In true Russian fashion Way to Russia is increasing its sphere of influence to include Riga. The idea behind our new mini-guide to Riga is that many people coming to Russia will transit through the Baltic capitals or other nearby countries. It's also meant to act as a guide for expats living in Russia who need to do a visa run. We have information about obtaining Russian visas in Riga in the guide. Please leave some comments on whether you think it's a good to have mini-guides to destinations in the near abroad and what other destinations would be the best ones to include (besides the other Baltic capitals and Helsinki).

As for Riga, it's a nice, peaceful, pretty city. It's a two or maximum three day destination but is a charming place for a short visit. See my blog "Riga and Registration" for more impresssions of the city.

And, most importantly, click here to see the guide.

Three months was up and the dual necessities of having a break from Moscow and refreshing my dodgy hotel registration were bearing down upon me. Busy with work and too low on cash to stray further afield, I decided on a Baltic holiday, Riga to be precise. Failing to learn from the hell of the last overnight international bus ride I took from Sofia to Istanbul, I decided the bus was a better option than the train - about half the price and a couple of hours quicker. Of course, as last time, I couldn't sleep and went through the process of dividing the total time (16 hours) into smaller and smaller fractions and slowly counting them off with a sense of accomplishment. In some ways it was a relief to finally reach the Russian border at 4am, just to break the monotony. But it was a break I could have done without.

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