Tipping in Riga, Latvia

Tipping in Riga, Latvia is an interesting topic. Back where I'm from in the United States, tipping is considered a normal part of eating out. Servers at sit-down restaurants and bars are often paid a very small wage, and are expected to bring in most of their salary through tips. If you do not leave a tip in the United States, the server will be insulted and angry. It's considered a punishment for terrible service to leave no tip.

In Riga, Latvia tipping is a far different situation. The servers seem indifferent to tipping. I have gone out many dozens of times here, and have left various tips. Sometimes I leave no tip at all, sometimes I leave a 5-10% tip, and sometimes I leave a 25% tip. I have not generally noticed any kind of reaction to these various tips from servers.

Plenty of websites suggest leaving a 5-15% tip at sit-down restaurants in Riga, Latvia. I have found that the sweet spot is between 5-10%. If they do a great job, leave 10%. If they do an OK job, then leave 5%. 15-20% is simple too high in Latvia.

NOTE that many restaurants do have service charges here. If that is the case, then leaving no tip is standard. The service charge is essentially a mandatory tip, similar to the 18% imposed on large parties in the United States.

I have talked to various locals, and most of them don't even bother tipping. As a tourist, if you have the extra money and want to show your gratitude, a 5-10% tip seems reasonable in Riga, Latvia.

Simple Pleasures of Riga

Today my beach trip was delayed yet again, thanks to poor weather this time. I decided to take part in some simple pleasures at Riga Old Town. Having earlier seen children feeding bread to ducks on the small river, I decided I wanted to try it! I headed to the grocery store inside of Old Town, and picked up the cheapest loaf of bread I could find. That ended up being around 25 santims (~45 cents), and the loaf was maybe 2/3 the size of a typical loaf back in the United States. I attempted to ask a local about whether the marked down price required a "special card" (similar to the ones grocery stores in America LOVE to use). She actually gave me a shy smile but said, "I don't know". Ah yes, the typical local response for everything.

I then headed to the small river near the Freedom Monument, and looked for all the ducks. They weren't hard to find! Of course the trick is to feed the ducks while avoiding the pigeons that inevitably show up! I started throwing small pieces of bread to the ducks, and when the pigeon "gang" showed up, I would just walk away until they lost interest and left. Eventually the pigeons went away for good! Feeding the ducks was really satisfying and mindless, especially trying to throw pieces of bread to one particular duck. For example, one duck had a broken foot. Poor guy. I made sure he got extra. Some of the ducks were actually fast enough to catch the bread in their mouth before it hit the ground! My point in all of this is that we're always looking for something complicated in life, but the simple pleasures can make us perhaps even happier.

While feeding the ducks, it turned into an interesting social experiment. I was standing on a frequented walking path, and every minute or two people would walk by. Sometimes they showed interest in the ducks. Along came a trio of teenage girls, who wanted to take pictures of the ducks with their camera. I saw that one girl was trying to get attention from the ducks, but she had no way to do this. I offered her a piece of bread (in english of course). She looked at me as if I was about to walk over and stab her with a knife! I found this very interesting. A random act of kindness was seen as practically hostile. I threw a piece of bread to her and she picked it up, without saying a word or making eye contact. The girls then quickly returned to their fun.

Now you probably can't picture me, but I'm a very easygoing and approachable guy. I do not at all look or act threatening. I'm the kind of guy that most people approach to ask for help with directions. Yet here were these three girls who seemed almost frightened to make eye contact or say a word.

My experiment wasn't over yet. Along came a Russian family, and their little boy sat on his father's shoulders. I offered them a piece of bread. At first they looked at me like I was crazy. The man gave me a strange look, then looked away without saying anything. I offered a second time, and he hesitated before finally taking it and giving the bread to the boy. They both then said "thank you" in Russian. Of course my Russian is terrible so I simply said "no problem" in english. The boy then happily fed the ducks.

These experiences were probably the most revealing yet about the people here. A completely harmless and random act of kindness was met with fear, uncertainty, and near hostility. It was as if I was baiting them into a scam! People certainly are not trusting here. They are also not social with outsiders. That was my observation today. Along with all my other experiences here, it adds up to the same conclusion. The funny part is, in my own country I'm not considered the most friendly person. I'm probably somewhere in the middle between friendly and indifferent.

After feeding the ducks I walked back to Old Town, and watched a few songs by the band who dresses up in old lady clothes. They are quite talented, and today expanded their song list! It's about time! I'm still not quite understanding the theme behind this band, but they are popular among both tourists and locals. Around this time it suddenly started pouring, and the rain drove everyone to cover. Luckily I actually had both my jacket and umbrella for once! Fate finally smiled on me! I headed for the tram and went back to the hotel. No ticket control inspectors were out today on my route. In fact half the tram wasn't paying! The locals definitely know something about these inspectors that I don't. They always seem to know when they will get away with not paying.

Riga Central Station: Closed

Only one week left on my trip, and wow has the time passed quickly! I attribute this mostly towards my habit of sleeping in too much, as well as falling into various habits such as frequenting the same restaurants and touring the same sights. On one hand I blame myself for not being adventurous enough; On the other hand I blame the locals for being so hostile. You have to be in the mood to go exploring, and I just didn't have that good feeling most of the time. Instead I was constantly looking over my shoulder for trouble. Of course I am again, alone in the country. I have to be more careful than a group would, and nobody is going to help me if I get into a bad situation.

Today I actually wanted to go to the beach. This is one thing I'm determined to do before leaving Latvia. I've seen Old Town 100 times, and although it's very charming, I really wanted to see something different on my trip. Jūrmala seemed like the perfect place to visit.

Jūrmala is a popular beach here, and not very far from Riga! It's actually laughably close. You can get there by train in 30 minutes for 1 lat. People even ride their bikes to the beach! I hear there is a special trail just for biking to Jurmala. I decided when I woke up (at 1pm) that I would head to Jurmala by taking the train. Of course this meant that I would need to figure out which train to take.. I studied maps and websites for a few minutes, before determining that I was going to have a lot of fun at the train station (talking to clerks). I was positive that it would be yet another negative and grueling experience attempting to communicate with the locals. Wow, have I gotten bitter or what?

I overcame my hesitations and headed to the Riga Centrla Station. This is a bit of challenge for a foreigner. There are some underground tunnels you must go through, and they aren't all clearly labeled. So you basically have to keep trying tunnels until you find the right one. Luckily, thanks to the free walking tour I took a few weeks ago, I recognized the Riga Central Station. Unfortunately, as fate would have it the central station was closed, and some kind of emergency was taking place! I heard an alarm going off in the background. Police blocked the entrances and would not allow access to the station. Many people were angrily trying to figure out what was going on outside. Due to the situation, I called off my trip to Jurmala and instead went back to my favorite restaurant in Old Town, CanCan Pizza! Well, I have to have fun somehow right?

I actually had a craving for the excellent festival for stomach restaurant towards the city center, but I wasn't in the mood to walk across so many streets. CanCan was an easy, lazy choice to make instead. I decided that I would try to go to Jurmala again on Wednesday. I really want to see the pine trees and the sandy beach! It's a crime that I have waited this long to visit!

While walking through Old Town during the pleasant day, I decided to make a video tour for my friends and family at home. I showed them around Old Town with my camcorder, and talked about Latvia. I ended up at the river, and decided that I would just walk back to my hotel instead of taking the tram. On the way back I again saw the ticket control inspectors! They were in the same location, near my hotel! This time I saw six of them. Four boarded each tram and checked tickets. I only saw a few people being escorted off the trams. Perhaps they were collecting the fines inside the tram? Or had the locals smarted up and decided to stop riding for free?