26/07/2010

Riga, Latvia to Vilnius, Lithuania

Packing and tidying every few days is a laborious task, days like this are peaceful, but feel very much like a waiting game- clock watching till I need to get back to the hotel for my taxi, ready to travel to Lithuania.

Today has been a day of kafje and wandering. Found the spot where the lady was selling Russian and Latvian dolls on Saturay- she was gone, but an old man was there selling them for 3Lats cheaper- those who wait, hey!

There has been a crazy old lady dancing to traditional music outside 1 of the nightclubs on the main street: Kalku iela for the last few days, she must be at least 80- I think she is here every day- I LOVE HER! She doesn't have a care in the world, or notice the strange looks or laughs she gets (she can't ACTUALLY dance)- but she just gets up and dances around everyday chanting to herself and smiling.

There are a lot of street performers in Old Riga- mime artists, accordion players, even an angry glockenspiel player! Though perhaps her smashing of the notes was due to me taking a photo of her. A Saxophonist was playing Family Guy, The Pink Panther tune and Summertime on repeat over lunch- perhaps he has only looked at a beginner's Saxophone book.

Some recommendations of the day:

Started at Madhouse on Kalku iela: searching for wifi, apparently an internet cafe but could only connect to it via i-phone not laptop. So no photos were uploaded this morning as planned. But nice coffee, no bloody cinnamon like Rooster's chicken.

Then went to Malibu Pizza, slightly further up, beautiful décor- reminiscent of a Caribbean beach bar perhaps? 3.40 Lts for a whole pizza and orange juice, that is about £3.40. Fantastic!

I went for a walk to find the Black Cat [There is a legend behind this little fella- the owner of the house upon which it sits was rejected from the local Merchant's Guild across the street and to exact revenge he placed a black cat on the top of his turret with its tail raised towards the Great Guild Hall- a long trial prevailed and he was accepted back in the Guild and turned the cat around]- I found the little b***** and also a grumpy stone- he was just made of stone and, well, grumpy! It was raining in Riga today- typically the 1st day I go out in shorts and with no umbrella!

Took refuge in Black Magic bar, it is a coffee shop rather than a bar, but women dressed in white corseted medival dresses and old books adorn the place like a Witches' cavern. Much less cheesy that the sort found in the New Forest in the UK though. Nice Latte- but a bit pricy: a whole 2 Lats! On the way to the bar I had my last listen to some rock (nu-metal) outside Randoms- the film/ music memorabilia shop, then back to the hotel for the 5 hour bus ride to Vilnius.

My final comment on Riga....

It is a beautiful in Old Town, but seeing the other side of the city with Peterais yesterday I am saddened by the scar left by the Soviets and proud to see how the Latvians respect their Jewish community. Before I came to Latvia I had no idea of the extent of the Soviet's rampage- it is disgusting and terrifying to see how they were so forceful and relentless- Peterais told me his grandfather said that the Nazi soldiers were educated and civilized in comparison to the brutality of the Soviets- here for so long and this is not just history- but was still happening in our lifetime. Peterais and I had a discussion about how they history we are taught is so shaped by our government, he did not learn about Gulags nor Soviet terrors at school: the Soviets were the "liberators", in the UK we do not learn about the the channel islands during the war, the invention of the Concentration camps by the British or Churchill's idea as Minister of Health around 1910 that euthanasia should be used on those with "simple minds"- however Peterais, on the other side of Europe seemed very aware of this information.

In Vilnius now, drove through farm land and forests to get here: in an eco-friendly hotel- it is very relaxing and beautiful. Tomorrow I will see what this city and country has to offer...