拉脱维亚／Latvia

还没有到这里之前，三个波罗的海国家中，最多人谈起的就是拉脱维亚首都里加。不过里加是爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛三个国家中最大的城市，也难怪它会成为大部分到波罗的海国家旅游的游客的首选城市。也因此我对这个城市满怀期待，结果到了那里却失望透顶。
Before visiting the three Baltic States, the city I heard most about is Riga, the capital city of Latvia and the biggest city in the Baltics. A lot of people I met told me that Riga is a nice city. Hence, I came to this city full of excitement. But within hours, that excitement turned into disappointment.

如果你是热爱夜生活的人，那里加对你来说应该是再适合不过了，因为这里酒吧多的是，夜生活多姿多彩。可是对于我这个本来就不是很喜欢泡酒吧的人来说，里加真的没有什么吸引力。旅游指南上将里加的古镇形容得天上有地下无，可是到了那里才发现这个古镇并没有什么特别。其实，与其说它是古镇，倒不如说它是“新镇”。去过了塔林那古色古香的古镇，还以为里加古镇会与塔林的不相上下，或是更好，结果看不到弯弯曲曲的小街道，看不到许多有年代的建筑，也感觉不到任何“古镇”的气息。虽然步行街都是用石头铺的，但这不足以让它成为“古镇”。这里的建筑大部分都感觉很新，所以不像塔林古镇那样有味道。
If you are a party animal, you will no doubt love this city as there are many pubs and restaurants here and they have a vibrant nightlife. But to a non-party animal like me, there is not a lot to like about Riga. The travel guide gave rave reviews about Riga’s Old Town, but after the lovely Old Town in Tallinn, Riga’s Old Town was very much a disappointment. You cannot find winding alleys with quaint shops, neither can you see many old buildings here. In fact most of the streets and buildings looked “new” instead of “old”. Although the cobbled stoned streets are very much a distinct feature of old towns, you can’t get much of an old town feel here.这里最有“老”的味道的要数这个著名的圣彼得教堂。这个教堂历史悠久（ 1209年建的），这个塔楼则是在1746年盖上去的，原本有123米高，后来因为几次着火，如今只有70米高。与其他的旅游景点一样，要上塔楼就得卖票（要6新元！）。既然给了那么多钱，到了上面当然是拼命地拍照。还好是能从360度看到整个里加，所以多少没有对入门票那么心痛。
The one building that does screams old is that of the St Peter’s Church. This church, church built in 1209, has a tall tower that used to make it the tallest building in Riga (123m). But after being rebuilt a few times due to it being burnt down, the tower is now 70m tall. As with any tourist attraction, you have to pay a fee in order to take the lift to the top of the tower. After paying 6 SGD for a mere 10 seconds lift ride, I of course had to make sure I get my money worth’s of pictures. Luckily the tower offers a 360 degrees view of the whole city, so I was able to see all of Riga. 入住的青年旅舍就坐落在火车站和巴士站对面（太安静了，整个旅舍就只有我和另一个客人！），而火车站和巴士站旁边就有一个很大的露天市场，另外还有由几栋建筑连接在一起的菜市场。
The hostel which I stayed in (there was only two guests including me) was located right across the bus and train stations. And right beside the bus and train stations, you can find a big open air market. There is also a food and vegetable market located in the many buildings merged as one just next to the open air one. 对里加唯一感兴趣的就是那拉脱维亚历史博物馆。因为拉脱维亚曾经被苏联和纳碎人通知畅达65年，这个博物馆详细地道出拉脱维亚在这65年的经过。所以展览品都附上英文和其他语言的解说，让你可以深刻的了解拉脱维亚人走向独立的挣扎，资料多得我不知不觉就在里面待了两个多小时。最棒的是，博物馆是免费的。
The only thing that captured my interests in Riga was that of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. Latvia was under the rule of the Soviets and the Nazis for 65 long years. This museum details the life and struggle of Latvians during the occupation and how they finally gained independence. The information was so extensive that I spent more than two hours in the museum without realising it. And the best part to the museum? It was for free.

然后就……没有啦！对啦，这就是里加。所以说，如果你像我这样不是很喜欢夜生活的话，里加对你而言应该没有多大的吸引力。　　～伟
And then there was…… nothing else. Yep. This is Riga. This is why I said right from the beginning, if clubbing is not your thing, there is nothing much in Riga that will keep you here.　　～wei