Off to Latvia
What a weekend. That’s all I can say. I was blown away by my vacation. It was only a few days, but it was amazing. I realize that I’m in Moscow, and it’s completely foreign and different, but it was exciting getting to take a break from teaching and explore a new place.
The bus was far better than I had expected. Seriously. I anticipated the standard travel bus, where you are in uncomfortable seats and close quarters. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the seats reclined, there was Wi-Fi (it was pretty unreliable), and power chargers at every seat. It was a pretty decent setup. There was also a toilet on board (hooray, there’s not a chance I could go all that way without a toilet). Added bonus, there was a hot chocolate/coffee/tea station in front of my seat, so I was able to load up on hot chocolate periodically through the fourteen-hour trip. Yes, you read that correctly, fourteen hours.
Shortly into the drive, my friend, Jordan and I made an alliance. He was sitting next to me across the aisle, so we stole Jess’ headphone splitter and watched movies on my iPad. It was a foolproof plan, that is, until someone had to walk down the aisle and ran into the sea of headphones. It got pretty messy. But hey, we got to watch movies.
Everyone in our group passed out pretty quickly, but insomnia got the best of me. I just couldn’t get comfortable for long enough to fall asleep. It was a pretty sucky deal. Luckily, I wasn’t alone in the world of insomnia. Jordan couldn’t sleep either, so we watched movies and chatted all night. We saw some pretty interesting parts of Russia and Latvia though. Lots of broken down, gray buildings with their roofs caving in, and smoke billowing through the holes of what was left of the roof.
About an hour and a half before reaching Riga, I hit the wall. I was ridiculously tired. I needed sleep so badly. I started talking nonsense and getting really weird, so I tried to sleep. I think I slept for about 40 minutes, maybe. I couldn’t be sure though.
Adrenaline kept me moving through the rest of the day in Riga. The excitement of traveling fueled me for adventure, though I could feel my body struggling to stay energized.
Riga, Latvia
As soon as we arrived in Riga, we searched for our hostel so we could check-in. The name of our hostel was Cinnamon Sally’s. I don’t know about you, but I think the name Cinnamon Sally’s sounds like a strip club. I was very concerned as to what this place would be like. I had prepared myself for the worst, anticipating stripper poles in the living room and cockroaches in the beds. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by the hostel. It was a cozy, modern place with an eclectic vibe. The hostel was decorated cutely. The people were kind, and there were no stripper poles or cockroaches. Indie music played through the living room all day. I learned that hotels are committed to serving you, whereas hostels are about helping you out, but having you serve yourself. There is mutual respect between hostel owners and guests. It relies on leaving things the way you would want to find it. I really enjoyed my stay there.
The best part of Cinnamon Sally’s, in my humble opinion, was that it was atop a McDonalds. Yes, two floors beneath us was a McDonald’s. I’m slightly ashamed to say that I ate at McDonald’s five times in three days. Don’t judge. Mickey D’s is a sanctuary. Everyone there speaks English! There was no pointing or sign language required to tell the people I wanted a double cheeseburger with only ketchup on it! It was AMAZING! Honestly, the requirements to work at McDonald’s in Latvia are far more strenuous than in America. These people are fluent in several languages and are actually good at what they do, which is much more than I can say about American McDonalds. They also have a whole McCafe section, where they do quality-baked goods, coffees, hot chocolate, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Yes, I watched them squeeze it! I was impressed. It would be awesome if America stepped up their game and made the fast-food establishment a little less trashy.
After devouring our first McD’s meal, we went off to explore the city. Riga is amazing. That’s all there is to it. The modern area is fine, but the real beauty comes from the old part. The humidity in the Baltic state allows moss to grow in the cracks of the cobblestone, which is beautiful. Honestly, America is missing the mark by not having cobblestone everywhere. Get rid of the concrete, lets put in cobblestone. I’ve decided that I want to have cobblestones at my house someday. It’s happening. Okay, moving on.
We walked through the old part of Riga, which was simply astonishing. I can hardly believe that it’s a real place. Everything is so quaint and charming. The buildings were all creamy colors with inviting stores inside. The people were friendly and all spoke English! After a month of seldom hearing English, I get really excited about hearing my native tongue.
Alexa, Bailey, Jordan, Jess, and I went to the top of St. Peter’s tower, which was arguably, the best decision we made that day. From the top of the tower, you get an aerial view of the whole city. I’ve decided that you haven’t really seen the city until you’ve seen it from a higher vantage point. Despite being horribly cold on that tower, I loved every second of it.
After the tower, we went to some street vendors where a few of us bought some Latvian rings. The Baltic States are big on amber, so both of my rings have amber in them. I love my little rings!
We moseyed around the city for a while, and then went back to the hostel to grab some pastries at McCafé and meet up with the rest of our group. We were planning on eating some traditional Latvian food but decided that the food didn’t look super enticing, so we opted for Mexican food. We were so excited about the prospect of Mexican food but were more than a little disappointed by the result. Those who know me well know that I live on burritos. Burritos are my life source. Some people eat cereal, some people eat salads, but I eat burritos. Burritos are life. I was really excited about Mexican food, but sadly Eastern Europe knows nothing about Mexican culture. Granted, Taco Bell doesn’t do traditional Mexican food, but I can guarantee that T-Bell is closer to the real deal than whatever we ate here in Latvia. The cook has obviously never eaten Mexican food. They put bamboo chutes into all of the food, which I’m sorry, but bamboo is the last thing you would ever find in Mexico. They also didn’t provide chips and salsa for free. We had to pay for it, and the guacamole was hardly enough to justify spending $5 on. Despite it being a somewhat sad little meal, it was a fun environment and gave me a new perspective on Central American food being cooked by an Eastern European.
After eating, a few of us wandered the city for a few hours. It was fun getting to see the city at night and just relax. There was no worrying about lessons the next day or commitments for the rest of the weekend. We were able to sit back and enjoy our free time.
That’s all for now. In the next post, I’ll tell you about our trip to Lithuania.
For now, catch you later!
All my love,
Madison
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