Svieki from Riga (Latvia)

Hello from Latvia. I took the bus here from Tallin yesterday noon. The impression I had of Tallin was that it was a pure tourist town, but I don't think that is 100% true. The parts of Estonia and Latvia that I have travelled in so far all appear to be prospering quickly. If my measure of prosperity is accurate.

Well I look at the cars they drive...is that an accurate measure of prosperity???. Anyway everyone drives better cars than me. Same as in Canada, though. Anyway I saw lots of nice Mercedes, SUVs, Volvos, Peugots, Suzukis, Skodas, Dodge Minivans, Mitusubishis, 1 Hummer, Opels, Citroens, Toyotas, Mazdas, Kias, Lexus and Serts on my trip between Tallin and Riga.

The Latvian country side was beautiful. Picture riding along the highway passing reds, yellows and fading green leaves on the trees in front of small quaint single story farm houses in a row. Some leaves shine briliantly as the setting sun breaks through the filter of the trees on the other side of the road. You can see the Gulf of Riga shining through the other side of the trees.

Riga itself is a big flat and pretty city with canals and trees changing their colours. As we enter the outskirts of Riga (still one hour away from the bus stop), you could sense the excitement on the bus.

This morning I went to a Museum of Latvian Occupation which explains the occupation of Latvia by Russian and German forces from 1940s to 1990. What is interesting to me is that there is more resentment towards the Russian occupation than the German one. In fact, when the Germans where invading Latvia during WWII many Latvians welcomed them, hoping that they would help Latvia become independent from Russia.

The city does have Russian and Scandinavian influences. I notice that alot of the women walk arm in arm here (Russian influence), the stores and candy are the same as in Scandinavia (Stockmanns and Narvesi). Also the lineups are very scandinavian: you don't line up in banks or other places. You go to a machine and get a number. When your number comes up, you walk to your till. I had gotten used to this in Sweden/Finland and was shocked - I'd forgotten what to do - when I had to face big lineups in Russian bus depots.

My money situation is better now. I figured out that I can just go to a bank and get cash advances from my Visa card. I thought I needed a PIN to do this, but turns out I was wrong. All I needed to do was pay a 3% commision (less than 2 dollars so I can have 60 dollars cash is a good deal for me right now!) Anyway I'm quite happy that I have some Latvian money. The first thing I did was to buy some candy!

Tonight I'm thinking of going to go see a hockey game here. It means travelling to a small town called Ogre (really!). If so, I need to go catch a train in about 40 minutes. Apparently Karlis Skrastins and Hendrinksons from the NHL are playing for "RIGA 2000" tonight.

Tonight or tomorrow I'm going to Villenus, Lithuania.