- Exploring the far-flung fringes of Riga
From Aeroflot jets to breweries, the outlying areas of the Latvian capital offer much of interest, as Philip Birzulis reports.
- Springtime’s reshuffling of the natural order
Mother nature is in full bloom again, but this year the warm weather has brought with it unsettling changes in the natural order of things.
- No high jinks on these high seas
“No nation with a gateway to the sea is a small nation, because the sea opens the whole world to it,” Latvia’s pre-war leader Karlis Ulmanis grandly declared.
- Porn to be mild: the new Latvian sex industry
While Riga may not be as libertarian as Amsterdam or Hamburg, the owners of the city’s sex shops are striving to make the business respectable, as Philip Birzulis reports.
- Comrades in paranoia and the new world order
Extreme Latvian nationalists and the Russian security forces are finding they have more in common than some might have supposed.
- Reliving the Renaissance through music
Lativa’s rich musical heritage goes back a long way. In the 16th century, when Riga was an independent city in the German-speaking world, court musicians filled the air with beautiful songs.
- Exploring the far-flung fringes of Riga
From Aeroflot jets to breweries, the outlying areas of the Latvian capital offer much of interest, as Philip Birzulis reports.
- Radical report kicks back at corruption
Thanks to an under-the-table transaction in a dark bar, Philip Birzulis obtained a secret memo by one of the Baltic governments about new measures for combating corruption.
- Red revival: Soviet statues might stand tall again
These are unhappy times for those with Soviet nostalgia.
- Is the world ready for the Baltics?
The world agreed to disagree at the Baltic Olympics of 2004. Philip Birzulis recalls the chapter in world sports that has gone down in history as “The Compromise Games.”.
- The birthplace of Lithuanian drivers
Like many great cultured cities around the world, Vilnius is a metropolis of hills.
- Lithuanian Tatars cling to their roots
Fourteen kilometers south of Vilnius, there lies a small village called Keturiasdesimt Totoriu.
- DRINK WITHOUT FEAR, THE QUALITY IS PROVEN
The alcohol producer Liviko became the first enterprise in the Estonian food industry to acquire an ISO 900 quality certificate.
- Capturing the picture perfect look
It is not every day that I must use my camera to capture a man famous for using his camera – a photographer of international acclaim.
- LATVIAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY FLYING HIGH
Latvian air space has never been busier, or more lucrative. Crowding competition further, this week the regional airline Eurowings announced new service from Riga to Berlin starting January 26.
- Everything old is new again in Vilnius
Capitalizing on Vilnius’ rich and deep history, a duo of Old Town hoteliers have renovated state-owned nightmares into privately run class-A hotels.
- Hotel surrounded by a storied past
Having a new hotel right smack in the center of old town Riga would appear to be a top drawing card in itself.
- A preacher’s progress
It is a chilly, early Sunday morning. I am sitting in Oleviste, a very large and beautiful church that was built more than 700 years ago.
- Common man gets throne of his own
In the past, clean public restrooms in Vilnius were a lot like cops – they’re never there when you need them.
- Crossing the border and coming back
Ask anyone a few years ago what they remember about the Lithuanian-Polish border crossing point at Lazdijai-Aradnykai (official Polish name Ogrodniki), and they will probably tell you it was famous for its more-than-a-day waits.