Ok, so it’s not exactly Sweden, or even Scandinavia, but this weekend 5 of us had a lovely little excursion to Riga, the capital of Latvia. Setting off Thursday morning, we arrived in Riga in late afternoon, via a complex system of bus, train and plane rides due to Ryanair only flying to Riga from Skavsta airport in Nyköping, which isn’t all that near us. On first impressions we were a little wary as our taxis took us through the less salubrious outskirts of the city, but by the time we arrived at our hostel things were looking up. It’s obvious that Riga is a city of two parts; one a partially run-down settlement still recovering from the scars left by Soviet occupation, stereotypical of the common western view of post-Cold War Eastern Europe, the other a vibrant cultural capital with an exciting nightlife and modern outlook. For the most part we experienced only the latter, though it was interesting to see how the country had developed in recent years, and how the attitude of the people (for the most part positive, especially amongst the young) reflected on these changes and the future.
Anyway, after settling into our hostel, we decided to mosey on down into the city and get some food. After a bit of a nosey around, we discovered a very classy little place named (for reasons best know to itself) Opium Bar. Despite the lack of hard drugs the name suggested were on offer, we had an excellent meal here – myself I opted for pork fillet wrapped in bacon, with grilled aubergine and courgettes and mushroom mash, followed by a rich chocolate and cherry pie – for the princely sum of 8.5 Lats (which is about the same in pounds). Truly this was possibly the best meal I have ever eaten, it was absolutely delicious, and the low prices were something we were quickly going to get used to, and a pleasant change from the tax-induced rip-offs we’re now used to in Sweden.
After the meal we went to an English pub by the name of Dickens (for some reason foreigners seem to think all our pubs have names associated with him) and had some Latvian beer, served in pints (woo!). Unlike the poor attempts at English pubs we’ve experienced in Sweden, this one seemed quite genuine, right down to the pointless black and white pictures of steam trains on the walls. However, being tired from travelling, we didn’t stay out too long, opting to save our moneys for the next day.
After a slightly sluggish rising in the morning, we eventually strolled into town for a ridiculously cheap brunch at a café before wandering round the city some more. Riga really is quite picturesque, and amongst other things we saw St. Peter’s Cathedral, from which one gets a wonderful view of the city, some monuments, the local market (another look into the less well-off side of the society) and a number of lovely parks. After that we found a nice little coffee shop and enjoyed tea and cakes, which was spiffing, especially as the Lats believe in very large cups of tea :)
That night we decided to go out properly, and after a traditionally Latvian buffet, replete with staff in traditional dress, we went to a few bars before hitting a rather excellent club by the name of Roxy, where even I managed to enjoy the music. Being used to Swedish opening times, we left quite early, and after a brief snack and meeting an English pub crawl, we staggered back to the hostel, where one of the resident oddball Swedes kept us up with his nonsensical babblings late into the night, which was…well, odd. Especially considering the Swedes we’ve met so far are for the most part quite reserved with new people. Guess that’s why these ones got out of the country!
Saturday we rose late and checked out at 12, before getting some warm bread from the supermarket and taking breakfast in the park with the pigeons. After that we took the bus to the airport (a mere 20 sentimu) and eventually arrived back in Västerås about 11.
Overall, it was a muchly enjoyable trip for my first proper foray into Eastern Europe
sans parents, and I’m looking forward to my further wanderings that end of the continent come February. However, the weekend did end on a sour note. As we were wandering out of Västerås train station, a couple of Swedes, possibly fresh back from watching their football team beat Spain 2-0 in Stockholm, were curiously playing with Sully, the little cuddly Monsters Inc. figure who guards my bag. They seemed harmless, so I left them to it. However, on further inspection a couple of minutes later, I was most distraught to discover the rotters had stolen him. Sully had accompanied me throughout the duration of this blog, and he shall be sorely missed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sully for his loyalty, friendship and top-quality bag-guarding throughout his time with me, and wish him luck in escaping his evil captors and finding his way back home. If anyone knows anything further of his abduction, any help would be appreciated…. :( Our thoughts are with him, and from now on, Sunday 7th October shall be Annual Sully Memorial Day.
