing heavy metal covers of pop songs. I got a beer and sat there in the pretty much empty bar enjoying the music when I felt my phone vibrate. My friend James the Scot who I met in Tallinn was back in our hostel and was asking me to come and rescue him from interacting with some other Americans who were there in the reception slash bar.
When I walked in the party was well underway and James was there chatting with two American girls. I came over and we caught up on things, grabbed a pint, and then joined the group in the common room. I ended up mostly talking to the two American girls from NYU. As we exchanged the "who are you" bits I said I was in media and they said they were too so I told them who I worked for - that was how I learned that they were actually just two journalism students. It was hard to suppress my eye roll as they talked about how being from Syracuse was being "from New York" (only in the most technical sense of the phrase) and living in Brooklyn which was the immediate tip off that neither of them were native to the area. They were very nice though and eager to make friends which is pretty much what one looks for in a temporary travel friend. We ended up all going to karaoke, James and I checking out one other bar before heading back. We stopped to bother the receptionist who seemed to enjoy the company and by the time I retired for the night it was nearly 6am.
As a friend of mine put it, when I told him of the beer restaurant, how does anyone get anything done around here with such a nightlife?
Location:Audēju iela,Riga,Latvia
0 comments:
Post a Comment