The description of Snorre's flat was accurate: it was bright. spacious and uncluttered, the location was quite good (about fifteen minutes' walk to the central area) and the street was quiet at night and for most of the day, although I needed to close the window during the morning rush-hour period when it got a little noisy. Unfortunately we did not meet Snorre as he was out of town but he was very good about communicating with us before we arrived, passed us extensive details about things to see and do in Riga, and left us a bottle of wine and some things to eat. We very much appreciated that he arranged for his friend to let us into the apartment late at night and allowed us to stay there until the following evening because of our late arrival and departure flights. Older visitors or those with a lot of luggage should note that you have to walk up six flights of stairs. As for Riga, we only had 24 hours but would happily come back for a longer stay. It has interesting architecture (Renaissance Jugendstil, art deco), a lovely Hanseatic district close to the river, lots of historical and art museums, plenty of parks, good food and beer and hospitable, polite inhabitants who were very helpful with directions. Most of the people we encountered could speak at least some English, but our basic Russian also proved useful. I would recommend the market, in former zeppelin hangers, as it is friendly but is for locals rather than tourists, and the nearby university tower (Stalinist architecture) from the top of which you have sweeping views of the city and river beyond.