This summer, I visited Riga, Latvia and was really impressed and surprised by the architecture there. Here's a few pictures i took:
I was there for a bit less than 2 weeks so I obviously didn't have time to fully immerse myself in the culture there. Nonetheless, I had a great time and would like to return there in a couple of years to see how the situation evolved. They are making the transition from a communist society to being part of the european union and it has been a bumpy road. The crisis hit the city hard, but they are slowly dedication money to renovate the beautiful Jugendstil (art nouveau) buildings. They have an amazing market with fresh food, I think it's the best market i've ever been to. It's not far from the north sea with beaches and nice little towns like Jurmala. The old town is very touristy but still fun to visit and I think it's a city with a lot of potential for the future.