Riga to Moscow - 4 flights daily......
And the similarities didn't end there....
A typical communist-era apartment block, just like the politics of that
time - lots of cracks showing......
Latvia has had a very chequered history......
Known as one of the three Baltic States together with Estonia
and Lithuania, it has been invaded over the centuries. During
World War II it was invaded by the Germans and post- war, by
the Russians. It finally gained independence from the communist
regime in the early 90's and joined the European Union in 2004.
It's history is reflected in it's infrastructure....
Lots of old buildings......crumbling at the seams....
A general air of dowdiness and bleakness - nothing to do with
the weather......
Dated transportation........
But..... you can sense a change...... no doubt a lot of it due to the
infusion of euros into the economy......
New and modern apartment buildings....
The new Latvian National Library across the River Daugava.......
New transportation links and new trams....
I took a perverse pleasure in riding on one of these without paying!
People were unhelpful, there was no signage and I didn't give a damn!!
No, not the entrance to the Louvre.....
These glass pyramids are the entrance to underground parking
lots....
Newly- built shopping malls:
loaded with consumer goods.....
We stayed in a lovely hotel in the Art Nouveau District of Riga...
One thing I noticed straight away was how tall the Latvians
are - unlike their Polish counterparts who are short, blond and
blue- eyed. Also there are no language similarities..... Latvian is one
of the few remaining Indo-European languages, totally unlike the Slav
language. It was interesting to hear that 42% of the population of
Riga is Latvian and 41% Russian and the Russian language can be
heard everywhere......
The Art Nouveau area covers approximately one third of the city....
It was developed in the 1920's when Art Nouveau was the rage and
money was readily available......
The Freedom Monument was erected in the 30's by the people of
Latvia and is a symbol of their independence.
It's a well-known landmark and meeting place, demonstrations
were held here to protest against the communist regime.....
The medieval Riga....
We thought it was just us.......
But, after talking to several Brits and googling this phenomenon....
we realised it wasn't.......
Even an expat Brit, now living in Riga with his Latvian father, told
us the Latvians have no sense of humour.....
Which may explain this:
English is taught throughout school as a second language but
no-one made any effort to talk to us.....
In most countries people are all too keen to practice their
language skills....
We theorised why people appeared so glum.....
Is it because of the weather?
Snow, sleet and rain.....
But no.... we have far worse weather in Canada and Canadians are
a far friendlier ( and happier) bunch. I'm still smiling even though my
Latvian umbrella lasted all of 3 hours! Grrr.....
And many countries have suffered through wars and the
consequences but have moved on - the Vietnamese are a
friendly nation.
We came to the conclusion that the aloofness and being dour
was a national character trait. It was a nice surprise to go to Costa
and actually find a smiling face......
I made a point of thanking this barista, just for smiling!!
NB. He also made a great latte!
We wandered around some craft shops......
Lots of hand- crafted woollens......
I wasn't too impressed with the quality and, then.......
hanging up in a window of the same store.......
A bit tacky and in your face..... and NOT Victoria's Secret......
Which made us theorise a bit more about the Latvians......
especially after reading this tourist brochure......
More Fifty Shades of Grey to add to the general greyness
and lack of joie de vivre!
Maybe they have a secret agenda?
We wandered to The Lido for dinner, recommended to us
as serving authentic Latvian food.....
The meal was surprisingly tasty; for dessert we thought we'd try
some Latvian sausage ......
flavoured with fennel - it was really good!
The next morning we headed to the Central Bus Station.......
The bus station was across the road from Riga's Central Market
so of course we had to drop by and take a look.....
The market is housed in five old Russian Zeppelin hangars......
Lots of local foods and delicacies....
Most of Riga shops here and the market is open daily.....
The soaps look good enough to eat.....
Outside, unusual snowdrop plants for sale.....
And my parting thoughts on Riga.....
Talk soon .......and keep on smiling!
Zoe
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