Riga

So last week I got to go on the Corkman's stag party to Riga, Latvia. Latvia has been sending plenty of its brightest (and most attractive) to Dublin for some time so its only fair that we send some of our langers in the other direction. Three hours is really pushing it on a Ryanair flight though. The supposedly low cost is not feckin low enough for anyone above five feet to put up with those cramped seats, broken toilets and lottery ticket announcements. Riga turns out to be a really nice city, or at least the old town and the centre is. Much more like a historical German city than a victim of communist concrete oppression, everthing was in walking distance and the city centre looked nicer than Dublin. Not that we were really there to do sight seeing. We arrived late enough on Friday evening and after 2 seconds in the hotel we were right out the door. And what do most Irish do when they arrive in a new city - of course, straight to the first Irish pub. The rest of that night was a bit vague. The next morning was pretty tough, as was the afternoon. I blame this, which apparently is supposed to cure illnesses but did the opposite for me. Photos of drunkards instead of nice scenary can be found on flickr. On Sunday those of us who were still half alive were able to stroll around a take a few snaps. So a nice weekend, and when I eventually go on my trans Asiatic super holiday, I'll definitly consider going there and taking in the other two baltic republics too.