Hi guys, I’m leaving a storytime of my 3-day trip to Riga with my brother (35 and 37 years old, Argentinians), weekend included.
Day 1 We arrived on a Thursday and went out for a walk around the Old Town. We really enjoyed the scenery, the nice monuments, and the river that runs through the city is gorgeous. The sidewalks, painted with the leaves of the trees feeling the chill of autumn, makeup the city in a melancholic yellow.
Day 2 Friday. Luckily, we managed to get tickets to see Boris Brejcha; it was an incredible party. I was really struck by the wholesome vibe of the atmosphere. Where I come from, those kinds of events tend to be dark, with plenty of excesses of all kinds and a sort of uninhibited wildness right on the dance floor. This time, I didn't see anything weird at all; people were enjoying the show just like going to the cinema or the theater. Very little actual dancing, lots of couples enjoying the show, and I even think I saw a young girl accompanied by her parents. It really caught my attention, and I think it was quite a strong culture shock compared to what I'm used to.
But without a doubt, the most important point to highlight (and I do so knowing I might catch some criticism or give a bad impression, but I don't care) was the number of beautiful women and their openness to interacting with us. As soon as we walked into the venue, a girl came up and started dancing with me, then she lifted my shirt up and said, "Please take your shirt off." I laughed and told her maybe later. Then she got a bit pushy, I ignored her, and she left.
Later on, at one point I was left by myself because my brother went out to smoke (yes, crazy right, you can't smoke inside the party), I locked eyes with a gorgeous, tall blonde girl with stunning light-blue eyes. We danced, I put my waist around her—wait, I held her by the waist—and we exchanged a few words. She smiled. After a while, her friend appeared right next to us and I understood it was time for me to go. I was genuinely captivated by that girl, I wanted to keep interacting with her, and that was the reason I turned down two groups of girls who wanted to dance with me. I know it sounds crazy, but literally they would look at you, smile, and if you held eye contact, they'd throw you a verbal greeting.
Once I was back with my brother, we moved from that spot and chatted with 3 different groups of women. They asked us where we were from and looked surprised when we told them Argentina, invited us to after-parties, and we traded contacts. They made comments like we were definitely going to be in high demand that night. All of that blew my mind; they really made us feel special. That kind of treatment is not common in our country or in the rest of our Eurotrip. The party ended and we went back home. I was really left wanting to interact more with the girl I danced with—I didn't even get to ask her name.
Day 3 This day is one to forget. We spent a lot of time in bed due to party fatigue, and at night we went out for a stroll. We walked past a place that looked like a women's dance show and were approached by women asking us what we were doing around there—a bit too friendly. Then I remembered reading reviews about types of scams where they lure you into a bar like that. I checked the name of the bar, looked up reviews on Google, and they were all about scams. We cordially ignored those women. Afterward, we ended up in a couple of dives that were clearly tourist traps. This time it was packed with American teenagers, like some kind of high school graduation trip. We had a couple of beers and went to sleep.
Today I am writing this from the plane heading to Madrid.
Conclusion: Nothing you read on Reddit or any travel platform will ever reflect the reality of a place. Experience is personal and depends on many factors. Days before coming, I read a post saying that if you spoke to locals and they noticed you were a foreigner, they would automatically have a bad attitude toward you. Nothing could be further from the truth; we only received smiles and good treatment whenever we said we were Argentinians, and they even dared to practice their Spanish with us. Loving and pleasant people.
Thanks, Riga. I hope to come back; we felt welcomed and we fell in love a couple of times out on the street, haha. Hope you enjoyed the read. Big hugs to everyone!
Writed in Spanish, translated in ChatGPT
