Blogs from Riga, Riga Region, Latvia, Europe - page 21

Geo: 56.9465, 24.1048Off to the bus station - on the way, we stopped to pick up some more of those donuts, pastries, and an open-faced ham sandwich for the ride to Riga. I had some Estonian Kroons to blow, so it was spent on bottled water, chocolates, and cough drops (or throat drops, as Yvonne would say) for Mary. I wasn't feeling too great this morning - perhaps it's because I haven't had my usual morning cider yet. As Mary and I listened to my iPod, U2's classic "With or without you" came on. She asked me if I liked the song and I responded that no, I actually fill my iPod with songs that I hate so that I can constantly torture myself. Ahhh ... sarcasm ... the only thing in life that I am ... read more

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks cycling the Baltic Sea Coast, and stopping to relax on its beautiful white sand beaches in between Nida and Riga. Nida is on the Curonian spit, a small strip of land covered in forest and sand dunes. This Unesco region is shared between Russian owned Kalingrad and Lithuania. From Nida you can’t walk more than a kilometre south over the dunes without meeting Russian border guards with machine guns (apparently!). The villages are built on sand dunes and due to shifting sands many villages on the spit have been buried several times in the past. The old method of housing meant that the local people would retrieve their buried home from under the dune and relocate to a new and more suitable location (not sure what they would do ... read more

We woke around ten and spent an hour or so packing everything up. After a banana for breakfast we went and paid for the room. With our waterproofs on we headed for the stone jetty that leads out some 2 kilometers into the sea. It was raining, windy and cold but we still walked out for a while. I reached the point where I could no longer feel my toes so we decided to turn back. Back at the hostel we had another makeshift lunch of leftovers from previous picnics. We had two hours to kill until we needed to leave for our bus so I decided to take a nap. I fell asleep whilst Rob watched the discovery channel. I woke up to find Rob asleep on the sofa and he hadn't set an alarm. ... read more

Nouveau Riche: The Latvian Way Of Life nou•veau riche: (nōō'vō rēsh') One who has recently become rich, especially one who flaunts newly acquired wealth. (American Heritage Dictionary) Throughout Europe there are some filthy, filthy rich people. Think about the old money from places like Lake Como, the French Riviera, or Capri. Families that have had wealth for more than fifty years learn how to live good “rich” lives in a way that is subtle and glamorous in an understated way. These are the people that we used to hear about on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. Usually “Old Money” does its best to stay away from flash and show. On the other hand, much like West Egg from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Latvia is the home of the newly rich in ... read more

Argh! The server crashed, and I lost my last two entries. Serves me right for holding them until I got a chance to do photos. This is only a short note, because I haven't written for ages. I've been in Hungary, heading not just to Budapest, but also Eger with it's famous wines, and Szentendre, a city up the Danube. Next was the ukraine, and this was an experience I am unlikely to forget. Even doing nothing was tiring, as you had to still translate everything in your head, back i°nto latin letters. Then decide if you could or couldn't read it. After that Slovakia was a dream, I could almost converse with people. Poland was fun, got to meet a lot of Polish people, and eat a lot of polish food. Helsinki was wet and ... read more