The cultural learnings of Latvia - a small biking trip around East Riga. - General

If you are an American you've probably have a huge hate or a huge boner for the Soviet Union. Now counting the second situation (aka in which you are an ignorant dumbshit) you most likely want to know everything about the USSR. You want to buy Stalin brand underpants and ride a Commi-train. However I, Paravin, will be giving your lucky ass a small guide trough the history of Latvia in between pictures of my small bike ride. So buckle up, and get your snacks and your Lenin brand cup full of Commu-cola. The thread is full of un-optimized photos, so if you've got problems with that, you can leave now before your IP rapes your tender asshole. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Trip.png[/IMG] So, this is the map of the trip. I tried drawing up the route as precise as I could, counting in all the dead-ends and even messing around in McDonalds. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_015.jpg[/IMG] The trip began in the Garages. There are quite a lot such garage complexes around Latvian cities (mostly in the suburbs). Since most people have apartments nearby the Soviets gave them a chance to get a garage. Which was pretty far from home and was very uncomfortable. However many people used this and soon some garages became like little mechanic shops with hundreds of tools and vodka the amounts of which make men cry. Famous activities in these small shacks include pimping up rides, drinking, hiding illegal commodities (like clean toilet paper) and drinking. In fact most of the garage owners now look like this: [IMG]http://www.alefnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Russian-Looking-Man.jpg[/IMG] Only with more vodka and cheap Russian cigarettes. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_014.jpg[/IMG] This is my ride. Haven't washed the bastard since last summer and the tyres are almost flat since I haven't rode all winter. Bought it for about 200 or so dollars two years ago. Has served me like a trustworthy bitch serves her pimp. And off we go! Cruising trough the streets of Riga is driving around a minefield. The dog-owners during the winter allowed their hairy shit factories to lay their brown hot dogs everywhere, so now you have to be extra careful not to drive in a wet, 3 month old turd. The fact that every person on the sidewalks and in the cars hates you with a passion and would like nothing more then your death doesn't help. I drive trough Biķernieku Mežš and soon arrive at Statoil, which is a gas station. They have delicious sandwiches, so if you're in Latvia or any other country which has Statoil, get their sandwiches. The station is located in Mežciems, which translates to Forest Village. I live in Purvciems - Swamp Village. There is also Mežparks - Forest Park. As you see we've got the imagination of a dead squirrel. The newest areas around the center of Riga are mostly Soviet-block building full areas. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_010.jpg[/IMG] See? Block buildings, block buildings and SURPRISE block buildings! This way we all are the same, comrade. Lets drink cheap vodka to drown our fear of the future which will be spent in a camp in Siberia mining coal and fucking bears. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_007.jpg[/IMG] New buildings are starting to appear, as well as fancy new cars. However most of these houses remain empty since due to the crisis we're all piss poor. lol whoops. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_013.jpg[/IMG] A church with a stone. The stone is a monument to the deported members of the church during 1945 - 1949, when Stalin decided he wanted to play Railworks in real life. So he stuffed thousands of people in tiny wagons and sent them to have a good vacation in Siberia. Kinda like Charlie and his friends did! [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/K.jpg[/IMG] Only instead of a comfortable Nike shoe they got cold wagons meant for cows, instead of Unicorns they had half-dead people stuffed together like sardines, and instead of Candy Mountain, they got Siberia, which is kinda like Candy Mountain. After its been burned and pillaged by a horde of man-eating crocodile mongols. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_008.jpg[/IMG] I looked at older maps and Google Earth images, and this construction site has been here for years. Doesn't look like someones sweating to get their work done. Probably on a huge, long vodka break. I continued driving and hit a dead end. It had a house which had a cute dog. Which wanted to hug me and rape my dead corpse with its dog dick. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_004.jpg[/IMG] So I turned back and made my way into Jugla. Which translates into fucking nothing. Whooptiedoop! [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_005.jpg[/IMG] So I reach my end point. I visit this location much since I'm gay like that. Across this lake (Jugla lake) is Riga Open-Air Museum. It houses a lot of ancient Latvian buildings. During old Latvian celebrations, like Mārtiņdiena, Jāņi and Miķeļi many people gather there to celebrate it in true paganic fashion. Just like our ancestors. 8 centuries ago. Now some ghetto pictures. I almost got mugged here by some drunk russians in stripped sweat pants. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_009.jpg[/IMG] These men are called Urlas, and they're the chavs of Latvia. Or ghetto rats, or whatever you call them in your backwards capitalist paradise. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_003.jpg[/IMG] So then I visited all mighty McDonalds and headed back home. There I encountered the hugest flood of our decade. Which probably came from a toilet of a fat couple. Only they didn't shit cheesburgers, but pure vodka. Which clogged the pipes with its awesomeness. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_012.jpg[/IMG] So leaving this place behind I turned into Biķernieku mežš. Which is a forest named after the famous Biķernieks, which first did jack shit. The whole place was flooded and frozen and full of animal feces. And some very friendly men. [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_011.jpg[/IMG] Yeah be cool and wander the forest together thats totally cool and not gay bro. And that's the end of our journey for today. I have ideas to document some more trips to various places around Riga, but only if you guys liked the shit I just did. Thank you for reading! tl;dr - I hit a boy in his nuts and he told his mom. Now I'm in big shit.

USSR is teh best lawl .. .. lAtavia ? sounds shoped and fitcinal! bet dats ur home town ! lawl. [highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Gimmick" - Jaanus))[/highlight]

Glory to the Motherland. :ussr:

What a shit place. It just looks depressing.

The nihilistic tone of that post fits Latvia perfectly

[QUOTE=Paravin;21187761]And some very friendly men. [img_thumb]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_011.jpg[/img_thumb] [/QUOTE] I lol'd

Here's something good that Latvia has done: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=altdP5cKAI4[/media] Listen while reading thread

Great and I am going to Latvia in 2 days... I shit you not.

[QUOTE=Kentz;21188021]Great and I am going to Latvia in 2 days... I shit you not.[/QUOTE] Don't drink the water

[QUOTE=Paravin;21188081]Don't drink the water[/QUOTE] Don't worry the tourist guide warned me about that 3 times already

[img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/Biking_009.jpg[/img] What the fuck is that thing in the window.

It's the thoughts of gypsies living in that house.

This is where Mindfuck pictures are spawned. Seriously, every single picture you took could be altered to make some seriously excellent mindfuck images.

Welcome to Eastern Europe, our whole lives are mindfucks.

What a terribly depressing place. Isn't it either Latvia or Lithuania that has the highest suicide rate in the world? Nevermind, Belarus is number one, with Lithuania as number two, and Latvia as number five. In fact, all of the top five nations are ex-Soviet nations...

I am Latvian! My grandpa whent a few years ago, it didn't seem very bad at all. I guess it depends on the area.

[QUOTE=Led Zeppelin;21188637]What a terribly depressing place. Isn't it either Latvia or [b]Lithuania[/b] that has the highest suicide rate in the world? Nevermind, Belarus is number one, with Lithuania as number two, and Latvia as number five. In fact, all of the top five nations are ex-Soviet nations...[/QUOTE] If you'd live here and had no chance to migrate you would probably thing of killing yourself too. True story. Never ever travel here :) And yup, we suicide a lot. Also people here have shitty attitude. Everyone in the street looks at you like you owed him money or something. OH GOD SAVE ME FROM THIS PIECE OF SHIT

Well I'll keep the thread updated with more pictures the next time I go somewhere. I guess ya'll westerners need to see what kind of a shithole is a bad country. You are too fixed that your country as bad and so on, well, guess what, many Latvians would be able to kill just to live normally in USA or Britain.

yet you have internet

:iiam:

Awesome. Now, new avatar or not.....

[QUOTE=Killuah;21189124]yet you have internet[/QUOTE] He had to give up five suppers :frown: no potato for op

Oh goody, an ex-Soviet Bloc state. They are so wonderfully drab and depressing.

Hooray, a photo report on my home town. It actually isn't that bad here. Judging by your map, you just visited all the unpleasant neighborhoods, don't know why tho. There really are some beautiful places here, but they're mostly in the city center or in some rural areas. Life here doesn't suck that much, although, I admit, I'd like to live somewhere else. The society is half Russian, half Latvian, Russians here are real aggressive faggots, well, most of them are, some are ok. The Russian youth is in neverending hate with the Latvian youth, but us Latvians mostly don't give a shit about them. Even if life here isn't the greatest, this photo report shows just the worst parts of Riga, thus making it look over-exaggeratedly bad.

I used to be in contact with a guy in Daugavpils, Latvia. I taught him a shit load of english. Sadly we have lost contact. Shit sucks... :(

Latvia has one of the worst-rated healthcare systems of the developed world, fun fact. By 2013, they estimate the entire country will only have 24 hospitals.

[QUOTE=CupUp;21192026]Hooray, a photo report on my home town. It actually isn't that bad here. Judging by your map, you just visited all the unpleasant neighborhoods, don't know why tho. There really are some beautiful places here, but they're mostly in the city center or in some rural areas. Life here doesn't suck that much, although, I admit, I'd like to live somewhere else. The society is half Russian, half Latvian, Russians here are real aggressive faggots, well, most of them are, some are ok. The Russian youth is in neverending hate with the Latvian youth, but us Latvians mostly don't give a shit about them. Even if life here isn't the greatest, this photo report shows just the worst parts of Riga, thus making it look over-exaggeratedly bad.[/QUOTE] Well I do live in the worst part of Riga, but I've heard the West Side is worse. I'll check it out this summer.

[QUOTE=Paravin;21188081]Don't drink the water[/QUOTE] They put something in it, to make you forget, I don't even know how I got here.

I live in Estonia so we share the same destiny , look at our capital [img]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1090/548309113_a224772a81.jpg[/img] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Lasnam%C3%A4e_2006.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.tallinnlv.ee/aktalav/Eelnoud/Dokumendid/ddok4460_files/image026.jpg[/img] I have actually been in Riga for 2 times, Tallinn and Riga looks quite same at most parts in my opinion. But yea we have tiny winy bit better economy than you guys !

Lego is the country's biggest resource then?