MMMMmmm, market.

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The famous Central Market in Riga has 5 repurposed zeppelin hangers, all in a row, that have been converted into a market. Each one has a specialty, although we saw a lot of other goods for purchase in the various areas. Fish, meat, dairy, fruits and veg, and grocery. It was fairly overwhelming, with all the people and business, but fun. I have a very vivid picture in my head of one of the glass meat counters, which the ladies where leaning into and over the meat, and one lady had her phone out and was probably on facebook. 😊 Very casual. There is also an outside area, with stands of all kinds of seasonal goods and crafts. We barely missed buying from a lady that had been picking forest raspberries, much smaller than normal, but she was down to one last smushed container. We will get there earlier next time! We did buy honey from one vendor, a dark variety that tastes kind of like a sweeter molasses. We also bought bee pollen, which the Latvians swear by for energy. They take their food and nature very seriously, and frankly, it's kind of inspiring. We do feel much better eating the fresher food and walking as much as we do.



Did I mention that you have to walk out into the street to get on or off the tram? The tracks run down the middle of the street in a lot of areas, and even though the "stop" is marked on the sidewalk, you walk out into the street to get on. Traffic does stop, but its a little unnerving at first. Also, we have been checked many times now by train officials making sure that everyone has a valid ticket. I'm impressed with the efficiency of public transport. I'm actually not missing driving right now.



There is no shortage of cats in Latvia. There are usually 5 or 6 in our street when we come home. They are not really scared, and they will sit in the middle of the street nonchalantly giving themselves a bath. It doesn't hurt that our neighbor takes them food 2 or 3 times a day, complete with real dishes on a tray. She is an elderly woman that I hope we can be friendly with. Here, you don't acknowledge people in the street unless you know them. Customer service doesn't include a smile or hello sometimes, a leftover from Soviet influence. If someone had something that you needed to buy, then there was no need to smile, because they would buy it anyway. Interesting.



Learning the language is a must. Now, just about everyone we have run into speaks some English. But as my friend put it, "There are people who live their whole lives here, and never learn Latvian. Here you have been here a week, and you are trying to speak it. It means a lot." So we will continue because it is important to the people here. It means something to them, like a precious jewel. Another example happened in our tiny neighborhood grocery. Dave was following the cashier's questions in Latvian and answering in Latvian, but when he wanted seven cents, we were speaking in English. The clerk said British? and Dave said No, Wyoming, United States. The clerk lit up. Literally. "How did you understand me? I have never seen an American in here before!" He kept asking questions and was really excited, and WE were excited, because it was nice to connect and know that we are doing the right thing. 😊

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