My whirlwind journey through the Baltic States continues. Estonia is in the books, and I'm now in Riga. Last night I arrived from Tallinn after a relatively easy hitchhiking journey (which included being picked up by two gorgeous blonde ladies), and I was dropped only a short distance from the home of Oskars, who is my latest CouchSurfing host. After introducing myself and storing my stuff, I couldn't pass up a free view of Riga from the Skybar on the 26th floor of Radisson Blu Latvia.
It was dark by then but I still had time for a stroll and then dinner of a slab of pork with braised potatoes and a glass of wine. Smoking is much more liberal in Europe than in many other countries, and I've struggled a bit with that. Even when I'm sitting outside I can't handle cigarette smoke, and I had to move tables twice as I had dinner this evening. Afterwards I decided to walk home instead of taking the bus. Oskars and I stayed up late discussing basketball and his upcoming trip to New Zealand. Standing 7'3", Kristaps Porzingis is Latvia's most famous basketball export. Finally I've figured out how to pronounce his name correctly: Kris-tups. I always thought the "p" was silent.
A full day of exploring lovely Riga was on the agenda for today. Founded in 1201, it's no surprise Riga has an abundance of history and interesting architecture. After getting off the tram, my first stop of the day was the National Library of Latvia, which is shaped like an iceberg or an odd-looking boulder.
I would learn at the library that the design was inspired by a Latvian folk story called Castle of Light and Glass Mountain. This staircase is interesting...
These seats are in the shape of Tetriminos.
Designed by Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris is one of my favourite video games. I'm proud to say that since I played my first game of Tetris in about 1989 (when I was 5 years old), nobody has ever defeated me. I'm a self-professed Tetris grandmaster.
Latvia is said to have the world's oldest national flag. On this beautiful Riga day I searched for a geocache and ended up beneath a giant Latvian flag as I chatted to some colourfully dressed musicians. European flags as a whole tend to be boring, with bars or stripes. My favourite flag is that of Papua New Guinea. Riga is small but its sights are relatively spread out. It's another one of those great European cities where you don't need to make a list of places to see and go; you can stroll serendipitously and discover something unexpected. The House of the Blackheads was next on my radar.
The admission ticket includes a coffee, and it's an interesting place.
When I travel I'm always on the lookout for interesting photo opportunities. On my back I was directly below a chandelier. The Brotherhood of Blackheads is a guild for unmarried men who are merchants and foreigners, but today the building functions as a museum.
For lunch I had a Latvian feast of venison stroganoff topped to onions on a bed of potatoes.
As in much of the region, potatoes feature prominently on menus both at home and at restaurants. Likewise, the ladies are very beautiful. Latvia is said to have, on average, the world's tallest women. Immediately I thought of Anikka when I saw these beautiful ladies dressed in Latvian folk dresses.
As I'm always thinking of interesting things Anikka and I could do when we take our first journey, I asked if there's an agency where tourists can be dressed this way but they said there isn't and that it's very expensive to dress up this way. My heart felt as warm as this summer day as I strolled through what was becoming a Riga twilight. This evening I picked up a bottle of wine but I didn't realise it had a cork instead of a screw-off top, so I ducked into a restaurant where they allowed me to borrow a corkscrew. Riga, I love you. Anikka, es tevi mīlu. That's "I love you" in Latvian, and part of a story I'm writing for Anikka where I say "I love you" in 100 different languages. Maximising my time, I simply took in every moment in Riga.
Like with some of my previous journeys, my time is running down and I'm feeling pressured to travel quicker. Six weeks I did in the Nordic countries and I booked my flight out of Europe whilst in Finland. Only two nights I had in Riga, but Latvia is definitely worth more time. I'll be headed for Vilnius tomorrow.
