Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 18:57:06 GMT -1
Very strange.
First impressions on flying in Air Baltic from Gatwick were that it's one very flat country composed solely of wood. It's like flying over Australia on a smaller scale, Oz. Just forests everywhere, punctuated by the odd ribbon of road.
Riga, where we were based, is the main town, situated on the Baltic Sea, with much port activity going on. Almost all of it tankers carrying logs.
Riga's an odd mix of old and new, the 12th century Old Town intact and lovely, with new build hotels and landmark buildings on the waterfront. Bizarrely there is one street made up solely of Radissons and upmarket designer shops.
Signage everywhere is in Latvian first and Russian second. Completely impenetrable for those educated in Mediterranean language. Not for the first time did it remind us we were what, 60 miles from the Russian border.
We took a day trip out to the mediaeval town of Cesis, about an hour's drive, even closer to Russia. On a so-called *main* road which was truly awful, like a dirt track in places.
And once you get out of Riga, it's like peasant country, you felt like it you'd gone back in time to the 15th Century.
We passed very run-down homes on the outskirts and onwards past little hamlets composed of shacks that it was hard to believe people actually lived in. All broken down: holes in roofs and walls and only the TV aerials and the odd ancient car parked outside told us that someone actually lived there.
Cesis is a relatively wealthy little town, they've built a huge concert hall there with European money. We were *entertained* at a banquet in a field next to the 12th Century castle, complete with locals dressed in traditional costume--and the worst! young kids in costume, maybe 12 or 13, offering to wash your hands in bowls of water and rose petals. I was HORRIFIED!
So Latvia's now in the EU. I can see why they'd want to be, for support to develop the (pretty non existent) infrastructure of their country. Everywhere we went, the people were lovely, friendly and hospitable. But yet, a certain feeling I got was that they were only just surviving after centuries of incomers, invaders and being well, under the cosh.
Leaving on the Sunday night from Riga, the Ryanair flight was full to bursting with Latvians coming back to Glasgow for their Monday-Friday jobs. And I understand better now, why that is.
First impressions on flying in Air Baltic from Gatwick were that it's one very flat country composed solely of wood. It's like flying over Australia on a smaller scale, Oz. Just forests everywhere, punctuated by the odd ribbon of road.
Riga, where we were based, is the main town, situated on the Baltic Sea, with much port activity going on. Almost all of it tankers carrying logs.
Riga's an odd mix of old and new, the 12th century Old Town intact and lovely, with new build hotels and landmark buildings on the waterfront. Bizarrely there is one street made up solely of Radissons and upmarket designer shops.
Signage everywhere is in Latvian first and Russian second. Completely impenetrable for those educated in Mediterranean language. Not for the first time did it remind us we were what, 60 miles from the Russian border.
We took a day trip out to the mediaeval town of Cesis, about an hour's drive, even closer to Russia. On a so-called *main* road which was truly awful, like a dirt track in places.
And once you get out of Riga, it's like peasant country, you felt like it you'd gone back in time to the 15th Century.
We passed very run-down homes on the outskirts and onwards past little hamlets composed of shacks that it was hard to believe people actually lived in. All broken down: holes in roofs and walls and only the TV aerials and the odd ancient car parked outside told us that someone actually lived there.
Cesis is a relatively wealthy little town, they've built a huge concert hall there with European money. We were *entertained* at a banquet in a field next to the 12th Century castle, complete with locals dressed in traditional costume--and the worst! young kids in costume, maybe 12 or 13, offering to wash your hands in bowls of water and rose petals. I was HORRIFIED!
So Latvia's now in the EU. I can see why they'd want to be, for support to develop the (pretty non existent) infrastructure of their country. Everywhere we went, the people were lovely, friendly and hospitable. But yet, a certain feeling I got was that they were only just surviving after centuries of incomers, invaders and being well, under the cosh.
Leaving on the Sunday night from Riga, the Ryanair flight was full to bursting with Latvians coming back to Glasgow for their Monday-Friday jobs. And I understand better now, why that is.
