Well I'm here in Riga, Latvia and it only took 30 hours! I'm going to get off-topic here for a bit and just rant about traveling internationally. However there is some information specific to Riga in the last three paragraphs.
It's quite amazing that with modern technology, you can make a trip halfway across the world in merely a day or so. Unfortunately, these days the process is becoming far more aggravating. Security has reached an insane level, especially in the United States after 9/11. Hordes of TSA agents can be found roaming the airport in their fancy uniforms, looking for trouble. Body scanning machines are becoming commonplace and carry-on requirements are almost too many to count or remember.
Traveling international is far more frustrating, due to longer flights, more delays, and of course the differing standards of countries around the world. Many airports seem almost impossible to navigate, which makes it difficult to make your connections. Researching visa requirements is also necessary in many cases. Otherwise you could be in for a very big disappointment when you're denied entry into a country!
Having traveled internationally a dozen times, I'm fairly used to the process. However, I'm not sure anyone ever gets used to being awake for 30+ hours, doing nothing but either waiting to get onto a plane, or being ON a plane! I emphasize that because being on a plane is generally not an enjoyable experience. The cramped conditions, turbulence, rude fellow passengers, and general feeling of claustrophobia certainly do not contribute to a fun time. There is also the frustration of dealing with baggage claims and even hoping your bag is there! The "honor system" which most airports seem to use scares me.. Just take any bag off the belt you like!
Anyway, my trip to Riga kind of summed the above up for me. The experience of traveling thousands of miles can either be bad, worse, or absolutely terrible. My first flight from Philadelphia to Frankfurt with Lufthansa was delayed by almost 3 hours. I immediately knew there was no way I would be able to make my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Riga. The hilarious part was that the Lufthansa lady at the counter said, "No problem, you will make it!" I later learned that they tell everyone this to keep them calm on the flight (even though they know the person will not make their connecting flight!) Nice customer service Lufthansa... Well after almost 8 hours in Philly I was glad to finally get out of there. It felt like I had already taken a plane trip since I was sitting around so long.
After getting to Frankfurt Lufthansa put me on the next flight to Riga, which was on a different airline, called "Air Baltic". It seemed decent but perhaps not the expected quality of Lufthansa. I was placed in the very last seat on the plane, with no window and a guy who looked like a bouncer sitting next to me. His arms were so huge they were "spilling" onto my side of the arm-wrest. Well that's always fun..
Upon arriving at Riga it was a very simple and straightforward process getting off the plane and leaving the airport. I had "gained entry" into the EU at Frankfurt, so apparently I didn't need to do anything else at Riga airport. I simply went through customs, which consisted of a german shepherd sniffing me for a minute. Probably more effective than many other security methods (at least for drugs). The Riga airport is very small, and there is a little receiving area where plenty of Latvians waited for their visitors.
I found a "visitors center" where I asked about the Airport Express Shuttle. They told me just to pay 5 euros on the shuttle itself. My online research told me that taxis were a bad way to go in Riga (unless absolutely necessary). Like many other countries in Eastern Europe, they're highly unregulated and charge extortionist fees to foreigners... And it's kind of hard to pretend I'm not a foreigner when I speak no Latvian or Russian. So I skipped this hassle and took the Airport Express to my hotel. The experience was painless and the driver was very polite. His driving was good, even though many Latvians are reckless on the road.
I was dropped off at my hotel without any issues. Well that's all it takes! 20-30 hours of sitting around in airports and planes, and you too can travel to a faraway country!
