Latvia - Lettland

Latvia (Latvian: Latvija) is a state in Baltic states (Eastern Europe). It borders in the north Estonia, in the east Russia and Belarus and in the south Lithuania.

Regions

There are four historical regions in Latvia:

• Livonia (Vidzeme), northern part.
• Courland (Short memes), western part between the Bay of Riga and the Baltic Sea.
• Latgale (Latgale), eastern part.
• Zemgals (Zemgale), southern part between the river Daugava (Daugava) and the Lithuanian border.

There are cultural and social differences between these regions, for example traditional costumes differ from region to region. Latgale even has its own dialect.

Cities

• Daugavpils (German: Daugavpils) - second largest city with many industrial settlements.
• Jelgava (German: Mitau) - the old capital of the Duchy of Courland, but in the historical Zemgale region.
• Jurmala (German: Rigastrand) - important seaside resort of the country near the capital Riga
• Liepāja (German: Libau - Port city in western Latvia.
• Rezekne - Heart of the Latgale Region.
• Riga (Latvian: Riga) - the capital of Latvia with 800 years of history.
• Sigulda (German Segewold) - old seat of the Livonian Order of the Swords and the German Order in Latvia. Venue of toboggan races.
• Ventspils (German: Windau).

Other goals

• The Gauja National Park is a very well developed tourist area that has an eye on 'outdoor tourism' with hiking, cycling and, above all, canoeing
• The Rundāle Castle

background

After a brief period as an independent state between the world wars, Latvia was annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Baltic states declared their independence again in 1991. Even if the last Russian troops left Latvia in 1994, there is still a large Russian minority in Latvia (approx. 30% of the population).

Since 1991, Latvia has been working with the other Baltic states Lithuania and Estonia a stronger Western link, so that the country joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.

getting there

Entry requirements

Latvia has been a member of the Schengen Agreement since December 21, 2007. This eliminates the border controls EU member states.

By plane

• 56.92230823.9792061  Riga airport (lett .: Starptautiskā lidosta Rīga, RIX). So far it is mainly from airBaltic approached from German-speaking countries. There is also a flight connection to the Lufthansa of Frankfurt am Main and Munich.last change: not specified

However, since November 2004, Riga has also been a destination for low-cost airlines easyJet (of Berlin off and Ryanair (from Frankfurt / Hahn). Special offers start from around € 45 per flight and per person (including taxes). Booking in good time is often a prerequisite for one of the cheap offers on the low-cost lines.

By train

There is no direct rail connection from Germany to Latvia. A direct connection to Poland should be opened in 2016 Baltic Rail Corridor After construction delays, an opening is expected in 2020. On a section that opened in June 2016, a regional train runs from Białystock in Poland to Kaunas in Lithuania at the weekend. Trains also only run on weekends across the Lithuanian-Latvian border.

This means that the following route is possible from Berlin: Berlin → Warsaw (PL) → Bialystock (PL) → Kaunas (LT) → Vilnius (LT) → Daugavpils (LV) (→ 56.94632924.1201132 Riga Central Station).
There is no continuous ticket or a continuous connection search. The connection must be found at the various railway companies. Links to the railways of Germany, Poland, Lithuania (for the entire section from Kaunas to Daugavpils) and Latvia.

Alternatively, one could travel by train via Minsk, which most EU nationals do Belarusian visa is required, which takes 5 working days for the issue. The previous connection via Grodno (Belarus) to Vilnius no longer exists. Who nevertheless with a detour over Minsk or Kaliningrad would like to travel, should arrange for the necessary visas to be obtained in good time.

By bus

Various bus companies travel from Germany to Latvia: (travel time e.g. from Berlin: approx. 22 hours)

• Eurolines drives six times a week from Germany directly to the central
• 56.94509424.1145773 Riga Bus Station (Rīgas Starptautiskā autoosta). Departure locations in Germany: Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt / Main, Gütersloh, Hanover, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Cologne, Mannheim, Munich, Munster, Nuremberg, Osnabrück, Potsdam, Stuttgart
• Ecolines runs several times a week on the routes Bremerhaven - Bonn - Cologne - Düsseldorf - Duisburg - Essen - Dortmund - Kassel - Hanover - Braunschweig - Potsdam - Berlin - Riga, Bremerhaven - Frankfurt / Main - Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Würzburg - Nuremberg - Bayreuth - Chemnitz - Dresden - Riga and Bremen - Hamburg - Riga

In the street

From the German border near Frankfurt / Oder it is approx. 1000 km (approx. 15 hours) to Riga by the shortest route. But this leads via the Russian exclave Kaliningrad. A transit visa is required for the route through the Russian exclave.

To avoid the time-consuming visa procedure and unpredictable waiting times at the border, it is better to take the direct route from Poland to Lithuania above Białystok. This route is only approx. 150 km longer and also better developed.

By boat

The ship comes from several times a week Lübeck/Travemünde to Liepāja With Stena Line (Travel time approx. 28 hours). The 56.52796820.998654 Liepāja ferry port is from Terrabalt operated.

mobility

By bus

The standard means of transport in public areas is the bus. Central departures in all directions are located in the Riga bus station, directly behind the main train station. In rural areas, there are mostly minibuses that only understand the timetable as a friendly time recommendation, so that a longer waiting time at one of the stops that is usually difficult to find should always be planned. To compensate for this, however, these buses shine with an unbeatably low tariff. Individual travelers should always ask for a receipt, because then the official price suddenly arises without a tourist surcharge. Small groups, on the other hand, are advised to negotiate briefly with the driver and to forego a ticket.

taxi

Shorter and longer distances can also be covered with a taxi without any problems. For the former, the matter with the receipt applies again, while for the latter, a short negotiation can lead to unexpectedly low prices. Usually this is only possible in so-called call taxis - those that are requested by phone and do not wait on the roadside. Locals are happy to help.

By train

The railway is currently still - with the exception of the area around Riga - not the first choice for traveling in the country. However, according to the government's will, this situation should change significantly in the next few years, at least that has been promised for some time.

Rental car

There are plenty of car rental companies of all sizes, but most of them are fully booked in the high season. Their prices are well below the Central European average, and the insurance is charged extra differently than usual. Small cars are available from 15 euros per day, plus insurance costs 10 euros. However, the roads are unreasonable in many areas, so caution is required with the precious rental car!

By bicycle

The quality of the roads is very different and you have to expect the following situations:

• Interurban roads are usually easy to drive on, but you can experience critical situations on main routes when vehicles meet and space is very limited.
• Many cyclists always have many kilometers Mogul slopes experienced, even on routes that are marked as main roads. You can expect alternating fine sand in connection with gravel stones larger than 40mm. If you want to avoid a broken spoke or frame, you should definitely use the Reduce tire pressure.

There are many more bus lines than railway lines in Latvia. If you want to take bicycles with you, the following tips are useful:

• The tariffs are very low. Passenger tickets for around 150 km cost around € 8, bicycles around € 2. Personal tickets are usually sold at the counter, bicycles are sold by the bus driver.
• When buying a ticket, ask: Is there enough space on board? In some cases, microbuses run instead of large coaches. If you want to be flexible, you should consider moving the handlebars sideways and removing the pedals. The bus driver has the last word!

Taking bicycles with you on the train is not very problematic, but there are no designated bicycle compartments. In addition, the entrance to the trains is high, but the platforms of non-modernized stations are very low. The luggage or bike tickets are cheap and can be bought at the counter or on the train for a small surcharge.

language

The Latvian language, along with Lithuanian, belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. Latvian and Lithuanian are similar to German and Swedish in terms of similarity. When a Latvian reads a Lithuanian text, he recognizes the relationship between the languages, which often makes you smile - and can guess a few words. a. The intonation and diphtonge are so different, however, that they are not mutually understandable.

In the basic Latvian vocabulary - even without innovations such as Līzings, Leasing - there are components from all over Europe. cartupelis, Potato - service nests, Service - galva, ru. golowa, Head - roka, russ. ruka, Hand - bērns, dk./sv./no. bårn, Child - maksa, finn. maksa, Costs - vecs, it. vecchio, old - vīrs, lat. virAfter the end of the Soviet Union, the independent character of the Latvian language was officially promoted, which in this form is considered an example of linguistic nationalism. A web browser is called e.g. B. not browser (i) s, rather tīmekļa pārlūkprogramma, literally: network overview program.

Unusual at first glance is the consistent use of letters ("latviskot") in foreign-language proper names, example Fransuā Žerārs Žoržs Nikolā Ollands for Francois Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande, which is widely criticized. The only exceptions are company and product names.

There is a large Russian population in Latvia, making Russian the second most common language in the country. In some parts of the south of the country, Lithuanian is also spoken.

Language and writing are phonematic to one another, which means that the spelling clearly shows the pronunciation of a word - with very few exceptions. The emphasis is almost always on the first syllable, even with foreign words such as Students, Universitate, Aptieka, Expedicija.

In the tourist areas, especially with younger people, you can get on with the English language, but especially with older people you should try to use at least the most important Latvian terms. The statement that is often widespread in Germany that German is also spoken in some areas is not true. Only a few older people or even students who learned German at school can communicate in this way.

to buy

currency

Latvia joined the euro zone on January 1, 2014, the European common currency has replaced the Latvian lats. Latvian lats are no longer accepted, but can be exchanged for euros at banks at the official rate (1 euro = 0.702804 LVL).

Generally

In rural areas, the supply of both food and industrial goods is often very limited and only enables an average supply. The situation is different in the tourist strongholds of Riga and Jurmala. A large number of shops of all sizes and contents have settled in the capital. There you will find original small shops in the clothing sector, which are run by locals, right next to the stylish boutiques of large retail chains and branded goods. The latter, however, are usually designed like everywhere in Europe, so that a trip is not worthwhile for that alone. The price ratio in the clothing sector is also slowly approaching the Central European level.

Food

In all cities - regardless of size - groceries are mostly available in western-style supermarkets. Two of the major chains are Rimi and Maxima. While the price level there is also only slightly below the Central European level, the markets that are often encountered are usually significantly cheaper and usually also offer first-class goods directly from the country. We particularly recommend a visit to the Riga market, which is located directly behind the main train station and next to the bus station. But be careful: the fresh produce on offer is not controlled by the state! So if you want to avoid your personal rotten meat scandal, you should carefully and carefully examine the goods.

opening hours

Shops close early, usual opening times are Mon-Fri. 9.00 / 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 / 6.00 p.m., Saturday until 3.00 p.m. Supermarkets are open until 9 p.m., rarely until 10 p.m., you will look in vain for the small 24-hour stalls that are common in other former Soviet republics. There is a ban on alcohol sales between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

kitchen

Latvian national cuisine is shaped by Northern Europe and influenced by its large neighbor Russia. In the Latvian Soviet Republic and in "free Latvia" ("brīvā Latvija") there have been and are numerous book publications that testify to the simple but varied cuisine with a few basic ingredients and the Latvians' joy in gastronomy and home cooking. A cookbook is entitled" 400 potato dishes ", and extensive chapters on" cold soups "are found elsewhere ", often based on (butter) milk, or the diverse uses of bread.

A lot of fish is culinary processed in Riga.

Negis, the lamprey is called in Latvian. They are consumed in a wide variety of ways, smoked, grilled, in oil, in aspic or as canned food. The Latvian potato salad is also prepared with lampreys.

A well-known colorful salad in everyday life as well as for festivities is the Rosols (regional Rasols), which is similar to some East German or Polish salads.

The "Stockmann" shopping center next to the wholesale market and bus station gives an insight into the variety of foods, such as 10 different types of mayonnaise, not including any reduced-fat ("balance") products.

The Latvian black bread is unique (rupjmaize, rupjā maize), whose prominent manufacturer has been for some time Normunds Skauģis is. The sweet and bitter one Skauģa rupjmaizemade without food additives is a popular souvenir.

The restaurant chain is "typically Latvian" and at the same time suitable for families and commercially successful (with locals and tourists) LIDO. The buffet offers a rich selection, from starters to sweet desserts, and apart from the drinks from the Coca-Cola company, which also compete with Latvian products, there is nothing international to be found.

The Baltic States are among the regions with the highest beer consumption per capita in Europe. There is a corresponding variety of beers in every supermarket.

On the country roads, the old principle applies: eat where there are trucks in the parking lot - then the quality and the price are usually right. For the coastal regions, eat fish in all possible varieties. There are many small bistros available during the holiday season (01.06.-31.08.). As a rule, you shouldn't be put off by the appearance of a restaurant (many buildings date from Soviet times, and there was construction for the next 500 years - without maintenance), the food can always be seen and enjoyed. In 99% of all restaurants the menu is in Latvian and English, sometimes also in German.

If you have the chance to go to a "canteen" where local employees eat, you can get typical food at unbeatable prices. Knowledge of the Russian language is an advantage to absolutely essential.

nightlife

While public life practically comes to a standstill in winter, the bear paces in the summer months. In Riga and Jurmala in particular, the nights will be very long. People often dance right away in the streets where bands play or just a portable radio is playing. These parties are mainly formed where the young people lack the money for a touristically frequented discotheque. There are enough of them in the tourist areas.

However, caution is advised in Riga: Here, smugglers drag inexperienced guests into chic, but totally overpriced establishments that offer all kinds of other things besides alcohol and music. These discos are then usually noticed at an advanced hour by "Nordic combat drinkers", who then let every civilization go. (See also: security)

accommodation

Especially in the main season, the prices in tourist areas are higher than in Central Europe. Alleged bargains should therefore only be taken by people who can and want to make significant compromises in terms of comfort!

Learn

The rush of foreign pupils and students to Latvian schools is currently very limited. The most famous university in the country is the Riga Technical University, which has some international reputation in some areas, such as electrical engineering. The main obstacle to studying is likely to be the language, which, despite its international orientation, focuses on Latvian.

Work

It is possible to start work at any time without any problems. In Jurmala, for example, foreign assistants such as bartenders and entertainers are sometimes in demand, especially during the high season. Papers and insurance are generally handled laxly. The main problem is actually only one: to survive with the local wages in a tourist area that is quite expensive by local standards is not that easy and should definitely be calculated in advance.

Otherwise the country has a very high unemployment rate (15.4% in 2011), so that the search for a job is almost hopeless, especially in rural areas. Here, too, if you find a job, there is officially a kind of minimum wage, but in practice this can amount to a monthly income of the equivalent of € 70 - and that is not even for Latvian standards of survival in the country just lush.

public holidays

Next appointment	Surname	importance
Saturday 1st January 2022		New Year
Friday April 15, 2022		Good Friday
Sunday April 17th 2022		Easter Sunday
Monday April 18, 2022		Easter Monday
Saturday 1st May 2021		Labor Day, Constitutional Assembly (1920)
Tuesday May 4th 2021		Restoration of Independence (1990)
Sunday May 9, 2021		Mother's Day
Sunday 23 May 2021		Pentecost Sunday
Wednesday June 23, 2021	Līgo festival	Summer solstice
Thursday June 24th 2021	Jānis day	Summer solstice
Thursday, November 18, 2021		Day of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia (1991)
Friday December 24th 2021		Christmas eve
Saturday 25 December 2021		Christmas
Sunday 26 December 2021		2nd Christmas Day
Friday December 31, 2021		New Year's Eve

security

Latvia is considered to be one of the safest countries in Europe, even if some of the wealthy settlements are secured like fortresses. As in many other countries, crime is limited to pickpocketing and occasional car break-ins. Car theft itself has decreased more and more in recent years and has practically come to a standstill. Particular caution is therefore less required in the flat countryside than in the tourist strongholds of Riga and Jurmala.

A Blacklist with catering establishments in the city of Riga, which are warned against visiting, publish the tourism magazine Riga in your pocket (English) and the website of US embassy in Riga (English).

health

vaccination

One should get vaccinated against TBE seek advice.

Drinking water

Sometimes it is not advisable to drink tap water without boiling. Especially in rural areas, tap water contains strong-smelling sulfur compounds (Vitriol) and iron from old pipes, so it is better to buy drinking water in bottles.

climate

The summers are mostly warm and dry, so that a real summer vacation is given. Individual rain showers then come down with some force, but usually do not last that long. Temperatures can rise to 30 degrees Celsius in summer, but the average is 23-25 ​​degrees. The water temperature in the Riga Bay is not pleasant in all places, so there is a cold current on the western side of the bay that makes bathing almost impossible. It looks similar on the north coast, as a rule of thumb: Where there are hardly any or no locals, the otherwise very clean water is cold.

In winter, the frost can bring public life outside of the cities to a standstill, as no one bothered to clear all streets immediately and everywhere due to the sparse population. At this time of year, however, it can be quite attractive for cross-country skiers in some areas, as there are extensive and untouched snow areas there, so there are no developed cross-country trails.

Spring and autumn also offer many delightful days, especially late September and early October. At this time, the beauties of the country can be viewed in peace.

respect

Many older people live on the subsistence level and try to sell things on the streets that some Central Europeans find a bit bizarre! One should not give alms to these people, as this is perceived as offensive, but rather buy something at a good price. Only immoderately drunk people should be left behind, regardless of the situation, as this is perceived as very annoying by many locals.

That would also mean that the Latvians are a very proud people.

Almost without exception, foreigners - if they behave accordingly - are shown great respect. Western Europeans in particular are welcome as tourists, so that you sometimes even see them slip up a little more than necessary. It is more difficult, on the other hand, with the Russians, who are historically not so popular. The linguistically ignorant traveler will always get to his destination somehow, whereby the most necessary local vocabulary can of course not hurt.

For Germans, caution is advised in some southeastern areas: there, both in the cities and in the countryside, there is an open glorification of their own fascist past - which was closely linked to the German Nazis. Under certain circumstances, a German is expected to identify with this goings-on. Here one should quickly insist on a lack of understanding and seek the distance.

Post and Telecommunications

For tourists to communicate in the country, buying a local phone card with credit is rarely worthwhile. Due to frequent problems with activation, you should always have this activated by the dealer when purchasing! These cards should - if at all - not be bought on the street, but always in the official shops of the various telephone companies.

literature

• Altbergs, Toms; Augustāne, Karīna; Ieva Pētersone; Railways of Latvia; Rīgā 2010; ISBN 9789984387765 ; (Orig .: Dzelzceļi Latvijā)
• Bach Rasmussen, Johannes; Travel guide: traces of the cold war period: the countries around the Baltic Sea; Copenhagen 2010 (Nordisk Ministerråd)
• History: Frenz, Walter; Latvia: between the Hanseatic League, Teutonic Knights, Russia and independence; Munich 2011 (Nusser); ISBN 978-3-86120-265-3
• Luthardt, Ernst-Otto; Trip through Latvia; Würzburg 2007; ISBN 9783800317899
• (Art) history: Motog, Jürgen; Castles, churches, groves of gods: on the trail of medieval pilgrims in Latvia; Gelnhausen 2010; ISBN 9783866836754
• Zeltiņa, Guna; Theater in Latvia; Rīgā 2012 (Literatūras, Folkloras un Mākslas Institūts); ISBN 9789984893006

Web links

• https://www.latvia.eu/ - Official website of Latvia
• BaltiCCycle.eu - project on cycling in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia with a lot of background information
• Overview map of Estonia, Livonia and Courland: edited for cycling tourists on behalf of several cycling associations in the Baltic Sea provinces, Riga 1890.
• Baltic cyclist calendar for 1897, Scan with tour part.