Last Days in Riga

Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007--Riga & Jurmala

I bought another book--The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I knew I would need it after tonight. I'm reading more here due to spending most evenings in my room without a TV.

There are casinos everywhere here in Latvia and in Estonia. It's been a surprise to see how many. They tend to be the size of small supermarkets. And they are located just 3-4 blocks apart. I don't know if it is locals or tourists who go to them, but they must have customers. Two of the former Internet cafes I tried to find are casinos now. They all have dark curtains so that no one can see inside the building. Posters on the windows say things like, "Gaminator." Inside, there are lots of flashing machines and the strong smell of smoke. (I opened a door just to see).

Today, I took the train to Jurmala, a beach resort area 20 km (12 miles) from Riga. It used to be one of the most popular vacation spots for Russians, since their travel was limited to within the Soviet Union and since Riga is not that far from either St. Petersburg or Moscow. The beach goes for a long distance and is lined with a string of small villages. The organization works well--the beach, then a wooded area, then streets with homes, then the highway with businesses, followed by the railroad track and stations. I got off at one station and wandered through that village and the next two villages. I went to the beach at two locations. But mostly I enjoyed seeing the homes--individual houses mostly built of wood and often 100-150 years old or so. Many have been restored. They have lots of glass and wooden lattice work between the glass panels. Many tourists were there. I sat with ladies from Norway on the train on the way out and with men from Finland on the way back. I ate some brown bread and ham leftover from last night as my lunch while sitting on the beach. Then I bought an ice cream cone as I wandered through the biggest town which has a nice pedestrianized main street with small shops and restaurants.

I returned to my local place near my room for dinner. It is so good that I am hesitant to go elsewhere. I had tasty goulasch over what I guess was a form of gruel. It is some grain that has been cooked somewhat like oatmeal or beans. I've seen many people eating it here, and it was good with the goulasch. I drank a dark beer (.5 liter). The meal with the beer cost only $6.84.

I've got extra cash. I just withdrew too much when I first got money here in Latvia. Somehow in the next 1 1/2 days, I must spend $80 or cash some of it back into dollars. I've only been spending $10-15 per day in general.

Traffic is a problem here in Latvia. There are LONG lines of cars backed up for street lights--sometimes for several blocks. When they turn onto a street with no traffic, the drivers tend to go wild by speeding down the street at unsafe speeds. I read that they have the highest accident rate of any country in the EU. I can see why.

I also read that inflation here is about 10% per year. That's high. Even since I arrived here, the dollar has gone up in value although it is falling everywhere else. That's because inflation is eating away at the Latvian currency faster than the dollar is falling. No wonder the prices here are so much higher than the guidebook said. It's a combination of the EU effect and inflation. They had planned to adopt the Euro next year, but they can't. There are rules that regulate that--something like 5 years have to pass with inflation under 3% before a country can adopt the Euro and then they are penalized for every year after that that the inflation goes above 3%. Latvia is a long way from meeting the rules. They are now estimating that it will be 2011 before they will adopt the Euro. That won't work. They will need far more years if they must first get inflation down and then keep it down for 5 years in a row.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007--Riga

It is another sunny day like yesterday. We've had perfect weather for the outings I had planned for the weekend. Today's outing was to the Outdoor Museum--a wooded area on the outskirts of town where they have brought historical buildings from all areas of Latvia. They have them clustered according to villages of different areas, so that one can see a couple of houses and their outhouses, a windmill, a church, etc., that would have been together in one area in the past. I wandered through the woods seeing the houses. I stopped and rested where there was a stage with Latvian music being played. I went past the stalls selling Latvian honey and other treats. The houses had flower beds and trees in the yards like they would have had in their original locations, too. I took a couple of apples off trees in the lawns and ate them. I had been wanting to do that on my whole trip. They were delicious and nice and crispy. One of the churches had a man inside playing the organ, so I sat for a while and listened to his music. It was a nice outing.

I stopped at a restaurant on my way out to the museum and ate lunch--chicken cutlet with potatoes that had been boiled, then sliced, then fried in butter. It was delicious. In the evening, I tried to go back to my local place and it was closed for the day! Instead, I went to a Lido restaurant, a group of restaurants that the guidebooks say have typical Latvian food. I ate shishkebab with rice and a beer. Well, it wasn't as good as the food at my local place, and it was more expensive. I may go back to my local place for lunch tomorrow before I have to head to the airport. I want to enjoy their good food one last time!

I managed to avoid the landlady today. She isn't really so bad. I just have the impression that she would prefer not having me there. When we do see each other she smiles and says hello in a friendly way. But I was still glad not to encounter her today. Tomorrow morning will be the last time I have to see her.