The Russia Journal

At the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. – as our train hovered in legal limbo near the Russian-Latvian border – I leaned over the edge of my bunk and peered downwards. Emily, my traveling companion for the weekend, looked back at me. Neither of us had caught a wink of sleep all night.

"I’m going to kill him," I muttered.

The gentleman in question was a fat, obnoxious man who had been snoring like a chainsaw all night long. Now, I never found out whether he heard my threat – or even whether he understood English – but, for some reason, once the train started moving again, his snoring died down. And, finally, I fell asleep... sweet, blissful sleep... which ended precisely two hours later, when our bitch of a conductor pounded on the door and announced our arrival in Riga.

We had come to Riga to see the sights and experience the restaurants and nightlife of Latvia’s capital. My friend Martin, a Riga native, met us at the station. Martin is a politician – last year, he came within 300 votes of being elected to the Latvian Parliament. Launching into a PR offensive, he immediately apologized for being late and asked us what we wanted to do. In my frazzled, unshaven state, I believe I uttered the words "triple espresso."

Martin took us to Double Coffee, his favorite breakfast spot. This is a Latvian chain, which is reminiscent of America’s Au Bon Pain. The menu features the full coffee-bar selection you’d expect from Starbucks, along with a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes. Emily ordered the club sandwich and an avocado salad, while Martin ordered potato pancakes with salmon. I took the risk of ordering a Mexican omelet. It turned out to be a bit on the heavy side, but it wasn’t bad – and it came with the most authentically Mexican tortilla chips that I’ve ever tried in Eastern Europe.

After brunch, we wandered through the streets of Old Riga. In contrast to Moscow, with its towering Soviet monstrosities and wide boulevards, Riga is built on a much more intimate scale. The city feels very European, with streets and alleys that could be on loan from Germany or Austria.

We checked out the Mark Rothko exhibit at the State Art Museum, which is going on until Nov. 30, and then we headed to the Skyline Bar for cocktails. Located on the 26th floor of the Hotel Latvija, the Skyline Bar has an amazing view. The cocktails are also rather potent. Martin had something called a Dirty Girl Scout, which began loosening up his Baltic demeanor. He confided in us that he wants to take a class on belly dancing. I don’t know if he was serious.

Dinner took place at Pomodoro, an Italian restaurant that occupies the first floor of an Old Riga warehouse (the building dates back to 1695). Since Pomodoro was advertised as a pizza and pasta place, I walked in with a craving for frutti di mare, but I was bitterly disappointed when I read the menu. Not only was the pizza and pasta selection rather limited, but they didn’t even have salad, for God’s sake! I consoled myself by ordering a Tris de Funghi pizza. This turned out to be rather tasty – a fine example of Naples-style pizza with three kinds of delectable wild mushrooms. It was also incredibly cheap, at just under two lats ($4).

After leaving Emily at the hotel, Martin and I headed to the Pupu Lounge. The theme of the Pupu Lounge is breasts. The walls are covered with a collage of half-naked models; the bargirls wear skimpy, cleavage-enhancing outfits; and go-go dancers prime the crowd from the windowsills. (Perhaps not surprisingly, "pupu" means "breast" in Latvian.) The amazing thing is that the Pupu does this without turning into Hooters. It attracts a trendy, professional-looking crowd, which congregates on the small but vibrant dance floor to the tune of Top 40 tunes. If there’s one flaw in this Heterosexual Male Paradise, it’s the high cost of the drinks – over $10 for a gin and tonic.

Our next stop was the Nautilus. This club has been around for a few years; its multi-story interior is designed to look like a submarine. Although it was almost empty when we arrived, the crowds began pouring in around one. DJ Zebra from Finland was playing a techno-house mix – danceable, but nothing to get excited about. Apparently, the theme of the night was "Safari." How exactly you have a safari on a submarine, I don’t know.

The next day, we toured the Latvian Occupation Museum, with its sensitive exhibition on Latvia’s troubled history from 1940 to 1991. As a patriotic half-Latvian, Emily insisted on seeing the Baltic Sea. So we headed out to Jurmala and took a frigid walk on the beach.

This put us in the mood for our next destination – the Joker Klubs water-relaxation center. Here you can find one large swimming pool, three Jacuzzis and eight different flavors of sauna, including peppermint, chamomile and eucalyptus. There’s also a full-service bar, so you can sip on a Tequila Sunrise while relaxing in a steaming Jacuzzi. However, you might need that drink to stomach the clientele.

Famished after our sauna experience, we caught a late dinner at Citas Debesis (A Different Sky). A recent addition to Riga’s restaurant scene, this cafe serves reasonably priced international food in a retro-’70s interior. We were especially amused by the bizarre the waitresses’ neon uniforms: "They’re like crossing-guard outfits!" exclaimed Emily.

We capped off our evening of decadence by smoking a hookah at Habibi. This Turkish-themed restaurant and lounge features live belly dancers, as well as a menu of flavored tobaccos. If you come here, make sure to go straight to the inner room. That’s where the dancers do their thing.

On our third and final day in Latvia, we drove out to Sigulda to explore the ruins of the Turaida castle. Overlooking a scenic valley, this castle dates back to the 13th century. Then it was back to Riga to prepare for our train journey. Martin insisted that we have our final meal at Lido. If Walt Disney were a Latvian restauranteur, he might have come up with Lido. Amid the shrieks of happy children, we lifted our beers and toasted to a weekend well spent. And then we toasted a snoreless train ride home.