I Explored the Most Beautiful Street in Eastern Europe
When I started this channel a few months ago, my goal was to visit all 15 countries of the former Soviet Union. First, I went to Georgia. From Georgia, I continued on to Estonia. After Estonia, we headed to Europe’s least visited country, Muldova. We didn’t just see Muldova, but also the last pro-Russian separatist region in Europe, Transnistria. That meant in our mission to visit all the countries of the Soviet Union, we were at three out of 15. In today’s video, I’ll show you a part of Latvia, making it the fourth country in this series. This country gets just one episode for now since I was only in Latvia for a day during a stopover. Now, first of all, welcome to the Soviet project 415. And have fun. Welcome friends from Ria, Latvia. As I said earlier, I’m here just half a day as this is a stopover before my next flight. So, today I can only film part of the Soviet project. This is the fourth country of the former Soviet Union that we’re visiting. And today we’re visiting the most beautiful street in Ria. Unfortunately, we only have this half day. But one day we’ll come back here and film a few more parts for the series. But today it’s all about now we’re starting with Latvia, guys. Let’s go. Latvia, here we come. We’re heading into Ria now. We’re heading to Ria now. Ria and we’re going in as a team and we’re going and we’re at wet mask treatment. We’re going into wmask treatment. Wmask treatment. Wmask into wmask treatment. You can see it. That’s the Baroque style and it’s visible throughout the whole city. Here you can see these Baroque streets. Again, maybe you’re thinking, well, it’s not that beautiful. But we’re not in the old town. We’re not in well in the centers that are even more pompous. This is simply a street where people live. So just a completely normal place to live. And for that I think it’s already beautiful. All right folks, let’s keep going. One thing I also noticed, I was in St. Petersburg a few years ago and the architecture of St. Petersburg is very similar to Ria. I found out that in 17001 the founder of St. Petersburg. I’m not sure who was involved. 2 years before St. Petersburg was founded, he visited Ria, which I believe greatly inspired him. And in 1,73, St. Petersburg was founded. And fun fact, Puda the Great was really tall. Russia’s first emperor was 2.03 m tall, just like me. Actually, you may be asking when I’ll show you the most beautiful street in Eastern Europe, but it’s simply a long walk. And on the way there, I just want to show you a few things and tell you some stories. So, give yourself another 2 3 minutes. Be patient for 2 3 minutes and then since her video will basically be there. Latvia’s Peace Street. You can see a lot of Latvian flags here. Germany once had a large Lenin statue which was removed by people after 1990 for Latvia’s liberation or independence and now only the flags remain. Yes, that’s what I wanted to show you as well. Back then in the Soviet Union, ideology and the state were like a religion. There was no room left for faith and that’s why churches were also rebuilt and repurposed. Their function was changed. Here you see the Russian Orthodox Church which the Soviet Union later turned into a yes cosmonautics center. So stars and so on inspected but I’m just thinking about what it’s called. Cosmo. Yeah, I need to look it up. But today it’s a beautiful church. Okay, I checked. It’s called an observatory. Sorry guys. Observatory. Okay, guys. At the beginning, the way to the most beautiful street in Eastern Europe was still about half an hour. Now, we’re at 9 minutes. So, just just a stones throw away. We’ll be there in 3 minutes. Here are two more recommendations. First, iced coffee or iced latte. They taste different and awesome, even though I don’t usually like coffee. So, that’s the first recommendation. So, the first recommendation of the day was iced coffee, and now I’m going to give you the second recommendation of the day as well. There’s a restaurant in Ria where you can eat every day for about €4 or so. Ria has prices similar to Germany’s. A nice meal can cost €20 elsewhere, but here you can get a great meal for just €4. That’s the second recommendation. It’s called Stockpot, and I’ll show you the place now. The portion isn’t large, but for €4, you’ll be full unless you’re very hungry. It’s really awesome. Chicken curry with rice. Today’s bread. Free water. My secret tip. We’re here now on the parallel street. We’ll head over soon. And before we go into the street, I wanted to say a couple of words about the history. I haven’t done that yet during the shorty walk. It’s quiet here, but the street will be louder. The world war began in 1939 and in 1940, tanks from the Red Army rolled into Lithuania, and Lithuania was forced to become part of the Soviet Union and was occupied. So, at that time, they were Russian. I would say soon after the Germans arrived, broke the pact and took over Latvia. Then Latvia was basically German for 4 years. Then towards the end of the war, the Red Army came again. So it was Russian, German, Russian. And then Latvia was forced to be part of the Soviet Union for 45 years. Many countries were voluntarily part of the Soviet Union, but Latvia was not. So they were occupied for 45 years and during that time many things were forbidden. Religion, you weren’t allowed to believe in anything. Holidays were banned and nationality, this national identity was forbidden. And people still found ways to get around that. People celebrated name days and acted like it wasn’t Christmas instead of celebrating Christmas. Yes. And nowadays, now that Latvia has been independent again for 30 years, it’s just wonderful to see that this identity can be lived again. Guys, I wanted to tell you this because it’s actually fascinating from a historical perspective how long Latvia was oppressed. I’ve likely been rambling for 10 minutes. Let’s get going and in the next cut, we’ll meet at the street. Okay, friends, we’ve arrived at the most beautiful street in Eastern Europe. I say it’s the most beautiful street in Eastern Europe based on my experience although I haven’t been to that many Eastern European countries yet to me it’s the most beautiful residential street or yes from the architecture I’ve seen in Eastern Europe so far and it is the Alberta Yela and while I’m walking along here and about to show you the street I want to tell you a few things about it of course mainly diplomats well-known politicians people who have power and money live here so the rich live Here you can see that when you walk past the first Porsche here and then the second Porsche. And yes, you can already see the first Art Novo building here. And yes, as I said, relatively wealthy people live here. And this street was at the beginning of the 20th century or more precisely in the 19th. In 1901, a German who wasn’t really an architect built it. Architecture was just his hobby. So, he was an architect as a hobby. And then he built this residential area, planned and constructed it. And for something that was just a hobby, I think he did a pretty good job. Right guys? And it just keeps going. Red here, blue next to it. You’re only seeing one side. The other side is green. So the other side is a bit less spectacular, I would almost say. Look at the details. Imagine it. You’re living in that house. And of course, the symmetry is also typical. the middle part. Everything is built symmetrically. This curve is always the living room. You also see many natural elements in Art Nuvo. The apartments are 200 m and they were built in the year 1,900. At that time, four people shared a room and four families lived in 40 m. Here lived people who were alone or with a partner on 200 square m. somehow also different embassies. Maybe there were embassies or as you say or consulates or Yes. I hope it wasn’t too dry now. Yes, guys. Intense. Back then, people wanted to build a facade, literally one that says, “We are rich. We are pompous.” They actually managed to do that. Now, there are only these Pentecost statues left here. Anyway, now let me show you something. So, when you go inside, then you see the courtyard and the facade isn’t so nice anymore. And you know, you don’t have that much money to make everything look so royal and decorated because that’s how it was here. the view for the servants, so to speak. The servants, servants, servants, the service staff. They only looked at the concrete buildings and found the entrance. So, I came in from the back because people didn’t used to clean 200 square meters themselves. If you were that rich, you had someone for that. Uh, I just wanted to show that. Beautiful. Like everything in life, sometimes things are meant to seem more than they really are. Ria as a city, Latvia is the country. I’ve only seen Ria so far, but as the capital, it’s beautiful. Guys, visit and check out the city. And that was the Soviet project. Four out of 10. Well, four out of 15. And until next time, guys, we’ll see each other then.
Join me as I explore Latvia in just half a day! From Riga’s stunning Baroque streets to the jaw-dropping Alberta Iela, discover the hidden gems and wild history of this former Soviet country. Hungry? I’ve got food tips too! Don’t miss out—subscribe for more epic journeys and drop a comment telling us your favorite part. We love hearing from you! #travel #Latvia #adventure #history #architecture
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00:00:00 – Series Introduction and Latvia Arrival
00:00:45 – First Impressions of Riga
00:01:15 – Exploring Baroque Streets
00:02:04 – Architecture and Soviet History
00:04:05 – Recommendations in Riga
00:05:10 – Latvia’s Twentieth Century History
00:07:06 – Alberta Iela and Art Nouveau
00:10:49 – Conclusion and Farewell