I did not know about rule number 4 - but it's a good thing to be aware of - thanks!

Rule number two is fantastic - if only we here in North America would adopt such a rule .....

Hi

I agree about rule two, what a brilliant idea, but how do you police it. I hate walking through a fug of smoke to get into anywhere. Roll on July when smoking in public places is banned in the UK.

Jackie

Well the rule number has been discussed a lot here, most people don't like it, everybody is quoting the american cities or many cities in Europe where it is allowed to sit in parks on the lawn. But the gardeners say - people don't know to behave - leave the grass littered and trample down the flowerbeds, and some older ones even say this is indecent behaviour to lie in grass in the middle of the city and - heaven forbid! - barechested. Anyway I know in Paris in some central parks there are similar restrictions on using lawn. I think they should make some parks where no flowers are planted and nothing that could be destroyed by trampling and should let the people there.

This is all very true.

In practice, however, as long as you are quiet and respectful and don't stand out from the crowd, I have found that the police have little time or interest in pedestrians, so as long as you don't do something *really* stupid right in front of them (i.e. urinating on the Freedom Monument) then you will be fine 99 times out of a 100.

Drive a car, however, and you are immediately a marked man/woman. Fortunately I don't drive very often, which is good because it usually only takes me a few minutes before I get pulled over for something minor.

The reason? Car drivers can be assumed to have some money in Latvia. Pedestrians usually don't unless they are obviously foreign tourists.

Hi,

My husband and I are going to Riga for nearly 2 weeks to visit the three children we hosted in the US last year.

I was concerned to hear about the racism.

I am white, and my husband is Spanish with very tanned skin and black hair.

Any places to stay away from during the day?

Doubt we'll be out at night other than dinner.

We will be in Jelgava and Riga.

Thanks,

Mariah

"1) It is prohibited to smoke in all pubs and bars and restaurants and clubs at all times. (Except the only few bars have additional designated closed area for smokers)"

Not true, Janis- I lit up in the I Love You cafe, because others were smoking and there were ashtrays on the tables. Strange, as I didn't see this anywhere else.

Hi Janis, is this no walking/sitting/sunbathing on the grass rule still in force in Riga's parks for Summer '08? I had heard that it was up for discussion and may be changed.

Hello,

It was an experiment to allow to sit on the grass in Riga central park besice the canal for a month - I think, June. But it is already been said by local authorities that too much damage is made to the grass and the experiment has failed. So, most probably, it still won't be allowed to sit on the grass in Riga parks.

Hi,

You can smoke in some bars. There was a list of these places on the blog http://fuckinglatvia.wordpress.com

Sitting in grass was allowed all June, they might forbid that from July again, let's see. As for having a pinte outside the pub, well, if you are in Old Town, maybe police will bother, but otherwise it's not that strict if you behave nicely and don't look drunk. You might have notice that Latvian people aren't that loud, so it's easy to spot some tourists who laugh loud or make unnecessary noise - this is how you attract attention and if you play on nerves, including Policeman, they might try to fine you if you drinking on the street. Fasten seatbelts - yes, but then again, if you take minitaxti - "marshrutka" that is express mini bus, people never wear seatbelts even if they sit next to driver.

By the way, you can't smoke in I Love You bar anymore, I think it's from mid- May like that. As for racism, you can't avoid that, but there's no big chance that something bad will happend. Avoid studid dance clubs, such as Essensial, Pepsi forum or Vernisaza. But don't be scared of people looking at you.