‘That’s where people go for stag parties,” said the woman at the currency exchange and suddenly my spirits dropped. I’d been looking forward to a winter break in one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval old towns, not a beer-soaked bounce round bars showing football on giant screens. Luckily, her gloomy prediction proved to be wrong.
At a time when no one has Russia high on their holiday list, the little Baltic state of Latvia offers a fascinating insight into life after communism. The country declared independence from the Soviet Union only in 1990 and reminders of that time are everywhere. However, in three decades, the capital Riga has been transformed into one of Europe’s most vibrant cities and a perfect spot for a long weekend, with
