Blogs from Riga, Riga Region, Latvia, Europe - page 24

I have been living in Europe long enough now to expect the public transport to be on time. 35 minutes late the bus finally shows up. It's a good thing I didn't have to be in Riga at a certain time. The delays didn't stop there. I had to decipher if my seat number meant the one above the seat or below the seat, as they were totally different. After I just thought "stuff it" and sat down, an argument broke out between one of the passengers and the driver. It turned ugly with the passenger slamming his fist on seats and pointing his finger into the drivers chest. I stood up and moved back fearing it might turn violent. It all came to an abrupt end when he took a seat up front and that ... read more

So finally I am able to leave Kyiv and Ukraine all together without problem. Haleluja ! It is a great feeling when I am in the air (flying) away and further away from Ukraine. The country has beautiful scenary and golden churches but the people are less helpful when you are in need of help and their attitude toward hospitality service seems non-existance. I DON'T recommend travellers to come to Ukraine unless you are an experienced traveller, you can speak a little Russian, dont mind being harrassed or singled out by customs officials because of your appearance (not business or suit and tie kind of person), and prepare to deal with problems arise yourself because when you think people who can help ..they are either clueless or does not want to help. Period. Yet, I DID ... read more

Geo: 56.9465, 24.1049We had a few plans for our last day in Riga; Beauty Salon, cinemas, train to Segulda (Just like Switerland) and then eat traditional food for dinner. First thing we did was visit the salon for some waxing, then walked to the movies, as we had planned to see Pirates of the Carribean at 11. We were about to buy tickets and found out that the session was full, so we bought tickets for the evening session. We decided to catch a train to Segulda, which has been described as the Switerland of Latvia. An hour later and we felt that we should soon be there. It was difficult to tell the stations apart, as they did not have names or platforms. The train track was through the middle of a forest and the ... read more

Geo: 56.9465, 24.1049I decided against getting up early and waving the group off. Didn't want to have to say good-byes again to everyone. Instead slept in and had brekky with Anita, Bridget and Tim. Bridget and I said goodbye to Anita and Tim. Then Bridget and I caught a taxi to the bus station. I was glad that the bus was air conditioned and a cheap ride. A few hours later we arrived at the border, but before going through the border to have our passports checked, the bus was driven into a shed- which all seemed a bit strange to us. We sat in the bus in the shed for about 15 minutes and then went through the border. At 5 we arrived in Riga, only 1 and 1/2 hours later than scheduled. Luckily the ... read more

I learned that Vikingas, one of the teams from Vilnius, has two Ukrainians on their team, one of them being the pitcher we faced that day. According to Sigitas, they have six paid players on the team. One paid player they acquired from another Vilnius Club, another from Utena (a city two hours away). In both cases the guys were on teams that did not have money to pay players. Sigitas did not how much they were paid, simply that they were paid. When I asked him how they could afford to pay six players, he explained to me that of all the teams in Lithuania without a home field, Vikingas was closest to getting one. They owned land in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, which is hard to come by, and Sigitas thinks that corporate ... read more