I’m in love. We’re moving to Latvia. I arrived in Riga this morning and am blown away by how awesome it is. This is a bit of an irregular update and totally out of order because I haven’t written about my last week in Tajikistan but I need to write about this. Even from the air it looked cool, very European type buildings surrounded by pine trees.

I arrived to a few drops of rain and rainbows arching over the city. There’s something about the time just after a rainstorm, when the sunlight has been washed clean and everything is so grateful for its warmth. Especially on those cool crisp days when you need a big jacket but don’t quite need to zip it up. After dropping my bag in a locker at the train station I wandered out of the building with the aim of getting lost and following whatever street looked good. The plan was to go to Old Town but I don’t think I made it. Instead I stumbled upon an absolutely fantabulously beautiful church, where rays of sunlight filtered through the dusty air to light up the oodles of gold on the icons. Outside they were doing some restoration work on the wooden walls and when a guy saw me admiring the original wood he pointed me around the corner to where the 1mm thick layers of paint and plaster had all been stripped away in preparation for new layers.

The central market was heavenly, full of fresh produce, spicy aromas and the cheeses and sausages that i just can’t get enough of. Even just the variety and quality of things was mind boggling after central Asia. And everyone speaks English. Even the ones that say they only speak “a little”. At a small bistro owned by a soccer obsessed guy I was fed fried pancakes filled with cheese that came with a side of sour cream. Absolutely delicious but wow i’m glad my cholesterol isn’t a problem. Maybe it will be by the time I leave Latvia? I’m definitely going back there for more of those pancakes so I’ll keep you posted.

Tonight I meet up with my couchsurfing host and we’ll probably head to a gathering of other couchsurfers. Hopefully at some stage I’ll get some sleep, the taxi this morning came at 3:30am. Eurgh.

Tags: Latvia, Riga