Daugavpils
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I first visited Latvia on a citytrip-with-sidetrips to check off Riga. Then I (literally) walked back in from Estonia to cross the country on foot from Valka to Zagaré, following the trails of the Baltic Camino. Seems like a pretty thorough exploration already, far surpassing what the average tourist gets to explore… but it was not enough, not with a destination like Latvia! So after I kicked off my hiking boots somewhere in a field in Lithuania, I turned around and once again came back for Latvia, this time aiming for a hitchhiking trip cutting through the relatively unexplored east side bordering Belarus and Russia all the way up north again. An unusual itinerary, but one that comes with travel memories I’d refuse to miss out on.
Part 1:
Part 1:
Dagauvpils
I crossed the Latvian-Lithuanian border (embellished with a GOT White Walker for whatever reason) in Zarasai, and popped straight into Dagauvpils. With its status as Latvia’s second biggest city it’s hardly an “off the grid destination”, but somehow I didn’t encounter a single non-Latvian speaking visitor along the way. Undeserved, as the city is worth a swift gander. After a quick drop-in at a private laboratory I learned that the huge non-disappearing ring on my leg was in fact Lyme disease (1000km hiking in the Baltics will do that to you), I made haste to the Smakovka Museum to live it up until the inevitable 3-week antibiotics would force all alcohol out of my diet. Smakovka is the Latvian answer to moonshine: A home-distilled grain-fermented spirit properly boozing you up with its 40-50% alcohol percentage. It truly is a very local product, for which the fertile soil, generous rainfall and a mild climate create the perfect conditions for its ingredients (barley, wheat or rye) to grow. Initially, during the Soviet occupation, the smakovka production went through the roof due to the widespread propaganda promoting alcohol consumption and introducing traditions of "cultural drinking.” Needless to say, this soon got out of hand and the so-called “dry law” had to be promptly put in place. As one of the consequences, home-brewing became punishable by imprisonment. Nice try, but the Latvians didn’t shy away from using their creativity to circumvent the law enforcement's supervision, even if that meant they had to purchase the ingredients separately to avoid suspicion and brew in the dead of night, in a forest or an abandoned building. In today’s day and age, it’s still illegal, but the tradition is going strong behind closed doors. Not a single household I visited during my ample time in Latvia forgot to offer me a glass (or 5). I noticed that the matured version has a more subtle taste, while the drink that generally ends up on the table is usually quite young with a slap-in-the-face kick to it. Fruity infusions are also popular, with blackcurrent as the widely voted favorite. Besides offering a playful and interactive journey through the historical journey of smakovka, the Smakovka Museum offers a very welcome tasting to complete the experience. Prieka!
I crossed the Latvian-Lithuanian border (embellished with a GOT White Walker for whatever reason) in Zarasai, and popped straight into Dagauvpils. With its status as Latvia’s second biggest city it’s hardly an “off the grid destination”, but somehow I didn’t encounter a single non-Latvian speaking visitor along the way. Undeserved, as the city is worth a swift gander. After a quick drop-in at a private laboratory I learned that the huge non-disappearing ring on my leg was in fact Lyme disease (1000km hiking in the Baltics will do that to you), I made haste to the Smakovka Museum to live it up until the inevitable 3-week antibiotics would force all alcohol out of my diet. Smakovka is the Latvian answer to moonshine: A home-distilled grain-fermented spirit properly boozing you up with its 40-50% alcohol percentage. It truly is a very local product, for which the fertile soil, generous rainfall and a mild climate create the perfect conditions for its ingredients (barley, wheat or rye) to grow. Initially, during the Soviet occupation, the smakovka production went through the roof due to the widespread propaganda promoting alcohol consumption and introducing traditions of "cultural drinking.” Needless to say, this soon got out of hand and the so-called “dry law” had to be promptly put in place. As one of the consequences, home-brewing became punishable by imprisonment. Nice try, but the Latvians didn’t shy away from using their creativity to circumvent the law enforcement's supervision, even if that meant they had to purchase the ingredients separately to avoid suspicion and brew in the dead of night, in a forest or an abandoned building. In today’s day and age, it’s still illegal, but the tradition is going strong behind closed doors. Not a single household I visited during my ample time in Latvia forgot to offer me a glass (or 5). I noticed that the matured version has a more subtle taste, while the drink that generally ends up on the table is usually quite young with a slap-in-the-face kick to it. Fruity infusions are also popular, with blackcurrent as the widely voted favorite. Besides offering a playful and interactive journey through the historical journey of smakovka, the Smakovka Museum offers a very welcome tasting to complete the experience. Prieka!
Another museum that I considered a win: the Daugavpils Local History and Art Museum. The establishment houses no less than 100,000 objects, covering the historical timeline from the Bronze Age to the German crusaders, to the Swedes, the Poles and then the Russians. As the museum’s name already gives away, it offers many an art exhibition as well. I particularly enjoyed the works of Leonids Baulins, a prime artist of Daugavpils, whose works feature views of the streets and outskirts of Daugavpils, as well as the rural landscapes of the town’s natural surroundings. An artist I much prefer above the Daugavpils-hotshot: Mark Rothko. A name you’ve heard before, as the true art of this painter is gaining money and fame with downright laughable pieces. The genius made a career out of smashing 2-3 plain color fields on a canvas (in a rather childish, amateurish way I must add) and convincing pretentious people that this is high-end art. I tip my hat, my man, but I still won’t go to your museum, I have better things to do.
Like visiting the Jews in Latgale Museum, the Monument to the Victims of Action of 8-9 November 1914 and the Memorial Stone to the Innocent Victims of the Red Terror. During WWII the Latvian territory (back then absorbed into the USSR) was occupied by the German troops. Tens of thousands of Latvian soldiers were obliged to fight on the “side of the enemy” in both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, while being at the same time murdered out by both forces. In this period, the Stalag 340 camp emerged within the Daugavpils Fortress, nicknamed the “death camp” due to the pitiful conditions causing over 124,000 soviet war prisoners to die from starvation, sickness or execution. The remainder of the prisoners were locked up inside the fortress’ cathedral which was subsequently blown up. Simultaneously, the Soviets were punishing their own folks by deporting about 60,000 Latvians to camps in Siberia for their “anti-Soviet behaviour.” The Jews didn’t have a much more fortunate fate, with about 15,000 to 20,000 of them being placed in the Daugavpils ghetto, in which less than 100 people survived. On the place where about 2000 Jews were shot (on the 8th and 9th of November 1941), now stands a memorial obelisk.
Nowadays, few elements of the Daugavpils Fortress (initially built to protect against Napoleon’s threat) remind us of these horrendous events. It now serves as one of the city’s main attractions, hosting multiple museums within its walls: World War I Museum, the Mark Rothko Art Centre, the White Horse Art Gallery, the Daugavpils Bat Centre, the Retogaraz vintage cars exhibit and some odd exposition on contraception methods.
Like visiting the Jews in Latgale Museum, the Monument to the Victims of Action of 8-9 November 1914 and the Memorial Stone to the Innocent Victims of the Red Terror. During WWII the Latvian territory (back then absorbed into the USSR) was occupied by the German troops. Tens of thousands of Latvian soldiers were obliged to fight on the “side of the enemy” in both the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, while being at the same time murdered out by both forces. In this period, the Stalag 340 camp emerged within the Daugavpils Fortress, nicknamed the “death camp” due to the pitiful conditions causing over 124,000 soviet war prisoners to die from starvation, sickness or execution. The remainder of the prisoners were locked up inside the fortress’ cathedral which was subsequently blown up. Simultaneously, the Soviets were punishing their own folks by deporting about 60,000 Latvians to camps in Siberia for their “anti-Soviet behaviour.” The Jews didn’t have a much more fortunate fate, with about 15,000 to 20,000 of them being placed in the Daugavpils ghetto, in which less than 100 people survived. On the place where about 2000 Jews were shot (on the 8th and 9th of November 1941), now stands a memorial obelisk.
Nowadays, few elements of the Daugavpils Fortress (initially built to protect against Napoleon’s threat) remind us of these horrendous events. It now serves as one of the city’s main attractions, hosting multiple museums within its walls: World War I Museum, the Mark Rothko Art Centre, the White Horse Art Gallery, the Daugavpils Bat Centre, the Retogaraz vintage cars exhibit and some odd exposition on contraception methods.
Other popular stops in Daugavpils include the Daugavpils Lead Shot Factory, featuring the only ammunition production factory of the Baltics and the oldest short casting tower of Europe (unfortunately it was closed when I arrived), Cat Café Kotoffski and the Church Hill containing four churches of different confessions (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox & Old Believers). If you happen to arrive in winter and you’re a beginner in skiing or snowboarding, you can even go for a couple of cheap runs on the mellow slopes of Eglukans Skiing Area (reached by bus #6182). Yet, in the other seasons the Daugavas Loki (old valley), extending from Kraslava to Daugavpils, offers various nature trails along its rolling hills.
Check out the continuation of this hitchhike trip in this article, covering Lubana, Cesvaine, Madona, Gulbene, Tirza and Aluksne.
Check out the continuation of this hitchhike trip in this article, covering Lubana, Cesvaine, Madona, Gulbene, Tirza and Aluksne.
Quick Budget Fact Overview
Latvia Facts
Short History Recap
650: Curonians & Livonians. 750: Curonians fight at Swedish side in Battle of Bravellir. 800: Rebellion against Swedes → refusing to pay tribute. 850: Danish came to conquer, but got butchered and plundered. ’54: King Olaf of Sweden attacked Seeburg & Apulia, area subjected to Sweden again. ’70 & ‘90: Struggles with Danes. 925: Icelandic influence. ’50: Norse occupations. 1100s: First settlements in Courland, Semigallia, Talava, Koknese & Jersika. 1184: Missionaries & Crusades. 1201: Riga founded on site of earlier Livonian settlement. ’02: Catholic military order Livonian Brothers of the Sword founded (by Bishop Albert), fought Livonians and later Estonians. Defeated in ’36 by Samogitians & Semigallians at Battle of Saule. ’42: Alexander Nevsky defeats Livonian Order. ’82: Riga member of Hanseatic League. 1452: Archbishop of Riga & Livonian order rule Livonia together. 1558: Russian Ivan the Terrible attacks. ’61: Livonian War → Livonia now Lithuanian → in ’69: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1629: Peace of Altmark → Livonia/Courland become Swedish Livonia. ’89: Testaments translated in Latvian. 1700-‘21: Great Northern War between Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden & Russia. ’21: Part of Russian Empire (until 1918). 1841: Famine. ’87: Russification. 1914: Start WWI. ‘18: Independence proclaimed. ‘18-’20: Civil war ends in peace treaty with Soviet Russia. ’40: Soviet Union (SU) annexes Latvia / Estonia / Lithuania. Mass deportations to Siberia and Central Asia. ’41: Nazi Germany invades. 70,000 Latvian Jews killed by Nazis & Latvian paramilitary units. ’44: SU returns = more deportations and repression of resistance. ’86: Anti-Soviet demonstrations and nationalism. ’91: Referendum in favor of independence. Later on declared during anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow. ’94: Last Russian troops leave. 2003: Referendum vote backs EU membership. ’04: Nato & EU. ’06: Citizenship requires to pass Latvian language test. ’08: International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves 1.68bn euro rescue package. ’10: Unemployment 20%, highest in EU. ’11: Pro-Russian Harmony Centre largest party in elections → coalition government excludes it. ’12: Referendum on giving Russian joint official language status rejected by large margin. ’14: Joins Eurozone. ’15: Nato reinforces its presence in Baltics. ’22: Russia invades Ukraine. Latvia declares state of emergency along Belarusian border due to illegal border-crossing attempts.
Latvia Facts
- Capital: Riga
- Language: Latvian (a minority speaks exclusively Russian)
- Population: ± 1.9 mln
- Sq km: ± 64,600
- Currency: Euro (€ - EUR)
- Electricity Outlet: F / 230 V / 50 Hz. Check here.
- Country Code Phone: +371
- Emergency Phone: 112
- Visa: Schengen visa (Latvia is part of the EU). Info here eand easy visa application here.
- Vaccinations: None, although it’s recommended to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease if you plan to spend a lot of time in the forests, as this is rather common in the Baltics (I personally caught Lyme disease in Estonia but detected it early, so I could get it treated with antibiotics). Healthcare is very cheap in Latvia.
- Climate: Cold Winter Humid Continental Climate (Dfb)
- High season: July-August
Short History Recap
650: Curonians & Livonians. 750: Curonians fight at Swedish side in Battle of Bravellir. 800: Rebellion against Swedes → refusing to pay tribute. 850: Danish came to conquer, but got butchered and plundered. ’54: King Olaf of Sweden attacked Seeburg & Apulia, area subjected to Sweden again. ’70 & ‘90: Struggles with Danes. 925: Icelandic influence. ’50: Norse occupations. 1100s: First settlements in Courland, Semigallia, Talava, Koknese & Jersika. 1184: Missionaries & Crusades. 1201: Riga founded on site of earlier Livonian settlement. ’02: Catholic military order Livonian Brothers of the Sword founded (by Bishop Albert), fought Livonians and later Estonians. Defeated in ’36 by Samogitians & Semigallians at Battle of Saule. ’42: Alexander Nevsky defeats Livonian Order. ’82: Riga member of Hanseatic League. 1452: Archbishop of Riga & Livonian order rule Livonia together. 1558: Russian Ivan the Terrible attacks. ’61: Livonian War → Livonia now Lithuanian → in ’69: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1629: Peace of Altmark → Livonia/Courland become Swedish Livonia. ’89: Testaments translated in Latvian. 1700-‘21: Great Northern War between Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden & Russia. ’21: Part of Russian Empire (until 1918). 1841: Famine. ’87: Russification. 1914: Start WWI. ‘18: Independence proclaimed. ‘18-’20: Civil war ends in peace treaty with Soviet Russia. ’40: Soviet Union (SU) annexes Latvia / Estonia / Lithuania. Mass deportations to Siberia and Central Asia. ’41: Nazi Germany invades. 70,000 Latvian Jews killed by Nazis & Latvian paramilitary units. ’44: SU returns = more deportations and repression of resistance. ’86: Anti-Soviet demonstrations and nationalism. ’91: Referendum in favor of independence. Later on declared during anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow. ’94: Last Russian troops leave. 2003: Referendum vote backs EU membership. ’04: Nato & EU. ’06: Citizenship requires to pass Latvian language test. ’08: International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves 1.68bn euro rescue package. ’10: Unemployment 20%, highest in EU. ’11: Pro-Russian Harmony Centre largest party in elections → coalition government excludes it. ’12: Referendum on giving Russian joint official language status rejected by large margin. ’14: Joins Eurozone. ’15: Nato reinforces its presence in Baltics. ’22: Russia invades Ukraine. Latvia declares state of emergency along Belarusian border due to illegal border-crossing attempts.
FREE Sights / Activities Daugavpils
PAID Sights / Activities Daugavpils
Evening Entertainment
Local Festivals
- Sights: Daugavpils Fortress (entrance free, museums paid), Rigas Street, Unity House, Brugu Street Promenade, Music Square in Esplanade Rest Park, Palace of Culture, Stephen Bathory Memorial, Pavel Dubrovin Memorial, Sculpture Garden, Monument to the Victims of Action of 8-9 November 1914, Memorial Stone to the Innocent Victims of the Red Terror, Church Hill, St Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church (wood), Martin Luther Cathedral and Viewing Platform & many more churches.
- Hikes / Nature: Dubrovin Park, Central Park, Public Garden Daugavpils University, Great Lake of Strop, Great Rock of Nicgale, Daugavas Loki.
PAID Sights / Activities Daugavpils
- Museums: Smakovka Museum, Daugavpils Regional and Art Museum, Centre of Technics and Industrial Design: Engineering Arsenal, Museum of Military Vehicles / Tanku Muzejs, Daugavpils Innovation Centre, Jews in Latgale Museum, Centre of Russian Culture, Bunker Gallery. Inside of the Daugavpils Fortress: World War I Museum, the Mark Rothko Art Centre, White Horse Art Gallery, Daugavpils Bat Centre, Retogaraz. The “Night of Museums” usually takes place in May.
- Other: Daugavpils Lead Shot Factory, Daugavpils Clay Art Centre, Cat Café Kotoffski, Eglukalns Skiing Area.
Evening Entertainment
- Nightlife Areas: Rigas Iela.
- Theatres: Daugavpils Theatre, Daugavpils Kulturas Pils, Makslas Centrs Arka & Lellu Teatris.
Local Festivals
- International Sacred Music Festival – January
- Marta’s Ball - May
- City Festival – June
- Daugavpils Drift Festival - July
Budget Bites
Sleep Cheap
- Main Supermarket Chains Latvia: Mego, LaTS, Top!, Spar, Vesk, Sky, Elvi, Aibé, Rimi, Lidl and Maxima. Mego, Lidl and Maxima are the more budget-sensitive ones. On the Latvian Camino you will run into a supermarket almost every day, with a max. of 2 days in between them, depending on how much distance you cover per day. As such, you won’t have to carry much weight in food. Sometimes it will be a local over-the-counter-shop with limited choice, but it’s better than nothing.
- Local Dishes: Bukstinbiezputra (heavy bacon porridge), Griki (buckwheat – eaten for breakfast), Rasols (vegetable potato salad with mayonnaise), Kartupeļu Pankukas (potato pancakes), Stoveti Kaposti (stewed sauerkraut), Piradzini (lard), Karbonade ar Kaulu (pork chops), Asinsdesa (blood sausage), Smoked Fish, Pelekie Zirnie Ar Speki (grey peas with lard), Silke Kazoka (herring), Sasliks (shaslik), Piradzini (meat-stuffed bread), Rupjmaize (rye bread), Maizes Zupa (rye bread soup), Aukstā Zupa (cold beet soup), Frikadeļu Zupa (meatball soup), Skābeņu Zupa (sorrel soup), Galerts (head cheese), Auksta Gala (cold meat in jelly), Biezpiena Sierins (curd snack), Rupjmaizes Kartojums (rye bread and cream dessert), Biezpiena Placenisi (cottage cheese pancakes).
- The Veg Situation: Going veg could be complicated in Latvia, as traditionally meat and fish are central in most meals. That said, most supermarkets contain veg products, be it very processed at times. Veg restaurants can be found here. These are concentrated in the bigger cities, you won’t pass many of them hiking. Local veg dishes: Griki (generally contains butter), Rasols (with mayonnaise), Kartupelu Pankukas (generally served with sour cream), Stoveti Kaposti, Rupjmaize, Maizes Zupa, Auksta Zupa, Skabenu Zupa (soups mostly include sour cream and sometimes bacon – verify before), Sierins (dairy), Rupjmaizes Kartojums (dairy), Biezpiena Placenisi (dairy). So basically as a vegan you’re f’cked, unless you feel like surviving on rye bread. They love mushrooms too, those might save the day for you.
- National Drink: Beer (Alus in Latvian), Kvass (fermented beer-like drink, alcohol-free / same as Kali in Estonia), Medalus (honey beer), Cider, Sweet Berry-Based Wines.
Sleep Cheap
- Hostels / Hotels / Guesthouses: Of all Baltic countries, Latvia is right in the middle when it comes to costs (Lithuania is cheaper, Estonia is more expensive). The bigger cities in Latvia are however swiftly moving towards Estonian prices.
- Couchsurfing: allows you to stay with locals. Nowadays it has a moderate sign-up cost (unless you put a third-world country as homebase), but paying extra for verification is unnecessary: Positive reviews are way more important. Once active, there are no costs for staying at someone’s house. In order to get accepted, make sure to write an elaborate request explaining why you applied to this specific profile and think you and your host are a good match (copy-pastes tend to be ignored). The Couchsurfing community in Latvia is rather big and active, and many of the hosts live on or close to the Latvian Camino. In the Latvian section, I Couchsurfed on 3 occasions (and another 4 times at a later stage outside of the Camino route). I also used Warm Showers, which is in principal a bikepacking community focussing on 1-night stays. That said, long-distance hikers fit well with these type of travellers and are warmly welcomed.
- Wild Camping: is entirely legal in Latvia, with the exception of private land. You can literally spend the night anywhere you want, as long as you don’t leave a mess and treat nature with respect. There is not such an organized system as in Estonia, with free state-provided campsites all traceable in an app… but the national parks (the main one you pass is Gauja NP) all contain plenty of free campsites, with tent shelters, picnic tables, dry toilets, a fireplace and water access. The website Mammadaba gives some coordinates of fireplace and picnic spots where you could also set up your tent, although I don’t find it very user-friendly.
Mama Said
Transport
Next?
- Safety: Latvia is a very safe country. No animals will kill you here. Bears are so rare that when one is spotted, it actually makes the news. Latvian people are more extraverted than Estonians, but generally they keep to themselves and besides a small chit-chat here and there they won’t bother you.
- Tap Water: is safe to drink. Latvians also love their natural water sources for water provision, but you’ll generally need a local to point those out to you as they’re not clearly signposted. I drank straight from the streams in the forest without any issues, but I used a lifestraw/filter for the water from the bigger rivers or when close to a town or farmland. However, when cooking a filter wasn’t needed, as the act of boiling already kills the bacteria.
- The best credit/debit card for traveling is Wise, as they use the live conversion rates with minimal exchange fees. Wise also has the lowest fees for sending money to foreign accounts. Revolut is comparable, but they have higher exchange fees in the weekend and less wallet-options. Also, you can only wire money to Revolut in the currency you opened the account with, whereas Wise has IBAN’s from a wide variety of currencies, so you don’t have to pay a double exchange fee. Most Latvian ATMs charge a fee for cash outs (especially when your card is in another currency than euros), but card payments are generally accepted everywhere, even in the countryside.
- Simcard: Buying a local simcard is by all means cheaper than using your international roaming option. The main providers are LTM, Zelta Zitvina / Tele2 and Bite. LTM has the biggest network coverage and the fastest connection, which makes it most attractive for a hike in the countryside. You can cheaply buy their simcard in one of their outlets, or otherwise at any gas station, kiosk or supermarket. You don’t need to bring an ID. As their packages are inconveniently weekly and not monthly, I preferred to visit an LMT outlet and pay the exact amount of credit for the number of weeks I intended to be in Latvia (at the end of the week the package automatically renews if you have enough credit). As usual, never buy a sim at the airport, where you’ll be ripped off with expensive tourist packages. In order to use your sim outside of Latvia but within Europe, you must turn roaming on… keep in mind that the amount of minutes and data you can use outside of Latvia is less. Bite has the cheapest deals, but a rather bad reputation. Tele2 is decent, but their connection is not as fast and widespread as LTM’s.
Transport
- Walking: This is the main purpose of this journey, of course. On the Latvian Camino, expect a combination of (mainly) nature trails, dirt roads and asphalt roads, all easily accessible except of a small section in Gauja NP. A big chunk of the Latvian Camino overlaps with the beautiful Baltic Forest Trail.
- Cycling: Most stretches of the Latvian Camino are also suitable for cycling. Latvia is pretty bicycle-friendly, with even the occasional bicycle lane.
- Public Transport: Riga has a combination of city buses, trolleybuses, minibuses and trams, which operate from 5AM until midnight. However, outside of the capital you can only find buses to get around in town. You can buy tickets at the occasional ticket machine (not at every stop), Narvesen outlets, on the Mobily app or (more expensively) pay the bus driver in cash. In most buses, you can’t pay by card. You also have to validate your ticket at the electronic validator. During the 4-5 weeks I spent in Latvia, I have never been checked for a ticket though.
- Taxi / Uber: Uber is not available in Latvia (2023/2024), but Bolt is. Another option is Yandex.
- Intercity Buses: are very frequent in the bigger cities, but generally only go once or a few times a day in the countryside. Therefore, prior planning is key. Google Maps is unreliable for bus times, as it’s not always up-to-date. Instead, use the local 1188 app or website or the (rather user-unfriendly) website Autoosta.lv.
- Train: Latvia’s train network connects Riga with certain parts of the country in a rather low-cost manner, but the lines and departure times are limited. The operating company is called PV, and you can check the routes and buy 10% discounted e-tickets on their website.
- Car Rental: is pretty cheap in Latvia. The best deals can generally be found when the car is picked up from the airport, from other locations it can be 3 or 4 times more expensive.
- Airport: Riga Airport (RIX).
- Hitchhiking: is relatively safe in Latvia, but definitively not common. Not everyone is willing to invite a stranger into their car, so waiting times might be slightly longer compared to other countries. That said, I hitchhiked on plenty of occasions in Latvia and I always managed with relative ease (as a woman alone)… with the exception of some deserted roads in the south around Kraslava.
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