LETA news agency reports that a group of Latvian enthusiasts is fixing up a former Soviet nuclear base in Zeltiņi (Alūksne county, NorthEast corner of Latvia). The base used to house nuclear missiles aimed at UK, Germany and Spain. It was abandoned during 1990s when the Soviet Union fall apart and Russian army withdraw together with all the nukes. Now, local history fans are turning it into a museum.
Here is the news video and here is a written report (both in Latvian). And here are some photos.
This is a part of a broader trend towards preserving the "Cold War heritage". In the Central Latvian town of Ligatne, tourists can visit "Bunkurs", a structure 9m (30ft) under the ground which would have served as the command center for the government of Soviet Latvia in case of the unclear war. Now, it's a highly popular tourism object and one can even book it for "Real Soviet-time party".
Showing posts with label Latvia tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latvia tourism. Show all posts
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Airline competition
Today, FlyLAL, the Lithuanian national airline, announced that they will offer cheap flights from Riga to 14 European destinations via Vilnius, Lithuania.
For many years, each of the three Baltic airlines was content with serving its own country. Quite little competition and expensive air tickets.
Things started changing around the time when Baltics joined European Union in 2004. Because of EU's open airline market, the Baltic airlines were now free to fly wherever in EU they wanted (and every EU airline was free to fly to Baltics). Air Baltic, Latvia's airline, was the first to use that. One month after Baltics joining EU, they launched a number of flights from Vilnius, Lithuanian capital. Three and a half years later, Air Baltic is the biggest airline in both Latvia and Lithuania.
Lithuania's FlyLAL (formerly known as Lithuanian Airlines or LAL) looked confused for a long time. A few months ago, they tried to sue AirBaltic for an advertising stunt in which AirBaltic had paid Google to show AirBaltic ads to people googling for FlyLAL. It looks like that lawsuit went nowhere...
Now, FlyLAL is finally trying to outcompete AirBaltic in Latvia with cheap tickets. The airline competition (from Ryanair and others) has already lowered the ticket prices in Latvia substantially. With one more competitor entering the Latvian market, the cheap tickets are there to stay...
For many years, each of the three Baltic airlines was content with serving its own country. Quite little competition and expensive air tickets.
Things started changing around the time when Baltics joined European Union in 2004. Because of EU's open airline market, the Baltic airlines were now free to fly wherever in EU they wanted (and every EU airline was free to fly to Baltics). Air Baltic, Latvia's airline, was the first to use that. One month after Baltics joining EU, they launched a number of flights from Vilnius, Lithuanian capital. Three and a half years later, Air Baltic is the biggest airline in both Latvia and Lithuania.
Lithuania's FlyLAL (formerly known as Lithuanian Airlines or LAL) looked confused for a long time. A few months ago, they tried to sue AirBaltic for an advertising stunt in which AirBaltic had paid Google to show AirBaltic ads to people googling for FlyLAL. It looks like that lawsuit went nowhere...
Now, FlyLAL is finally trying to outcompete AirBaltic in Latvia with cheap tickets. The airline competition (from Ryanair and others) has already lowered the ticket prices in Latvia substantially. With one more competitor entering the Latvian market, the cheap tickets are there to stay...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Found on the web: about 40 Latvian beers
A story about beer-tasting in Latvia, by British travellers. Conclusion: Latvia has many smaller breweries making interesting beer. Unlike some other countries in the region which primarily have multinational-produced bland beer.
This was found via Baltic Visitor, a blog devoted to travel in Baltics (which I'm adding to my blogroll).
This was found via Baltic Visitor, a blog devoted to travel in Baltics (which I'm adding to my blogroll).
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Direct flights between Latvia and North America?
LETA agency reports that Air Baltic, Latvia's national airline, is shopping around for Boeing 757 airplanes. Meanwhile, Riga airport is extending its runway so that they could receive intercontinental flights.
I've flown from North America to Latvia and back a lot in last 10 years. Typically, it involves flying from Riga to some major North European airport (London, Franfurt, Copenhagen), then, from there to North America. And there might be another change of planes in North America, if the final destination airport does not have direct connections to North Europe. Some of those trips have been quite exhausting for me.
A direct flight from Riga to, say, New York would make things much easier. There was one in early 1990s, thanks to Latvian American businessman Georgs Mikelsons, the founder and CEO of American Trans Air. When Latvia became independent, American Trans Air started a New York-Riga flight (with a stopover in Belfast, Northern Ireland). The flight did not quite fit together with the rest of ATA's flight network, though, and was discontinued a few years later.
Another flight was started in 2005, by Uzbekistan Airways, which chose Riga as a stopover point for their Tashkent-New York flights. I do get a bit nervous about their safety standards, though. (I don't know anything specifically about Uzbekistan Airways but a number of airlines from Russia and CIS have problems in that aspect.) In contrast, I feel perfectly safe flying Air Baltic.
The growth of Riga airport in last years has been extremely impressive. The number of passengers has more than tripled in 4 years and there has been a lot of new flights to new destinations. And direct flights between Latvia and North America no longer look impossible.
UPDATE (31/08): In comments, a reader says:
UPDATE 2: I am told that Latvians from Latvia are a bit cautious about the Uzbek Airlines flight (in the same way that I was when I wrote this post), while Latvian Americans fly it in large numbers. And their experiences with flying Uzbek Airlines are good.
I've flown from North America to Latvia and back a lot in last 10 years. Typically, it involves flying from Riga to some major North European airport (London, Franfurt, Copenhagen), then, from there to North America. And there might be another change of planes in North America, if the final destination airport does not have direct connections to North Europe. Some of those trips have been quite exhausting for me.
A direct flight from Riga to, say, New York would make things much easier. There was one in early 1990s, thanks to Latvian American businessman Georgs Mikelsons, the founder and CEO of American Trans Air. When Latvia became independent, American Trans Air started a New York-Riga flight (with a stopover in Belfast, Northern Ireland). The flight did not quite fit together with the rest of ATA's flight network, though, and was discontinued a few years later.
Another flight was started in 2005, by Uzbekistan Airways, which chose Riga as a stopover point for their Tashkent-New York flights. I do get a bit nervous about their safety standards, though. (I don't know anything specifically about Uzbekistan Airways but a number of airlines from Russia and CIS have problems in that aspect.) In contrast, I feel perfectly safe flying Air Baltic.
The growth of Riga airport in last years has been extremely impressive. The number of passengers has more than tripled in 4 years and there has been a lot of new flights to new destinations. And direct flights between Latvia and North America no longer look impossible.
UPDATE (31/08): In comments, a reader says:
Hello, my wife flew Uzbek Airlines from New York to Riga and back last year. It was a great experience from start to finish. Due to us having two young boys, it's so much easier to fly non-stop than to have layovers. I've never heard anything about Uzbek Airlines having quality problems.I'm glad to hear that. If I need to travel from Riga to New York, I might try Uzbek Airlines.
UPDATE 2: I am told that Latvians from Latvia are a bit cautious about the Uzbek Airlines flight (in the same way that I was when I wrote this post), while Latvian Americans fly it in large numbers. And their experiences with flying Uzbek Airlines are good.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Misbehaving tourists
This story has been all around the Latvian news for the last few days and now it starts showing up in English-language media as well:
Well, flashing one's private parts in public is a bad idea, even if one is not wearing a kilt. And flashing them in another country, on the steps of that country's most important monument... that's much worse.
And that's what happened. A drunk Scottish tourist flashed passers-by near the Freedom Monument in Riga, Latvia.
Latvia has had a major influx of tourists in last few years. Hundreds of thousands of them every year. And there is a tiny number of them that would do something as outrageous as this. But, if it happens, it makes news in Latvia. And Latvian public is fairly sensitive to such misbehaviour, particularly if it involves the Freedom Monument...
British embassy did a "Responsible Tourism" campaign this spring but it appears that people who listen to "Responsible Tourism" campaigns are mostly the ones who would behave responsibly anyway...
Well, flashing one's private parts in public is a bad idea, even if one is not wearing a kilt. And flashing them in another country, on the steps of that country's most important monument... that's much worse.
And that's what happened. A drunk Scottish tourist flashed passers-by near the Freedom Monument in Riga, Latvia.
Latvia has had a major influx of tourists in last few years. Hundreds of thousands of them every year. And there is a tiny number of them that would do something as outrageous as this. But, if it happens, it makes news in Latvia. And Latvian public is fairly sensitive to such misbehaviour, particularly if it involves the Freedom Monument...
British embassy did a "Responsible Tourism" campaign this spring but it appears that people who listen to "Responsible Tourism" campaigns are mostly the ones who would behave responsibly anyway...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Travel stories on Latvia
There have been several articles on travel to Latvia in American press this week:
All the articles are fairly good. The article from Washington Post is the most detailed one. It touches history of Latvia, nightlife, achitecture, arts and culture. And it concludes by saying:
- A Baltic primer (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia -- and especially their lively capitals -- are flourishing in the post-Soviet era) - in San Francisco Chronicle
- Touring the Baltic - in Newsweek
- Riga: The Curtain Rises - in Washington Post
All the articles are fairly good. The article from Washington Post is the most detailed one. It touches history of Latvia, nightlife, achitecture, arts and culture. And it concludes by saying:
Edging away from the crowd, I took a moment to behold the attractive cityscape and began to imagine neon lights covering the baroque facades, and nightclubs overtaking the quiet cafes and restaurants. Perhaps I'm wrong; maybe Riga will hold on to its special Old World splendor. Authorities have already taken steps to rein in the revelry a bit.
But just in case, my recommendation: Go now.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Blue cows!
A friend from London told me he had seen an ad by Latvia tourism agency:
Latvian blue cows are farm animals, a peculiar variety of regular cows.
Traditionally, blue cows were grown by Livs, an indigenous ethnic group of Latvia which spoke a language related to Estonian and Finnish. Livs lived along the Baltic sea in the Latvian regions of Vidzeme and Kurzeme (Courland). An old legend says that blue cows used to live in the sea and would come out briefly before the sunrise to graze on the seaside grass. Then, once upon a time, The Mother of the Sea (Juras Mate) gave some of them as gifts, to families of Liv fishermen who had died in a storm.
Both Livs and blue cows became nearly extinct during the Soviet period. In case of Liv people, the Baltic Sea became the border between the Soviet Union and the West. Livs were uprooted from their fishermen villages, to make space for military. At the end of Soviet period, there were less than 100 people speaking Liv language.
Blue cows were almost completely displaced by other breeds. Less than 100 of them survived the Soviet period, too. In 1990s, Latvia, together with UN Food and Agriculture Organization, started an effort to preserve this peculiar variety of cows. As a result, blue cows can be still seen along the coast of Kurzeme (Western Latvia).
Two million reasons to visit LatviaThat started an interesting conversation. I think I managed to convince everyone that Latvia indeed has blue cows.
Reason #653,432: blue cows.
Latvian blue cows are farm animals, a peculiar variety of regular cows.
Traditionally, blue cows were grown by Livs, an indigenous ethnic group of Latvia which spoke a language related to Estonian and Finnish. Livs lived along the Baltic sea in the Latvian regions of Vidzeme and Kurzeme (Courland). An old legend says that blue cows used to live in the sea and would come out briefly before the sunrise to graze on the seaside grass. Then, once upon a time, The Mother of the Sea (Juras Mate) gave some of them as gifts, to families of Liv fishermen who had died in a storm.
Both Livs and blue cows became nearly extinct during the Soviet period. In case of Liv people, the Baltic Sea became the border between the Soviet Union and the West. Livs were uprooted from their fishermen villages, to make space for military. At the end of Soviet period, there were less than 100 people speaking Liv language.
Blue cows were almost completely displaced by other breeds. Less than 100 of them survived the Soviet period, too. In 1990s, Latvia, together with UN Food and Agriculture Organization, started an effort to preserve this peculiar variety of cows. As a result, blue cows can be still seen along the coast of Kurzeme (Western Latvia).
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