Beachvolleyball the Latvian Way

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Beachvolleyball the Latvian Way

For two beachvolleyball addicts as we are one of the gloomiest prospects of our journey around the world was to spend the summer months in some remote Siberian village or some stinky Chinese city where the chances of touching sand with our feet and a ball with our hands would be second to none. Expecting nothing it was a big surprise for us when we encountered this hardy Latvian working on his tan at one of the beaches of the Baltic Sea just outside Riga. On the upper half of the beach were still patches of snow, the reminders of a long winter, but this didn't seem to bother him much. Apart from his sexy swimming pant he had brought one other item with him which caught our interest: A blue, white, yellow coloured ball. Noting our glimpses he immediately challenged us for a game. Two minutes later we were in the middle of our first beachvolleyball game of the year - and already an international game. We were a bit stiff in the rather cool environment and the long pants were not facilitating flexibility either. Nevertheless, we played three full sets and it was good fun for all of us.
After getting such a good impression of the Latvian men it was difficult to understand why the young Latvian women we met in the evening (when we were wrapped in several layers of fleece again) were hanging around with grey-haired, self-declared businessmen from Greece stinking from too much after-shave. But that is a different story…

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Planet Portrait

• Top 3:
  
  World heritage listed old town of Riga
  
  Enjoy the sea breeze at the Gulf of Riga
  
  Museum of the occupation of Latvia in Riga
  
  
• Our route: Riga
  
  
• Recommended guesthouse: Old town hostel: All a backpacker needs and even a sauna! For 9 Lats a night it's not super cheap, though.
  
  
• Money Saver Tip: Free entrance to the Museum of the occupation of Latvia in Riga.
  
  
• We paid for a meal: We cooked for ourselves.
  
  
• Visa: No visa (for Swiss)
  
  

Planet Pictures

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