If I had known that November 18th was Latvian Independence Day (from the first Soviet occupation following WWI) I would have rearranged my travel in order to spend that day in Riga. Riga is a nice old city on the Daugava River near the Baltic Sea, and again I had no more than a day and a half to see as much as I could. My cell phone has officially stopped working with the exception of telling me the time, so when Gunars sent me a text message saying that he would be an hour late and would be waiting outside the bus station in his car, I didn't receive it. After a cup of bus station coffee, a bus station pastry and several unsuccessful attempts to use a bus station pay phone, I finally got Gunars on the phone. He eventually picked me up with his girlfriend, Gunta and took me to his place. His apartment, located a few miles across the river in a gated complex, was spacious and clean and I was again lucky to have a nice futon with clean sheets, internet access and a friendly host.
We stayed in his apartment for a few hours before going out to see Staro Riga, a weeklong light festival. Serving as both a kickoff for the winter season and a celebration of Latvian independence, the festival consists of a series of light displays and art exhibits which create a walking tour of the old part of Riga. Gunars pointed out the churches, old museums and buildings along the cobble-stone streets as we followed a map from one exhibit to another. Once we had seen enough, we went to McDonald's to get some dinner. I had a McFeast, a new sandwich served on rye bread in the Baltic States. Dark bread is very popular here, so it makes sense that Micky-Deez would incorporate it into a burger. That night we hung out for a while at the apartment before going to bed.
Gunars is a website designer and entrepreneur. He specializes in making difficult web-based applications, but he and his partner Vilnus are starting an expansion of a rental search engine they created. While I was there they asked me for advice about what domain name they should use. Rentpoint.com, rentalcentral.com and rentmama.com were among the top choices. He smiles easily and tells the occasional joke. He and his friends speak English, but only he seemed eager to speak with me. Most of my time there was spent listening to them speak in Latvian. My language acquisition goal set in Estonia isn't going too well. Forty hours in a country just isn't long enough. Nevertheless, paldies = thank you, zils = blue.
Day 11: Latvia
We slept in, something that doesn't happen too often anymore. Gunars had cooked a breakfast of eggs, dark bread and cheese, and we chatted about his website over breakfast. He gave me directions to the train station which would take me downtown, but upon setting out to the station I decided to walk the whole way. It took about an hour to get to the center, a nice walk that took me over two bridges and through a few residential neighborhoods. I arrived at the old city where the streets began to narrow and the road turned to bricks and I decided to stop at a candy store. I bought some halva (sweet sunflower seeds mashed into a dry paste) and a local chocolate bar I had seen advertised the night before. I stashed my sweets and made my way to the bazaar. As Gunars had described, there are parts of Riga that are predominantly Russian and those that are Latvian. This bazaar was more Russian, and I was relieved to be able to understand and be understood again. I bought some Latvian postcards and found a café where I could eat my halva and read my book.
I've been reading “A Woman in Amber,” given to me by the Admin Officer at Peace Corps before I left Almaty. It is about a woman who grew up in Latvia and survived the mess of WWII. The history of the area is tragic and convoluted, as Latvia was occupied at times by both German and Russian armies. The Germans brutally executed Jews and other nationalities, while the Russians raped and pillaged their way across the country. Both countries called themselves liberators to the Latvians who had been happily independent. The memoir story has taught me a lot about the war, and draws a lot of attention to the attitude most Latvians today hold toward the Soviet Union. I've reached the point in the book where the narrator has arrived at a British-operated Displaced Persons Camp and is preparing to emigrate to America. It is fitting that I am going through a similar trip after a long time away. Not that I suffered through a war. I did go to the museum in Riga devoted to the Occupation of Latvia by the Russians, and it brought to life the stories told in “A Woman in Amber.” It also gave me another reason to not support the annual Victory Day parades held in the streets of Russia and Kazakhstan. As the military personnel march around the city squares, I can't help feeling that they are proud of all the atrocities committed in the war. Oh well...
I only stayed in the old center for a couple of hours before walking back to Gunars' place, but before I left I decided to take a stroll through the part I had seen last night during the light festival. I walked along the old narrow streets, just walking and looking around, when I started to pass a restaurant with Norah Jones wafting out the front door. Now, I had already planned my food for the day, and was happy to make dinner with Gunars and his friends at his apartment, but the drizzle of rain and Miss Jones' soothing voice changed my plans. I was coaxed into the cozy cellar restaurant which smelled of Italian food and aromatic candles. I couldn't resist. I sat for an hour with my book, a beer and a steaming bowl of rich and flavorful vegetarian pasta. It was, without a doubt, a great way to wrap up an afternoon in the old city.
Back at Gunars', we bought supplies for a Latvian Independence Day celebration including pelmeni and local beers. They suggested I buy a local specialty liqueur called Riga Balsam, and I gladly complied. We ate, watched Latvian soap operas, I played the guitar, we played Uno and then watched YouTube videos for a few hours. They showed me clips from the Sun Festival, a choir-singing festival all across the Baltic States that happens every four years. 2013, anyone?
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