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I arrived in Riga after an 18-hour bus ride from Warsaw Poland. It was an overnight ride with a few crazy bus drivers, movies in Polish, and ruthless ticket checkers. I made it safely to the house of my relatives, Veronika and Peteris. They kindly let me stay with them during my time in Latvia. I learned some tasty Latvian recipes from Veronika. Some of my favorites were meat-filled crepes with cream on the top, and her shashliks, a beef kabob. I also was able to practice my Latvian language skills with Veronika and Peteris and learn the Latgalian "slang" from Veronika. A family friend, Milda, also stayed in the house sometimes. She had many sad and interesting stories of the occupation years and her own deportation to Siberia. |
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The first few weeks were spent exploring the town and getting to know all of the local pubs. Paddy’s and the Alus Arsenals were some of my favorites. Vecriga (old Riga) has some lovely colors of buildings, most of which have been recently restored or repainted. However, there are also a lot of old wooden, or cement buildings that serve as a reminder of the Soviet times. |
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Many of the buildings were elaborately decorated with faces, animals, or designs. The School of Economics had a bat hidden beneath its balconies. Only after a few months did I see this view of it as shown on the left. |
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Riga was definitely the place to see strange happenings. The first week that I arrived in Riga, the downtown “mall” was hit by an explosion. It was rumored that a rival security company set off the bomb to make the mall’s security company look bad. Many people were injured and one person died later on. I don’t know if the police ever found suspects. |
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The next week, I took a boat ride down the Daugava River. It was a great way to see the city and the harbor. On the way back to port, the local market that housed in old blimp hangers, was on fire. I didn’t hear any news about it that night and assumed that it was a small fire or not uncommon enough to make the big news. Those were the two weirdest events while I was living in Riga.
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