MOST European trips offer the opportunity to learn a little of a city's history, but there are few places in the world where the past exerts such a powerful influence as it does in Riga.

Perhaps that is because few places in the world have had as volatile or moving a history as the Latvian capital.

Strolling through Riga's warren-like streets, it was impossible not to reflect on the suffering and trauma that had been experienced there before.

The Occupation Musuem that dominates the east of the city charts most of it, exposing the harrowing excesses that were carried out during Latvia's occupation by both the Nazis and the Soviets.

One of the most moving pictures in the musuem shows a posse of young Latvian girls in national costume welcoming the incoming German troops with flowers.

Less than 12 months later, some of those same troops were responsible for shepherding Riga's entire Jewish population, which made up almost 11 per cent of the city, to forests where they would then be shot.

One arrest warrant on display in the museum cited the reason for arrest as "belonging to the Latvian nationality". Rarely has ethnic cleansing been quite so blatant.

Yet while much of Riga's history is upsetting, the memorials to the past are interspersed with more modern monuments that have sprung up to celebrate Latvia's future.

In common with the capitals of the two other Baltic states - Tallinn and Vilnius - Riga has undergone a period of intense reconstruction since Latvia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The European Union flag flutters from numerous rooftops and much of the centre now has a distinctly European feel.

Remnants of the old Soviet way of life still remain - a stroll around Riga's central market, where you can buy anything from sheep heads to Soviet army uniforms, is like stepping back in time to an era of queues and bread rations - but most of the city now has more in common with London or Paris than Moscow.

Culture represents another link to the past, and two elements of traditional Latvian life continue to play a major role today.

The first is balzam, the national drink. Black, bitter and syrupy, it is a spirit that combines roots, grasses and herbs.

It is exceptionally harsh and exceptionally strong, no doubt explaining why English tourists appear to be the only people brave or stupid enough to drink it.

Yesterday's terror alert caused a number of problems out in Latvia, with Newcastle's players still not certain they would be allowed to return to England when they took to the field in the Skonto Stadium last night.

Things were even worse for the executives at Channel Five who were left with half of their commentary and production team stranded in Britain.

Joe Royle was supposed to be the co-commentator yesterday but, by midday, he had abandoned his plans.

John Barnes spent most of the day trying to organise a flight out of England, something he described as "more difficult than playing in front of thousands of people on the Kop".

He finally made it - but none of his clothes or possessions did!

There are a few English football tops that you expect to see everywhere in the world. Manchester United and Liverpool shirts cross just about any social boundary and, thanks to their recent success, Chelsea are starting to enjoy increasing foreign popularity.

In Riga, though, the most popular English team appears to be Bristol Rovers. Why? Because former Latvian international Vitaly Astafjevs was Rovers' captain for the best part of a decade.

Thanks to his enduring popularity, the Latvian branch of the Bristol Rovers supporters' club is difficult to miss in Riga.